MetaTalk

When we have an obit for someone who is ... controversial, as Jerry Pournelle, what should be the mefi etiquette for either leaving the obit at all or possibly crapping it up with the bad memories and misdeeds? Feelings with regard to some people can run strong, and the reasons aren't always obvious to everyone.
posted by Bringer Tom on Sep 9, 2017 - 210 comments

It seems like there have been more and more obit posts lately. I understand that some luminaries have passed, but is it really necessary to post an obit for every celebrity/musician? Do these posts live up to the "Best of the Web" standard we set for posts to the Blue? [more inside]
posted by reenum on Jan 23, 2017 - 107 comments

ObitFilter - Maybe it's time. Awesome people seem to be dying at an unprecedented rate, and the MetaFilter Front Page is filling up with Obit posts. Frankly, it's getting depressing scrolling the main site and seeing obituary post after obituary post. When someone famous dies we can generally assume that someone will post about it. Why not create a new section for Obituaries Only. This will keep the Main Page from being cluttered up with obituaries all the time, while still providing a space for them. When someone prominent passes, we can post about it "on the black," and when people hear about someone passing they can go to ObitFilter to join in the grieving without being distracted by election posts, cat videos, etc.
posted by Cookiebastard on Apr 24, 2016 - 151 comments

Could I suggest that if you know some really interesting figure, you find some good info on them and post it now, before they're dead? [more inside]
posted by Bugbread on Apr 4, 2016 - 108 comments

Just days before the sad news of the death of Peter Bergman of the Firesign Theatre today, we had another thread that was a delightful FST love-in and reference-a-thon, and I was moved to hear that he saw and enjoyed it.
posted by Horace Rumpole on Mar 9, 2012 - 26 comments

Wikipedia, TMZ, and The Daily Mail? Come on... [more inside]
posted by smoke on Jun 20, 2011 - 222 comments

Self-links and deletion on Mac Tonnies death FPP [more inside]
posted by dbiedny on Oct 24, 2009 - 99 comments

I just wanted to commend WCityMike for his outstanding obit post on Natasha Richardson, and commend the mods for opting for a post that gets it right, rather than simply getting it first. [more inside]
posted by Horace Rumpole on Mar 19, 2009 - 81 comments

I just wanted to say what a wonderful memorial the David Foster Wallace obit thread has become. [more inside]
posted by crossoverman on Sep 14, 2008 - 45 comments

Followup to this post of mine: Irena Sendler has died at age 98. [more inside]
posted by cerebus19 on May 12, 2008 - 14 comments

No matter what funny a comedian said, this is still an obit thread. I don't run into dead politicians threads and harp about how politics suck, or piss in any obit threads at all no matter what I think of the person it is about. Could we extend this courtesy to dead ad men as well, please? [more inside]
posted by dabitch on Mar 26, 2008 - 110 comments

Cancergiggles has passed away this month. I found this out when browsing ask.me cancer posts, one of which linked to his blog.
posted by ruelle on Jan 30, 2007 - 55 comments

I don't mean to be insensitive, but can can we give ObituaryFilter a rest?
posted by icosahedral on Nov 17, 2006 - 91 comments

Fine, i'll bite - 55526. First of all, I don't think some lame newsfilter post about another idiot soldier dying in a pointless war deserves to be in the blue. Quite apart from that, i DEFINITELY don't think some half-assed tribute, in the form of a PERIOD, is a worthy title for an FPP. Memorialize this crap elsewhere, I say, and stop tying up the front page with your idiot posts.
posted by casconed on Oct 14, 2006 - 278 comments

Someone added tags to my post. I'll wear the 'obit' and 'obituary' but the '.' has to go. When I try to delete it i get "Looks like you're trying to delete tags fromto the wrong post. Go ."
posted by tellurian on Mar 27, 2006 - 77 comments

The Kirby Puckett obit thread has attracted some rather distasteful snark about the propriety of discussing "minor celeb deaths." Are obit threads inevitable? Should they be?
posted by Saucy Intruder on Mar 6, 2006 - 166 comments

MeFi obituary posts: Good, Bad and Ugly. Resolved: If you can't be bothered to find anything interesting about the person beyond a syndicated news story announcing their death or a slim encyclopedia-esque entry, you should let someone who does care post the obit to the front page.
posted by mediareport on Dec 26, 2005 - 35 comments

What does it mean when someone posts just a period "."?
posted by xammerboy on Nov 13, 2004 - 52 comments

What are all the posts that are just '.' in this thread?
posted by cmicali on Oct 11, 2004 - 32 comments

almost a year since archy died. (more inside)
posted by clavdivs on Jan 10, 2002 - 12 comments

Welcome to meta-obit.com. I know we've sort of covered this recently, but this is getting ridiculous.
posted by jpoulos on Jul 1, 2001 - 11 comments

I'd like to see a squelch button so that rudeness like this and this/this don't have to be viewd by everyone.

And for those of you who snipe in basically amounted to someone's wake... I hope you're embarrased enough that you never come back to MeFi. What kind of community can we be when two people can't even keep their mouths shut when we're basically holding a funeral?
posted by SpecialK on May 17, 2001 - 17 comments