Just how credible is Wikipedia? While some have tested this empirically, others have chosen more dubious methodology. For a site that gives no credit to its post authors, one wonders, why even bother?
posted by iamkimiam on Sep 3, 2009 - 94 comments

One Million Giraffes [more inside]
posted by Potomac Avenue on Aug 14, 2009 - 39 comments

Ross Racine's work may be interpreted as models for planned communities as much as aerial views of fictional suburbs, referencing the computer as a tool for urban planning as well as image capture.
posted by netbros on Jun 24, 2009 - 11 comments

Harmanz ha haz b bargan ahn za MMARBG Ahban Bahb [brahbazazzah ] ar zambahz. Zambahz haz AAGHZ g!bz gab azzar zambahz: a, b, g, h, m, n, r, z. Zambahz maz hab gab, za Zambahz zgrabbarh Zamgrh, a gab grh a gab bag, a grammah, n zhranzazzaz. Habganna barbaga zaarz grh za bra!nz?
posted by xthlc on May 8, 2008 - 33 comments

During a January blizzard thirty years ago in Chicago, Ward Christensen and Randy Seuss came up with the idea for a computerized bulletin board system. One month later on February 16, 1978, the first public online community was officially established, and it was named CBBS. [more inside]
posted by SteveInMaine on Feb 16, 2008 - 26 comments

A beginner's guide to faking your death on the internet - a post without an omg is a post incomplete. (YouTube alert - via Borklog)
posted by madamjujujive on Feb 19, 2007 - 44 comments

Diigo (Digest of Internet Information, Groups and Other stuff) is a new "social annotation" bookmarking site with the standard save-and-share, tags, etc., and also sharable Web page annotations.
posted by davcoo on Aug 17, 2006 - 6 comments

Where to find nice posters
posted by Bighappyfunhouse on Dec 19, 2005 - 39 comments

Doctors suing patients Are you angry and upset because of what a doctor did or did not do during a medical procedure? Did you express your anger online? Now doctors are suing patients for expressing their anger online.
posted by halekon on Sep 17, 2005 - 31 comments

Creative COW (Communities Of the World) seems to be a one-stop... stop... for help with After Effects, Combustion, and other industry software of just about any type. While some (nevertheless incredible) tutorials are a bit difficult to decipher, they could also be much worse. The focus looks mostly to be on After Effects and other Motion Graphics software, but the forums are invaluable for just about anything you might need. Of particular note would be the Demo Reels forum, where anyone from Editors to Directors of Photography, and even Game Developers (former or otherwise) can post reels for criticism and even be approached for work. Some of them are incredible, even if you're not involved in the industry.
posted by shmegegge on Sep 8, 2005 - 8 comments

As dial-up internet access begins to fade, a fight is happening over the right of municipalities to install and run their own broadband Internet access networks. Various think tanks like the market oriented Heartland Institute and the community oriented Institute for Local Self Reliance have chimed in on the debate. Last week the Supreme Court ruled that cable companies do not have to provide "open access" to rival Internet providers. And down in Lafayette Louisiana, where the community will soon vote on whether to install a municipal Fiber to Home Network, some of the citizens decided to inject some humor into the issue by holding a film festival.
posted by thedailygrowl on Jul 2, 2005 - 13 comments

Rise of the Creative Class followed by the Flight of the Creative Class. Following up on The Rise of the Creative Class (2002), Florida argues that if America continues to make it harder for some of the world's most talented students and workers to come here, they'll go to other countries eager to tap into their creative capabilities—as will American citizens fed up with what they view as an increasingly repressive environment. He argues that the loss of even a few geniuses can have tremendous impact, adding that the "overblown" economic threat posed by large nations such as China and India obscures all the little blows inflicted upon the U.S. by Canada, Scandinavia, New Zealand and other countries with more open political climates. Florida lays his case out well and devotes a significant portion of this polemical analysis to defending his earlier book's argument regarding "technology, talent, and tolerance" (i.e. that together, they generate economic clout, so the U.S. should be more progressive on gay rights and government spending). He does so because that book contains what he sees as the way out of the dilemma—a new American society that can "tap the full creative capabilities of every human being." Even when he drills down to less panoramic vistas, however, Florida remains an astute observer of what makes economic communities tick, and he's sure to generate just as much public debate on this new twist on brain drain.
posted by mk1gti on Jun 1, 2005 - 107 comments

Big Box Reuse: How Communities are Re-Using the Big Box. (via, via Planetizen)
posted by shoepal on Mar 23, 2005 - 3 comments

[TheFaceBook]: It comes in the genre of LiveJournal, MySpace, and Friendster - except with a focus on digitally connecting pre-existing friendships on college campuses rather than finding new friends worldwide. Subsequently, it has thus far avoided the stigmas I’ve seen attached to its predecessors by non-users. Its use has skyrocketed: about 15% of my campus has signed up since this past winter. All of it through word-of-mouth. One of the neat tricks it does is show a visualization of your friends on the network in a spider webbed vectored graphic connecting them based on their mutual friendships. It’s also proven very useful in tracking down those “where do I know him/her?” names through a prominently displayed list showing up to two-degrees of separation to the mystery person. Oh, and you can send text messages to cell phones through it. Did I mention it also reminds you of birthdays?
posted by trinarian on Mar 19, 2005 - 29 comments

Rebirth of the Semantic Web. On the heels of the Technorati taggregator, the Oddiophile bookmarklet, the tag search (new today!) and much ensuing buzz, Jeff Jarvis brings up people tagging. This concept drove Friendster and FOAF, both of which petered out. But with Technorati's elegant synthesis of photo, link, and post tagging, the web may once again tap into networked individualism.
posted by NickDouglas on Jan 17, 2005 - 23 comments

Introducing the International Journal of Web Based Communities (IJWBC), a quarterly peer-reviewed scientific journal whose first issue just went online. Growing out of the papers presented at the IADIS International Conference on Web Based Communities, the journal lists among their intended subject coverage such topics as "the history, architecture and future of virtual communities", "group processes and self-organisation", and "fading hierarchies and epistemic dictatorship". Read it while you can, because future hardcopy subscriptions will run you $450/€430 a year.
posted by Asparagirl on Dec 17, 2004 - 8 comments

With the next round of bloggies (or web log awards for those not down with the hip lingo), there's some concern that some types of blogs with large communities may not be included. Specifically, communities that are well known for tons of online events, and large gathering places whose interactions leak in to and out from real life. So, the food bloggers (floggers?) have done what they do best, and started their own awards - with 14 nomination categories, the results plan to, at the very least, make us all drool, if not inspire a few feasts here and there.

(and yay to mefi for winning last year's best community blog!)
posted by jearbear on Dec 8, 2004 - 7 comments

Vote for your favourite online community
posted by Mwongozi on Dec 4, 2004 - 62 comments

Dunstan Orchard designed his site header to mimic the view and weather of his parent's home in Dorset. To do so he created 90 illustrations reflecting the local weather such as cloud condition, wind, humidity, etc. and matched the pics with a XML feed from weather.com. The design features a panel which folds out from beneath the current illustration and presents detailed local weather for both San Francisco & Dorset. Dunstan's talent and attention to detail are astounding. I've only scratched the surface of what he does with this site.
posted by filchyboy on Nov 9, 2004 - 25 comments

Here's a good guide to posting, in flash form.
posted by sequential on Aug 26, 2004 - 9 comments

In the "it takes all kinds" category, Cuddle Parties. After all, nothing says "No dry humping" like a thong.
posted by fvw on Jul 22, 2004 - 89 comments

The Fursuit & Costume Archive has a most impressive collection of videos of people in animal costumes. Are you furry-curious?
posted by sciatica on Apr 3, 2004 - 21 comments

Gas prices are out of control and will continue to rise [NY Times]. However, I was looking at Matt H's Social Software ideas and decided check out one that already exists - gas prices. GasPriceWatch.com is a site that hosts gasoline prices from around the country. But the problem is, despite it's request for "non-commercial" use of the data, it relies on users to enter that information.

I'm about to have my first child so I've been looking at ways to save money -I figured finding the cheapest place to get gas would be a great way to start but quickly found that my price entries were the only ones within a 10 mile radius of my house. Spread the word.
posted by bkdelong on Mar 16, 2004 - 30 comments

Private kibbutzim? The kibbutz, unique and successful socialist experiments in communal living, helped build a country. Has their time passed? Different wages for different jobs, deeding property to individual members, and privatization of production are being instituted at 100 of them, out of an estimated 270 total. In a world where selfishness and capitalism seem to rule, is there hope for communal living?
posted by amberglow on Mar 12, 2004 - 7 comments

Newsflash: actually useful social-software site. There are many, many (etc., etc.,) sites that have sprung up to represent networks of friends (and friends of friends) on the web. But so what? There's no compelling reason to create or keep these profiles; there's nothing in it for you (just lots of work). But I've stumbled across Mediachest (screenshot) which is a sharing community for books, DVDs, and CDs. You can borrow your friends books and music and movies, and they can borrow yours. It's like a permanent MefiSwap!
posted by zpousman on Feb 21, 2004 - 12 comments

Googlearchy: How a few heavily-linked sites dominate politics on the Web. [pdf file] Political communities exhibit winner-take-all properties. Surprising?
posted by SandeepKrishnamurthy on Jan 8, 2004 - 3 comments

Welcome to Rawson, N.D., Population. 6. Are towns like these worth saving? Should these "areas" be allowed to go back to their natural equilibrium between man and nature? Is there a "natural" equilibrium? What does this mean for the future of small towns v. urban sprawl? Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times and Drs. Frank and Deborah Popper of Rutgers have an idea.
posted by Bag Man on Oct 29, 2003 - 27 comments

bloggerCON webcast Can't get enough of bloggers incessantly and never-endingly meta-blogging about weblogs? Well, now all the usual suspects are droning on in person and you can watch them do it live. Warning: Not recommended for anyone other than people like me who are fighting a nasty cold and looking for something to put them to sleep.
posted by theonetruebix on Oct 4, 2003 - 38 comments

DeanLink is a new service from the Dean Campaign. Dean + Friendster = DeanLink. The tech savvy presidential campaign strikes again. What's next? DeanTorrent? Where do you think all this technology will go after the campaign is over?
posted by cjoh on Sep 11, 2003 - 10 comments

So I Google search on the SoBig virus' affinity for UDP port 8998, and the possibility it may be downloading additional programs this afternoon(actually, right about now). Great, more filters on the routers. Hang on, what's this result on that first search? A link to PornResource? Why, it appears to be a news and technical site for porn site operators. News, guides, interviews, top designers, host reviews, even a message board. Of course, a site billed as "The Standard for Up-To-Date Adult Webmaster News" is NSFW. Unless you are BossHawg, of course.
posted by dglynn on Aug 22, 2003 - 10 comments

Become an eCaptain! "As an eCaptain, you'll create your personal ePrecinct: a list of online friends, family members, neighbors..." can I be a general or a dictator?... And can I be cruel and despotic (Just a little bit)? Please?
posted by troutfishing on Jun 22, 2003 - 9 comments

Hoorah! Fairy Congress '03 is almost upon us. With the admiral goal of Promoting Quality Human & Fairy Relations and special guest Dotty Maclean of Findhorn Community fame who apparently has done more than any other person in the 20th century to popularize the idea that humans can communicate with devas, in attendance you'd be crazy to miss it. Sure looks like fun...
posted by zeoslap on May 30, 2003 - 17 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

The horror,the horror. Everybody seems to be an expert on airline travel. Whether it's security issues or the dynamics of flight. There seems to be plenty of places to get it off your chest. With the industry in a nosedive will the survivors have to lift their game. Or just cut more corners to enhance the bottom line. Love those 5 hour on the runway to nowhere tales. Um as long as it's not me.
posted by johnny7 on Apr 20, 2003 - 4 comments

IM just for Wifi - Trepia has developed a new method for wifi users to connect to each other. Imagine turning on your laptop and seeing the other wifi users near your physical location and being able to chat with them.

There's only a Windows client at this time. I asked where the Mac & linux clients were and the CEO told me they were coming in the future once the Windows version takes off. I'm betting that if enough people ask, they'll accelerate their plans.
posted by Argyle on Apr 15, 2003 - 14 comments

Consumer Power! Not only can you register to join dozens of pending or proposed class action lawsuits, but you can try to convince an attorney to start a new one just for you. A welcome alternative to the Better Business Bureau or a sign of the approaching demise of Western civilization?
posted by boltman on Feb 4, 2003 - 1 comment

"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

Bearpath is a gated community in Minnesota. It's not all that special, except for the fact that it's the only gated community in the state. With membership fees to the golf club topping $10,000, it's obvious they want to keep out people who aren't filthy rich, or knows someone who is. Places like Florida, California, or Texas have many more. What causes people to want to move out to the sticks and put up a giant fence around their property, with tightly controlled access to the neighborhood? Is fear of crime a legitimate reason for digging in behind a fence with armed security guards? Or is it just to get away from people? Why is the thought of somebody isolating themselves this much from a community so fascinating?
posted by manero on Dec 3, 2002 - 55 comments

High school Satanism club prompts parental outrage some kids in a high school start a club called Satanist Thought Society. As expected, everybody gets offended, especially the Christian Society. It can be argued, though, that the the Satanist Society has as much right to exist as the Christian Society. Is this just a 1st ammendment issue or is there a moral question to be thought out? (via Camworld)
posted by falameufilho on Oct 2, 2002 - 100 comments

The Weekly Standard: Patio Man and the Sprawl People
There he is atop the uppermost tier of his multi-level backyard patio/outdoor recreation area posed like an admiral on the deck of his destroyer. In his mind's eye he can see himself coolly flipping the garlic and pepper T-bones on the front acreage of his new grill while carefully testing the citrus-tarragon trout filets that sizzle fragrantly in the rear. On the lawn below he can see his kids, Haley and Cody, frolicking on the weedless community lawn that is mowed twice weekly by the people who run Monument Crowne Preserve, his townhome community.
More inside...
posted by gen on Aug 6, 2002 - 65 comments

Building a community website One of my favorite strategy gaming sites, HeavenGames, gives us a peek under their hood with in-depth reportage on the design process they're undertaking for their new area devoted to the game Age of Wonders 2: The Wizard's Throne. I'm no web designer, but the ideas and procedures presented here certainly sure do make it sound easy (well, not really, but it's still an interesting read).
posted by WolfDaddy on Jul 25, 2002 - 4 comments

'You will stay in Saskatoon, you will stay in Moose Jaw': Plan would force newcomers to agree to live outside biggest cities for three to five years A new idea would have immigrants forced to live in rural Canadian communities for the first 3-5 years to offset the fact that young Canadians are fleeing them for the opportunities in the big cities. I sympathize with the loss that rural Canada is facing, I just don't see this working out the way proponents expect.
posted by Salmonberry on Jun 23, 2002 - 13 comments

Mindvox: The original cooler-than-thou online community. What is it now? What was it then? Anyone else here still searching to discover the person ahead of you in the grocery store line is 3jane or Simonmoon?
posted by milkman on Apr 8, 2002 - 18 comments

GeoCities was once the darling of the online world to every-man wanted to post his own web site. Free space for all, and all were happy. Then Yahoo! bought it, and the dot-com collapse occurred. Now, GeoCities offers new premium packages, offering more features. But at $19.95 before you can even having scripting, traditional web hosts greatly undercut Yahoo!'s offering, and offer more in terms of features still.
posted by benjh on Mar 11, 2002 - 13 comments

Remember Hanging Out And The World Out There? This invigorating article by Jay Walljasper in the current Utne Reader, lists 60 favourite gathering places in the U.S. I half-expected MetaFilter to figure prominently. But then, all of a sudden, it hit me. And I felt guilty about forgetting the real outdoor, face-to-face meaning of the lost art of hanging out . Well, I plan to make amends this weekend. I'll be hanging out at my favourite café in Lisbon - the beautiful eighteenth-century Nicola - where table-to-table political discussions, flirting, studying, hot buttered toast and almost illegally caffeinated espressos are de rigueur. So what's your favourite hang-out? If and when you can tear yourself away from your computer, that is...
posted by MiguelCardoso on Mar 5, 2002 - 62 comments

More from the "Watch What You Say Online" Department This Wired story mentions a fellow who badmouthed a thin-skinned company on an online forum and found himself hit with a $450,000 default judgment against him because he didn't show up in court to defend himself (he claims he had no idea he had been sued). Even those among us who might not be guilty of stealing have probably said something bad about various companies here and elsewhere. Should we all go hire a lawyer RIGHT NOW?
posted by briank on Mar 1, 2002 - 17 comments

A Poll on Fark asks its members whether or not they would pay 5$ a month to belong to thier discussion group. How many of you would pay for MeFi? Do you any of you feel that there would be benefits to having MeFi become a pay for service? I do, and I'm out of work!
posted by xammerboy on Feb 3, 2002 - 29 comments

Norfolk Island wants to ban anyone with HIV or hepatitis from visiting or living on the island. I can't see how they can get away with this.
posted by spinifex on Jan 17, 2002 - 14 comments

In the wake of the 11th, I've heard from people I haven't spoken to in months or even years. Are you reconnecting with old friends? It's easier than you think.
posted by tranquileye on Sep 27, 2001 - 6 comments

So, if my pizza's 30 minutes late, do I get a personal apology from Uncle Enzo?
"In Nevada, a 55-acre community called Front Sight, featuring streets with names like Second Amendment Drive and Sense of Duty Way, is being built for gun enthusiasts (people who buy an acre plot get lifetime use of the 22 planned ranges, an Uzi machinegun and a safari in Africa). In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, one gated community seems to have been taken over by black rap stars."
posted by GriffX on Sep 4, 2001 - 28 comments