Ask MeFi Connection issue?

October 5, 2007 12:15 PM

I've just joined MeFi as a new member, specifically for the purpose of asking a question on AskMeFi. Usually, I do this from work, and until a few days ago, I could reach AMF without a problem from work. Now, I can reach all parts of MeFi except AMF from my office. Is there some issue going on? I'm not getting the usual 'forbidden' error, I'm getting 'gateway not available', which indicates the site is not reachable. The hostname resolves, and I'm getting good ping times from it. Suggestions?
posted by Fferret to MetaFilter-Related at 12:15 PM (41 comments total)

Somebody always says "clear your cookies" in this kind of situation, and it usually seems to work. Might be worth trying.
posted by yhbc at 12:18 PM on October 5, 2007

I've noticed that loading the main AskMe page (AMF? WTF?) sometimes hangs when it's trying to contact fmpub.net which is the federated media site that loads the sometimes-ad you see on the sidebar of AskMe. If you have the ability to tweak that to see if it helps things, I'd try that also.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 12:26 PM on October 5, 2007

Also, somebody always asks what kind of browser and operating system you're using.
posted by box at 12:26 PM on October 5, 2007

Also--haven't we heard before that some corporate filters consider AskMe not worksafe?
posted by Prospero at 12:27 PM on October 5, 2007

Also, I wouldn't be shocked if some corporate filter, somewhere, blocked fmpub.net, too, since, as far as I know, it exists only to serve up ads.
posted by box at 12:29 PM on October 5, 2007

Fferret, the common abbreviation for Ask Metafilter is AskMe.

Not ever using the abbreviation AMF again will save you much teasing from your new friendly internet community full of deeply sarcastic and occasionally savage strangers.
posted by desuetude at 12:38 PM on October 5, 2007 [2 favorites]

Also, can AMF get some more iced tea up in here?
posted by box at 12:42 PM on October 5, 2007 [7 favorites]

Take, the Fferret bowling, take him bowling.
posted by cog_nate at 12:43 PM on October 5, 2007

AMF: Clearing out your mind's gutterballs.
posted by sociolibrarian at 12:46 PM on October 5, 2007

Before we go bowling, can we pick up AMG at the AME? We can take my AMC.
posted by box at 12:47 PM on October 5, 2007

How is a car club like three Fonzies?
posted by klangklangston at 1:11 PM on October 5, 2007

Clean sheets! Boil some water!
posted by RussHy at 1:13 PM on October 5, 2007

triple ayyyy!
posted by shmegegge at 1:22 PM on October 5, 2007 [1 favorite]

Ahem. I hearby swear not to confuse bowling acronyms with the proper contraction for Ask MetaFilter, i.e., 'AskMe'. I appreciate that the community has decided that a mild verbal flaying is appropriate punishment. I will go clear my cookies. I suspect it is not the corpfilter, as I can ping the FQDN, and it resolves. As for my browser and OS, it's WinXP and IE6. (In my own defense, I'm running Ubuntu Feisty under VMware on my home desktop. With Firefox.) And I love to bowl! Duckpins or tenpins? Maybe Candlepins?
posted by Fferret at 1:34 PM on October 5, 2007

OK, cookies clearing did it! Many thanks!
posted by Fferret at 1:38 PM on October 5, 2007

Yay! Also candlepins, definitely.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 1:39 PM on October 5, 2007

awww. I like this Fferret, can we keep him?
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 1:39 PM on October 5, 2007

Candlepin bowling! That’s something I had never heard of before moving to Cambridge. Apparently it’s so regional that every single record holder has been from Massachusetts.
posted by tepidmonkey at 1:42 PM on October 5, 2007

"I like this Fferret, can we keep him?"

You said that about the hamsters, and remember how that ended?
posted by mr_crash_davis at 1:46 PM on October 5, 2007

In Richard Gere?
posted by dersins at 1:48 PM on October 5, 2007

There have been people who had problems reaching mefi because of weird settings on the router like MTU, also.
posted by empath at 1:52 PM on October 5, 2007

candlepin more like crapplepin
posted by cortex (staff) at 1:57 PM on October 5, 2007

Fferrets aren't legal to keep in California. Whatever shall we California MeFites do?
posted by rtha at 2:14 PM on October 5, 2007

I hear Portland is nice.
posted by box at 2:20 PM on October 5, 2007

I can get through to AskMe at work, but not to the MeFi tags page.

The reason? According to Websense: "Category: Sex."
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 2:23 PM on October 5, 2007

It could be a weird corporate firewall setting. Mine allows metafilter, metatalk and ask, but blocks music. Metachat is also out at work.
posted by bonehead at 2:23 PM on October 5, 2007

I can get through to AskMe at work, but not to the MeFi tags page.

I get the same weird bullshit, though we don't get any category/etc explanation when our nanny software blocks something.

Among other things, we block the flickr search page but not the rest of flicker, and the babelfish translations-results page but not the babelfish translation-query page. I have to think they're just fucking with me on that last one.
posted by cortex (staff) at 2:40 PM on October 5, 2007

woohoo websense.
posted by garlic at 2:45 PM on October 5, 2007

I can get through to AskMe at work, but not to the MeFi tags page.

The reason? According to Websense: "Category: Sex."

Probably because of all those askme questions I posted with tags like "dirty cornholing."
posted by shmegegge at 3:40 PM on October 5, 2007

Actually, that would have to be dirtycornholing in order for it to show up as one tag.
posted by klangklangston at 3:41 PM on October 5, 2007

No that's exactly what I mean, I can get through to the AskMe tags page.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 4:38 PM on October 5, 2007

I hear Portland is nice.

It's not. It's horrible and awful here. It's the worst place in the world. You're much better off staying in sunny California. Really. I swear.
posted by dersins at 4:47 PM on October 5, 2007

Portland is great, it's right on the ocean and is really lovely with all the foliage this time of year!
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 5:22 PM on October 5, 2007

Whatever shall we California MeFites do?

Play Kino
posted by PeterMcDermott at 5:24 PM on October 5, 2007

I think we're done here.

(I've always wanted to say that.)
posted by ODiV at 11:25 PM on October 5, 2007

Portland is great, it's right on the ocean and is really lovely with all the foliage this time of year!

That goes for both of them!
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 2:55 PM on October 6, 2007

Slarty Bartfast has a problem, he's got some kind of rodent fetish. He needs some professional help.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 8:42 PM on October 6, 2007

Aww, thank you Slarty! (*eartips blush*) And your nick happens to refer to my favorite work of science fiction, the H2G2. When we moved to MD., I got the plates 'FRTYTWO' for my car. The car died shortly after that, (thereby proving that is was not The Answer!) and I moved the plates to my wife's car. She most often got the question, "Is that how old you are?". That was funny right up until she turned 42 and had to answer yes.
posted by Fferret at 12:17 PM on October 17, 2007

Ehtereal Bligh: Ahem. Ferrets are not rodents, they are mustelidae. Same family as skunks, weasels, martens, polecats, etc. May I refer you to Ferrets for Dummies?
posted by Fferret at 12:19 PM on October 17, 2007

Okay, but what is an F ferret? A effing ferret? [NOT FERRETIST]
posted by typewriter at 12:58 PM on October 17, 2007

It stems from my nickname (see my profile,) and from the fact that the first time I logged onto a MU*, the uname 'ferret' was already taken. I doubled the first 'f', and claimed it was a British affectation.
posted by Fferret at 1:44 PM on October 17, 2007