MetaFilter

For one, people will die from it and if they are dead, they can't vote.

The downside is the there no guarantee that the people who will die will be the people being dumb and spreading the disease.

If the fact that we live in the darkest timeline is any indicator, the dumbest will somehow live and spread the disease to many who never showed up to protest. They'll view the fact that they lived as proof they were "chosen by... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by deadaluspark at 8:23 AM on April 19, 2020

And here we go! (thank u regex)

The most-viewed YTMNDs of all time

Comprehensive list of YTMND memes (fads) on the wiki; each has a page listing background info and examples

Selections:

Picard Song [YT] — UALUEALUEALEUALE [YT] — 3.141592653589793... [YT] — Arnold shares his deepest feelings [YT]

Paris Hilton Doesn't Change Facial Expressions [YT] — Mom's Spaghetti [YT] —... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 4:07 PM on April 1, 2020

Something I tried to emphasize to new hires was that their ignorance of things we take for granted is a rare and valuable resource and that it was important to capture as much knowledge from their learning curve as possible. I should have asked them to keep an informal journal of their stumbling-blocks and aha! moments, but instead I tried to learn as much as possible from our daily status meetings and daily interactions.

Any good team develops a shared knowledge base... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by sjswitzer at 2:11 PM on February 25, 2020

And it's here!
posted to MetaFilter by Miss Cellania at 9:30 AM on September 21, 2019

Has anyone reconstructed Neil Young's Island in the Sun album? It was the album Geffen rejected in 1982, leading to the release of Trans (which is my favorite Neil album. Drag me.) A few tracks were included in Trans, but I'm curious what else was recorded.
posted to MetaFilter by SansPoint at 9:24 AM on September 13, 2019

People are taking the piss out of you everyday. They butt into your life, take a cheap shot at you and then disappear. They leer at you from tall buildings and make you feel small. They make flippant comments from buses that imply you're not sexy enough and that all the fun is happening somewhere else. They are on TV making your girlfriend feel inadequate. They have access to the most sophisticated technology the world has ever seen and they bully you with it. They are The Advertisers and they... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by wellvis at 12:59 PM on September 10, 2019

pb made a roundup of the blogs here. Now all we need is the OPML file!
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Nelson at 10:00 AM on August 30, 2019

I was thinking that the age of mass algorithmic surveillance, whilst in some ways novel, has brought back a pre-Enlightenment mode of thinking. In the Middle Ages, Europeans believed that God and His recording angels were watching their every action, building up a huge log which they will be confronted with at the Final Judgment. With modern surveillance capitalism, God is Google/Facebook, Experian and various adtech companies, the angels are daemons (of the UNIX variety), and the Final Judgment... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by acb at 1:11 AM on June 14, 2019

Hobbits?
posted to MetaFilter by dbx at 6:52 AM on June 9, 2019

Dragons. Basically dragons. Sitting on a hoard, ammassing more, wrecking civilizations in their greed. I dunno, what is the traditional cure for dragon infestations?
posted to MetaFilter by seanmpuckett at 6:49 AM on June 9, 2019

this google doc was sort of buried in the post and seems to be the best breakdown so far. no follow me around and no big boots either, people are theorizing that those weren't recorded until some sessions the band had during their 1998 tour, which are shown in "meeting people is easy." also interesting is that very little of the material from the OKNOTOK cassette tape is present on these discs, implying there were more sessions that didn't make their way into this leak.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by JimBennett at 4:26 PM on June 5, 2019

there is some cool stuff in the leaks. the version of lift here would have been a certified capital-h Hit, and i can see why that scared them so much after creep. there are a few weird versions of true love waits that don't hold together. the ten minute version of paranoid android on disc 5 is awesome, starts off shaggy but turns into a real fucking jam after the "rain down" section. there are a few jams after this on disc 5 i really enjoy, the one from minute ~18 to minute ~25 is... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by JimBennett at 3:19 PM on June 5, 2019

I can't make the funeral, and feel sort of helpless. I have decided to brew a beer in Phil's honor and have named it "Photo HOPortunity." If it ends up being any good I will share the recipe.

*sigh*
posted to MetaTalk by terrapin at 1:24 PM on March 11, 2019

Phil was such a good guy. I’m so grateful MeFi gave me a chance to meet him. He stopped by whenever he came through town, back when his health still allowed him to travel widely. He was sneaky funny, and had a lifetime of stories that he told with verve and relish.

One of my favorite stories he told was about living in Berlin in the 1970s and being annoyed by his loud neighbors...

Who turned out to be Iggy Pop and David Bowie. As I recall,... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by BitterOldPunk at 2:43 PM on March 6, 2019

I'm with zompist; this cynical and tiresome dismissal of Lakoff's argument is really baffling. Lakoff is exactly right about what Trump is doing. And Trump is doing it explicitly, deliberately. Maybe not intelligently, I tend to go with him just having remarkable instincts for media manipulation. Either way it's working and the press is letting it work.

And a good number of journalists are thinking and baffled about what to do. Not the bland hacks that make up the top of... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Nelson at 4:53 AM on November 25, 2018

The step by step guide begins at 11:07

The steps are:

1. Money. Give or raise money.
2. Gather. Meet with other women and see what changes you want to make.
3. Listen. Of any group you're in has people who only look like you, change that.
4. Demand. The women in this room have the power to negotiate for equal pay, grant equal pay, popularize equal pay.
5. Gossip well. If a man says to you that a... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Cozybee at 12:27 AM on November 11, 2018

They killed Reader to try to force people into Plus, which is why I always refused to use it. I am more concerned about the breach and lack of disclosure, though.
posted to MetaFilter by dame at 11:51 AM on October 8, 2018

Elizabeth Warren’s new, tantalizing claim about Kavanaugh shows what utter madness this isOn the Senate floor late Thursday, Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) made a new and tantalizing claim about what’s in the FBI documents on Brett M. Kavanaugh that all senators have now reviewed. Senators are severely limited in what they can say about these documents, which are summaries of the interviews that the FBI conducted as part of their renewed background check into Kavanaugh, after Christine Blasey Ford... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by kirkaracha at 8:47 AM on October 5, 2018

His denial that he's never blacked out was the least convincing thing ever. I've talked to people who were actively blacking out who were more convincing that they were fine.
posted to MetaFilter by Bulgaroktonos at 1:11 PM on September 27, 2018

52 U.S. Code § 30121 - Contributions and donations by foreign nationals

It shall be unlawful for a foreign national, directly or indirectly, to make;
- (A) a contribution or donation of money or other thing of value, or to make an express or implied promise to make a contribution or donation, in connection with a Federal, State, or local election;
- (B) a contribution or donation to a committee of a political party

It... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by chris24 at 9:56 AM on August 5, 2018

Gosh, amazing how snappily these organizations move to remove stuff, when it's a matter of kowtowing to those in power. As compared to their shrugs and 'we can't do anything about it, freeeee speeeech' when it comes to women and PoC being harrassed.

(this is entirely separate from the question of whether they should have removed this stuff, it's that the difference in treatment is grating)
posted to MetaFilter by tavella at 10:32 AM on June 21, 2018

FUCK YOU I WON'T POISON THE CLOVER
posted to MetaFilter by flabdablet at 1:23 AM on June 9, 2018

I remember metafilter's 8th anniversary where Matt rented out Ground Kontrol in Portland. I was there as was jessamyn, cortex and pb. Flickr photos were tagged mefi8.
posted to MetaTalk by vacapinta at 8:59 AM on May 24, 2018

Here's an excellent legal tech analysis of details on what exactly Facebook + Cambridge Analytica did: Data Analytics, App Developers, and Facebook’s Role in Data Misuse. Some more discussion here and here. Talks specifically about the problem that Facebook used to let apps not only gather your data but your friends' data as well, without those friends' consent.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Nelson at 8:31 AM on March 21, 2018

This great Forbes article makes several essential points, including:

- Ted Cruz's presidential campaign relied on the same firm and data as Trump's campaign, so these methods are clearly not an automatic ticket to victory
- user nonconsent or unawareness is, unfortunately, the norm with how Facebook/researchers use social network data
- use of big data in political campaigns has gone from being lauded in 2008 to cursed in... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Noisy Pink Bubbles at 7:53 AM on March 19, 2018

i am unfamiliar with this song
posted to MetaFilter by um at 5:58 PM on February 21, 2018

Oh, and to this particular article, I could see how "bot that accuses people of being an impostor and spams Twitter with denunciations" could be problematic. Particularly if the bot ever makes a mistake. But OTOH Twitter has done so, so little effective to address its abuse problem. They should have been hiring the creators of this bot, not thwarting their efforts.
posted to MetaFilter by Nelson at 1:31 PM on December 28, 2017

Robert's first impression of Margot was of her standing under a big electric sign that literally says Concessions.

It's simply perfect.
posted to MetaFilter by mochapickle at 8:52 AM on December 11, 2017

i felt like she channelled all the emotional labor and sexist abuse threads from mefi that I've been reading all these years - the endgame seemed pretty clear from all the little signals along the way that I only picked up on because of all that everyone here has been sharing in those threads - so thank you for all the education and i wish it weren't necessary and i wish it weren't the way of the world for now (holding hope that we can make things better in time)... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Sock Person Cat Puppet at 8:05 AM on December 10, 2017

Now I want to read about the training that the balloon handlers get. It must be fairly involved, and they must have contingency plans for stuff like this.

I was a balloon pilot in the parade. We ruled the skies.

In 2002 I had moved to NYC to work for Federated Merchandising Group, basically the parent company to Macy's and their sister brands. I was a corporate merchandiser for men's tailored clothing. They hadn't really... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by allkindsoftime at 5:29 PM on November 9, 2015

We bought our house in Kingston in 1999. The realtor said "one of the guys from the Tragically Hip lives right across the street!" I remember laughing out loud at the very idea and thought this was a totally lame feature pitch from a 60ish female Brit realtor who couldn't possibly have a clue.

Except here's the thing. One of the Tragically Hip lived right across the street. The bass player, Gord Sinclair, and his family lived right across the street from us for... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by hearthpig at 5:12 PM on October 19, 2017

The first thing to realize about Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood is that everyone in it is basically human. The way to know this is that all the animal-form bipeds eat human food. Daniel doesn't eat tigerfood for breakfast, he eats oatmeal with blueberries. The same is true of all the other animal-form bipeds. They eat the same kind of food humans eat, therefore they clearly have human innards. But it's not merely skin, as the owls are capable of at least limited flight, indicating that the... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Kattullus at 4:46 PM on September 28, 2017

IT'S A COOKBOOK
posted to MetaFilter by murphy slaw at 6:10 AM on September 7, 2017

.
(The band's name has more surprising origins than many might imagine)
posted to MetaFilter by rongorongo at 8:50 AM on September 3, 2017

My favorite throwaway line was Davos and Missandei trying to determine if Jon is King Jon or King Snow, and Jon just waved it off with "it doesn't matter." Such a difference from Dany's grotesque, pompous list of titles.
posted to FanFare by gatorae at 9:32 PM on August 6, 2017

I was wondering why they brought back that dagger of all things, since the person who's likely to blame for the assassination attempt, Joffrey, is extremely dead and barely mourned. Figuring it was just to get a Valyrian steel blade in Arya's hands, I started counting Valyrian blades that we know about, which I believe are currently held by Jamie (Widow's Wail), Brienne (Oathkeeper), Jon (Longclaw), Sam (Heartsbane), and Arya (nameless dagger). If this season's arc for Jaime is about him... [more]
posted to FanFare by Copronymus at 8:37 PM on August 6, 2017

Congratulations on the orderly transition of power! I kid, but it's great that Josh and Matt worked out a way to transfer the company over and keep operating it for us.

It's a good time to reflect on how vital and unusual Metafilter is. There are very few Internet communities of its age or influence. And it's always been this sort of elite, rarified kind of community operating on a shoestring. I cherish it greatly and am looking forward to another 18+ years.
posted to MetaTalk by Nelson at 10:38 AM on July 31, 2017

Josh covered much of what I wanted to share, but I wanted to add my angle on the transfer.

I ran MeFi day-to-day for 16 years but by the end, I was pretty well ground down. Over the years, a combo of depression, exhaustion, and anxiety from managing MetaFilter took its toll on me, and one of the major turnarounds for me was to change careers entirely. I took a new job in a field that wasn’t remotely about community management and found it creatively satisfying. It was... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by mathowie at 9:15 AM on July 31, 2017

This topic (fat + health = how does it work?!) comes up on Mefi whenever body positivity or health at any weight or fat acceptance or whatever comes up. So as a nurse who has to give people lifestyle advice all the time I thought I'd throw my two cents in:

First: Health covers a lot of domains. I know from talking to literally thousands of people about their health that due to the messaging everyone gets from society (social media, peers, family, tv, etc) that most... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by supercrayon at 11:05 PM on April 28, 2017

Fight over text? How about modeling conflict resolution so your kid doesn't grow up thinking happy couples never disagree?
posted to MetaFilter by Knowyournuts at 5:23 PM on March 26, 2017

Yeah, I mean, look: I get eyeballing protests skeptically. As folks have noted, these handwavey arguments against come up literally every time there's a discussion anywhere of protests, and it's not because everybody making them got together to form the Anti-Protesting Squad and shared notes. It's so messy, noisy, obnoxious; people just want to smash stuff; it's uncivil; why not do some thing x instead; it's inconvenient; it turns good people off; it won't do anything anyway. Every time, it... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by cortex at 8:34 AM on November 12, 2016

They're part of it.

Any questions?
posted to MetaFilter by jenkinsEar at 6:20 PM on October 26, 2016

And what about the skeletons, then?

They're part of it.
posted to MetaFilter by Jugwine at 6:17 PM on October 26, 2016

i will want solutions to appease the bad elves

Find a "smart" toaster/fridge/lightbulb/thermostat and beat it into dust. Repeat.
posted to MetaFilter by enn at 12:39 PM on October 21, 2016

@pbausch: "Good thing we all have those ham radio rigs so we can stay in touch post DDoS. It's been fun!"

Well someone's enjoying their retirement!
posted to MetaFilter by gwint at 10:45 AM on October 21, 2016

If you set your DNS on your network connection to use OpenDNS servers instead (208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220) that seems to work right now to let me get to GitHub -- they have a feature called smartcache that caches IP addresses for hosts when there's an outage (I can't get to that page right now but that's what an acquaintance told me).
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 11:32 AM on October 21, 2016

The intersection of comfortably lived domesticity and the sometimes savage and intimidating personas of the surrealists really surprises me. I don't doubt that their lives contained moments of bourgeois domestic ordinariness but that they would readily attach their names to widely published documents of such moments makes me wonder if the conscious play with and blurring of lines between public persona and private person that so captivates and troubles us in this digital age has actually been... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by treepour at 10:37 AM on October 14, 2016

It's strange. A lot of Mefites have expressed surprise that anyone is surprised, and you know, I was pretty shocked actually.

I mean, not at the discovery that Trump was a disgusting sexist pig. Sure, anyone who paid attention to him for 10 seconds would know that.

But there IS actually something abnormal in his comments. There are lots of men who feel comfortable constantly rating every woman around them on an attractiveness scale. They... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by threeturtles at 4:48 AM on October 8, 2016

MetaFilter: my nonstandard use case makes your obvious improvement untenable.
posted to MetaTalk by jessamyn at 12:43 PM on September 17, 2016

I would argue the Web has gotten way more open in the past 5 years. No more Flash. JavaScript for everything on the client side -- JavaScript that can be played with, learned from, dissected. Browsers are far, far better than they once were and it's easier to code something interesting that most people can actually see. AWS, Cloudflare, and serverless app hosting means it's cheaper and easier to start an independent web site that gets massive amounts of traffic than ever. Facebook is still... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by miyabo at 7:50 AM on June 18, 2016