It's an AskMe Miracle

June 26, 2008 5:27 AM

The end result of this question just needs to be preserved as a "wonderful AskMe moment." Crushing problem solved in a way neither of us would have considered if it hadn't been for the suggestion in AskMe. Now we know, and the other credit-card-ignorant will know too when they search!
posted by sparrows to MetaFilter-Related at 5:27 AM (30 comments total)

Also 10 points to you for having a nice username.
posted by Jofus at 5:37 AM on June 26, 2008

Huh, thank you!

I wonder if it would be useful for single users to have a way to designate a meta-best-answer of all the answers they get, for example over an arbitrary period, such as their "Best Answer of the Year." Amazing things sometimes happen here that aren't necessary newsworthy or discussion-worthy for the whole community (i.e., wouldn't necessarily belong on a best-of page like, say Best of Craigslist) but I feel deserve the most special public thanks.
posted by sparrows at 6:02 AM on June 26, 2008

Now we know, and the other credit-card-ignorant will know too when they search!

I suggest that you take this opportunity to add some credit-card, AMEX, extended warranty, etc.-related tags to the question, to help the credit-card-ignorant find it, in case their issue isn't a logic board but something else, or if they're coming at it from the opposite direction. Ensure that your most-helpful answer of the year has the potential to help the most other people through increased findability.
posted by mumkin at 6:07 AM on June 26, 2008 [2 favorites]

There's always flags. And the sidebar. Ooh and the wiki. As the post below this one shows, we're not really up on features for the sake of features. Good stuff bubbles up to the surface. Sometimes it takes an hour, sometimes months. (The example I'd like to link to here is that MeTa thread where the guy is talking to himself for six months. Anyone got a link?)
posted by Jofus at 6:08 AM on June 26, 2008

Wow, that's terrific. Congratulations to sparrows (nice username!), Science!, and the MetaFilter community for its collective smarts.
posted by languagehat at 6:15 AM on June 26, 2008

Jofus, might you be thinking of the Jim Jones tale of woe and madness?
posted by AwkwardPause at 6:20 AM on June 26, 2008 [1 favorite]

Great idea Mumkin. Done.
posted by sparrows at 6:22 AM on June 26, 2008

(My username is my favorite song on this CD)
posted by sparrows at 6:35 AM on June 26, 2008

Awkwardpause - that's the one! Although it strikes me now that Jim Jones could be a bit... well...stash-of-tinned-food-and-a-shotgunny, y'know?
posted by Jofus at 6:48 AM on June 26, 2008

Yeah, especially after you look at his profile.
posted by danb at 7:00 AM on June 26, 2008

Obviously, he's right.
posted by yhbc at 7:10 AM on June 26, 2008

Your username inevitable reminds me of Trinidad's King Sparrow.
posted by micayetoca at 7:22 AM on June 26, 2008

pretty awesome.
posted by cashman at 7:22 AM on June 26, 2008

Oh, Science! Is there nothing you can't do?
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 8:04 AM on June 26, 2008 [1 favorite]

I wonder if it would be useful for single users to have a way to designate a meta-best-answer of all the answers they get, for example over an arbitrary period, such as their "Best Answer of the Year."

I'm still pushing my SuperFave concept.
posted by Rock Steady at 8:53 AM on June 26, 2008

oooh! group hug post! \o/
posted by cowbellemoo at 9:00 AM on June 26, 2008

Sparrows, I'll never never know what you never never want to know when you know what you are, O.
posted by yeti at 9:13 AM on June 26, 2008 [3 favorites]

Although it strikes me now that Jim Jones could be a bit... well... stash-of-tinned-food-and-a-shotgunny, y'know?

He always struck me more of the remote-compound-in-south-america-and-some-kool-aidy*.



[*]Yes, I know it was Flavor-aid, you pedants. But you don't hear people talking about "drinking the flavor-aid," now do you?
posted by dersins at 9:30 AM on June 26, 2008

Woot!1!!
posted by Science! at 9:37 AM on June 26, 2008

Apparently dersins drank the "drank the Kool-aid" Flavor-aid.
posted by cortex (staff) at 11:28 AM on June 26, 2008

(nice username!)

I hate it when I don't understand what people are talking about.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 5:07 PM on June 26, 2008 [2 favorites]

stavrosthewonderchicken:

Jofus is saying that sparrows' username won't compete too heavily for clock cycles.
posted by Tomorrowful at 8:12 PM on June 26, 2008 [1 favorite]

I don't think there's anything to get. Sparrows are just cool and people like to think about them.
posted by sparrows at 8:13 PM on June 26, 2008

Nope, still confused. That's OK though, that's pretty much the way I spend most of my waking hours.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 8:39 PM on June 26, 2008

Ditto stav. For a moment I wondered if Jofus was mocking sparrows in a snarky "Uh, sure, that answer was amazing. And, oh, nice username" sort of way, but that explanation seems to be pushing the bounds for 'rational explanation'. Do I need to turn my snark-sensor down?
posted by Phire at 9:10 PM on June 26, 2008

Phire, if your snark-sensor is malfunctioning and out of warranty, you might want to check with your credit card company (assuming you still have the receipt.)
posted by davejay at 11:47 PM on June 26, 2008 [2 favorites]

I hate it when I don't understand what people are talking about.

Yeah, me too. I kind of thought people like that in the byline "posted by sparrows" makes it sound like the comments were generated by a bunch of birds pecking away at a keyboard.
posted by Rock Steady at 12:01 AM on June 27, 2008

That'd be "posted by an infinite number of monkeys with an infinite number of typewriters" though, wouldn't it?

*Ooh! ooh! Im off to lay down a Fiver on a cool new sockpuppet account*</small?
posted by Nick Verstayne at 11:13 AM on June 27, 2008

I'm lovin the HTML goofs too.
posted by Nick Verstayne at 12:58 PM on June 27, 2008

Yeti, I guess I never know what you'll find when you open up your AskMeFi tomorrow.
posted by ErWenn at 10:05 PM on June 28, 2008