MeFi ReCurrents

March 6, 2007 10:16 AM

An Immodest Proposal: One of the interesting phenomena I've noticed as other aggregating sites are on their ascendancy (can you Digg it?) is that many links that had been MetaFiltered long ago (in Web time) get a new wave of attention, which flows back around here, and BANG! Double-triple-quadruple post!. And how many times lately have we seen comments like "Didn't see it the first time; glad it was reposted"? Maybe what we need is a separate place for "Re-Current" posts or links, where we can acknowledge that WE got it months/years ago, and re-open comments on it. Obviously, such a sub-Meta would require a lot of moderation/maintenance, and maybe it should be an off-site project. How should it work? Can we/you make it work? Why bother? Any volunteers?
posted by wendell to Feature Requests at 10:16 AM (33 comments total)

Are you thinking a place people would intentionally run double posts, or a place to which accidental old-doubles would get to live out their retirement instead of being deleted outright?
posted by cortex (staff) at 10:33 AM on March 6, 2007

As soon as doubles get separated, somebody will request a pony to aggregate them.
posted by grateful at 10:39 AM on March 6, 2007

So this is like the "merge bug" feature in a bug tracking system?

That totally melts my mind. MetaFilter is like a bug tracking system for the web. A few more fields, a reporting tool and we're there.
posted by GuyZero at 10:41 AM on March 6, 2007 [1 favorite]

What about somehow reopening comments on the older post? Maybe differentiate between the new people chiming in, maybe not, but just redirect to the old post and open it up for a month, as if it were new.
posted by cgc373 at 11:08 AM on March 6, 2007

I kinda like the idea. Some sort of collaborative filter that can find related posts, and generate links to them, like the tag cloud but more so.

But then again, this could be a big waste of time. The onus of the poster to look for previously developed posts brings a lot of entertainment to metatalk when there is a double/triple/quad post. For better or for worse.
posted by YoBananaBoy at 11:09 AM on March 6, 2007

(1) Start you a website.
(2) Wait until popular posts roll off the front page, but before they are closed, and leave this as the last comment in the thread "Want to comment on this link, but can't because the thread is closed? Discussion on this topic is still open at [your site].com".
(3) Sell ads.
(4) Motherfucking profitty-ass profit
posted by ND¢ at 11:28 AM on March 6, 2007 [4 favorites]

(5) Pay me 10%.
posted by ND¢ at 11:30 AM on March 6, 2007

All else aside, "start you a website" has now and forever replaced "get your own blog" in the recesses of my heart.
posted by cortex (staff) at 11:31 AM on March 6, 2007 [1 favorite]

I think your idea sounds a bit complicated, but I agree with the motivation behind it. I think the solution is not a separate section for doubles, but a set-in-stone statute of limitations on double posts. Delete 'em if they're re-posted too soon, leave 'em if they fall outside the SOL.
posted by amro at 11:35 AM on March 6, 2007

What amro said.
posted by Dizzy at 11:36 AM on March 6, 2007

wendell: "Maybe what we need is a separate place for "Re-Current" posts or links"

As you point out, we already have a place for old stuff that we've already seen. It's called Digg.
posted by Plutor at 11:39 AM on March 6, 2007 [1 favorite]

So this is like the "merge bug" feature in a bug tracking system?

That totally melts my mind. MetaFilter is like a bug tracking system for the web. A few more fields, a reporting tool and we're there.

I can see it now:

Bug #212414
Symptoms: Current hit movie in 30 seconds, with bunnies.
Repeatability: 100%

Status: CLOSED
Comments: It's not a bug, it's a misfeature.
posted by arto at 11:49 AM on March 6, 2007 [3 favorites]

I wasn't aware that being ahead of all the other sites was somehow a problem, and that we had to engineer a solution to it.
posted by mcwetboy at 11:59 AM on March 6, 2007 [1 favorite]

We need to look forward to the future, instead of back to the past. Rehashing old threads will only lead to reiterative misfortune and repetitive woe. Don't you see that there's a great big beautiful tomorrow, shining at the end of every day? We don't need to revisit the dull and ugly sites that are sitting, frumpy and disheveled, in the past. So strap on your rocket pack and be a forward-thinker, Mr. Wendell!
posted by Dave Faris at 12:04 PM on March 6, 2007

mcwetboy nails it. Seriously, it's not like there isn't enough stuff on the Web to link to without repeating posts.
posted by graymouser at 12:06 PM on March 6, 2007

I think what we need is a network of people who will get on these other sites and say stuff like "This old thing? I saw this on Metafilter AGES ago! Welcome to November 2006!"
posted by thirteenkiller at 12:29 PM on March 6, 2007

Resolution: WONTFIX.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 12:46 PM on March 6, 2007

Guyzero: RESOLVED WONTFIX
posted by boo_radley at 12:58 PM on March 6, 2007

booradley : DUPLICATE -- 392368
posted by boo_radley at 12:59 PM on March 6, 2007

Can't we just flag them as double posts and then mercilessly mock the clueless n00bs who post them?

I like that best.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 1:10 PM on March 6, 2007 [1 favorite]

I like that best.

Yes, we know. And what we like best is spoiling what you like best, which is why we're discussing this issue.

Next topic: Phase 3, or: How do we drive mr_crash_davis totally insane using only a paperclip and 5k of HTML? Also included on the agenda tonight will be a brief discussion of ideas for Phase 4. I hear Ira has a wonderful demonstration involving an Emu, a winged toaster and a turkeybaster.
posted by loquacious at 2:26 PM on March 6, 2007

loq---
This guy I know told me mr_crash_davis is a sock puppet for Bono.
Reload, babe!
posted by Dizzy at 3:15 PM on March 6, 2007

Now I know that's just not true.

MCD has at least some taste in music.
posted by loquacious at 3:17 PM on March 6, 2007

"start you a website" has now and forever replaced "get your own blog" in the recesses of my heart.
Me too, with the added bonus of avoiding my least favourite word in the whole world.
posted by dg at 3:30 PM on March 6, 2007

I've got this great link to a jpg of a portobello mushroom I've been meaning to repost. let me know if this idea takes off.
posted by shmegegge at 3:31 PM on March 6, 2007

I wish to discuss the scanning of cats, goddammit, and I want it now!
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 3:35 PM on March 6, 2007

You know, after reading some of the utter crap that showed up on the front page this afternoon (cats and dogs, living together? nutritional information on girl scout cookies?), maybe reviving posts from the "golden age" of Metafilter might not be such a bad idea after all.
posted by Dave Faris at 3:57 PM on March 6, 2007

wow, those posts do suck. time for those folks to "start you a website."
posted by shmegegge at 6:45 PM on March 6, 2007

Whatever you do, just don't start U2 a website.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 6:54 PM on March 6, 2007

MeFi: 221 posts , 1415 comments
MetaTalk: 15 posts ,444 comments
Ask MeFi: 5 questions , 35 answers
Double Posts: 12 posts, 655 comments
Deleted Posts: 15 posts, 107 comments
posted by grateful at 7:08 PM on March 6, 2007

I nominate "start you a website" as our meme of the year. Yes, I know it's early...but damn, that's gonna be hard to top.
posted by dejah420 at 7:27 AM on March 7, 2007

I don't get it.
posted by ND¢ at 8:28 AM on March 7, 2007

I don't either.

Also, why do we need a place to double post? Can't you just look through old posts? Here, I'll even help you:

Take the following link and change the number after "page=" to something much higher.

http://www.metafilter.com/index.cfm?page=2

Example:

http://www.metafilter.com/index.cfm?page=1000

Look! Old posts!
posted by !Jim at 7:45 PM on March 7, 2007