Hi, I'm From MetaFilter, And I'm Here To Help April 11, 2007 3:14 PM Subscribe
I find myself fascinated by unhindered's "contributions".
Which is to say that I find them annoying as hell, pseudoscientific at best, and skirting the boundaries of acceptable behavior on MeFi.
Having unconventional opinions isn't against the rules. I dropped Judie a line regarding one deleted askme comment a couple weeks ago, but I don't think we've got a serious terror alert here.
posted by cortex (staff) at 3:20 PM on April 11, 2007
posted by cortex (staff) at 3:20 PM on April 11, 2007
Kind of hard to form a judgment based on 6 answers. And at least two of them were completely innocuous.
posted by Dave Faris at 3:21 PM on April 11, 2007
posted by Dave Faris at 3:21 PM on April 11, 2007
"It doesn't cost anything."
I.e., what dhammond and cortex just said.
posted by davy at 3:22 PM on April 11, 2007
I.e., what dhammond and cortex just said.
posted by davy at 3:22 PM on April 11, 2007
Yeah, she's a Reiki practitioner who gives away meditation CDs for free. Usually people with unconventional ideas that also happen to be wrong show up in threads, people will clear up the wrongness part before any lasting ammonia+bleach damage is done.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 3:22 PM on April 11, 2007
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 3:22 PM on April 11, 2007
Well, anyone with any sense will immediately write off an answer that includes "astral traveling." So, mostly harmless, I say.
posted by monju_bosatsu at 3:23 PM on April 11, 2007
posted by monju_bosatsu at 3:23 PM on April 11, 2007
"Unhindered" does seem a bit eccentric, but the responses seem sincere and genuine. They're not derails. I don't think there's any issue here.
Having an unusual point of view is not, at least as yet, a violation of "acceptable behavior" on MeFi. (Fortunately for me.)
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 3:24 PM on April 11, 2007
Having an unusual point of view is not, at least as yet, a violation of "acceptable behavior" on MeFi. (Fortunately for me.)
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 3:24 PM on April 11, 2007
She's a nutcase, but so what?
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 3:27 PM on April 11, 2007
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 3:27 PM on April 11, 2007
This isn't grudgefilter, Dave.
This is me exploring her other "contributions" and getting a strong vibe of someone setting up to start spamming MeFi with "helpful advice", particularly triggered by the alphabet soup at the end of the Reiki comment.
I can understand offering advice. I do it myself. What bugs me is that it's about two millimeters from what she's said to date and "write me for more details!", which is, last time I looked, not so much with the kosher here.
posted by scrump at 3:27 PM on April 11, 2007
This is me exploring her other "contributions" and getting a strong vibe of someone setting up to start spamming MeFi with "helpful advice", particularly triggered by the alphabet soup at the end of the Reiki comment.
I can understand offering advice. I do it myself. What bugs me is that it's about two millimeters from what she's said to date and "write me for more details!", which is, last time I looked, not so much with the kosher here.
posted by scrump at 3:27 PM on April 11, 2007
(Fortunately for me.)
Fortunately for all you freaks.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 3:28 PM on April 11, 2007 [1 favorite]
Fortunately for all you freaks.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 3:28 PM on April 11, 2007 [1 favorite]
The best way to deal with pseudoscience is not to drown it out with loud and obnoxious braying, but to thoroughly and completely debunk it, and to reveal the (sometimes shady, sometimes innocent) motives of the person spreading the nonsense.
posted by muddgirl at 3:28 PM on April 11, 2007 [2 favorites]
posted by muddgirl at 3:28 PM on April 11, 2007 [2 favorites]
Let me put it even more pithily: when was the last time any of the physicians who post answers on AskMe put their credentials after their names?
posted by scrump at 3:29 PM on April 11, 2007
posted by scrump at 3:29 PM on April 11, 2007
Are flags broken today or is it just call out and props day on metatalk?
posted by necessitas at 3:32 PM on April 11, 2007
posted by necessitas at 3:32 PM on April 11, 2007
Six comments isnt enough to establish a trend unless they're egregious. And they're not.
Something about her set you off, thats for sure. But it may only be you.
posted by vacapinta at 3:33 PM on April 11, 2007
Something about her set you off, thats for sure. But it may only be you.
posted by vacapinta at 3:33 PM on April 11, 2007
Come on scrump, its a big wide world out there...Not all opinions are valid. Hell, half the people who've posted already don't think mine is, in this case, and that's fine.
There's just something about this that goes past the usual "oh, great, another pseudoscience aficionado" and tweaks my "this person is setting up to try to sell us all something" radar.
Maybe all they're setting up to do is sell us bullshit, which is fine. I peddle a fine version of that myself. But, like I said, radar going off.
posted by scrump at 3:34 PM on April 11, 2007
The comment Dave Faris linked to is loud and obnoxious braying. That stuff gets to stay here in MetaTalk, but it's still without class. If you want to argue against her ideas, go ahead, but calling her names is not adding to your persuasion.
Until somebody comes back and says, "she asked me to send money," there is no real infraction.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 3:40 PM on April 11, 2007
Until somebody comes back and says, "she asked me to send money," there is no real infraction.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 3:40 PM on April 11, 2007
Visualize my pin code.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 3:44 PM on April 11, 2007 [1 favorite]
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 3:44 PM on April 11, 2007 [1 favorite]
The comment Dave Faris linked to is loud and obnoxious braying. That stuff gets to stay here in MetaTalk, but it's still without class.Guilty as charged. It was abrasive, and uncalled for.
However, it has nothing to do with this callout.
posted by scrump at 3:49 PM on April 11, 2007
I find myself indifferently gruntled with this thread.
posted by blue_beetle at 3:55 PM on April 11, 2007
posted by blue_beetle at 3:55 PM on April 11, 2007
Don't apologize for using multiple vowels or ordinary grammar, Burhanistan. Apologize for omitting your period. Everybody needs a period.
posted by cgc373 at 3:57 PM on April 11, 2007
posted by cgc373 at 3:57 PM on April 11, 2007
Let the differential grunting begin!
posted by Kirth Gerson at 3:57 PM on April 11, 2007 [1 favorite]
posted by Kirth Gerson at 3:57 PM on April 11, 2007 [1 favorite]
Okay, look, FINE, I GIVE.
cortex did, in fact, pee in my Wheaties.
And I let it get to me, and before I knew it I was posting pissed to MetaFilter and MetaTalk and here I am and OH GOD BURHANISTAN DOESN'T LIKE ME ANY MORE
*sobbing*
posted by scrump at 4:00 PM on April 11, 2007
cortex did, in fact, pee in my Wheaties.
And I let it get to me, and before I knew it I was posting pissed to MetaFilter and MetaTalk and here I am and OH GOD BURHANISTAN DOESN'T LIKE ME ANY MORE
*sobbing*
posted by scrump at 4:00 PM on April 11, 2007
I was reading the username as "unhinged", which is probably more accurate.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 4:05 PM on April 11, 2007
posted by mr_crash_davis at 4:05 PM on April 11, 2007
Have you considered meditation?
posted by desuetude at 4:17 PM on April 11, 2007 [1 favorite]
posted by desuetude at 4:17 PM on April 11, 2007 [1 favorite]
Maybe I should try one o' them there meditation CDs. Any ideas on what mental state I should aim for? Subliminal messages are probably right out though, especially those involving fellow Mefites. ('I want to do WHAT with scrump? How much is s/he gonna pay?')
Speaking of whom, hey scrump, at least nobody offered you a BIG HUG. Talk about a fate worse than death!
posted by davy at 4:18 PM on April 11, 2007
Speaking of whom, hey scrump, at least nobody offered you a BIG HUG. Talk about a fate worse than death!
posted by davy at 4:18 PM on April 11, 2007
I won't deny that AskMe is full of walking talking bullshit some of the time. And I'm sure that I've contributed to my share of it. At the same time, there's a reason why EVERYONE is allowed to post answers, not just the smartest, sanest, and purest of heart. It's the same reason that we're allowed to mark as many "best answers" as we want. And that reason is that the world is wild at heart and weird on top, and sometimes the counterintuitive or left-field answer is the one that solves the poster's dilemma-- perhaps it doesn't answer that whole KIND of question for everyone who ever needs to ask it, but just the same, on AskMe you wind up getting input from people all over the map who think they might be able to help you. Answers don't have to stand up to the rigors of science and reason to be helpful in every case, and what's more, considering the illogical and unscientific can stoke the imagination and inspire perfectly valid answers that way too.
I believe in lots of things that many people don't. I specialize in studying things that tons of people, many even on this site, have been perfectly comfortable dismissing as total crap. I'm not very self-conscious about it, but it has made me more cautious about giving people advice on AskMe. Then again, it has also made me even more determined to keep offering solutions that others may miss (or dismiss), because when I ask a question, I hope that others similarly come out of the woodwork with suggestions that I never would have dreamed of.
If you are the kind of person who goes into a froth and stops respecting someone's opinion because they practice reiki, or believe in ghosts, or think that dreams have real meaning, or believe they are capable of astral travel, or think they had a former life as Nefertiti's upper-lip waxer, or anything that doesn't gel with your tight little world of lonely rationalization, I'll have you know that it takes a lot more work and a lot more character to be vulnerable and share one's "cuckoo" beliefs in a snarky public forum for the sake of attempting to help others than it does to find a high place to squat, from where you can reduce life to formulas and people to insects. Unhindered's advice may not be your idea of a good answer, but then you didn't ask the question, did you?
posted by hermitosis at 4:41 PM on April 11, 2007 [11 favorites]
I believe in lots of things that many people don't. I specialize in studying things that tons of people, many even on this site, have been perfectly comfortable dismissing as total crap. I'm not very self-conscious about it, but it has made me more cautious about giving people advice on AskMe. Then again, it has also made me even more determined to keep offering solutions that others may miss (or dismiss), because when I ask a question, I hope that others similarly come out of the woodwork with suggestions that I never would have dreamed of.
If you are the kind of person who goes into a froth and stops respecting someone's opinion because they practice reiki, or believe in ghosts, or think that dreams have real meaning, or believe they are capable of astral travel, or think they had a former life as Nefertiti's upper-lip waxer, or anything that doesn't gel with your tight little world of lonely rationalization, I'll have you know that it takes a lot more work and a lot more character to be vulnerable and share one's "cuckoo" beliefs in a snarky public forum for the sake of attempting to help others than it does to find a high place to squat, from where you can reduce life to formulas and people to insects. Unhindered's advice may not be your idea of a good answer, but then you didn't ask the question, did you?
posted by hermitosis at 4:41 PM on April 11, 2007 [11 favorites]
hermitosis, that was such an awesome bit of projection that it gave me a giant woody. Seriously.
posted by scrump at 4:44 PM on April 11, 2007
posted by scrump at 4:44 PM on April 11, 2007
Funny, my ESP told me you were all wet. I guess I was close!
posted by hermitosis at 4:52 PM on April 11, 2007
posted by hermitosis at 4:52 PM on April 11, 2007
On a more serious note, hats off to scrump for showing some class and a sense of humor on this one. I enjoy the 300-comment pyrotechnic auto-dextrodismemberment threads as much as the next guy, but I also like scrump, and I am glad that he's taken the high road. There's a lot of this sort of thing going on these days on MetaTalk, people being agreeable, seeing the errors of their ways, cutting people some slack, etc., and I posit that it has something to do with the spring weather, sunshine, birds, and so forth.
posted by Mister_A at 4:59 PM on April 11, 2007
posted by Mister_A at 4:59 PM on April 11, 2007
Sure, Mister_A, blame climate change for everything, why don't you?
posted by cgc373 at 5:05 PM on April 11, 2007
posted by cgc373 at 5:05 PM on April 11, 2007
There is nothing wrong with these comments. Even the 'ad' for the meditation tapes was totally fine for that thread. So you don't agree with them, big deal.
Give this person a chance, they haven't posted much yet!
posted by serazin at 5:27 PM on April 11, 2007
Give this person a chance, they haven't posted much yet!
posted by serazin at 5:27 PM on April 11, 2007
Even that 200+ comment Meta thread the other day didn't result in a flameout. Come on, guys!
posted by Mr. President Dr. Steve Elvis America at 5:42 PM on April 11, 2007
posted by Mr. President Dr. Steve Elvis America at 5:42 PM on April 11, 2007
I'm a little late to the party, but I'm going to offer scrump a hug and a big smooch on his haploid-donut cheek because I happen to agree with him.
We have a big tent here and there's plenty of room for everyone, but I'd prefer having the bar set low regarding folks who are using the site to peddle their wares (even free ones).
posted by googly at 6:15 PM on April 11, 2007
We have a big tent here and there's plenty of room for everyone, but I'd prefer having the bar set low regarding folks who are using the site to peddle their wares (even free ones).
posted by googly at 6:15 PM on April 11, 2007
Well, we'll just wait and see, but note that: Dr. Rall is also an Internet Marketing Specialist.
posted by tellurian at 6:37 PM on April 11, 2007 [2 favorites]
posted by tellurian at 6:37 PM on April 11, 2007 [2 favorites]
We have a big tent here
Pitched by scrump with his giant woody.
posted by Abiezer at 7:06 PM on April 11, 2007
Pitched by scrump with his giant woody.
posted by Abiezer at 7:06 PM on April 11, 2007
heh, 404?
posted by mr_crash_davis at 7:38 PM on April 11, 2007
posted by mr_crash_davis at 7:38 PM on April 11, 2007
wow
posted by puke & cry at 7:40 PM on April 11, 2007
posted by puke & cry at 7:40 PM on April 11, 2007
Well, anyone with any sense will immediately write off an answer that includes "astral traveling."
Unless, of course, it's a question about Dungeons & Dragons.
posted by jonmc at 7:49 PM on April 11, 2007
Unless, of course, it's a question about Dungeons & Dragons.
posted by jonmc at 7:49 PM on April 11, 2007
Dr. Rall is also . . . the unschooling mother of two grown boys.
Can someone explain to me what this means?
posted by Nabubrush at 8:00 PM on April 11, 2007
Can someone explain to me what this means?
posted by Nabubrush at 8:00 PM on April 11, 2007
Well, anyone with any sense will immediately write off an answer that includes "astral traveling."
Or a discussion of how best to enter into a group marriage with your favorite fictional character.
There's a lot of this sort of thing going on these days on MetaTalk, people being agreeable, seeing the errors of their ways, cutting people some slack, etc., and I posit that it has something to do with the spring weather, sunshine, birds, and so forth.
I blame frisbees full of K.
posted by Smilla's Sense of Snark at 8:18 PM on April 11, 2007
Or a discussion of how best to enter into a group marriage with your favorite fictional character.
There's a lot of this sort of thing going on these days on MetaTalk, people being agreeable, seeing the errors of their ways, cutting people some slack, etc., and I posit that it has something to do with the spring weather, sunshine, birds, and so forth.
I blame frisbees full of K.
posted by Smilla's Sense of Snark at 8:18 PM on April 11, 2007
mr_crash_davis typed "heh, 404?"
There was a link on the site to "space blessing," but no linked page. And, for reasons that I can't quite put into words, this made me go "heh."
Nabubrush typed "Dr. Rall is also . . . the unschooling mother of two grown boys.
"Can someone explain to me what this means?"
It's a philosophy of homeschooling based around self-directed education, which encourages kids to actively seek out and research things they're interested in. Not everyone who does it is a kook.
posted by roll truck roll at 8:25 PM on April 11, 2007
There was a link on the site to "space blessing," but no linked page. And, for reasons that I can't quite put into words, this made me go "heh."
Nabubrush typed "Dr. Rall is also . . . the unschooling mother of two grown boys.
"Can someone explain to me what this means?"
It's a philosophy of homeschooling based around self-directed education, which encourages kids to actively seek out and research things they're interested in. Not everyone who does it is a kook.
posted by roll truck roll at 8:25 PM on April 11, 2007
Keep feeling fascination
Passion burning
Love so strong
Keep feeling fascination
Looking, learning
Moving on
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 8:38 PM on April 11, 2007
Passion burning
Love so strong
Keep feeling fascination
Looking, learning
Moving on
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 8:38 PM on April 11, 2007
Blazecock, you just quoted synthpop lyrics. You do realize I have to shoot you now.
posted by jonmc at 8:41 PM on April 11, 2007
posted by jonmc at 8:41 PM on April 11, 2007
just try to get that synth horn melody out of your head
Ain't gonna happen. Sorry.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 8:55 PM on April 11, 2007
Ain't gonna happen. Sorry.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 8:55 PM on April 11, 2007
Oh, you bastards. It won't stop.
duh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuuuuuh nuh duh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuuuuuh nuh duh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuuuuuh nuh oh god kill me
posted by scrump at 9:26 PM on April 11, 2007
duh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuuuuuh nuh duh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuuuuuh nuh duh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuuuuuh nuh oh god kill me
posted by scrump at 9:26 PM on April 11, 2007
Reiki is a blunt instrument wielded by knaves.
So far, I've only been on the receiving end of it.
posted by knave at 9:39 PM on April 11, 2007
So far, I've only been on the receiving end of it.
posted by knave at 9:39 PM on April 11, 2007
As you are entering sleep, your brain goes into a state in which you are extremely relaxed and some of your mental barriers are down so that spirit guides, angels or departed loved ones can speak to you, and you can actually hear them. They exist on another frequency, just like changing the dial on the radio and picking up another signal. Your brain is able to pick up those signals when your conscious mind is at least partially disengaged.
I bet her internal dialogue sounds like a fucking shopping mall on Christmas Eve.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 9:58 PM on April 11, 2007
I bet her internal dialogue sounds like a fucking shopping mall on Christmas Eve.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 9:58 PM on April 11, 2007
Um, can we maybe have some deletions of the comments here that exist merely to go off on someone who has harmed no one on this site?
posted by serazin at 10:43 PM on April 11, 2007
posted by serazin at 10:43 PM on April 11, 2007
Um, can we maybe have some deletions of the comments here that exist merely to go off on someone who has harmed no one on this site?
posted by serazin at 10:43 PM on April 11
If we get to request that mildly offensive posts be deleted, I move that we start with the ones that advocate magic as a solution for personal problems.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 10:57 PM on April 11, 2007 [4 favorites]
posted by serazin at 10:43 PM on April 11
If we get to request that mildly offensive posts be deleted, I move that we start with the ones that advocate magic as a solution for personal problems.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 10:57 PM on April 11, 2007 [4 favorites]
Actually, I keep thinking that if anyone deserves a Minority Report callout, it's this lady.
I'm not saying that that's a good idea by any means, but it would make more sense than that one did.
posted by roll truck roll at 11:12 PM on April 11, 2007
I'm not saying that that's a good idea by any means, but it would make more sense than that one did.
posted by roll truck roll at 11:12 PM on April 11, 2007
n00bfilter. Really 50,000+ and only been here a week. Probably totally lost.
Todd Lokken
posted by adamvasco at 11:31 PM on April 11, 2007 [1 favorite]
Todd Lokken
posted by adamvasco at 11:31 PM on April 11, 2007 [1 favorite]
Fascination
Got to use her
Every time I feel fascination
I just can't stand still, I've got to
use her
Every time I think of what she pulled me through, dear
Fascination moves sweeping near me
Still I take ya
posted by davy at 12:26 AM on April 12, 2007
Got to use her
Every time I feel fascination
I just can't stand still, I've got to
use her
Every time I think of what she pulled me through, dear
Fascination moves sweeping near me
Still I take ya
posted by davy at 12:26 AM on April 12, 2007
Burhanistan advised: "But don't pick apart this innocuous and probably nice kook's existence because you've nothing better to do."
That's right, save it for the dangerous psycho kooks who actively solicit Paypal donations in return for absolutely nothing.
posted by davy at 12:30 AM on April 12, 2007
That's right, save it for the dangerous psycho kooks who actively solicit Paypal donations in return for absolutely nothing.
posted by davy at 12:30 AM on April 12, 2007
The thing is, if you keep triming the edges eventually everthing will be the same.
And it will all be a wonderful shade of gray. Can you feel the afternoon fog coming?
Oh, it's already here.
posted by four panels at 5:50 AM on April 12, 2007
And it will all be a wonderful shade of gray. Can you feel the afternoon fog coming?
Oh, it's already here.
posted by four panels at 5:50 AM on April 12, 2007
So ..uh.. can anyone tell *gasp* me what's wrong with *cough* ammonia+bleach? Can't .. breathe .. please hurr
posted by deborah at 1:29 PM on April 12, 2007
posted by deborah at 1:29 PM on April 12, 2007
s/der/g/
posted by staggernation at 3:35 PM on April 12, 2007
posted by staggernation at 3:35 PM on April 12, 2007
Can't .. breathe .. please hurr -- f durf chlorine breather?
posted by knave at 3:58 PM on April 12, 2007
posted by knave at 3:58 PM on April 12, 2007
You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments
posted by dhammond at 3:18 PM on April 11, 2007