Two things (and yes, I'm cheating).

Then you won't mind if I piggyback rather than open a new thread with all the attendant drama.

Maybe a mod could redact the personal information from this AskMe.

This revision...I only have a PO Box address for the company. The original booking was made by [REDACTED], and the cheque was... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by cribcage at 6:26 PM on August 9, 2007

I removed both your answers as well as about 50% of the other ones in that thread.

Good. This is the type of moderation — more so than deleting ChatFilter and mixtape questions, even — that actually affects AskMe and helps to keep its head above water; and lately, it seems to have become more necessary. So, thanks.
posted to MetaTalk by cribcage at 8:59 AM on July 25, 2007

I'd think the vast majority would just be single-use, self-link accounts belonging to people who had never spent any time here, don't care about this site, and probably don't even remember it.
posted to MetaTalk by cribcage at 9:30 AM on July 20, 2007

I find all the people who don't even finish reading the question before answering far more annoying.

I did that once. It was stupid and the only time I've been tempted to post one of those same-minute corrective follow-ups. Instead I flagged it.

It'd be neat if the flagging system indicated when somebody had flagged his own comment. Presumably that's a good indication that it ought to be deleted. But it's probably too rare to be worth the bother.
posted to MetaTalk by cribcage at 2:19 PM on July 9, 2007

A bunch of people reacted negatively to the very idea that once I busted someone's camera for behaving psychopathically.

Maybe. I think it's more likely that people reacted negatively to the notion that, in a thread where a woman asked for polite ways to decline come-ons, you replied, "This one time, a guy stalked me and I HAD TO KILL HIM."

To put it another way: Is it possible that your camera-shattering response... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by cribcage at 6:16 PM on July 9, 2007

Let's stop skimming, read and find out, shall we?

Sure, except you omitted the relevant part:

The extreme case is just that, extreme. And in my opinion, calls for (and did call for) an extreme response.

I agree. But this question wasn't about "the extreme case." The OP asked about polite tactics for parties. In fact, she specified "some kind of badge or symbol...or,... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by cribcage at 6:42 PM on July 9, 2007

I take pictures even when people demur because I like having pictures of people at parties. ... People plead and beg me not to take pictures... But who cares? ... Embarrassing pictures are a goodness and if you haven't realized this yet then, well, hopefully you will soon.

You're apparently kind of an asshole, and hopefully you'll grow out of that "My priorities are straight and if yours were too, they'd match mine" attitude. Yes, it's... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by cribcage at 9:48 PM on July 9, 2007

People in these threads can make all sorts of claims about rights, all of which are irrelevant -- in the real world, if you're an asshole, you might get clocked.

Yes, except that in the real world, the type of person who will vociferously object to being in-frame during New Year's Eve photos probably isn't likely to be physically aggressive or to be the "tougher" party in a conflict. I mean, really: Read the OP's question again. The type of... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by cribcage at 2:24 PM on July 10, 2007

I do think that giving her a taste of her own medicine...

You seriously think that Ann Coulter reads MetaFilter?
posted to MetaTalk by cribcage at 8:52 AM on July 4, 2007

Do you think Coulter only gets criticized on MetaFilter?

At first I read that as a non sequitur, but then I realized: Are you saying that you post hateful comments about Coulter on lots of websites, hoping that she'll be reading one of them? Because that's pretty crazy.

Otherwise, what LanguageHat said.
posted to MetaTalk by cribcage at 4:46 PM on July 4, 2007

people were clearly talking about comments about Coulter without regard for those comments being specifically on MetaFilter...

No, they weren't. This thread began with an advertisement that appeared on MetaFilter and derailed onto its current tack when Dios commented, "Whatever the reason, there has never been a mention of Coulter here without some reference to sex. And it's so powerful that we even have people paying $5 to make jokes about... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by cribcage at 6:55 PM on July 4, 2007

Ditto Alvy.

Any other real effect is in the reader's imagination.

I don't follow your point. I mean, I suppose all impressions about anything in life exist in the imagination...but that doesn't seem like a particularly useful comment. It doesn't sound like a response to anything I wrote.

You defended "giving her a taste of her own medicine." I don't understand how posting... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by cribcage at 8:43 PM on July 4, 2007

I think it would be a very good thing if the mods would delete chudmonkey's name...

Agreed — and attempting to Googlebomb somebody's name ought to warrant an immediate, lifetime ban.
posted to MetaTalk by cribcage at 9:21 AM on July 3, 2007

I deleted it along with a couple of answers...

From what I've seen, when Jessamyn cleans up a thread she usually adds a small-font, in-thread note to the effect of, "Removed Lane Bryant derail. Take it to MeTa." That seems to avoid confusion.
posted to MetaTalk by cribcage at 2:41 PM on June 29, 2007

What is "use your words" from, anyway? I recall hearing it in a movie, addressed to a child, but I don't remember which film. (Not that that was necessarily the first use...)
posted to MetaTalk by cribcage at 2:37 PM on June 27, 2007

you gave no indication that you had made any use of external resources...

When did AskMe institute this standard?
posted to MetaTalk by cribcage at 2:32 PM on June 27, 2007

If nobody's using this thread for anything, I'd like to suggest that it seems like most AskMe posts nowadays use the [MORE INSIDE] feature, and maybe it's time to consider altering the input form to reflect this as standard rather than optional — and more to the point, cleaning some clutter by eliminating all those [MORE INSIDE] tags from AskMe's front page.
posted to MetaTalk by cribcage at 4:13 PM on June 25, 2007

I'm not good at expressing emotions in writing...

Many people aren't, and the Internet would work better if more of us remembered that.
posted to MetaTalk by cribcage at 10:43 PM on June 19, 2007

I'm not sure what I can do to help you here.

Matt should ban him, and he ought to.

Meatbomb was right: He got banned for less than has happened around here lately. I submit that if a new user hand-scavenged a MetaFilter spam list, you'd ban him in a blink. But Wendell will get a pass because he's Wendell.

You take e-mail very seriously.

Some people take e-mail... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by cribcage at 6:29 PM on June 15, 2007

I don't think wendell will ever do it again.

I didn't think anybody would do it in the first place. And I don't think that's relevant. If a brand-new user had done this, you'd have banned him. If Wendell had FPPed a self-link, you'd have banned him. And I think what he did was worse than a self-link.

Hey, no surprise. Some members would have to literally urinate on your server to get the "lifetime-or-five-dollars" ban. But I think this warranted it.
posted to MetaTalk by cribcage at 8:21 PM on June 15, 2007

get a life. take a few deep breaths and get over it.

Huh? Nobody is ranting profanely, and nobody posted on CraigsList for Wendell to be punched in the face at a meet-up. Several folks simply agreed that what he did wasn't cool — that it was worse than past offenses that have earned banning.

If folks disagree, it would be nice if they could do so without the facile "other things are worse" or the infantile "get a... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by cribcage at 9:06 PM on June 15, 2007

I've received nasty emails from MeFites before.

So have I. Several times. In fact, I got mailbombed my first week on the site. And given the tenor of this place lately, I don't blame anybody who doesn't want MetaFilter seeping into their inbox.
posted to MetaTalk by cribcage at 7:51 AM on June 15, 2007

We allow sock puppets. "Banned for life" means you need to pay another $5. I don't see how providing an (anonymous) e-mail address is going to build our sense of community.
posted to MetaTalk by cribcage at 9:40 AM on June 15, 2007

Seeing snarky comments with blatant typos or broken HTML always reminds me of that time on Route 1A when a driver sped from behind and cut me off, then was pulled over by a police cruiser 2 miles down the road.
posted to MetaTalk by cribcage at 11:04 AM on June 15, 2007

if you're too "scared" to list your email...

How did we get from "I don't want to," to "I'm scared"?
posted to MetaTalk by cribcage at 1:29 PM on June 15, 2007

I just checked my spam folder -- and found pleasant e-mail from a MeFite.

My spam folder is set to display 200 messages per page; and the last time I checked, I had to click through a half dozen pages just to get past the spam dated "January 18, 2038." If something's in that folder, it might as well not have arrived.
posted to MetaTalk by cribcage at 2:39 PM on June 15, 2007

Did you all get my friendly email?

Yeah. For anybody who didn't: Wendell copied about a hundred MeFites' e-mails into a group spam, which is now getting bounced around by a dozen users who keep clicking "Reply To All."

Honestly, I think you ought to be banned for that. And I'll bet that if somebody else did it (other than a "name" user), that's exactly what Matt would do. I just removed my e-mail from my... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by cribcage at 6:15 PM on June 15, 2007

How do I upgrade my account to the kind that doesn't get the hair trigger banninations?

He made me laugh and he's got a valid point.
posted to MetaTalk by cribcage at 7:59 AM on June 15, 2007

The Halfway Cafe is great and easy to find.

Firefly's is slightly less great, but also on the main road.
posted to MetaTalk by cribcage at 2:59 PM on May 24, 2007

If you mean the Horseshoe Pub, that's in Hudson. Directions here.
posted to MetaTalk by cribcage at 10:22 PM on June 5, 2007

"Gorked" and "broken" don't quite cover it. I'm #21? I posted 2 threads, ever.
posted to MetaTalk by cribcage at 2:07 PM on June 5, 2007

flickr really pushes my buttons.

How so? (Serious question.)
posted to MetaTalk by cribcage at 2:41 PM on May 23, 2007

Please, let's try to be civil.

I think you burned that bridge a ways upthread with all your "fuck this" and "fuck that."

I asked Rhomboid why he objected to Flickr, and I'm still waiting. The only substantive criticism I've understood (apart from an obscure acronym) is delmoi claiming that Flickr's upload limit renders its free version "useless" — which I don't even know how to reply to, except to... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by cribcage at 6:14 PM on May 23, 2007

I have been calm and patient in the past and it's gotten me nowhere.

"I asked nicely, and Matt said no. That justifies my temper tantrum."

What I don't understand is, I see your name frequently in the meet-up threads. If I behaved like a self-entitled asshole on a regular basis, I think I'd be ashamed to show my face at a meet-up. And likewise, if I attended meet-ups regularly, I think I'd be less inclined to behave... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by cribcage at 7:49 AM on May 25, 2007

folks should be encouraged to read the whole thread carefully

And this would help them do that.

I agree that it probably wouldn't solve the problem that Handee mentions. But I think it's a good idea and ought to be implemented, anyway.
posted to MetaTalk by cribcage at 10:37 AM on May 24, 2007

only one person flagged it before this thread popped up.

Is that meant to explain why the thread hadn't been deleted at the time this MeTa was posted, or is that meant to imply that flags which follow (and possibly result from) a MeTa are given less weight?
posted to MetaTalk by cribcage at 6:19 PM on May 23, 2007

I don't disregard them...

I hope not. I understand your point and I agree — but, well, post hoc ergo propter hoc. Just because I flagged a comment that had already been MeTa'd doesn't mean that I saw the MeTa thread; and even if I did see the thread, that doesn't mean the comment wasn't noise.

Moreover, it might be useful to encourage flagging as a means of agreeing with somebody's callout (instead of... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by cribcage at 7:51 PM on May 23, 2007

Yes. It's been suggested to make flagged deletion automatic — for example, after 10 flags a comment automatically gets axed — and I don't support that. Ditto for red-light cameras.
posted to MetaTalk by cribcage at 8:03 PM on May 23, 2007

I hope that nobody ever discovers the identity of the Poe Toaster.

Just sayin'. A little mystery keeps life fun.
posted to MetaTalk by cribcage at 10:09 PM on May 18, 2007

Flag it and move on. I did.
posted to MetaTalk by cribcage at 6:18 AM on May 16, 2007

The site would be better without them.

I agree, and I'd add that the site would be better without comments like "Brian Bigot" or "We'll explain the bits that are too hard for you."

I know that sometimes, it's difficult to achieve respectful discourse. I've been there. I sympathize. But reach for it anyway.
posted to MetaTalk by cribcage at 5:33 PM on May 13, 2007

The funny part is that, if he'd used a credit card to jimmy a door on the show, they would have censored the tutorial.
posted to MetaTalk by cribcage at 7:20 AM on May 10, 2007

Thanks for the heads-up. Cool thread. Sidebar worthy.
posted to MetaTalk by cribcage at 9:31 PM on May 9, 2007

There are often "interesting answers" inside ChatFilter threads. They get deleted anyway.
posted to MetaTalk by cribcage at 2:08 PM on May 8, 2007

I tried clicking the link on the page linked that lead to the inaugural post, but the overlay didn't let me.

Ditto, re: transparency. Sacrificing utility for "ooh pretty" = not recommended.
posted to MetaTalk by cribcage at 7:24 AM on May 1, 2007

My question is, If an admin "deleted" an AskMe thread at the poster's request, then why wasn't that thread actually deleted?

There's probably some benefit to leaving the thread online that I'm not seeing, or maybe some down side to pulling it offline; but regardless, this seems to reflect some weird middle ground where an admin was sufficiently persuaded to close a thread prematurely, but not sufficiently... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by cribcage at 8:40 PM on April 25, 2007

Thanks for the answer. Obviously you can delete comments from AskMe, and it wouldn't have occurred to me that threads would be any different.
posted to MetaTalk by cribcage at 8:52 PM on April 25, 2007

I think AskMe querists should be allowed to delete answers from their posted threads.
posted to MetaTalk by cribcage at 2:46 PM on April 24, 2007

I wonder if we should have a site glossary.

Right, or we could just skip the stupid, esoteric abbreviations.
posted to MetaTalk by cribcage at 12:18 PM on April 20, 2007

I read some of the Drama Queen thread*, once — and its lesson, which seems worth mentioning in this context and since there are a couple newbies about, is to keep out of any MetaTalk thread posted about you. Do not participate. You won't like what happens.

* Just a suggestion, but this would seem to be a valid way of referring to the thread without Googlebombing some guy's name.
posted to MetaTalk by cribcage at 3:12 PM on April 20, 2007