Displaying comments 1 to 50 of 227
MeTa post:
monkey king
do my girl talk thing and just phone you and be all "Oooohhh listen, honeychile, I got sumpna tell ya. Gurl they callin' you oooouut. You walked away from the computer, dincha? Uh-uh you can't be doin' that!!"
When I saw plexi's callout, I blurted out, "Oh no you di'int!"
posted to MetaTalk by jayder
at 9:57 PM on July 11, 2008
When did it become politically incorrect to criticize people with tattoos? Amazing how fierce the reaction against plexi is. "I was inclined to agree with his callout, but then I saw these insensitive things he said about tattoos last week, so fuck him." WTF?
posted to MetaTalk by jayder
at 10:16 PM on July 11, 2008
MeTa post:
Why anon?
I've not wanted people to know about my workout efforts before; in case I didn't stick with it, I didn't want people to know I failed.
posted to MetaTalk by jayder
at 9:32 PM on July 10, 2008
MeTa post:
Everything here is chatty
Strip away the fluff, and the question really boils down to this:
I am a basement-dwelling dude in my thirties, without much to show for my life, and I want all of the things that people spend their whole careers seeking, and I want them within a couple of months at most.
Really, the question sounds like this guy speaks in the type of language you generally only see used in taglines on the cover of women's magazines in the... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by jayder
at 6:45 PM on July 3, 2008
MeTa post:
MeFi Follow-Up: Joe Horn is Cleared of All Charges
I don't see this as really a tough call the grand jury had to make. I'm delighted the guy is not being prosecuted.
What seems to be forgotten here is that burglary is not just a property crime. The intrusion into one's private space, the threat the burglars present to whomever might be home ("what if I had been here when they broke in?"), and the brazenness of the act and complete disregard for the sacrosanct nature of a person's dwelling, make burglary about... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by jayder
at 7:20 PM on June 30, 2008
MeTa post:
Account Closing Protocol
I wish the "Close My Account" feature offered an opportunity for those stomping off to leave a parting message.
I am still really puzzled over the woman who, a few weeks ago, asked for help writing a letter to the editor concerning a newspaper "hit piece" on an acquaintance. She closed her account while that thread was still active. I would have loved an explanation.
posted to MetaTalk by jayder
at 7:45 PM on June 25, 2008
MeTa post:
Don't ask me!!
I know there is a temptation, when one is faced with a legal problem, to rush to AskMe and try to get a feel for [what the solution may be] [how fucked the questioner is] [what cause of action they may have] [etc].
The problem is --- if the questioner is not an attorney --- is that there is often some very very bad advice given, and the people who give this advice are not very forthcoming about their credentials, but present their advice in a very... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by jayder
at 10:41 PM on June 15, 2008
I have come to think that a black-and-white attitude to legal questions on AskMe is the best attitude, and I would be in favor of the admins deleting them immediately. Like I have tried to say before, the questions are most likely to be answered by people who are least qualified to answer them. A smart lawyer knows that it could be problematic to make an off-the-cuff stab at a question, and that one's off-the-cuff stab could actually be a decisive... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by jayder
at 11:02 PM on June 15, 2008
Worthwhile: "You should find a lawyer. If you're maintaining a business and planning to spend a large sum on manufacturing these cans of toxic soda, then a lawyer would be a worthwhile investment."
My all-time-favorite legal question on AskMe was when a guy was planning to spend tens of thousands of dollars to start a business, but said he didn't have money for an attorney, so he came to AskMe to ask his legal questions. That was classic.
posted to MetaTalk by jayder
at 11:28 PM on June 15, 2008
I don't recall giving legal advice in AskMe, much less being "notorious" for it ...
paulsc, this comment and this comment, where you are interpreting statutes and giving advice on the legal consequences of adultery, were what I had in mind.
posted to MetaTalk by jayder
at 1:15 PM on June 16, 2008
MeTa post:
Not About Tim Russert
I find the mawkish sentimentality the obit threads bring out, and the uncritical adulation lavished on the deceased, to be really off-putting, and surprising from a group of intelligent members like Metafilter has.
The sentiment of half the comments on the Russert thread seemed to be that, whatever you thought of his journalism, Russert was a celebrity, and therefore, they're going to miss him. Such herd-mentality thinking is really noxious.
posted to MetaTalk by jayder
at 3:55 PM on June 13, 2008
Jessamyn -- you say
I'd like people to be jerks less. Then again I'd also like people to make an effort with obit threads and that seems to not really mostly happen either.
Are you saying that people should stay out of obit threads unless they have something nice to say about the decedent?
It seems to me that, if you have an opinion about the person's legacy or contributions to their profession,... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by jayder
at 6:44 PM on June 13, 2008
This is truly sad. He was one of the only journalist that I genuinely liked. I guess because that's what he was. One of the few true journalists.
posted by noriyori at 7:15 PM on June 13
While we're cataloging what we hate about obitfilter, let me add -- the hyperbole. One of the "few true journalists"?
posted to MetaTalk by jayder
at 9:05 AM on June 14, 2008
MeTa post:
AskMe is NOT an adoption service.
I agree with [NOT HERMITOSIS-IST], except for the part about adoring Konolia.
Konolia's passive-aggressive moralistic grandstanding is a reall tasteless intrusion into a thread in which the person has obviously made a painful decision.
Imagine if someone posted a question to the effect of, "I'm about to be baptized in my Episcopal church this weekend, and I can't decide whether to invite my estranged mother."... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by jayder
at 1:04 PM on June 7, 2008
it's obviously well meant and it doesn't seem like something worth getting riled up about.
I don't think it's obviously well-meant. I think it's just as likely an attempt to shove the pro-life perspective in the face of Anonymous. It is a cyber-picketing.
Umm, actually a respectful sign saying "If for any reason you decide not to have an abortion, we can help with an adoption" would be welcome on the... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by jayder
at 1:21 PM on June 7, 2008
MeTa post:
Best Answer(er)
It's not an epidemic but it does happen and it's annoying as hell. People want to make some sort of big deal about how or why someone did or did not mark a best answer.
Would you please elaborate on this? Have you really been contacted by someone asking to be marked as best answer? I find that hard to believe. How did they phrase their plea?
posted to MetaTalk by jayder
at 7:54 PM on June 5, 2008
MeTa post:
Why the gender discrepancy?
Mathowie, jessamyn, and cortex: you've convinced me that there was no real distinction and it was a completely ad hoc, politically motivated decision. Thank you for your time.
The second question, the one that was deleted, was phrased in a kind of assholish way. It sounded like the questioner was trying to make a political point with the question. It seemed designed to piss people off and rile people up.
Putting aside any... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by jayder
at 9:26 PM on May 29, 2008
MeTa post:
AskMeFi: The Key to True Happiness
I fucking hate posts like that. I consider myself one of the grouchier users here, but these kind of "hug me" posts have become increasingly common in spite of the fact that they (a) have no "answer" and (b) contribute nothing to the community, since they have zero use to anyone other than the poster. I wish they were nuked more regularly....
Don't even get me started on the rash of broad "So, what's a good book/tv show/movie?"... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by jayder
at 8:49 PM on May 27, 2008
MeTa post:
It's not you, it's me.
Just because you can hand someone their ass in Metatalk doesn't mean you should. As bad as the Askme question maybe, your shitty "look at this trainwreck" post is worse.
I disagree. MetaTalk is a way of bringing interesting situations to everyone's attention. I wouldn't have noticed this situation unless it had been posted here, so I am glad it was, because it's interesting.
Most members don't read MetaTalk anyway.
posted to MetaTalk by jayder
at 6:39 PM on May 15, 2008
Wasn't there a previous Metafilter member (who, bizarrely, styled himself as some crusader against exploitation of children, IIRC) who ended up going to prison for some child-porn related offense?
posted to MetaTalk by jayder
at 6:43 PM on May 15, 2008
Wasn't there a previous Metafilter member (who, bizarrely, styled himself as some crusader against exploitation of children, IIRC) who ended up going to prison for some child-porn related offense?
Yes, you're right. I mistakenly recalled him as a crusader against the exploitation of children, but I realize he was just vigorously protesting against the view that nudism has any connection with sexualization of children.
posted to MetaTalk by jayder
at 7:33 PM on May 15, 2008
I think the whole "the call was coming from inside the house!!!1!" comment by the wife in the old AskMe ...
Damn, that is a hilarious way of putting it. I don't get belly-laughs from Metafilter that often, but you gave me one. Thanks.
posted to MetaTalk by jayder
at 10:17 PM on May 15, 2008
MeTa post:
A callout... to SHINE! [SFX: twinkle twinkle twinkle]
So, say, I think to myself upon writing that, "I'd like to see an FPP of cool-ass 1970's or 1980's commercial product iconography,"* and I could post it somewhere, I bet someone out there would totally pick up the ball and run with it, all MeFi-style, dodgin' tight ends and snarky comments, going... all... the... way...!
I think this is a silly suggestion.
If you want to see an FPP, there's Google, Youtube,... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by jayder
at 9:44 PM on March 3, 2008
MeTa post:
Briliant!
If there is anything that encapsulates the gulf between my sixteen year old self and my present mid-thirties self, it is the fact that the sixteen year old thought that Ginsberg's Howl was really really cool, and my current self cringes in embarrassment to read even the first line.
Thanks for the reminder.
posted to MetaTalk by jayder
at 8:50 PM on February 16, 2008
MeTa post:
We need to talk about this...
There was no transgression. Remember why we were interested in who Rachel Tension is. Phil directed us to another blog seemingly inviting us to make the Tension/Tavern connection. And even Phil said the e-mail the academic received was not threatening; he just said it was an e-mail he would not like to have received. Please don't conclude that MeFites did something wrong, just because Phil said we did.
The cautionary tale here, I think, is "Don't make an... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by jayder
at 11:25 AM on January 13, 2008
I think it is basic internet etiquette that you never "out" a person, no matter how many clues they have dropped, unless they are unethically misrepresenting themselves in some way.
I understand that. But when Rachel Tension started showing her ass in that thread, Phil himself made it sound like she was a very prominent and recognized innovator in the non-profit community, and most importantly, he made it clear that he knew who... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by jayder
at 11:49 AM on January 13, 2008
anotherpanacea, maybe your motives are pure, but if your concern is the privacy of the Rachels, this thread is just re-opening a wound that she/they probably hoped was healing up.
Your panacea, in other words is not working.
Yes, this thread is eponysterical.
posted to MetaTalk by jayder
at 12:08 PM on January 13, 2008
I don't think I have ever seen bullying on Metafilter, Ask Metafilter, or MetaTalk.
I've seen brutal candor. For example, look at this thread and read fourcheesemac's comments in response to a question about becoming a mentor.
But that kind of "tough talk" is what I value about Metafilter. It's tough talk tempered by intelligence, and usually, common sense. When things get out of hand, the moderators take care of it.... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by jayder
at 1:47 PM on January 13, 2008
ericb and Michelle, Phil has got to be PWD over there. Or he's just deranged.
posted to MetaTalk by jayder
at 10:22 PM on January 13, 2008
MeTa post:
Fingers in the great anonymous dyke?
So I'd hope the percentage would be zero, or close to it. I assume that jessamyn would be able to tell if someone was doing this and could tell them to knock it off.
If I understand mathowie's prior explanations of the anonymous posting set-up, it is next-to-impossible for him to link up a given user with an anonymous question. It would have to be done by examining IP logs, etc. I thought he said that it could be done, in theory, but would be... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by jayder
at 10:59 PM on January 12, 2008
MeTa post:
Fallout from the Givewell affair
Jeff Doyle asked, in the now-closed GiveWell thread:
Speaking of rules that ought to apply in both worlds, why should you not be judged by the company that you keep?
My take on the somewhat harsh response to Phil is that several Metafilter members were frustrated by Phil's continuation, on Metafilter, of the tiresome lectures on his literary antecedents, woodcuts, characters created by Dryden, Swift, and Johnson, and... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by jayder
at 9:49 PM on January 6, 2008
MeTa post:
GiveWell, or Give 'em Hell?
if they feel that having true stories told about them is equivalent to being on trial and penalized, that should tell them something about what they've been doing
Keep in mind, they have been riding high on a wave of puffery, and I suspect this criticism they are receiving on Metafilter feels very unfair. The sense I'm getting from the GiveWell board members is that they are incredulous ... their reaction seems to be, "Why don't people... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by jayder
at 8:55 PM on January 1, 2008
Vis a vis that online chat that Rumple links --
Is it weird to anyone else how these guys have gotten so much attention for what (appears to be) nothing very special? That chat is kind of sickening; it reads as though career professionals are treating this 26-year-old like he's some kind of sage, handing out worldly wise advice about philanthropy. How fucking weird it all is.
Also, it's amazing how dazzled people are by the "former hedge... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by jayder
at 11:30 PM on January 1, 2008
All the little mini-lectures on the necessity of forgiveness from this set are grotesque.
Not to mention beside the point. The fact that something is forgivable does not mean that the offender should expect to be taken seriously in that field anymore.
What Holden Karnofsky did is equivalent to a prominent sexual chastity activist funding her chastity lecture tour by giving $15 blow jobs in a city park.
posted to MetaTalk by jayder
at 5:29 PM on January 2, 2008
who are keen with all the blood in the water to do a little off-the-cuff character assassination of the man after a quick 10 minute visit to Phil's sites
Stavros, I haven't seen any character assassination of Phil; could you link to any of the comments here that you believe engage in this character assassination?
posted to MetaTalk by jayder
at 11:32 PM on January 2, 2008
fourcheesemac said:
I would therefore be most satisfied if Holden would take the following action in recognition of his malfeasance here: go to Africa, Holden. Go spend two months on a serious, fact-finding trip to some of the worst spots; KwaZulu, the heart of the AIDS epidemic; the Congo, shredded by civil war and rape as a military tactic; Angola, where poverty has destroyed a generation that should have risen to an African version of the middle class.... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by jayder
at 1:39 PM on January 3, 2008
Let this be a lesson to future Holdens: Do. Not. Fuck. With. The. Filter.
There's a grizzled after-hours custodian in my office building who occasionally wears a t-shirt that appears to be from some biker club or something, bearing the following slogan, emblazoned across the chest:
"FUCK WITH US AND YOU'LL BE FAMOUS."
I chuckle about that shirt every time I see him wearing it. The slogan seems particularly apt here.
posted to MetaTalk by jayder
at 10:30 PM on January 3, 2008
And I think that's the difference here -- the Gift Hub folks love and adore their commedia dell'arte, to the point that they are blind to what happens when other people read it.
What I found peculiar at Gift Hub was how frequently Phil would respond to a well-stated comment with a mini-lecture, informing the commenter of "a tradition that goes back to the Epistles" or referencing Diogenes or some other gilt-edged token of the... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by jayder
at 10:31 AM on January 5, 2008
Miko --
Wow, I hadn't noticed that slam against you and us that Phil posted. In that same posting, he makes the very strange assertion that, unless you constitute a court of law, you should not have a discussion about the bad things a person has done, unless you assign them a "character." To do so about a named person is "ghoulish" and "unfun." Those of us who do not have the authority to convict and sentence someone should not be talking... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by jayder
at 10:45 AM on January 5, 2008
One more thing concerning Phil's objections to our criticisms of Holden: Nobody in Phil's group has any objections to the apotheosis of Holden for his prior hedge fund employment, his Harvard education, etc. Those distinctions were endlessly trotted out as evidence that Holden is "good people" and deserved respect. But being a former hedge funder and Harvard grad says nothing about the quality of work Holden was doing in philanthropy. Yet, when Holden does something shameful and... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by jayder
at 11:20 AM on January 5, 2008
Fourcheesemac said:
What a first-class schmuck [Phil Cubeta] is. Pompous, mock-learned, condescending, horrid.
Fourcheesemac, your few words are a much more elegant expression of the sentiment I was fumbling for in this comment.
posted to MetaTalk by jayder
at 11:52 AM on January 5, 2008
I'm not even remotely convinced that this identification was false. The whole thing plays very much to me as a person futzing about online and then suddenly, almost too late, realizing that there might be real life consequences. Frantic muddying of the waters followed.
Im not convinced, either. I recall someone finding a pre-astroturfing-scandal blog posting by Rachel Tension in which Rachel Tension cites an article "referencing me," and... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by jayder
at 5:33 PM on January 5, 2008
After all this discussion of Phil Cubeta, I found myself following some of the links on Gift Hub, and ended up at the site Wealth Bondage, which Phil apparently presides over and which is intertwined with his Gift Hub site. The Wealth Bondage site is structured around a bondage theme, replete with photos of torture instruments, references to "scening" (NSFW explanation of scening), miscellaneous kink, and weird medical fetishism. At Metafilter we have been... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by jayder
at 8:50 PM on January 5, 2008
A link to Rachel's Tavern is in the Google cached blogroll of White Courtesy Telephone, as of January 3, 2008, but Rachel's Tavern has since been removed.
Here is the current version of that page. Rachel's Tavern no longer appears on the blogroll.
Perhaps more evidence for the "frantic muddying of the waters" hypothesis?... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by jayder
at 10:56 PM on January 5, 2008
Sorry, I mean here is the current version of that page.
posted to MetaTalk by jayder
at 10:57 PM on January 5, 2008
Before the history is re-written to make us the bad guys, let me put on the record that it was Phil who caused us to be interested in who Rachel Tension is. In a Gift Hub comments thread, she made those vile comments about Metafilter and its members' motives, and after one of our members took issue with her comments, Phil responded with something along these lines: "Rachel Tension is a recognized leader and innovator in the nonprofit realm; you, on the other hand, sound unbalanced."... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by jayder
at 10:11 AM on January 6, 2008
you're a pretentious idiot
I'm not a fan of what I've seen of Phil's sites, but "pretentious idiot" strikes me as undeservedly harsh and discourteous to someone who got an account here specifically to answer our questions.
posted to MetaTalk by jayder
at 8:09 PM on January 6, 2008
