By the way, I should point out that I like MeFi the way it is, as our little community, and am getting to be a relative old-timer here in any case. But I think it is wrong to say that MeFi is old-fashioned, the collective set of updates (Projects, Music Favorites, Popular Favorites tab, Jobs, MeFi Mail) are very much on trend, and I wonder what that means about MeFi in a time when communities like ours are getting lots of outside attention. I also wish more more sites would pay attention to... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by blahblahblah at 12:31 PM on December 11, 2007

Excellent, another brush with MeFi infamy, take that Stupid Thread That Left Me Off, am I good enough now?

... sorry... don't know what came over me: I am not Angelique Chrisafis, though that is such a cool name that I may have to change my name, or at least the name of my daughter's teddy bear, to match (really, say it out loud). It is also a damn good article, with deeper research and reporting than I did, so I hope my post inspired it. In any case, I know the... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by blahblahblah at 11:09 PM on December 2, 2007

Some things that might be worth visualizing:

-Representations of comments and favorites being added to FPPs over time, along with the number of favorite comments and FPP favorites (think a more full-featured version of stack.)

-Tracing back “[prev.]” and “[previous]” links, along with similarly tagged content, in a network diagram to allow people to explore networks of related material.

-Visualizing networks of tags, to... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by blahblahblah at 10:47 AM on July 25, 2007

Oops, the link should have been to stack.
posted to MetaTalk by blahblahblah at 10:50 AM on July 25, 2007

That gives me an idea raise the rates on new members to $10,000 to fund Stamen! Welcome to the new, exclusive MeFiPlatinum.

Alternately, if we want to go with the more populist John Edwards-like approach, we can force the richest 1% of MeFi members to pay a one-time Stamen tax, thus lowering the MeFi Geni coefficient. I'm looking at you delmoi and languagehat, or should I say Mr. Gates and Mr. Duli Yang Maha Mulia Paduka Seri Baginda Sultan Haji... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by blahblahblah at 11:44 AM on July 25, 2007

For the record, I was hoping that this was something that other MeFiers might be interested in doing (witness the ManyEyes application), not that I was expecting matthowie to start coding visualization techniques.
posted to MetaTalk by blahblahblah at 5:37 PM on July 25, 2007

Rhomboid - cool video. Someone do a rocket FPP, and quick!
posted to MetaTalk by blahblahblah at 8:43 PM on May 14, 2007

I had a website in 1996 that was considered the "Weirdest of the Web" by Yahoo! magazine, if that helps. And the website has a Wikipedia entry.

Does that make me famous?
posted to MetaTalk by blahblahblah at 7:47 PM on April 19, 2007

We generally delete the hate-site link (this has been done with David Irving's site, among others), which is why I mentioned it on the thread. At the very least, linking to the Google cache or some other source that quotes the post would definitely be preferrable.
posted to MetaTalk by blahblahblah at 7:30 PM on February 9, 2007

Oh, and by "we" I mean either Jess or Matt, and by "link" I mean the just the hyperlink, not the whole FPP.
posted to MetaTalk by blahblahblah at 7:31 PM on February 9, 2007

Civil_Disobedient: Abiezer, Irving used to do that, before he was banned from speaking in Germany, then Canada.


Eh, you've picked a bad Holocaust denier to defend. Abiezer is right: Irving was speaking to far-right German groups and joined the Institute for Historical Review in the 1980s; and was actively arguing that the Holocaust did not happen, and there were no gas chambers, during the 1988 Zundel trial. He was only banned from... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by blahblahblah at 12:09 PM on February 10, 2007

Civili_Disobedient: I was defending the right to link to him, not his particular thoughts on the subject. Please get that straight.


That just isn't true. You are very much defending him. For example, the very next sentence you wrote: "Irving may be a thorn in the side of modern-day historians, but he has not to my knowledge ever espoused hatred of the Jewish people." and then you say that... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by blahblahblah at 4:35 PM on February 10, 2007

Civil_Disobedient:But for you, anyone who questions any aspect of the common accepted wisdom, regardless of whether or not the wisdom is factually accurate, is a Jew hater.

No. I am saying that denying the Holocaust (and deliberately hiding and manipulating evidence to do so) is anti-Semitism. And everyone from the European Commission on Human Rights to Martin Gilbert to the English court system agrees. Irving is an anti-Semite. Feel free to read... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by blahblahblah at 9:21 PM on February 10, 2007

Of my own posts, I'd probably pick the on about Sark, the last feudal government in Europe.
posted to MetaTalk by blahblahblah at 11:23 AM on September 6, 2006

It was interesting - I had two winning posts this month (thank you again Matt and Jess!), but I had thought that one was only okay while others of mine that didn't win were stronger. I chalked it up to the fact that MeFi is delightfully ideosyncratic, much like when that post you spend hours working on only gets one or two comments, while that *?#$ YouTube link gets all the attention.

Also, I would like to point out that, despite a lack of contests, today was an... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by blahblahblah at 7:39 PM on September 1, 2006

Can't do this one, but next time, hopefully!
posted to MetaTalk by blahblahblah at 10:28 AM on August 25, 2006

Sorry, should have been clearer, rather than trying to be clever. They are both simply uses of the title tag, but to different effect.

Namely: using the "abbr title" tag, which allows text to be explained upon a mouseover, in the format: abbr title="mouseover text". Second is the use of the "title" tag in the link itself, which follows the html address in a link, and allows for an explaination of where a link will go on mouseover, like this.... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by blahblahblah at 12:00 AM on August 7, 2006

I should add, the use of title tags would be subject to the usual Great and Ever-Evolving Cultural Norms of MetaFilter, obviously. But, some possible uses for consideration:
-> Skip the wikipedia "^" links by including a brief expanation of potential confusing terms using "abbr title"
-> Mark video formats using the title tag, rather than including [.wmv] or whatever in the text
-> Indicate... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by blahblahblah at 12:07 AM on August 7, 2006

I didn't know about the "semantic markup" problem with using abbr, here I thought it was just a useful tool to solve some of the other issues that annoyed the community. Is there a way to achieve the same effect without invoking the anger of the HTML gods?
posted to MetaTalk by blahblahblah at 7:34 AM on August 7, 2006

Wow! Thanks so much, I am as pleased as punch. I'll get a Paypal address in there tomorrow.
posted to MetaTalk by blahblahblah at 8:52 PM on August 3, 2006

Oops, made a mistake, the second link should have been to here.
posted to MetaTalk by blahblahblah at 11:50 AM on May 16, 2006

Please, self-link away, freebird and mischief. Worse than self-posting in this situation is to assume that your stories are so good as to justify someone else going through all of your comments to find the appropriate ones. I would love to see a compilation, so please do link to your favorites.
posted to MetaTalk by blahblahblah at 12:36 PM on May 16, 2006

Thanks freebird, these are great!
posted to MetaTalk by blahblahblah at 1:34 PM on May 16, 2006

She's picking one today or tomorrow! I'll let you know here and the other thread. She is actually a bit nervous about the audience, but I have assured her that the MeFi world is not that scary.
posted to MetaTalk by blahblahblah at 10:47 AM on May 7, 2006

Well, after telling her, not to worry, since MeFi only know's her as "blahblahblah's wife" she told me that she has never been prouder. I have decided to take that at face value.

Anyhow, I will probably post the choice tonight.
posted to MetaTalk by blahblahblah at 10:59 AM on May 7, 2006

Okay, the verdict is Cloud Atlas.
The reasoning:
1) Six people recommended it quite eloquently
2) At least some of the plotlines aren't SF, so she can dip her foot in.
3) Phenomenal critical acclaim, -- it was described in one review "[taking] one’s breath away in a manner not unlike a first experience of Chartres or the Duomo," and she liked the Duomo.
4) I haven't read it either, so we can both read it together and discuss.... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by blahblahblah at 4:47 PM on May 7, 2006

Blah blah blah I hate all of you blah blah blah derail derail derail.

For the record, I don't hate ALL of you.
posted to MetaTalk by blahblahblah at 7:59 PM on April 26, 2006

Religion as a whole averages 47.5 comments per thread, Judaism specifically 37.2, Christianity 38.1, and Islam 55. Advertising is almost as good as Islam, with 50.8, animination gets 32.2, Google 30.1, and funny 25.5.

Methodology: I just averaged the comments for the most recent ten posts for each tag. I may have made some mistakes.
posted to MetaTalk by blahblahblah at 11:27 AM on April 26, 2006

I have graphs and Excel data, damn it. I even started to do some data summary tables with standard deviations and such before I decided that I was being a bit, um, insane. And, as for lifetime stats, well, I did this by hand, so you will have to do it yourself.

Just tell me how to upload an Excel file and graph, and I am happy to do it... if you are in to that sort of thing.
posted to MetaTalk by blahblahblah at 11:43 AM on April 26, 2006

And for some more fun, by person:

mathowie: 34.1
OmieWise: 19.1
languagehat: 24.2
y2karl: 71.1

...interesting...
posted to MetaTalk by blahblahblah at 11:53 AM on April 26, 2006

For the record, I average 38.8 over my last 10 posts, so I am actually better than mathowie, blue_beetle!

(If only I hadn't done that damn boring bunny post, the 7 comments really pulled down my average)
posted to MetaTalk by blahblahblah at 11:57 AM on April 26, 2006

Omiewise, it is the average number of comments per post over the last 10 posts by that person. Again, sorry if I made any mistakes.

And I realize that people might be confused when I said I was better than mathowie, and I don't want to cause offense. I meant I was better as a human being, not because I had more comments, on average, per post.
posted to MetaTalk by blahblahblah at 12:03 PM on April 26, 2006

loquax, I only need another 433 comments on my most recent post in order to beat you, so don't count your chickens yet.

It could happen.
posted to MetaTalk by blahblahblah at 12:10 PM on April 26, 2006

A good summary of the mainstream position on Messianic Judaism from the "Jewish Response to Missionary Groups":

Messianic Judaism is a Christian movement that began in the 1970s combining a mixture of Jewish ritual and Christianity. There are a vast and growing numbers of these groups, and they differ in how much Jewish ritual is mixed with conventional Christian belief. One end of the spectrum is represented by Jews For Jesus, who simply target Jews... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by blahblahblah at 11:37 AM on April 23, 2006

I say worse post, bad thread. But to each their own. And nobody has mentioned the cups yet, so that's something, right?
posted to MetaTalk by blahblahblah at 9:23 PM on November 3, 2005

Amberglow, I think that it was the secret Jewish conspiracy angle that persia was not-too-subtly pushing in a FPP that created the mean. The evil influence described to Italian "Zionist doctors" in bumping off people who dared convert to Islam and such was a tad much, even for winking insinuation.

On preview -- the cup barrier is broken. Rejoice!
posted to MetaTalk by blahblahblah at 9:49 PM on November 3, 2005

Totally off topic, perhaps, but where does "I will not take the thing from your hand" come from? I realize that someone said it was an Amish expression, but, well, why and from where? I was thinking of even making an AskMeFi about it.
posted to MetaTalk by blahblahblah at 5:44 PM on September 28, 2005

Edgeways, don't you dare rise above the fray! Damn you, you grateful bastard.
posted to MetaTalk by blahblahblah at 5:42 PM on September 27, 2005

First off, to mediareport, I really don't know what to propose, hence the thread and the tentative cry for help. The problem for me goes beyond simple derailment of the threads, or a particular disagreement with his views. Instead, I see a couple disturbing patterns, which I think OmnieWise also exposed. First, the series of incorrect but certain-sounding slanders, that Jews are religiously obligated to commit genocide (but don't worry, because "not all Jewish people agree with... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by blahblahblah at 9:03 PM on September 26, 2005

..and in his favor---when i called him on it for exactly that reason, he apologized.

Amberglow, I didn't take his final post as an apology, instead I read it as the opposite, he wrote "Amberglow, thanks for your peacemaking efforts here, and for your clearly stated views on Israel/Palestine. However, I don't agree that it's wrong to bring it up here."

But your advice (and that of interrobang) on callouts and their... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by blahblahblah at 9:40 PM on September 26, 2005

The implications are interesting, since it means that, over time, posters who like controversy (easy to create) could outlast posters who like pats on the back (harder to get). This might cause a long-term shift in the balance of FPPs. Any thoughts? Anyone observe differences in drop-out rates of controversal vs. non-confrontational posters?
posted to MetaTalk by blahblahblah at 11:39 PM on May 24, 2005

My count of the current value of this thread, based on the responses:

0 new people linking to me (orthogonality's standard)
1 [this is good] (my personal standard)
2 visits from C17H19NO3's list of special people (C17H19NO3's standard)
1 post in praise of madamjujujive (crunchland's standard)
? people educated or enlightened (TimothyMason's standard)
2 (mild) insults to other posters (one of loquacious's... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by blahblahblah at 12:32 PM on May 25, 2005

Squirrel, sorry to appear insincere - I am not sure what seems insincere, however. And I prefer blah^3.
posted to MetaTalk by blahblahblah at 2:00 PM on April 6, 2005

Damn it, my irony sense has been slowly disappearing as I age. Reminds me of this old Onion article (from cached source).
posted to MetaTalk by blahblahblah at 6:19 PM on April 6, 2005

Matteo, way to go over the top there. Howabout pointing out that all of your quotes come from a site that labels all opposing views as "Liberty Denialists and Self-Hating Americans" and whose argument has been found dubious many times.

Or that 10 US government studies showed that the Liberty attacks were an accident? (This is in addition to recent FOA releases, like the NSA intercepts)

Or that the Israeli air force pilot involved in... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by blahblahblah at 11:42 AM on April 6, 2005

Matteo, I think in your zeal to paint Israel with the evil brush, you aren't even reading your own sites, you think that the Liberty attacks were a " false flag operation, to blame the attack on the evil A-rabs and drag America into the conflict alongside Israel." Not a single one of the conspiracy theorists I found argues this. The author of the site you keep quoting believed that the Liberty attack happened because Israel wanted to hide its impending conquest... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by blahblahblah at 1:58 PM on April 6, 2005

And if you have time to read only one article that directly addresses the arguments of matteo's favorite website in a coherent and engaging way, I would recomend Unfriendly Fire in the New Republic. Even matteo can approve of the name, no?
posted to MetaTalk by blahblahblah at 2:08 PM on April 6, 2005

Euphorb, yeah, I hate being the intense guy in these sorts of discussions. My FPPs are generally on wordplay and games. I just get annoyed at people who use conspiracy theories as a way of bolstering political viewpoints. Or haven't I made that obvious?
posted to MetaTalk by blahblahblah at 2:16 PM on April 6, 2005

well, since I don't agree with you, just call me an anti-semite and let's get it over with, OK? it's a classic tool of the cornered Likudnik, have a ball.

New versions of Godwins Law: 1) First person to call the other a neocon loses 2) First person to imply that they are being shut down by accusations of antisemitism loses, if that is not the case.

At no point did I imply you were anti-semitic -- I don't think you are, and I... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by blahblahblah at 4:18 PM on April 6, 2005

Just call him an antisemite and blow your wad, already. Equating criticism of Israel with hatred of Israel is old hat.

I don't think he is anti-semitic. Why do I have to think he is anti-semitic to think that he is wrong in believing, in the face of facts, that Israel engaged in a massive conspiracy with the US government? And why can't he have an anti-Israel bias without being anti-semitic?

I think that this is the first... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by blahblahblah at 5:23 PM on April 6, 2005