Let me add that I am particularly annoyed by people who use the question title as the first part of their question.

I typically flag those as "HTML/display error" if I see them. A mod will often edit the body to include the title.
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 7:43 AM on July 15, 2008

I mean, this comment got 43 favorites- yet it's got a blatant typo, and while the Metatalk post was lame her reply was pretty much mean-spirited and unhelpful.

Which is clearly sycophancy, since mean-spirited, unhelpful comments by non-moderators never get favorited around here.
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 7:06 AM on June 30, 2008

I'm in!
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 5:07 AM on June 20, 2008

Good to meet everyone! Looking forward to the next one. Nice photos, pjern.
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 5:06 AM on June 23, 2008

I believe that any site with an obvious profit motive needs to be thought about carefully before putting on MeFi's front page.

CNN has an obvious profit motive.

Q.E.D.
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 7:13 AM on June 19, 2008

If a movie is called Evil Death Zombie Apocalypse, I'm going to assume it has zombies in it.

Oh, unless it's followed with the tagline - NO ZOMBIES INVOLVED.

I'm going to use this as an excuse to plug one of my favorite webcomics, Terror Island, on the grounds that at one point it carried the (accurate) tagline "actually has nothing to do with terror and is not set on an island." It has a loosely serial nature, so it... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 7:13 AM on June 5, 2008

It wasn't as nasty as it sounds, but it did get 7 favorites in the few minutes that it lived

Some comments stay up for years and receive no favorites at all. You should be immensely grateful for the favorites yours did receive in its short lifetime, you ungrateful wretch. I hope your head falls off.
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 8:36 PM on June 3, 2008

I put carmelized onions on the last pizza I made. Turned out quite well, I thought.

Also, I've recently taken to mixing some herbs and spices into tomato paste, letting it refrigerate at least 24 hours, then using that in place of the regular tomato sauce. It has to be spread on the crust; it's much too thick to just be ladled on and pushed around with the ladle. I'm rather happy with this technique; it gives it a more intense... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 7:20 AM on June 3, 2008

I think prefpara and loquacious are misinterpreting "it's about the links, not about the discussions."

No one argues that MetaFilter would be just as good without the discussion, nor that the discussion is an (not necessarily the most) important part of the site.

"It's about the links, not about the discussion" is a guideline for determining what makes a good post. That a good discussion... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 1:23 PM on May 30, 2008

I find it immensely amusing that someone who is supposedly defending the proper use of language is arguing that "How do you pronounce read?" is synonymous with "How should one pronounce read?" Regardless of your desire to have people answer a different question than the one that was asked, the question that was actually asked was "How do you pronounce read?" Answers to the question asked are perfectly... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 6:33 AM on May 30, 2008

'you' is frequently used as shorthand for 'everyone'

And answers which, individually, lead to the conclusion "some people pronounce it reed, and some people pronounce it red" would be appropriate for the question "how does everyone pronounce read?"

If someone comes up to you and asks "How do you spell prescient?" it's pretty clear... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 7:23 AM on May 30, 2008

I thought polls were not allowed as questions.

My understanding is that "what's your favorite color" type polls are not allowed, but "is it called 'pop' or 'soda' in your neck of the woods" type polls are.
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 7:28 AM on May 30, 2008

And in this context, as stated so very eloquently by languagehat, there is only one correct pronunciation of read.

But if gman didn't know that, a survey-type question remains a possibility.

I'm not claiming a survey-type question is the only plausible reading of the question here, to the exclusion of a correctness-type question. But it is a plausible reading, and when more than one reading of a question is... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 9:50 AM on May 30, 2008

I should mention that the friend lived at least 500 miles away

I'm reminded of hearing the story that Penn (of Penn and Teller) once remarked that many of their effects seemed impossible simply because people grossly underestimated the lengths to which they were willing to go in order to achieve them.
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 10:00 AM on May 30, 2008

The two interpretations you cite are not equally plausible.

They don't have to be. My point stands.

As for permissible, well, the authority of the entity for which you advocate is tenuous.

Maybe I'm just dense, but I'm not even sure how to parse this. What "entity" are you referring to?
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 10:08 AM on May 30, 2008

I guess eponysterical is so last year.

Maybe I'm just dense...
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 12:47 PM on May 30, 2008

The second question violated WP:POINT.

What's that? That's a Wikipedia guideline, not a MetaFilter guideline? Well, it should be. In fact, it's a good guideline for civilized people in pretty much all areas.
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 7:01 AM on May 30, 2008

I would find this useful as well.
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 9:03 AM on May 8, 2008

While we're griping, when people write, "try and" rather than "try to", it really gets my goat.

I'll try and not do that anymore.
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 6:55 AM on April 18, 2008

Perhaps notable that I didn't feel it, near Indianapolis, at 5:37 a.m. local time. But then, I was sound asleep at the time and I tend to be a heavy sleeper. I understand some of the people I work with felt it.
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 6:32 AM on April 18, 2008

Add me to the list of descriptivist converts.
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 3:35 PM on April 9, 2008

Slashdot isn't smug and elitist. It's smug and egalitarian, which is even worse.
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 8:14 PM on April 7, 2008

The text which appears directly on the page seems to be summaries in philosophistry's words, and not a copy of the exact words of the original posters, so that part is OK as far as copyright is concerned. The AJAXy pop-ups which contain the original comment text may well be a copyright violation, unless you have the permission of the people who wrote them. If you simply linked back to the original comments on Ask you'd probably be OK.

IANAL, although I do... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 7:57 PM on April 7, 2008

It's HypotheticalFilter, which is generally not allowed (although it was at one point in AskMe's dim past). If it doesn't seem like it's HypotheticalFilter at first, the arbitrary restrictions in your final paragraph pretty much seal the deal. Restrictions that actually relate to the problem ("What's the best way to get from A to B without a car, because I don't own one?") are fine. Restrictions that are thrown into the question just for the hell of it, or solely because the... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 3:50 PM on April 7, 2008

Do you honestly think this is some sort of precedent, that because ortho did it people are going to go around deliberately posting believable wrong answers in all sorts of AskMe threads?

No, I don't think it's a precedent, because a precedent by definition is the first instance of something.
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 2:09 PM on March 4, 2008

We should all just adopt dialetheism.
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 1:13 PM on February 29, 2008

They all turn out the same way every time.

Huh? Some are near-unanimous for "eat it," some are near-unanimous for "don't eat it," depending on the specifics. WTF do you mean "they all turn out the same way every time?"
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 11:23 AM on February 25, 2008

Because you don't need AskMe to provide you with a scattershot array of "Yes, No, and Who knows" bullshit before you make up your mind to do whatever you were going to do anyway.

If the criterion for AskMe were "does the querent need to ask this here," we'd have about one question a year, tops.
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 11:32 AM on February 25, 2008

Why separate the two? The best and the worst of MeFi can be found in the Kaycee Nicole threads: Prologue/Part 1/Part 2/Part 3
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 12:35 PM on February 18, 2008

It might be easier if we could classify a contact not only as a muse/friend/co-resident etc but as a 'sworn enemy'

Isn't this what "crush" is for? People you'd like to crush?
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 8:20 AM on February 15, 2008

More to the point: ARE you going to eat that?

Hey, no fair just asking that here--we demand one of those fun "is it safe to eat?" AskMe threads! Especially the bit where MetaFilter Premium members get to wager on whether the querent survives or not.
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 9:14 AM on February 14, 2008

We are all merely figures in jessamyn's dream. If she were to wake up, we would all disappear.
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 8:57 AM on February 14, 2008

Interesting, Mister_A! No, wait--the other thing. Tedious.
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 11:50 AM on February 13, 2008

Quoted for truth.

This is an example of the unfortunate "me too" type posting we'd see much much more of if we got rid of visible favorites.
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 4:22 PM on February 12, 2008

Also agreed with Justinian. "The answer you posted upthread is completely wrong, Steven C. Den Beste, and here's why..." is an on-topic response and may be posted in the AskMe thread.

As to the original issue, "stick to answering the question that was asked" is a guideline, not a rule, and is to be tempered by common sense. Cautions about the risks involved seem appropriate in this instance.
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 1:25 PM on February 5, 2008

A mother, a possible father, and even the person writing the novel would potentially be interested in the risks. Possibly only the person settling the bar bet would not. When we don't have all the details, are you seriously suggesting we answer by making the assumption that the querent is whichever possibility would desire the least information?

Are you arguing that answers to "Which makes the better cleaning solution, two cups of ammonia mixed... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 2:52 PM on February 5, 2008

If anyone has actual information negating, adding to or modifying what is there then that should also be added (single anecdotes are not helpful),

They're not? Who are you to decide they're not? Are you confessing to being the OP? Or can read the OPs mind? Or even knows who the OP is? If not, you don't know whether single anecdotes are helpful to the OP or not. Maybe you think the OP shouldn't be swayed by anecdotes, and I... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 7:42 PM on February 5, 2008

Please read the question before answering it.

Please read the other comments in this thread before commenting yourself.
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 6:20 AM on February 6, 2008

And in such cases, let's face it, the thread doesn't get closed, because it's impossible to prove that the guidelines have been broken.

We don't have to prove the guidelines have been broken. This isn't a criminal innocent-until-proven-guilty-beyond-a-reasonable-doubt court.

I believe in the past Jessamyn has occasionally worked with a poster to re-write one of these rant-thinly-disguised-as-a-question posts... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 8:02 AM on January 31, 2008

Later in the thread, the asker says this:
People, I don't care whether it's illegal or not.

The context makes it fairly clear she means "I don't care whether it's illegal or not," in the sense of "I don't have a preference for it being legal or illegal" (even if her other comments in the thread cast doubt on the veracity of that), not in the sense of "I don't want to know whether it's legal or illegal." Yeah,... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 11:33 AM on January 31, 2008

Here's the Very Sorry Song.
Won't you help and sing along?
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 3:32 PM on January 28, 2008

onlyconnect: I believe the order you're looking for goes something like this:

Mr. President Dr. Steve Grover Elvis Cleveland America
Benjamin Harrison
Mr. President Dr. Steve Grover Elvis Cleveland America
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 6:48 AM on January 29, 2008

potch: so you believe this type of comment (or at least its first sentence) ought to be avoided?
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 6:54 AM on January 24, 2008

that's ridiculous in its oversensitivity

Um, no it's not. At least not for a community many times larger than MeFi.
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 10:57 AM on January 23, 2008

I don't know. Who cares?

Well, the mods, for three. They repeatedly show willingness to take community desires into account. They could make their policies from on high, ignoring the wishes of us peons, but they don't.

The real question is whether or not the mods would want to.

Whether the mods would want to is not entirely independent of whether MeFi as a community wants to.... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 11:09 AM on January 23, 2008

in other words, this community [TWoP] is willing to follow the least common denominator when it comes to thin-skinnedness

When it comes to personal attacks, yes. That includes not just the blatant ones like "well, fuck YOU then username!!!1!!" but also the veiled passive-agressive ones like "Let's not go on about how big a tragedy this is" or "I simply have too much respect for you to believe that..."... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 11:19 AM on January 23, 2008

Frankly, there are times (few though they are) where we've convinced them of something we seemed to be a majority in believing, but I can't personally remember a time where they've ever said "okay, well I don't think [behavior x] should be prohibited, but if you guys say so..."

If they're willing to do the former, they don't need to do the latter. My point stands.
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 11:33 AM on January 23, 2008

My original point was that (until mathowie and cortex chimed in) we didn't know the mods' position on the matter, and that their opinion on the issue was what mattered because although they'll listen to us it's ultimately up to them to decide policy, and those decisions are not always based on our opinions. Your point was that they will sometimes base those decisions on our opinions. This was something I never contested, but rather I disagree with whether they will make a decision based... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 12:13 PM on January 23, 2008

it just makes me really sad that i (and many others) have to limit *our* enjoyment of mefi and the web at large in order to accomodate some regular assholes' right to free speech.

No one in this thread has made any claim about a "right to free speech" here, until you brought it up. In fact, one of the things I admire about MeFi is that we don't keep re-hashing the same spurious "OMG censorship!" claims any time a comment is deleted... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 12:56 PM on January 23, 2008

I won't post to MetaFilter when I'm dead, but I will still mark best answers to my questions in AskMe.

Answers such as "Are you crazy? You could get food poisoning and die if you ate that yogurt in the back of the fridge."
posted to MetaTalk by DevilsAdvocate at 1:05 PM on January 23, 2008