A forum for reclusive people.
posted by grumblebee on Oct 31, 2009 - 41 comments

ReadWritePoem was a multiuser poetry blog until July 31, when it turned into a social network for poetry with forums, groups, subblogs and more.
posted by dylan20 on Aug 4, 2009 - 2 comments

Pictures of military subjects , many of them annotated, from all over such as Russia, Malaysia, Japan (Special Police), Ireland, Cyprus, Sri Lanka and Canada. [more inside]
posted by Mitheral on Jul 20, 2009 - 14 comments

The owner of a camera stolen in Krakow and bought on E-Bay is reunitied with their pictures An amazing story about an international effort to track down the owner of a camera stolen in Krakow, Poland. The camera was bought on E-Bay and found to have 1100 pictures on it. Through some fantastic work by members of the Australian Photography Forum, the owner of the camera was found by analysing the pictures.
posted by Man_in_staysis on Mar 16, 2009 - 5 comments

What real-life bad habits has programming given you? "This has actually really happened to me. I was trying to hang a glass picture frame on the wall and accidentally dropped it. And in the shock of the moment, I loudly yelled 'Control Z!' Then the glass hit the floor and smashed."
posted by grumblebee on Jan 30, 2009 - 170 comments

If you listen to BBC radio, especially in these troubled times, you may have heard consumer expert Martin Lewis (on one, two or four). His moneysavingexpert site is comprehensive and UK-centric (and regularly referenced on the green). However, the real gem is the site's huge forum, with masses of information that might be useful to just about anybody. [more inside]
posted by primer_dimer on Oct 8, 2008 - 12 comments

Something awful in a new CBC anthem. The CBC's Hockey Night in Canada is one of the highest-rated programs on Canadian television. It's something of a national shrine to our beloved sport. For the past 40-odd years, it's had a distinctive theme which most Canadians could hum. After something of a fiasco, the CBC lost the rights to the theme. They're running a contest to replace the venerated theme. A Something Awful forum user composed a truly dreadful entry ("mostly comprised of cat and sheep sounds, baby cries, and gunshots/explosions"), and got the community to 'vote it up' on the Anthem contest site. You really need to hear the awfulness to truly appreciate it. [more inside]
posted by dbarefoot on Jul 18, 2008 - 69 comments

A few days ago a post appeared on the Something Awful forums noting a curious website called Notes to Mary. The notes are a series of threatening letters from a high schooler named Robert to his crush, Mary. The goons figured out pretty quickly that they had an ARG on their hands and went to work on solving the puzzle. Several other forums picked up on the game. Robert began interacting with players, sending them strange messages and several series of numbers that appeared to be some sort of code. A Flickr pool was started. Players even created an IRC channel to swap clues and information in real time. The Notes to Mary site offered a link to a login. All effort was made to crack the user/pass combo. Finally, several days after the game began, users were finally able to log in. The game was solved. The players would be rewarded for their hard work. Where did the login lead? Here. [more inside]
posted by lysistrata on Jun 25, 2008 - 35 comments

How to act on an internet forum. Yup, just a single link to a video – informative on how to behave nevertheless. Even here on Metafiler. [more inside]
posted by filmgeek on Feb 22, 2008 - 34 comments

Magical dragon-faeries? Flaxen-hair'd elflords? Dank scary dungeons, reminiscent of Grandpa's basement? Kids' stuff. Whether you're a Camwhore, Emo Kid, or Troll, Forumwarz everything relevant about the Internet (i.e., Forums and IM) distilled down to a browser-based RPG. Buy warez from shady Russian dealers, upgrade your hacking/whining skills, pwn total strangers by crashing their web sites, and join or fight a shadowy government conspiracy. You have nothing to lose but your dignity.
posted by CrunchyFrog on Feb 20, 2008 - 47 comments

I've thought a lot over the last couple years about the problem of trolls. It's an old one, as old as forums, but we're still just learning what the causes are and how to address them.
posted by Brandon Blatcher on Feb 19, 2008 - 77 comments

Suicide bombers in Valhalla "Sverige fights back! I'll see the heroes in Valhalla, inshallah." Where can you find an eclectic mix of Fascists, Libertarian Socialists, Trotskyists, National Anarchists, DPRK apologists, Dixie lovers, Christian Reconstructionists and Islamists all in one place? [more inside]
posted by symbioid on Feb 15, 2008 - 20 comments

It's hard to believe that, back before the Internet but after the first edition of Dungeons of Dragons, there was a time when we had no easy way to pool the world's knowledge of evolutionary biology, lizard genetics, Pern, and martians to answer that most pressing question: should male RPG fans draw female humanoids descended from dragons with ginormous racks, or without?
posted by ntk on Feb 3, 2008 - 55 comments

Some Russian online communities like to take on unusual challenges. Courtesy of English Russia.
posted by Lord_Pall on Dec 17, 2007 - 30 comments

Professional Pilots Rumor Network is not recommended reading if you care to fly again. For example, you will discover that what was was initially described by the FAA as a "vibration in the No. 2 engine" was actually uncontained engine failure. Passengers who were on the flight could have told you that. Am I editorializing to say that I'm amazed that this forum is public?
posted by spock on Nov 27, 2007 - 45 comments

Rome Reborn is a digital model of ancient Rome as it might have appeared on June 21, 320 AD, including the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. More info.
posted by kirkaracha on Jun 11, 2007 - 22 comments

Universe Today is a news site for astronomy geeks. Don't miss its sibling, the Bad Astronomy Forum, which not only features examples of bad astronomy, but also discussions of space exploration and astrophotography. (If you like astrophotography, you're probably already aware of NASA's astronomy photo of the day.) But my favorite part of the whole site is the free astronomy eBook, What's Up 2007: 365 Days of Skywatching. If only it would only stop raining, maybe I'd grab some binoculars and go outside for some stargazing...
posted by jdroth on Jan 3, 2007 - 6 comments

A Conversation With Steven Colbert [video]: Covering issues from truthiness to anti-Semitism in comedy to boxers vs. briefs, Colbert spent over an hour on Friday answering questions at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
posted by NotMyselfRightNow on Dec 4, 2006 - 15 comments

Start with "The Crazyest Denim Experiments Of Superfuture History." And then make sure you read the rest of this forum for people seriously obsessed with denim.
posted by chunking express on Oct 27, 2006 - 17 comments

Web discussion forums have some fantastic content. There is an excellent rank-ordered, categorized index of many of them, but the attempts to create a search engine for these forums, akin to that which already exists for the newsgroups, have generally failed. Let's wish Omgili some luck then. Maybe even do so in their forum.
posted by shivohum on Sep 25, 2006 - 12 comments

Surreal, fantastic realist, psychedelic and visionary artists, sculptors and forum. Sites created by Jon Beinart.
posted by nickyskye on Aug 4, 2006 - 8 comments

Sex & Games Finally, a place that seems to discuss sexuality in videogames as an adult topic. Brand new forum/blog/branch of the IGDA, their leadership is a) mostly female, b) commited to "The right of developers to work together to create sexually themed games free of censorship and regulation," and encouraging parental responsibility and c) a nice tonic for Jack Thompson's hysteria.
posted by WolfDaddy on Aug 15, 2005 - 9 comments

"I can't tell you where I am, but I can tell you I love free wireless internet. I know some of you like those fools, but they were trying to front and I can't let that lie." The BBC News article declares, Message Board Argument Ends In Murder, describing how an argument on a San Diego web forum prompted one member to shoot two others. Except the "message board argument" isn't over. The BBC piece linked directly to the thread where the fight began, so the moderator removed the original posts and started a new one to talk about the murders. Now the alleged shooter, still on the run, is apparenly back on the board, taunting his shocked former friends. It's been a weird week on the Internet.
posted by pzarquon on May 25, 2005 - 62 comments

Pop Quiz Hotshot: You're in the middle of an arena. You're being attacked by 5 year olds who will stop at nothing to kill you. How many can you take on before they overcome you? (from twobytwo forums)
posted by Arch Stanton on Mar 22, 2005 - 122 comments

I found a digital camera in the woods
posted by bob sarabia on Aug 24, 2004 - 55 comments

The funniest and most disgusting story ever. This personal story on the forums of a bodybuilding website looks like it is on the way to becoming an Internet classic (warning... SFW, but scatological). Snopes doesn't have this one... the nearest we get is this.
posted by BobsterLobster on Mar 30, 2004 - 31 comments

What the world thinks of America... are we about to find out for sure? A special live global forum will be broadcast in a dozen countries later this week, hosted in London, and bringing in the opinions of media representatives of Israel, France, Australia, Brazil, Jordan and more. The forum also features the likes of Benazir Bhutto and Joe Klein. Whatever your opinion of the part the United States plays in our world, it's undeniable that it will be a dominating force in the near future.
posted by Jimbob on Jun 16, 2003 - 39 comments

planetmath.org. I'd say more but there's just too much here. Browse around.
posted by wobh on May 2, 2003 - 15 comments

Like a hole in the head, like an old Onion link, like an outburst of cholera, MetaFilter needs these custom-made Flames. But some of them are hilarious. And anyway, as has been posted before, we didn't start the fire. [Flash needed for this latter golden oldie. Via Linkfilter. NSFW.]
posted by Carlos Quevedo on Apr 20, 2003 - 8 comments

"We often do this, changing the subject or saying something really obnoxious, to take the wind out of trolls' sails." Apparently, some people get paid to report on the contents of web discussion boards. What a sweet gig. Especially for a "journalist" who has no ear for irony, and doesn't know what "trolling" is. Quoting an Epinions reviewer as supporting material is a new low point in "news" reporting. (more inside)
posted by scarabic on Jan 24, 2003 - 22 comments

Food For Thought For Serious Foodies And Would-Be Pros: Egullet.com is mainly written by professional cooks for professional cooks but obsessive, perfectionist gastronomes like you and I can join in too. It's delightful and delicious; like a MetaFilter for fussy gluttons, over-curious gourmets and gastro-porn addicts. Today, celebrated chefs Dan Barber and Michael Anthony, currently wowing New Yorkers at the Blue Hill restaurant, will be answering questions from hoi-polloi such as ourselves. My question's already in...[ From the August issue of Food and Wine magazine, where Michael Anthony was interviewed as one of the best new American chefs.]
posted by MiguelCardoso on Jul 25, 2002 - 12 comments

Anonymous speech on the web is not protected. A Florida court ruling could force forum hosts to identify posters by name, if they post defamatory messages. Could this ruling lead to more civil exchanges on the net, or will curtailing unfettered speech reduce the amount and scope of many discussions?
posted by mathowie on Oct 16, 2000 - 33 comments

Another online discussion forum experiences growing pains. Lance writes: "glassdog.CLUB is a good example of what can go wrong in an online community." And so he's pulling the plug. Perhaps killing something while it's still young is the only way to keep it from growing old and dying miserably?
posted by ericost on Jun 27, 2000 - 26 comments