MetaTalk

Hi there, MetaFilter!

Welcome to this month’s Site Update! You can find the last one here.

I’m looking forward to your feedback and questions!
posted by loup to MetaTalk on May 15 at 11:48 AM
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A couple of months ago, I was poking around on AskMetafilter for productivity things. I found my way, via a comment on an oldish-post, to an organization system for computer files that I got excited about, started to implement without even reading the whole thing, and have found very helpful. Now I'd like to read more about the system and I can't find the link again.
posted by Well I never to MetaTalk on May 3 at 10:50 PM
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This has been asked before, in Nov 2022, when the site owner called it a "really good idea" and a then-current tech person said it seemed "uncontroversial and positive, so I'll put that on the pile of things to do." Is this still something the community thinks is worth doing? If so, any chance it could be implemented? It might increase engagement in an area of the site that could use it. I know I'd find it useful, anyway.
posted by mediareport to MetaTalk on May 4 at 8:06 AM
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Whether it's the name of a person, a drug or medical treatment, a non-governmental organization (NGO), a less-common internet term, or something specific to your field of interest, please spell it out and only then use the acronym.
posted by Well I never to MetaTalk on Mar 28 at 12:36 PM
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Surely there's someone available to do this paid mod work who likes metafilter more. [view]
posted by phunniemee to MetaTalk on May 16 at 11:14 AM
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That same point has also been made by multiple other people including myself many multiple times. It never gets a response. The site admin is too busy with self-assigned busy work to admin the site. It's absurd and is the primary reason I won't donate to this poorly-run, for-profit business. [view]
posted by donnagirl to MetaTalk on May 16 at 7:50 AM
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since Kirk and I have been looking at User Experience and accessibility we have stumbled upon several instances where the copy is either outdated or inconsistent across subsites, so that’s why we started compiling and auditing these. Be that as it may, the main problems facing Metafilter are that its existing membership is in decline and... [more]
posted by Candleman to MetaTalk on May 16 at 11:02 PM
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Look, I have been polite in previous threads that got absolutely no answers that people had specifically asked for, before. I have tried to be polite with 2 days of pings in this thread, where loup was specifically called into the thread, a timeline was set by another moderator, and it was an easy to answer question. It is now THURSDAY. Gently,... [more]
posted by bowbeacon to MetaTalk on May 16 at 6:24 AM
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Just a mild note that a project like the copy updates could be a great volunteer project for the non-profit - it’s limited scope, can be done in any timezone, and has clear deliverables. [view]
posted by warriorqueen to MetaTalk on May 16 at 8:13 AM
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Love a work life balance. My perspective is this: is engaging with the community about community related topics a job duty of working for a community-funded community weblog? I would say yes. Especially when there has been one (1) MetaTalk post of that nature, by my count, in the past full month. I suppose others may disagree. [view]
posted by phunniemee to MetaTalk on May 16 at 12:18 PM
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I’m compiling, auditing and updating all the subsites’ static copy. The idea is to make sure MeFi remains consistent in its voice and content. Can I ask what's the rationale for making this a priority task? Has there been community demand for it? Or people saying inconsistent text is holding back site participation? [view]
posted by Klipspringer to MetaTalk on May 16 at 3:31 AM
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There are some really nice people in this thread that I like very much who are upset, so I am going to say what I say next carefully. My understanding of how things work with our current staffing levels is that moderation is driven primarily by flags, but also by MeMails and the Contact Us form. On top of this, state of the site and... [more]
posted by DirtyOldTown to MetaTalk on May 17 at 8:22 AM
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And still, loup, respectfully, the question remains why did it take from Monday to Thursday to respond to this thread? Agains, RSS exists, but frankly there are so few comments anymore that just glancing at the one MetaTalk page and using the (X new) markers, you could easily be more responsive to people who are invested in this site. At this... [more]
posted by donnagirl to MetaTalk on May 16 at 10:16 AM
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You can perhaps forgive people for wondering what it is you're doing and why you're spending your time within shifts that are already scheduled maintaining static copy rather than interacting with the community and replying to their feedback and questions. I mean, I'm kind of at a loss for why you are acting like those are loup's only... [more]
posted by Gygesringtone to MetaTalk on May 17 at 10:57 AM
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Ghosting by mods is also very inconsiderate and disrespectful and that should be taken into account both when evaluating a member's tone and when evaluating the mods in question. [view]
posted by hypnogogue to MetaTalk on May 16 at 12:29 PM
12 users marked this as a favorite

It’s pretty funny to publicly button your sockpuppets. Like, how many times has the same person publicly buttoned? But, in any event, the point I wanted to make is that interacting with the site membership is a big part of the job of mods/leadership and there just isn’t much of that happening anymore. I agree nobody should have to run... [more]
posted by Mid to MetaTalk on May 17 at 4:13 AM
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I don't get what one thing has to do with the other. UI/UX is one of our biggest priorities already. That's why we prioritized hiring a new tech resource and have been working on User Experience and accessibility. Maintaining static copy, on the other hand, is a small (albeit not fast) project that will not affect our spending in the... [more]
posted by bowmaniac to MetaTalk on May 17 at 10:13 AM
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Umm...I have a question: Have we done any outreach to journalists who cover tech/the internet/internet culture about the impending 25th anniversary? A guy by the last name Salkin wrote about Mefi in the NY Times a long time ago, I googled him and he seems to be...cranky now. Nevertheless, the 25th is a great story and even better opportunity to get... [more]
posted by vrakatar to MetaTalk on May 17 at 7:50 PM
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"It's 25 years old, and despite some infighting, losing members, and the same old interface as 1999, MetaFilter soldiers on as an internet community, a community as the internet was first envisioned. When the rest of the internet has been reduced to how much advertising can we sell, MetaFilter is mostly a community of volunteers. A community... [more]
posted by JohnnyGunn to MetaTalk on May 18 at 10:28 AM
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I'm confused why Bowbeacon was banned when other users are allowed to post similar levels of vitriol (I'm thinking especially the Gaza threads). Inconsistency isn't a good look. But that's just like my opinion, man. [view]
posted by Jarcat to MetaTalk on May 16 at 10:15 AM
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Thanks for all you do, mods! There is definitely some old copy floating around here that dates this site. The profile prompt of "tell everyone when you first started using the internet" has gone from a nice icebreaker to something equivalent to "tell us about the first time you turned on a light bulb." [view]
posted by DirtyOldTown to MetaTalk on May 17 at 10:26 AM
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MetaTalk posts get generally approved within the same day. And so I respectfully suggest, when that doesn't happen, as it didn't in this case, that you take 27 seconds to send a quick email to the poster, instead of just leaving them hanging for days with no explanation for *why* their particular question had not been posted, when you... [more]
posted by mediareport to MetaTalk on May 17 at 10:45 AM
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Thank you loup! I'd continue to push for a one-time, open-call feedback opportunity for trans and nonbinary mefites to provide feedback rather than a standing meeting or group which is a huge commitment of time and energy. It seemed like mefi leadership was open to that idea when we discussed in the April thread so I'm curious where that has... [more]
posted by capricorn to MetaTalk on May 15 at 1:25 PM
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I'm glad that MetaFilter's staff seem to have reasonable priorities regarding what is urgent versus what might be important but isn't urgent, and are no longer running themselves ragged treating everything as urgent when it isn't. It's a much more sustainable model. Sometimes having to wait a few days for a response on things that are low urgency,... [more]
posted by biogeo to MetaTalk on May 16 at 12:11 PM
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