What's the deal, yo?

October 29, 2007 10:59 AM

Perhaps a little extension to the "What's the deal with your user name?" question in Profiles?

I don't know about other people, but I spend a lot of time looking at people's profiles - mostly stalking them, obviously. The "What's the deal" question has always struck me as sort of... lame and sub-mefi. I can't help noticing how many people appropriate it for other (often cooler) things, too.

Perhaps there could be a drop-down of question choices so mefites could choose what to answer (with both the selected question and the answer displayed)? Or a different one each month? Or... just something new and better?

And yes, I know this has been discussed before, but I don't think it has been rehashed this year, and we're almost out of time for 2007!

posted by DarlingBri to Feature Requests at 10:59 AM (26 comments total)

PERHAPS WE CAN DO LUNCH SOMETIME, DAHLINK
posted by quonsar at 11:04 AM on October 29, 2007 [1 favorite]

"What's the deal with your user name?" It's my name.
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 11:09 AM on October 29, 2007

I've always noted that it's a bit out of character. But then again I've also always ignored it, so...
posted by Skorgu at 11:09 AM on October 29, 2007

Who am I? I let my posts and comments speak for themselves.

DO NOT WANT-IST
posted by KokuRyu at 11:16 AM on October 29, 2007

"What's the deal with your user name?"

It's available as part of a two-for-one deal with an undisclosed sock puppet for the low low price of $125.00 US cash money.
posted by Eideteker at 11:22 AM on October 29, 2007

Well, when zou put in the info, it actuallz sazs "blurb about you - say what you want here," which is just fine. Probably it would make some sense to use similar phrasing on the page as it's displayed to others. "About me:" would probably do fine.

Personally, I'm reluctant to tinker with that blurb anyway since I have to tediously retype certain characters every single time I want to make a change.
posted by Wolfdog at 11:24 AM on October 29, 2007

"Personally, I'm reluctant to tinker with that blurb anyway since I have to tediously retype certain characters every single time I want to make a change."

I can z y.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 11:37 AM on October 29, 2007 [7 favorites]

"What's the deal with your herpes? How did you get it? If your herpes is self-explanatory, then tell everyone when you first started having sex for money, and what was the first thing that made you say "wow, this sex just isn't worth it?" Was it a fisting? Was it a proposition from a long-lost friend? Go on, spill it."
posted by Terminal Verbosity at 11:43 AM on October 29, 2007 [2 favorites]

Perhaps there could be a drop-down of question choices so mefites could choose what to answer (with both the selected question and the answer displayed)?

Drop-down menus will not make a person more interesting.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 12:02 PM on October 29, 2007 [3 favorites]

The simplicity and unchanging nature of the prompt text is a zen koan. What is interesting is not how the student answers the question, but how they do not answer it.

Ommmmmmm.
posted by cortex (staff) at 12:33 PM on October 29, 2007 [1 favorite]

All activities that encourage us to modify our profiles are a plot to get rid of the img tag. My cat's ball is not going anywhere! CAN'T FOOL ME!
posted by Mayor Curley at 12:45 PM on October 29, 2007 [3 favorites]

Oh geez, Mayor, I thought you meant a cat TOY! Why do I click?? Why God Why?? WHEN WILL I LEARN??!!!!
posted by JanetLand at 1:05 PM on October 29, 2007 [1 favorite]

Last Hurrah for Mayor Curley's cat.
posted by Cranberry at 1:11 PM on October 29, 2007

I know I personally won't rest until we bring back the img tag just so I can have a sig for each of my posts that take up half the screen with results of "Which Naruto character are you?" quizzes, glittery GIF fairy "paperdolls", ASCII rendered sparkles and accents, quotes from other members about me that are all painful in jokes that really do not translate out of context, 20-line poems about what makes a best friend for life and inspirational stories about overcoming obstacles.
posted by kkokkodalk at 1:57 PM on October 29, 2007 [2 favorites]

I sort of like how everyone ignores it, but maybe that's because there's basically no story to my username. Blooger has dumb question options on their profile pages and I dislike them.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 1:57 PM on October 29, 2007

All activities that encourage us to modify our profiles are a plot to get rid of the img tag.

WORD! Mayor Curley and I will never surrender! NEVAH NEVAH NEVAH!
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 1:59 PM on October 29, 2007 [1 favorite]

Blooger

PICK YOUR OH NOES
posted by cortex (staff) at 2:01 PM on October 29, 2007 [4 favorites]

“Drop-down menus will not make a person more interesting.”

That's what they said about drop-down underwear and, wow, were they wrong.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 3:33 PM on October 29, 2007 [1 favorite]

"They" still wear underwear?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 4:14 PM on October 29, 2007

Blooger has dumb question options on their profile pages and I dislike them.

Agreed. "What is your favorite X?" is the first and last resort of the soon-to-be-crushed-under-my-metallic-meat-crushing-wheels. Of death.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 8:05 PM on October 29, 2007

so, i take it that metal is your favourite substance for making meat crushing wheels of death?

call me old school, but i prefer wood, a la Lord Jagganath.
posted by UbuRoivas at 4:48 AM on October 30, 2007

My favourite x is the lower-case one, because the big one is just to in-your-face for my liking. The lower-case x is subtle and svelte, existing just enough to make its statement and no more.

oh, god, I need some sleep
posted by dg at 5:01 AM on October 30, 2007

There isn't much more to explain. Loki was taken. IT'S ALWAYS TAKEN.
posted by tehloki at 10:47 AM on October 30, 2007

oh, i always thought you were *teh* Loki.

i see now that i was wrong.
posted by UbuRoivas at 12:43 PM on October 30, 2007

I just thought the MetaFilter had potential for better questions than Blogger, to which MeFi is clearly superior. There are a metric tonne of smart and interesting people here, so I was sort of thinking that the hive could be relied upon to come up with some cool, fun and/or creative asks.

Sadly, the story of how I got my user name (which I dutifully disclosed) is dull and uninteresting and belies my special qualities as a unique snowflake. *sob*
posted by DarlingBri at 1:18 PM on October 31, 2007

UbuRoivas, I am tehloki. I just happened to adopt the moniker because the more popular "vanilla" Loki is always taken by somebody else.
posted by tehloki at 3:53 AM on November 1, 2007