MetaFilter

The Canadian Parliament did not applaud him because they knew he was an SS member but felt that he had good motivations for joining. When it was called out, no one who applauded said "You just don't understand the context!" They said, oh shit, we just applauded a fucking Nazi.

Yes, thank you. It’s a fucking embarrassment. The Speaker resigned, the PM apologized, it’s horrible that it happened…and like many Western countries, there are... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by warriorqueen at 2:53 PM on October 1, 2023

People who in 2023 obsess over Azov are Putin propagandists and probably deserve some extra mod attention—especially if they have really old accounts that were dormant for a long time and could have potentially been hacked.

Anyway, I’m an old, old user with an account that’s been dormant and could have been hacked, too, so I’m just as worthy of increased mod attention as qi.

Did I miss something? Was... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by kensington314 at 12:51 PM on October 1, 2023

OK, look, this is getting pointlessly nasty with a lot of weird throw off attacks on people, because... why, exactly? I think we all (or almost all) agree that the Nazis were terrible. Even the comments in question were not arguing that Nazis or the SS weren't awful, although they were making apologies for the the specific guy by spinning a fantasy about his motivations. I am not excusing this; because, if you let this rhetoric slide, the move from bad actors is to push things a little further,... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by GenjiandProust at 3:26 PM on September 29, 2023

It's the nature of the public internet that anybody can wander into the D&D game or the serious political discussion or the consciousness-raising session or the venting circle or whatever and sometimes a particular space or conversation is Not About You even though you're reading it and having feelings.

Metafilter is both a website/space and a community. By the nature of participation here, we all have different degrees of (para)social relationships with each other,... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by gentlyepigrams at 2:21 PM on September 29, 2023

I am also sad bottlecap buttoned.

I appreciate the call out and discussion of this post. Ultimately I think this is an incredibly challenging conversation. We are all learning and growing. I learned from this post.
posted to MetaTalk by samthemander at 10:48 AM on September 29, 2023

A general rule I try to follow is to center the experiences of people most marginalized by society and societal structures. It's the general "punching up, not down" idea, though hopefully with less punching. Just an acknowledgement that a lot of people are struggling with a lot of stuff, but we should not be harming even-less-privileged folks when we talk about any given struggle. It helps me clarify where the most harm is occurring or likely to occur, and work to right that.... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by lapis at 6:00 PM on September 28, 2023

There are also a good many caregivers who are, ourselves, disabled. Sometimes we just have to accept that if we seek safe spaces to vent about our caregiving issues, we are also opening ourselves up to hearing pretty fucking terrible things about people just like us in the process. None of these categories are clean, none of this is easy, for sure.

Centering caregivers or even limiting something to only caregivers does not mean people with disabilities won’t still be... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by Stacey at 2:32 PM on September 28, 2023

I continually exhort myself to re-read what I've written but I don't think I have ever posted anything that I didn't have to edit at least once.

You and me both, sister, you and me both.

But only of late and imperfectly at that, I must add.

In this case, I had slowly been composing a comment a tad less diplomatic than Going to Maine's but thought to click on bottlecap's profile first before hitting... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by y2karl at 11:26 AM on September 28, 2023

I'm a caregiver to a couple of elderly and incontinent people now, but I'm very aware that I will eventually get old too. And this dehumanizing langugage about old and disabled people bothers me a lot.

Especially all that stuff in the thread about how various people would rather kill themselves (or go out into the woods and die of starvation once they can't care for themselves) than end up in such a state. Some people are ALREADY in that state. Imagine reading that... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by OnceUponATime at 8:49 AM on September 28, 2023

There is no successor to Livejournal. There are no successors to the MUSHes. There is no successor to Television Without Pity and its forums. When they finally put out the lights here, there will be no successor to Metafilter. There are other places...but there aren't other places like this.

I don't mean offense, but I think we're in the same age cohort, and a lot of what you're saying comes off like "I, as a Gen Xer, am not aware of sites like... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by The Pluto Gangsta at 9:11 AM on September 28, 2023

I am not calling anyone out here: this place was an absolute lifeline for me when I was taking care of a dying parent, which was definitely the hardest and probably the most isolating experience of my life, and I'm sure I said all sorts of regrettable things that I wouldn't have said under other circumstances. And I am in favor of extending grace to people dealing with incredibly trying situations. But I still agree that "grotesque" is a dehumanizing way to describe a person,... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 6:25 PM on September 26, 2023

There is a long history, on and off this site, of ableism being handwaved away because it’s coming from a family member and/or caregiver, because of how hard and painful their family member’s illness or disability is for them. That particular line of thought can do a lot of damage to disabled people, and cause a lot of pain.

I’m not going to say it is never appropriate in any situation, but I would suggest being very sparing and... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by Stacey at 2:49 PM on September 26, 2023

.
posted to MetaTalk by sudama at 7:18 AM on September 27, 2023

AITA is the wrong frame for this sort of thing. This is your relationship with your spouse - the only rules are what works for both of you. You now know that your spouse would like you to text when you arrive safely after travel. What do you want to do with that information?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Ragged Richard at 6:09 AM on September 27, 2023

Hi I haven't logged in here for years but got a notification as this is both literally and figuratively right up my street. I'm going to the Friday gig, so will try and say hello.
posted to MeFi IRL by pmcp at 12:58 AM on September 27, 2023

Rest easy Dan. I am better for having known you.
posted to MetaTalk by Kafkaesque at 2:31 PM on September 25, 2023

Twice a week seems very reasonable. What in your life is going to change if one of the websites you visit doesn't let you post your profile to another website you visit within three days of demanding answers. I don't think it's at all fair to characterize that as not caring about the site. I think it shows appropriate prioritization.

The Grey has long been the angriest of the subsites, but man, there's really something in the air these days.... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by solotoro at 2:21 PM on September 22, 2023

…if it ever does happen in the future, I'll make a solid three-figure donation to the site.

*makes note for future*
posted to MetaTalk by Brandon Blatcher at 1:43 PM on September 22, 2023

I would like to express my appreciation for members of marginalized communities who have shared their experiences and fought for better treatment here. In particular, I feel like I have learned so much from posts by members of the trans, autist, disabled, and BIPOC communities here. Thank you for your patience and your impatience, and, if you're reading this, for sticking around as the site and people here make slow and lurching progress toward Doing Better.
posted to MetaTalk by slappy_pinchbottom at 10:54 AM on September 14, 2023

Honestly, the best I feel is going out and cleaning up litter off my block. It's not going to stop fascism, but at least I'm doing something positive.

Actually this is a good way to fight fascism. Not picking up litter specifically, but things that concretely benefit the public and attract others to join you. It's basically the first steps toward mutual aid and eventually dual power.
posted to MetaFilter by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 11:48 AM on September 21, 2023

None of this is time sensitive. Not sure why people expect Fortune 500 "customer service" at a Mom & Pop store.
posted to MetaTalk by Larry David Syndrome at 4:15 PM on September 21, 2023

> Jobs

I guess I'll pipe in with a defense of Jobs. It's probably been the most directly or tangibly useful or helpful subsite here for me and some others, and sometimes there's an Ask where a good rec was to post it on Jobs so a fellow MeFite could fulfill the request. It's a good matchmaking service for people who don't want to go through Fiverr, TaskRabbit, Etsy, etc.

It probably doesn't look as active as it is because the listings disappear when the Job is filled.
posted to MetaTalk by Sockin'inthefreeworld at 5:23 PM on September 19, 2023

I'm still seeing the Share to Twitter on the right sidebar in Modern, FYI. But good call getting rid of it.
posted to MetaTalk by deezil at 1:22 PM on September 20, 2023

The charm of Oglaf is that it seems like it could be sex jokes, but most of the time there just happens to be sex and the punchline is a non-sex pun or slapstick.

My favourites are Rivulets and Collider, but I heartily second the recommendation to check the Patreon. There are NSFW versions of SFW comics, and SFW versions of NSFW comics, and the contrast between them usually makes me laugh way harder.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by irrediated at 3:31 PM on September 19, 2023

I think a regular ChatFilter in AskMe is a fine idea, but I don't love it being on a particular day each week. For example right now, it is Monday morning for me while most of MetaFilter is still hopefully enjoying Sunday. So if the designated ChatFilter day were Monday, could I post a chatty question or would I have to wait until the Official MetaFilter Time (I'm not sure which time zone this would be) clicks over to Monday? Or is it a rolling day so if it's Monday (or Friday, whichever day is... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by Athanassiel at 1:52 PM on September 17, 2023

I don't think they publicize it nearly enough, but they have a patreon page where they post stuff too weird even for oglaf dot com, and nearly all the content is free to view whether you patreonize them or not.
posted to MetaFilter by moonmilk at 6:52 AM on September 19, 2023

The idea that one tweet by the current head of the ALA has a causal relationship with a right wing propaganda campaign that started decades earlier doesn't bear serious consideration.
posted to MetaFilter by StarkRoads at 9:42 AM on September 18, 2023

Oh wow Emily Drabinski is the prez of ALA? That's fukkin' Awesome!
posted to MetaFilter by eustatic at 6:48 PM on September 18, 2023

This is some good internet
posted to MetaFilter by device55 at 7:09 PM on September 18, 2023

This makes me ever so happy. To celebrate, I here share my favorite SFW Oglaf: Bilge.
posted to MetaFilter by ourobouros at 6:33 PM on September 18, 2023

On topic, as a Texan I'm preparing to leave next year. Because fuck this shit. I'm sorry, I lack the willpower and courage to stay in this shithole state.

But, also as a Texan, the departure from the ALA was inevitable. Same as everywhere else since Trump took office, the Republicans here took that as a sign to rip off the mask and ever since then the attacks on libraries, education, and teachers have really accelerated.

My partner was a High... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by sotonohito at 11:52 AM on September 18, 2023

Gerard Bostock:

I understand what you're saying, but it also needs to be said that "centrists" in the library world and elsewhere will absolutely use this logic both to keep progressives and leftists out of positions of authority, block progressive change, and make concessions to the hard right.

It already happened. In early 2017, then-ALA-president Julie Todaro decided that the way for ALA to deal with 45 was to... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by humbug at 11:56 AM on September 18, 2023

Voting for Emily Drabinski was one of the proudest moments in my two decades of ALA membership.

The right hates libraries because it requires a closed information ecosystem to prevent the children it believes it owns having the language to question its orthodoxies. Emily is just a pretext.
posted to MetaFilter by Horace Rumpole at 9:35 AM on September 18, 2023

This is why I don't like to leave my vampire castle.
posted to MetaFilter by fleacircus at 2:40 PM on September 17, 2023

I have yet to find the strength to read the full expose

Do yourself a favor and don't. It's bad, and there is absolutely nothing in it that's remotely exculpatory. This can't be explained away with "Oh gosh, sorry, I didn't realize it was that uncomfortable for her, and I'm so sorry." It's straight-up criminal against more than one person.
posted to MetaFilter by Etrigan at 12:02 PM on September 17, 2023

Yay!!! That's totally amazing!

Used the edit window to say, payment made via venmo!!!
posted to MetaTalk by chasles at 12:07 PM on September 17, 2023

Donations or not, it might well increase engagement, which is in itself a Good Thing.
posted to MetaTalk by Too-Ticky at 3:34 PM on September 16, 2023

MetaFilter: not with Enlightenment rigour but with eclectic and unsystematic enthusiasm
posted to MetaFilter by hippybear at 4:01 PM on September 16, 2023

I don’t participate in the open threads, but I have loved the chatfilter posts. I’ve been back on the site DAILY since they’ve come around. I’ve been a member since 2007ish, donating $7/month for years, but haven’t used the site actively in ~2 years.

I literally came to meta talk to propose this idea. But here it is, ready for me.

My proposal:
* chatfilter posts on AskMe are tagged as chatfilter
* no special day/time for... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by samthemander at 9:57 PM on September 15, 2023

I guess I don't like fun, because neither a less-useful (less signal, more noise, and it's not always easy for me to distinguish serious and less-serious answers, especially on subjects I don't know a lot about) AskMe nor yet another subsite are especially appealing to me.

Then again, I don't usually participate in the free threads either, but it's not like they cause me any harm, and other people certainly seem to enjoy them.

Land of contrasts.
posted to MetaTalk by box at 9:36 AM on September 15, 2023

FanFare

Just a note that IMO, FanFare with proper UX/tagging/etc. is a solid contributor to the future of the site, because it could be made fairly search-friendly (unlike the blue, where the cute titles and lack of relevant text kill it) or the way Ask has been degraded in search. So “people who like to talk about media” might actually find it at the point they want to talk/read about [show] and be able to... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by warriorqueen at 4:17 AM on September 15, 2023

It seems like it would be very easy to just add a category on the green for chatfilter and give people a setting to hide chatfilter posts if they're allergic to fun.
posted to MetaTalk by potrzebie at 7:48 PM on September 14, 2023

Chatfilter Friday
posted to MetaTalk by phunniemee at 2:58 PM on September 14, 2023

This... was not a good blog post.
posted to MetaFilter by danhon at 2:23 PM on September 16, 2023

But how many music fans searching for Beethoven or Mozart on streaming are picky about conductors and orchestras?

Did they really write that?

Case dismissed.
posted to MetaFilter by senor biggles at 1:53 PM on September 16, 2023

Not in any way to minimize the risks involved, but, like the lunch counter sit-ins and similar actions during the US Civil Rights movement, or a lot of the struggles of the early labor movements, a lot of these actions come from people in the position where doing nothing or continuing to acquiesce is even more intolerable. Similarly, yes it takes some courage to publicly come out as transgender or nonbinary, but for some of my friends that was the only way they could stay alive. If you haven’t... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by eviemath at 1:36 PM on September 16, 2023

> I stopped watching after series 7. Am I missing anything?

No—except for a life lived to its fullest. Have you ever seen...

• Rose Matafeo serenade herself?
• Mawaan Rizwan perform the best magic trick?
• Chris Ramsey invent a new style of competitive sausage eating?
• Victoria Coren Mitchell forget her glasses?
• Iain Stirling try to explain what a sang-which is?... [more]
posted to FanFare by not_on_display at 6:35 PM on September 14, 2023

This is not a comment on series 16 particularly, but I was rewatching old episodes recently and I noticed something pleasing: I clued in back in about the second episode that the contestants are seated alphabetically by first name.

In season nine, when illness sidelined Katy Wix for the studio tapings of two episodes, her spot was filled by past contestants Kerry Godliman and Katherine Ryan. It was delightful that her two subs were still in the right alphabetical... [more]
posted to FanFare by ricochet biscuit at 5:09 AM on September 13, 2023

'Private Eye' was famous for these. Check some of their 'Eye Love' ads archived from around 2002 here. As mentioned this worked by allocating box numbers.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by plep at 7:19 AM on September 15, 2023

Thanks to everyone who donated! (I am not saying this in any kind of official capacity. I don't have an official capacity. I used to be on the Steering Committee but it's still On Hold, and anyway my term is long over now. I can still thank people who donated though! The best kind of thanks are the unofficial and random kind!)
posted to MetaTalk by JHarris at 10:41 PM on September 15, 2023