How much do I have to pay for a random button on GreenFilter?

July 26, 2007 1:12 PM

What are the chances of getting a random result on the green, for setting as my homepage?
posted by arimathea to Feature Requests at 1:12 PM (76 comments total)

javascript:document.location.href='http://ask.metafilter.com/' + Math.floor(Math.random() * 68000) + '/';
posted by sanko at 1:20 PM on July 26, 2007

1:68,000
posted by Plutor at 1:25 PM on July 26, 2007

I want to have your babies.
posted by arimathea at 1:29 PM on July 26, 2007

Nice! Throw in a +3705 and you'll probably get fewer "Nothing to See Here..." pages.
posted by pb (staff) at 1:34 PM on July 26, 2007

let's see if that works (me hacking my comment to get around scripting checks)

random ask mefi
posted by mathowie (staff) at 1:35 PM on July 26, 2007 [61 favorites]

Well, given that answer, it's 1:1. A specific question is 1:68,000.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 1:35 PM on July 26, 2007

mathowie, i'm getting random pages below around 100 with that link
posted by lohmannn at 1:42 PM on July 26, 2007

let's see if that works

I've clicked that 8 or 10 times, and each time have gotten a post between 25 and 60.

Needless to say, each had "nothing to see here."
posted by dersins at 1:42 PM on July 26, 2007

...well i was, anyway. now it seems to be working.
posted by lohmannn at 1:43 PM on July 26, 2007

Whatever you just changed made it actually work.
posted by dersins at 1:43 PM on July 26, 2007

mathowie: the comma in your 68,000 is causing it to be between 0 and 67.
posted by sanko at 1:43 PM on July 26, 2007

lohmannn, stop that!
posted by dersins at 1:43 PM on July 26, 2007

haha that was odd dersins. great minds, and all that.
posted by lohmannn at 1:45 PM on July 26, 2007

I clicked Matt's link seven times, and got seven seemingly random threads, but upon closer inspection I found they were all about hygiene.

Thanks a lot, Matt.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 1:45 PM on July 26, 2007

random music


posted by micayetoca at 1:46 PM on July 26, 2007

sorry, that was an accident, hit "post" by mistake. Doesn't seem to have worked, anyways.
posted by micayetoca at 1:47 PM on July 26, 2007

Unfortunately I think we need Matt's super powers to actually post javascript in here the way he did.
posted by langeNU at 1:50 PM on July 26, 2007

I have no idea how any of this stuff works, but that "random" thing is dead cool. Could there be one on the front pages of the blue and the green?
posted by rtha at 1:52 PM on July 26, 2007

Yes, this "random" link is boss! Added to FF bookmarks toolbar. Thanks!
posted by porn in the woods at 1:55 PM on July 26, 2007

That's fantastic!
posted by studentbaker at 1:55 PM on July 26, 2007

I thank you. My employer, however, does not.
posted by Quonab at 1:57 PM on July 26, 2007

Couldn't you just, like, read a book or something?
posted by blacklite at 1:58 PM on July 26, 2007

Sweet idea.
posted by sciurus at 2:05 PM on July 26, 2007

This is almost cool. To make it cool: Pull a random AskMe question, then attach unrelated random answers.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 2:05 PM on July 26, 2007 [1 favorite]

Hooked up as my homepage. Sample results:

How do I handle my mentally unstable father?
1 gig = wishful thinking?
What is the best grease to lube my chassis?
posted by blue_beetle at 2:09 PM on July 26, 2007

I could just map /random on each of the subsites to redirect to a random page (blogspot has always done this)
posted by mathowie (staff) at 2:22 PM on July 26, 2007

Give him more booze, he'll pass out quicker.
Yes.
I like molybdenum, but YMMV.
posted by IronLizard at 2:26 PM on July 26, 2007

There's something more visceral about having a button to push. Really, a handle to pull would be better, but much more difficult to arrange.
posted by Quonab at 2:26 PM on July 26, 2007

Ooh, I like.
posted by cortex (staff) at 2:26 PM on July 26, 2007

I could just map /random on each of the subsites to redirect to a random page

+++awesome
posted by dersins at 2:29 PM on July 26, 2007

Could you change the '68000' to '64295' or something similar? (That's 68000-3705.) Otherwise, you'll occasionally get numbers greater than 68000 when the random number is close to 1.
posted by Upton O'Good at 2:41 PM on July 26, 2007

yeah, I think the only reliable way to get a good, active post is to do this server-side at /random like matt was talking about. As soon as you set a max post ID, the bookmark will be out of date.
posted by pb (staff) at 2:45 PM on July 26, 2007

Couldn't you just, like, read a book or something?
posted by blacklite at 1:58 PM PST on July 26

This is actually a perfect answer to every AskMe question in existence. Just take a few examples from the front page:

How do you play the opening to Billy Joel's Angry Young Man on the piano?

Couldn't you just, like, read a book or something?

What are the functional and modern differences between Sunni and Shi'a Islam?

Couldn't you just, like, read a book or something?

I'm being given a second chance by my ex-boyfriend. Please help me not screw it up.

Couldn't you just, like, read a book or something?

Where to shoot pool in the Cambridge, Mass area?

Couldn't you just, like, read a book or something?

Going to San Diego in late August-Should I bring my road bike or my mountain bike?

Couldn't you just, like, read a book or something?
posted by brain_drain at 3:03 PM on July 26, 2007 [10 favorites]

I'm too lazy to figure this out, but google gadgeting this would be cool.
posted by empath at 3:04 PM on July 26, 2007

How do I cope with my adult illiteracy?
posted by cortex (staff) at 3:07 PM on July 26, 2007 [1 favorite]

The same way you wrote that question.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 3:09 PM on July 26, 2007

Couldn't you just, like, watch TV or something?
posted by InfidelZombie at 3:13 PM on July 26, 2007

Couldn't you just, like, cure cancer or something?
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 3:13 PM on July 26, 2007

Couldn't you just, like, a woman but cry like a little girl?
posted by cortex (staff) at 3:15 PM on July 26, 2007 [1 favorite]

Couldn't you just, like, post a really sketchy-sounding job or something?
posted by dersins at 3:27 PM on July 26, 2007

So which one of you trigger happy mods deleted my totally serious answer in the otherwise stellar Death by gaseous inversion thread? Gasping can indeed cause idiopathic spontaneous pneumothorax (ISP), or collapsed lung, especially when accompanied by changes in atmospheric pressure, which often occur during storms or massive gas attacks.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 3:30 PM on July 26, 2007

Wow, that is great.

But what I really need is a link to ask a random question.
posted by aubilenon at 3:36 PM on July 26, 2007

what kind of stupid name is Quonab, and why does he ROFL in the woods?
posted by quonsar at 3:37 PM on July 26, 2007

Ah man, one of the random questions was something I had an answer to but posted something unhelpful instead. And it's so old that I can't go back and answer it. :(
posted by puke & cry at 3:38 PM on July 26, 2007

/random map would be really really really uber.
posted by arimathea at 3:53 PM on July 26, 2007

This is a neat idea, and cool to see such a quick solution. If I weren't so accustomed to using about:blank as my 'homepage' everywhere, I'd use it too!

(You could maybe make a random 'unanswered'+'still open' question one too, maybe, which enough people used it as their homepage, might leave us with fewer unanswered questions.)
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 5:09 PM on July 26, 2007 [2 favorites]

Maybe we should map the "post" button to a random function, so posts in the blue wind up in random threads. Flame wars would either become nonexistent, or way more entertaining.
posted by The Deej at 5:19 PM on July 26, 2007 [1 favorite]

This feature is going to be the death of me. How do I purge all these answers to questions that are now closed? Jimmereeno, the video you so desire is here.
posted by hindmost at 5:59 PM on July 26, 2007

You could maybe make a random 'unanswered'+'still open' question one too

Ooh, yes please.
posted by Rock Steady at 6:33 PM on July 26, 2007

A /random would be super-fantastisch. And you could have a 1/6 chance of getting your IP blocked. Like MeFi Russian Roulette!

But seriously, /random would be awesome.
posted by djgh at 6:36 PM on July 26, 2007

> If I weren't so accustomed to using about:blank as my 'homepage' everywhere,

Wow, you too? It's my most visited site. Contains the answer to every question (not to mention the question to every answer.) And yet it loads so fast! How do they do it?
posted by jfuller at 6:43 PM on July 26, 2007

Couldn't you just, like, post a really sketchy-sounding job or something?

Sweet cheebus, something finally shows up near me and it's goddamned cold-calling. Fuck.
posted by carsonb at 10:06 PM on July 26, 2007

Huh, I started a meme, for five minutes.
posted by blacklite at 10:33 PM on July 26, 2007

What's the big fuss? You get pretty much the same result clicking on page one of AskMe: a bunch of random questions.
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 11:29 PM on July 26, 2007

Uh...

Nothing to see here, move along...
You've stumbled upon a non-existent post, or one that was deleted for various reasons.

Might want to verify the ID exists in the database (in this case, 68059) before trying to select it.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 4:04 AM on July 27, 2007

I love the idea of a page that loads a random unanswered AskMe, but wouldn't it be better to have a page that lists open unanswered AskMe questions? That way you could just load the page and see if there's anything it looks like you could be helpful with.
posted by Pope Guilty at 6:46 AM on July 27, 2007

There is no such thing as a "random page".
Take this page, for example, is it "random"?
posted by signal at 7:25 AM on July 27, 2007

aw mathowie made me a birthday present
posted by allkindsoftime at 7:34 AM on July 27, 2007

Metafilter: sexy, sexy Google didn't help.
posted by stevis23 at 8:47 AM on July 27, 2007

Blacklite, you actually started a meme for 24 minutes.
posted by coolhappysteve at 8:49 AM on July 27, 2007

This would be cool for music
posted by TwoWordReview at 10:01 AM on July 27, 2007

My memes usually last for one post; my own.
posted by The Deej at 10:12 AM on July 27, 2007

This is almost cool. To make it cool: Pull a random AskMe question, then attach unrelated random answers.

let's see if that works

When it feels right, how long should I wait before asking the woman I love to marry me? What do you wish you knew about your significant other/ex-significant other before you took this step?

Answer:

To agree and jump off from Mitheral's point above:

As a buyer, I'd certainly want to hear which things have been replaced recently, especially if they're relatively expensive repairs. That way, for instance, if I hear the water pump has recently been replaced, I know that that's one piece I won't have to worry about for a while.

posted by Anything at 1:17 PM on July 27, 2007 [1 favorite]

yup, that works.
posted by gingerbeer at 4:26 PM on July 27, 2007

(signal) There is no such thing as a "random page".
Take this page, for example, is it "random"?

Well, if you really want random... Actually, that'd be a cool api to work in to a /random mapping. Not because it's needed, but just to say that it's there. "Welcome to MeFi, where it really is random!"
posted by ikebowen at 6:35 AM on July 28, 2007

Wouldn't it be handy to have the FP sidebar (also) link to the actual random AskMe?
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 8:15 AM on July 28, 2007

There is no such thing as a "random page".
Take this page, for example, is it "random"?

That's the problem with randomness: you can never be sure.
posted by Anything at 9:57 AM on July 28, 2007

The very first one I got was one of those "Deleted, nothing to see here" pages. Spooky.
posted by Many bubbles at 8:24 PM on July 28, 2007

Why, oh why did the first random question I get have to do with "sharting"?
posted by Fennel B. at 11:21 PM on July 31, 2007

I don't think anyone else has posted this, but /random is now mapped across the sites:

Random MeFi

Random Ask MeFi

Random Project

Random Music

Random Job (Open jobs only)

Random MetaTalk

I think these will work way better than a JavaScript bookmarklet. You're getting a valid post that hasn't been deleted, and the bookmark won't go out of date as new post IDs are added.
posted by pb (staff) at 9:12 AM on August 1, 2007 [4 favorites]

That's a sidebarrin'.
posted by cortex (staff) at 9:20 AM on August 1, 2007

The Site of Which We Do Not Speak seems to work as well, and yet it is conspicuously absent from the list.

*Writes another note in MeFi Conspiracy Notebook*
posted by The Deej at 11:35 AM on August 1, 2007 [1 favorite]

Have The Deej removed.
posted by pb (staff) at 11:43 AM on August 1, 2007

We've mobilized a team. Situation should be stabilized by 1600 hours.
posted by cortex (staff) at 11:50 AM on August 1, 2007

The Deej here. Everything is fine. There is no conspiracy, I don't know what he I was talking about. Yes, so no worries, just ignore anything I wrote before that sounds like I thought there was a conspiracy. There is definitely NOT. I was just really dumb 20 minutes ago.

I've gotta run along and do some of the things I enjoy, that I may have mentioned before here on MeFi, you know, like photography and design and being a bureaucrat. Just the normal stuff that those of you who know me will recognize.
posted by The Deej at 11:56 AM on August 1, 2007

Random MetaTalk

Scary.
posted by grouse at 3:51 PM on August 1, 2007