MetaTalk

Back in the aughts, MetaFilter and sites like it were often improved by community-designed "userscripts" that added useful features to the default experience. Unfortunately, as more and more sites moved to mobile-first design, this power-user approach to customization declined in popularity (and accessibility). But that's no reason for such clever code to go to waste! We've reached out to some developers of classic, much-loved MeFi scripts who have generously agreed to let frimble incorporate their functionality directly into the site so it runs easily on any device -- initially as a direct port, then as a model for the new codebase if it proves popular and workable. First up: Plutor's humble MeFiQuote script, which adds a [quote] button to the byline of every comment on the site. Click to jump to the reply field while quoting the comment in full, with the username linking back to the original -- or on most platforms, highlight some text first to quote that excerpt directly! It's especially handy for mobile, where you'd normally have to type out a lot of tedious HTML and multiple copy-pastes to do the same thing. And if you used to use userscripts (or still do!), check out this list of classic MeFi scripts and share which ones you think would be worth adapting. [more inside]
posted by Rhaomi on Mar 26, 2025 - 43 comments

A lot of people have complained about FanFare's professional white background. Well, DRUNK WITH POWER after somehow kludging together a successful CSS theme for /r/MetaFilter with zero experience, I decided to try my hand at giving our new subsite a makeover, too -- the layout is fine, but that glaring white is painful to read in a darkened teevee room. Inspired by the original soothing dark blue color scheme from film/TV review aggregator Metacritic (which discarded it for an unpopular redesign years ago), I put together a complete FanFare theme (screenshot*) that adjusts not just the background and text, but stuff like visited links, link hovering, the pop-up video button and lightbox, posting page notes, live preview area, and the sidebar and Deck ad box. You can install it in Firefox (with Greasemonkey or Stylish), Chrome (with Stylish or Blank Canvas Script Handler), and jailbroken iOS (with Userscript Loader, using this URL) -- it's tested and working properly on all three. [more inside]
posted by Rhaomi on Aug 8, 2014 - 63 comments