MetaTalk

My dearest mefites: back in August, I asked for the favor of encouragement from the community to get through a difficult exam. I’m so pleased to report that I PASSED STEP 2 CS! I get to graduate from medical school this December!
posted by ocherdraco to MetaTalk on Oct 16 at 4:54 PM
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Here's a first quarterly update on where we're at with site revenue and expenses. We've made some progress from where we were this summer; your help in funding the site is a fundamental part of that.
posted by cortex to MetaTalk on Oct 16 at 12:06 PM
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We're updating some site documents today to better reflect contemporary MetaFilter.  Today's updates include the New User pages that potential new community members move through when signing up, the site's core guidelines page, and a new document discussing common microaggressions and being mindful about the impact of dominant-culture dynamics on a diverse membership.  I'll talk in more detail about all that below the fold.
posted by cortex to MetaTalk on Oct 14 at 8:49 AM
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Frequent MeFi favorite podcaster Robert Evans (Behind the Bastards, It Could Happen Here) recently kicked off a new podcast, Worst Year Ever, touching on the horrors of the upcoming US federal election. While opening Tuesday's episode on Biden, Evans' co-host Cody Johnston raised eyebrows about Jake Tapper's recent collaboration with MeFi unfavorite Scott Adams. To describe what sort of man Adams is, Evans cheerfully launched into a description of the 2011 incident in which Adams was caught using a sockpuppet to defend himself after the Blue responded poorly to one of his pieces. MeFi mentioned at 3:00.
posted by sciatrix to MetaTalk on Oct 10 at 3:07 PM
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End of another week, and we're just a few scary weeks away from All Hallows' Eve, let's talk about haunted houses and/or ghost tours. Do you enjoy haunted houses/ghost tours? Do you hate them? Do you get scared easily? Are you into the extreme haunted/fright houses where you have to sign a waiver? Are there any 'real life' haunted houses in your area? Places with interesting or odd history? Let's talk about haunted places. As always, be kind to yourself and to others. Boo!
posted by Fizz to MetaTalk on Oct 11 at 3:02 PM
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The current Brexit thread is due to close soon, and it's gone OK, but I'd like to suggest a few ground rules so that the people who need the thread most can get the most out of it. Mainly, I'd like the thread to centre the needs of everyone resident in the UK and Ireland, with space for the frustrations of people in the rest of the EU, too.
posted by ambrosen to MetaTalk on Oct 10 at 3:07 PM
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Good Saturday evening, MetaFilter! This week, Sparky Buttons wants to know, "What is your most recent splurge? This doesn't have to be monetary ... maybe you "wasted" some time doing something enjoyable you don't normally prioritize. Any creative definition of "splurge" is welcome!"
posted by Eyebrows McGee to MetaTalk on Oct 12 at 5:32 PM
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Okay, this is totally stupid but it keeps bothering me. I have a lot of trouble updating my profile picture.
posted by 80 Cats in a Dog Suit to MetaTalk on Oct 12 at 11:29 AM
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End of another week, let's talk about scary films. We're just a few 'spooky' weeks away from All Hallows' Eve. What are your favorite scary films? Do you have certain movies that you watch every year as a tradition? Have you discovered something new recently? Are you more into classic movie monsters like The Mummy, Dracula, Frankenstein? Or maybe you're into more modern franchises such as Paranormal, The Purge, Conjuring? Are you on Team Freddy or Team Jason? I'd also love to hear some horror reccomendations from other (non-western) countries around the world, films from Asia and Africa that aren't frequently a part of this conversation. As always, be kind to yourself and to others. Boo!
posted by Fizz to MetaTalk on Oct 4 at 11:30 AM
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Mandatory evacuations have been ordered for a vast swath of LA’s San Fernando Valley as the Saddleridge Fire has spread from Sylmar with 0% containment. Valley MeFites, check in so we know you’re okay, please?
posted by infinitewindow to MetaTalk on Oct 11 at 6:43 AM
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Three years ago I asked us to post about our favorite poems in honor of national poetry month. It would be wonderful if you could post additional favorite poems today. I'd also like it if anyone who needs a poem on a particular subject could request one and if we could try to find them something that fits the bill.
posted by CMcG to MetaTalk on Apr 22 at 10:28 AM
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Nearing the end of another week, let's talk about something else that is not related to politics. Let's talk about supernatural phenomenon, things that cannot be easily explained, (ghosts, UFOs, aliens, Bigfoot, chupacabras, telepathy, etc.). Have you ever experienced something like this? If so, please share with the rest of the community. Or maybe you firmly disbelieve in things like this and that's totally cool too. As always, be kind to yourself and to others. The truth is out there.
posted by Fizz to MetaTalk on May 23 at 10:52 AM
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Or so says the NYT.
posted by k8t to MetaTalk on Oct 2 at 3:58 PM
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Metafilter's fourth open thread for discussions by people of color.
posted by mordax to MetaTalk on Sep 30 at 12:36 PM
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[more posts]

I'm about to share a Great Moment in Parenting with you. Please pay attention. Daughter 1 asks which discworld novel to read next. I suggest Monstrous Regiment. Daughter 2 looks book up and laughs - "The title comes from weird old book about the monstrous regiment of women!" I say, "The one by John Knox?" She says, "Yes,... [more]
posted by thatwhichfalls to MetaTalk on Oct 12 at 8:38 PM
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Microaggressions and making space I'm wondering if a title like Making Metafilter a welcoming place would describe the same content without frontloading jargon. (Microaggression is a super useful concept, but not in everyone's vocabulary.) [view]
posted by zamboni to MetaTalk on Oct 14 at 1:23 PM
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So rethinking where we surface them is a next step now that we've got them in place Here's one way among many. I don't know, this might be a bad idea, but as soon as I saw the guidelines and microaggressions pages my mind immediately went here: If each bolded list item in the guidelines got an ID in the DOM, then it would be... [more]
posted by Jpfed to MetaTalk on Oct 14 at 6:55 PM
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Last year I was digging a hole in my garden and found a perfect little jawbone that turned out to be a baby possum’s. Being who I am, I mailed it to a local-ish artist, who attached it to a ring and copper-plated it, making a beautiful and creepy necklace I’ve been wearing daily since it came in the mail on Thursday. Money is tight and this wasn’t... [more]
posted by centrifugal to MetaTalk on Oct 12 at 9:48 PM
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It's benign! I'm okay! I feel like a wrung out washcloth and I think I need to cry for an hour and sleep for 10. Thank you for the hugs and MeMails. Hugs for everyone who needs them. [view]
posted by kimberussell to MetaTalk on Oct 11 at 12:36 PM
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I don't think brain syndromes ought to be carte blanche for bad behavior, but I do think we could temper our criticisms with that possibility in mind. I find it pretty offensive to equate Adams' bad judgement and shit-filled opinions with having a neurological disability. There's plenty of folks out there who have them, including... [more]
posted by sciatrix to MetaTalk on Oct 10 at 8:20 PM
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Whoa, seeing the microaggressions and making space page, my first thought was how do you even start with something so seemingly insurmountable and hard to understand for first timers to the subject matter but the result you have is pretty great and strikes the right tone from start to finish. Well done, and great rewrites all around. [view]
posted by mathowie to MetaTalk on Oct 14 at 9:40 AM
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You have an equal right to have an opinion, and to argue in favor of it, but not an equal right to have it considered by those who believe lived experience leads to a more correct assessment. I am going to be very blunt. Some of us in this thread, including 23skidoo, have identified in previous threads as racialized/PoC, and we... [more]
posted by hurdy gurdy girl to MetaTalk on Oct 15 at 12:53 PM
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I think it's hard for all of us to read these with a true beginners mind. If you haven't already, cortex, I suggest you and the other mods reach out to people in your lives who aren't on Metafilter (I mean, there must be some right?) and ask for their feedback. That may be the only way to really judge how jargon-y and inside-MeFi these really are. [view]
posted by Frayed Knot to MetaTalk on Oct 15 at 7:24 AM
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I splurged on an eight-week beginner watercolor class at our local museum's art school for my birthday and I'm having a really marvelous time. It's funny -- I took a life drawing class as an elective my very first semester in college and I passed the class, but by my own reckoning I got an A for effort and an F- for any actual skill. The... [more]
posted by mochapickle to MetaTalk on Oct 12 at 10:26 PM
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I financed a car yesterday! It feels kind of like a splurge but the previous car was 14 years old and had 156,000 miles, and the "check engine" light kept coming on and costing me $400-1200 every time it did, and I was in the Northern California blackout zone this week, and I woke up Friday morning with the unshakably firm conviction that... [more]
posted by lazuli to MetaTalk on Oct 12 at 9:12 PM
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The reality is that women are treated differently by society for exactly the same reason that children and the mentally handicapped are treated differently. It's just easier this way for everyone. You don't argue with a four-year old about why he shouldn't eat candy for dinner. You don't punch a mentally handicapped guy even if he punches you... [more]
posted by agregoli to MetaTalk on Oct 11 at 8:32 AM
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That's why I put them all in a Dog Suit. Containment. [view]
posted by 80 Cats in a Dog Suit to MetaTalk on Oct 12 at 1:36 PM
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Ah! I was on a vacation this weekend so was trying to limit my phone time but I am chuffed to see my question used, and the very different answers everyone has - it's such a neat glimpse into your lives. The splurgey purchase that prompted this question for me was a Nespresso machine. I had a perfectly functioning Keurig at home (along with an... [more]
posted by Sparky Buttons to MetaTalk on Oct 13 at 6:47 PM
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I love these! Yeah, I'm realizing that it's a little jargony. It's super jargon-y and I think for intro docs you should just err on the side of using terms that are more intro-level. If there are too many have-to-look-up terms it can sound like the rules were written by people coming at this from an intellectual/academic background... [more]
posted by jessamyn to MetaTalk on Oct 14 at 12:53 PM
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I always know he's done some new dumb thing when I start seeing clusters of tweets show up from folks mentioning him stanning himself on MeFi. This happens pretty regularly. Anyway, it's a weird bit of hindsight looking back at the kind of naive optimism that went into not literally banning his account at the time. MeFi, and the internet, were... [more]
posted by cortex to MetaTalk on Oct 10 at 3:44 PM
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That would be ironic considering he advocates treating women as if they were mentally ill. Whatever and whyever his deal is, he can go fuck himself right off. [view]
posted by rodlymight to MetaTalk on Oct 10 at 7:04 PM
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I have a cleaner starting next week, I’ve never had a weekly cleaner before and it will stretch my budget but it will take such a mental and physical load from me. [view]
posted by ellieBOA to MetaTalk on Oct 12 at 11:33 PM
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I recently went out to karaoke with some people. I timed my exit so that I wouldn't miss the last DC Metro train, but of course the schedule was a lie, and the station was closed 20 minutes before the website said it would be. So I had to get a Lyft back to the outer suburbs, which cost $30 altogether. That's a HUGE splurge for me, especially... [more]
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk to MetaTalk on Oct 12 at 8:59 PM
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I like how the Recurse Center's "lightweight social rules" include not only guidelines for one's behavior, but also guidelines for responding to misbehavior. I mean stuff like, Like the other three social rules, this one is often accidentally broken. Like the other three, it's not a big deal to mess up – you just apologize and move... [more]
posted by meaty shoe puppet to MetaTalk on Oct 14 at 11:27 AM
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