Frist Pots!

February 22, 2007 3:54 PM

Heywood Mogroot's "first-fpp" tag finally gets used in another maiden post. Is tagging your first FPP as such a good idea? Should NeoFites be recommended to do so? Should we all go back and backtag our front page deflowerings?
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane (staff) to Etiquette/Policy at 3:54 PM (51 comments total)

onanism knows no bounds.
posted by Dave Faris at 3:58 PM on February 22, 2007

No. It's already a tradition here to harsh on people for 'bad posts', and I think we could do without any more emphasis on the idea that posting to MetaFilter for the first time should be some kind of terrifying rite of passage. It saddens me every time I see people write, "It's my first post, please don't hurt me, I hope I did it right".
posted by chrismear at 4:02 PM on February 22, 2007

Note that the opposite of n00b is NOT boon.
posted by rob511 at 4:07 PM on February 22, 2007 [1 favorite]

Actually, and this is me drunk and magnanimous, I think it's kinda a neat idea. If a lot of folk did it, it would be helpful to new members to see that, say (pulling out of my ass) Languagehat or cortex or jonmc or jonson or crunchland or mathowie made a mediocre/decent first post, so they'd understand that it's not so terrible a hurdle.
Not saying I'll get around to retagging my first post, but at some point in the future maybe.

(Resending this after 500 server error. WTF?)
posted by klangklangston at 4:12 PM on February 22, 2007

I would say no, no and no, respectively.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 4:13 PM on February 22, 2007

That was me sober and parsimonious.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 4:14 PM on February 22, 2007

I liked you better when you were drunk and superfluous.
posted by found missing at 4:18 PM on February 22, 2007

I did it. What the hell (it was probably good; I hadn't realized I hadn't tagged my first FPP at all).
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 4:19 PM on February 22, 2007 [1 favorite]

This one ("firstpost") also got some play.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 4:19 PM on February 22, 2007

From an armchair historian's perspective, it's kind of a charming notion, but it seems totally unnecessary: it's trivial to find someone's first post by looking in their profile. It'd be like tagging every metafilter post with "metafilter-post".
posted by cortex at 4:20 PM on February 22, 2007

I haven't posted to the front page yet, and unless I read about something crazy like Planned Parenthood and Sprint joining forces I'm not really sure I ever will...
posted by magikker at 4:23 PM on February 22, 2007

Ah hell, no. My first was a single link op-ed.

I...I got better.
posted by Ufez Jones at 4:27 PM on February 22, 2007

Also, I wonder if roofus was being weirdly/playfully self-conscious: it's his first post to the blue, but not to the site; and he's had a run-in with the law on an AskMe post, too. He's been around a while, but not very actively, and yet has several posts to the grey under his belt, which along with the tag in question suggests he's possibly more navelgazey viz-a-viz mefi itself than most mefites.

I like him already.
posted by cortex at 4:30 PM on February 22, 2007

My first post was a double. How about that?
posted by bob sarabia at 4:30 PM on February 22, 2007

I'll probably cry after my first time.
posted by Green Eyed Monster at 4:34 PM on February 22, 2007

There's no shame in crymaxing, Green Eyed Monster.
posted by matthewr at 4:36 PM on February 22, 2007

It'd be like tagging every metafilter post with "metafilter-post".

Hey, kewl idea!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 4:47 PM on February 22, 2007

I don't know what is less necessary, doing it or talking about doing it.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 4:57 PM on February 22, 2007

I don't know what is less necessary, doing it or talking about doing it.
talking about doing it is clearly just a cry for help.
posted by magikker at 5:02 PM on February 22, 2007

Yeah, I thought so. Just wanted to raise the issue.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 5:02 PM on February 22, 2007

NeoFites

Top verbiage gnfti!
posted by Sparx at 5:06 PM on February 22, 2007

It saddens me every time I see people write, "It's my first post, please don't hurt me, I hope I did it right".

Indeed, plus folks are generally just as likely to tear you apart for a crummy 5th post, or a lousy 20th post, or a stupid 107th post, or a ludicrous 257th post, or a....
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:07 PM on February 22, 2007

I called no tagbacks before my deflowering and yet here I am at the clinic anyway.
posted by and hosted from Uranus at 5:21 PM on February 22, 2007

You spelled Psot all wrong.
posted by Devils Rancher at 5:38 PM on February 22, 2007

Given the warmth of the Metafilter Welcome Wagon (and by 'warmth', I do of course mean a kind of heat on the level of the fires of Hell itself) is not the sort of thing I think most new MeFites would want to attract unto themselves. That said, most people who've lurked here for ages before signing up will know that and won't use the tag for that very reason.
posted by Effigy2000 at 5:50 PM on February 22, 2007

There's nothing that will alleviate the apprehension of a person reluctant to make their first post. Not even a tag.
posted by Dave Faris at 5:58 PM on February 22, 2007

Meet my good old friend, single malt.
posted by chrismear at 5:59 PM on February 22, 2007

it seems totally unnecessary: it's trivial to find someone's first post by looking in their profile

What he said. And really, it's best to get that first one over with and stop worrying about it. Just get drunk hold your nose and dive in. Having a new asshole torn for you can be fun!
posted by languagehat at 5:59 PM on February 22, 2007

Let's see: My first post sucked, my second one was OK. The third was a well-received double. Four, five, six and seven all went over pretty well. The reception to eight blew me away.

So, yeah, just up and make the first post and don't make a big deal about it. You'll get the hang of it.
posted by Cyrano at 6:19 PM on February 22, 2007

I sometimes go look up the first posts of MeFites I either particularly like or dislike. I had been lurking for years and years when I made my first post. I had decided that it was going to be my first post months, if not years before I posted it. I suspect the same of many long-time lurkers, and I sometimes wonder if something about a mefite's heartfelt interests and personalities can be gleaned from their virgin links. Also, before this post, I didn't realize that you could backtag archived threads (not that I'd given it much thought either).
posted by Kattullus at 6:34 PM on February 22, 2007

The Metafilter Internet experience: Having a new asshole torn for you can be fun!
posted by caddis at 6:35 PM on February 22, 2007

My first post is still my last post. It was well received so I figured that I'd quit while I was ahead. I've never worked up the courage to post a second time.
posted by octothorpe at 6:41 PM on February 22, 2007

I have a srong opinion about this.
posted by LarryC at 6:46 PM on February 22, 2007

I enjoyed my first post, but it wasn't really my first post. Just my first post as me, and not the earlier me, whose first post probably wasn't as good, but who's to say, really.

I liked my second post more. Come to think of it, I like all my posts. But sometimes I get griped at for their one-sited nature.

I should post more often, I think, but it's a royal pain from my Blackberry.

What I'd like to see is someone announcing their first comment. That'd be a hoot, especially if it was totally snarky or funny or erudite or full of in-jokes. Or tag lines, like:

Metafilter: totally snarky or funny or erudite or full of in-jokes

FIRST COMMENT!
posted by breezeway at 6:48 PM on February 22, 2007

It'd be like tagging every metafilter post with "metafilter-post".

This absalom person seems pretty serious.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 7:43 PM on February 22, 2007

I'd like so see people using the 'mybestfpp' tag, too.
posted by anotherpanacea at 7:53 PM on February 22, 2007

-to- see
posted by anotherpanacea at 7:54 PM on February 22, 2007

I don't know what is less necessary, doing it or talking about doing it.
It's kind of like sex, then.
posted by dg at 8:02 PM on February 22, 2007

I only have two FPPs, anyhow.
Well, one, now; the first post was shameless YouTuberific pandering and all videos have since been removed at the request of the copyright holder*.

I keep thinking I should e-mail apologies to the 4 folks who favorited it.

*Up yours, National Film Board of Canada! It's my taxes keeping you assholes in celluloid!
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 8:10 PM on February 22, 2007

Wait! People actually click the links on the FPP's? I thought we were all just here for the comments.
posted by inconsequentialist at 8:20 PM on February 22, 2007

I think there are a lot of people on Metafilter who care way too much about what goes on here.

Making a first post is not so monumental.
posted by jayder at 8:37 PM on February 22, 2007

I think there are a lot of people on Metafilter who care way too much about what goes on here.

What goes on in your heart?
What goes on in your mind?
You are tearing me apart
When you treat me so unkind
What goes on in your mind?

Of course, the above questions also belong here.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 8:52 PM on February 22, 2007

Is tagging your first FPP as such a good idea?

It was my understanding that one benefit of tags is that they don't suffer from having too many of them. That being the case, why not?
posted by shmegegge at 10:39 PM on February 22, 2007

Y'know, shmegegge, aside from having one of the coolest user names ever, has made a good point here.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 4:15 AM on February 23, 2007

shmegegge, aside from having one of the coolest user names ever

I read 'shmegegge', and I get a juxtapotato of 1) smegma, and 2) eggs. The two in combination make me a little nauseous. I think I'm missing something in the username.

Not to cast aspersions on shmeg himself -- the quality of his participation has overridden my lexical kneejerkery. But still. I shudder a bit.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 4:28 AM on February 23, 2007

I've never felt so... loved... before. and don't worry, stav. you can check my profile to find out the secret of my name, if you'd like. were i in your shoes, I might stick to my beliefs, though, as they're far more entertaining than the truth.
posted by shmegegge at 4:41 AM on February 23, 2007

"shmegegge" is yiddish for a stupid person

You know, the second I clicked and read that, I remembered I'd done it before, and heaved a new sigh of relief, gastrointestinally speaking.

But my brain is such a Markov-randomwalk swiss cheese pizza pie of ancient fun damage that, predictably, I'd forgotten that I knew it already.

Sorry.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 4:46 AM on February 23, 2007

oh hey, no apologies necessary. like i said, your theory was more fun than the truth of it. and although i'd once heard it said that you had a herculean gift for remembering the stories behind mefite usernames, I'm going to allow you this one mistake.
posted by shmegegge at 4:51 AM on February 23, 2007

stavros: I like "ancient fun damage". I can relate. Whole chunks of my high school memories, for example, are lost to the halcyon LSD trips of those heady days. (I think it was worth it, though...)
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:03 AM on February 23, 2007

Leo Rosten on shmegegge:

Pronounced, always with disdain, shmeh-GEH-geh or shmeh-GEH-gee, to rhyme with "the mega" or "the Peggy." Ameridish slang. Origin: unknown; probably, a dazzling onomatopoetic child of the Lower East Side, or the Ukraine, some Jews say.

1. An unadmirable, petty person.
2. A maladroit, untalented type.
3. A sycophant, a shlepper, a whiner, a drip.
[...]

The word is popular in theatrical circles, conjuring up, by its very sound, vividly unlikable characteristics.

Miss Sophia Loren used the word with considerable brio in an interview with a New York Times reporter. The combination of great beauty, an Italian accent, an eloquent shrug, a tone of derisive dismissal, and a Yinglish word marked a high point in the life of this colorful epithet.

From The Joys of Yiddish (1968).
posted by languagehat at 8:35 AM on February 23, 2007 [1 favorite]

I just tagged my first, and only, FPP with the tag. I'd say it's apparent where my thoughts lie.

Also:

... I think we could do without any more emphasis on the idea that posting to MetaFilter for the first time should be some kind of terrifying rite of passage. It saddens me every time I see people write, "It's my first post, please don't hurt me, I hope I did it right".

I can see where you're coming from, chrismear, but it really is a terrifying right of passage for a lot of people. It took me three years to get up the courage to make a post (and after being thoroughly encouraged to do so from the people at MetaChat). It went fairly well, but it's been a year and a half since then and I have yet to make a second one. Granted, I may be a severe case, but there you go. I don't think the feeling that it's a "terrifying rite of passage" is going to go away any time soon.

And dammit, every time I do come up with something to post I've already been beaten to it, or I think "nahhh, not good enough" and someone else does it and gets a good response. Argh.
posted by deborah at 10:34 AM on February 23, 2007 [1 favorite]