This appears to be a Self-Link

April 19, 2006 5:22 AM

This appears to be a Self-Link, both in tone and because the poster has the site listed as their homepage.
posted by OmieWise to MetaFilter-Related at 5:22 AM (27 comments total)

sure enough. Post removed, ban ensues.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 5:26 AM on April 19, 2006

Banning is too kind. We need knee-cappings. People will laugh off the loss of 5 bucks but they won't laugh off a Robocop style knee-capping, no siree-bob.
posted by substrate at 5:28 AM on April 19, 2006

Thanks.
posted by OmieWise at 5:30 AM on April 19, 2006

Yeesh, people are dumb. Nevermind the fact that FD's FlickrTools has already had this for AGES (minus the e-card aspect, and not as many word balloon types, but much more usable in my opinion).
posted by antifuse at 5:51 AM on April 19, 2006

What an idiot (now used in the not-civil-obedient sense). I mean, come on. What a stupid moron thing to do.
posted by keijo at 5:53 AM on April 19, 2006

So are we just finding the stupid self-linkers and do some of the swifter ones slip through? Even without knowing that this person had the site listed as his/her homepage, you could tell just by the tone of the post. If you don't want people to think that you're spamming, don't make your post sound like advertising copy. "This is really funny and easy to use." No talks like that unless they are selling something.
posted by octothorpe at 6:17 AM on April 19, 2006

I'm Art Linkletter and I heartily endorse this thread and/or product.
posted by Otis at 6:24 AM on April 19, 2006

Aww geez, it's no fun if you just ban them without dragging them to Meta so we can hear what they have to say for themselves. People on death row get to have their final words.
posted by Jimbob at 6:42 AM on April 19, 2006

It's really clever of mathowie, the way he designed the user page to trap self-linkers into listing their homepages.
posted by tellurian at 6:55 AM on April 19, 2006

People on death row get to have their final words.

Yeah but people on death row are still humans. Not so with spammers.
posted by Ryvar at 6:58 AM on April 19, 2006

How about if we added something to the signup page that said, "If you self-link on MetaFilter you owe the website owners a $100 fine"? Not legally binding of course, but we could have fun trying to collect it.

I don't think it would take many rude emails and scathing blog posts for the company to feel it was in their best interest to pay the fine.

Or how about a "page of shame" that mentioned the company without linking to them or giving the URL? Perhaps along with our usual review of the level of suck we find in their service?

It just seems like we're too nice to these assholes. We can all agree they're assholes yes? Why don't we do more to make self-linking like this a wildly bad idea from a PR standpoint? We have a huge community here who can turn the guerilla marketing angle back on *them*.
posted by y6y6y6 at 7:01 AM on April 19, 2006

I just delete and forget about the spam in my mailbox. We should do the same with self-links on the blue.
posted by Plutor at 7:06 AM on April 19, 2006

Why do people who self-link make it so damn obvious that they're self-linking?
posted by SeizeTheDay at 7:10 AM on April 19, 2006

I just delete and forget about the spam in my mailbox. We should do the same with self-links on the blue.

Yea... but what if you could slit the throat of the actual spammer? Would you?
posted by Witty at 7:10 AM on April 19, 2006

how about we find a user near the self-linker and send him/her over with a flaming bag of crap?
posted by rxrfrx at 7:11 AM on April 19, 2006

Because we never recognize the people who self-link with subtlety.
posted by crunchland at 7:59 AM on April 19, 2006

It will just never feel the same without self-linkers. I've never made love with animals with such intensity and disgust.
posted by keijo at 8:23 AM on April 19, 2006

Yea... but what if you could slit the throat of the actual spammer? Would you?

In a second.
posted by Zozo at 8:23 AM on April 19, 2006

Looks like someone's earned their place in the Ancient Order of The Flaming Pitchfork. Congrats, OmieWise.

initiation ceremony begins at 10
posted by blag at 8:24 AM on April 19, 2006

I just delete and forget about the spam in my mailbox. We should do the same with self-links on the blue.

But a shared hatred of self-linkers is the only thing that can help end the sectarian violence that is tearing MeFi apart!
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 9:26 AM on April 19, 2006

I feel we'd all be a lot happier if only we all were circumsized.
posted by Astro Zombie at 9:39 AM on April 19, 2006

And had our cats declawed
posted by Carbolic at 9:43 AM on April 19, 2006

I feel we'd all be a lot happier if we were circumsized by our cats.
posted by tkolar at 12:53 PM on April 19, 2006

I feel we'd all be a lot happier if we all had our penises declawed.
posted by antifreez_ at 1:10 PM on April 19, 2006

Circumcized by pussy?
posted by eyeballkid at 1:11 PM on April 19, 2006

Maybe the time has come to require a $100 deposit for membership. If you self-linked, you'd forfeit it.
posted by fourcheesemac at 1:26 PM on April 19, 2006

Circumcized by pussy?

It's our problem-free!
Philosophy!
Vagina dentata!
posted by hangashore at 7:56 PM on April 19, 2006