(1 new)

February 21, 2000 8:28 AM

(1 new) Just recognizing another underdocumented IMPROVEMENT in the Metafilter. Visitors who aren't members will miss out on the site's ability to tell you what's been added since your last view... now it even points you to where the new comments are. Matt, you are at the top of MY list of web whizbang artists, and there should soon be about 390 new comments on this post seconding my motion.
I'll never need to do my own weblog again, and I can go on dedicating my site to afflicting the comfortable (shameless plug)
posted by wendell (17 comments total)

... starting with me!

Metafilter rocks, Matt - both from a technical standpoint (vis the new improvement) and from the standpoint of the posting goodness you've been able to attract. Yay You!
posted by CrazyUncleJoe at 9:16 AM on February 21, 2000

...er ... except that you have to make a note of what's new before you read any comments, because when you leave the homepage, it resets - you'll only see new comments since you left to read the new comments it originally told you about.
posted by CrazyUncleJoe at 9:20 AM on February 21, 2000

And me, I've avoided weblogs in he past, but I was pointed here by Project Cool and have been coming back regularly ever since, there really seems to be a sense of 'community' that is missing from most other sites. Not to mention plenty of interesting links to while away the working day looking at......
posted by Markb at 9:28 AM on February 21, 2000

Two things:

- something constructive: I've never seen a site do this with any success, but how about one version of MetaFilter for newbies and one for hardcore users? With all the new features and such (including possibilities like karma, etc.), the clean look of MF is getting slightly clutter with different numbers and statuses (stati?) For hardcore users, maybe that stuff could be condensed down into a "code" of sorts, kinda like what Jorn does at the top of RW. Just a thought.

- wet blanket: IMHO, the overall quality of the posts and comments has gone down since we last had a meta MF discussion. A lot of run-of-the-mill posts culled from the regular news outlets and "me too" comments. Not a drastic thing, but noticeable. Overall, MF is still excellent and I am enjoying the new diversity of the postings/comments.
posted by jkottke at 9:35 AM on February 21, 2000

Joe, you lose the status going into a comment and coming back out? In IE 5, it doesn't seem to be a real refresh. Well, I can set the last visit date to be a global session variable that can be accessed during an entire session on MF, regardless of how often you reload the index page.

Jason, I hadn't thought of a unleaded/leaded forking of MF, do you think the distinction would be an option for members only, who chose to see the extra stuff?

Re: the quality thing - I suppose so, but if a slightly lower quality in links and comments is the price to pay for growing a community, I say it's worth it.
posted by mathowie at 9:55 AM on February 21, 2000

i agree with jason's first point, but i think that his suggestion already exists -- inadvertently. if you're not a member of MetaFilter, you don't see any of the "advanced features," but you do get all of the links and comments.

and if you're tired of the excess stuff, just logout.
posted by jeremy at 9:55 AM on February 21, 2000

Re: the quality thing, I TRY to self-edit (PRE-filter) in my postings to avoid current-event or media-based stuff unless I have something to add to whatever's out there AND think the MetaCommentators might have some too...
But most of my favorite "other people's posts" are the ones I haven't seen anywhere else. And if I ever find one myself, I'LL POST IT IN ALL CAPS ;}
posted by wendell at 10:10 AM on February 21, 2000

Jason will no doubt agree that I increase the N factor in the S/N Ratio here, but I do try to filter... the stuff that doesn't belong here at all I try to post elsewhere (whoops! you aren't watching are you Dan?), but sometimes I think an offbeat link is... okay so I'm rationalizing.

And adding noise.

Re the stuff at the top of the screen, could you just set the display prefs the way we do for the floaty menu? (ie check here to see the info verbose|apprev|not at all)? I admit that it's a little cluttery, but I like being able to find new posts without lots of scanning...
posted by CrazyUncleJoe at 10:51 AM on February 21, 2000

i like fighting. i think there should be more fighting.

and matt.., i'm using IE5 and it clears the whats new if i click on a link to index.cfm. i think there is a caching tag in CF.. but it would probably cause more harm than good in this instance.

everybody fight fight.
posted by sikk at 10:55 AM on February 21, 2000

oh yeah, if you click a link back to index.cfm, it will wipe out the last visit, I was using my back button (which is outside the site's GUI and an indication of poor design)

I'll work on making the last visit become more permanent today.
posted by mathowie at 11:00 AM on February 21, 2000

I like the new "what's new" thing, some other comments:

*I think an ongoing meta-metafilter topic someplace would
be a useful addition, in its own section

*secret code at the top idea appeals to me, clutter
should be avoided at all costs, it's tough to be
feature-rich and maintain a clean look

*i'd also love the ability to remove items of no
interest to me "permanently", maybe a click box
in the comments page or something, then I could
track topics that interested me and forget about
ones that didn't, kinda addresses the S/N ration issue.


posted by jessamyn at 11:25 AM on February 21, 2000

There's a ration? Oh crap. I'm gonna need to borrow come springtime.
posted by CrazyUncleJoe at 11:30 AM on February 21, 2000

A firm 'aye-man' to Wendell's comment (repeated here for your convenience and viewing pleasure) >>Matt, you are at the top of MY list of web whizbang artists<<
posted by greyscale at 11:45 AM on February 21, 2000

Sound-to-noise rationing? I was no more than a lurker on the web until mid-'99; I feel like I've got a few years of noise to make up for.
posted by wendell at 12:19 PM on February 21, 2000

Signal. I mean Signal-to-Noise.
Hey, Matt, how about a "D'oh" button for withdrawing or editing comments?
posted by wendell at 12:20 PM on February 21, 2000

i see some irony that, in the original post, wendell mentions the 390 new comments that should be seconding his opinion, and then jason comments about the new abundance of "me too" posts. just an observation.

oh, and i have to agree... matt is my hero.
posted by bobseric at 12:26 PM on February 21, 2000 [1 favorite]

Okay, I just wanted to say that I think the quality of the posts is very good, with the exception of the 2 or so i posted. Most days I go to every link.
posted by corpse at 1:40 PM on February 21, 2000