Jargon 2010

December 31, 2010 2:12 PM

I hereby nominate "threadshit" as MeFi jargon word of the year. While it's been used as early as 2007, this year saw 30 total uses in blue threads. This is up 40% from last year, and makes up 70% of all prior uses of the term in all prior years.
posted by clarknova to MetaFilter-Related at 2:12 PM (60 comments total)

Threadshitting: Metatalk

# Posts (5)
# Comments (249) (now 250)
# Tags (2)
posted by edgeways at 2:19 PM on December 31, 2010 [2 favorites]

What we're saying is that Metafilter needs more fiber.
posted by The Whelk at 2:24 PM on December 31, 2010 [17 favorites]

If you're getting into "bad words of the year", the Banished Words List has been announced and my first New Years Resolution is to NOT post it to the front page this year. (Okay, I posted it here, but I just can't quit cold turkey...)
posted by oneswellfoop at 2:28 PM on December 31, 2010

I would think you'd get inaccurate results, though, because often threadshitting itself and thus ensuing and related accusations of threadshitting would be deleted.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 2:28 PM on December 31, 2010

Let's not exclude "threadshitting" from the results.

A fine point, sir. A quick sampling of Google results shows that while not as high as 70%, that particular conjugation in this year still makes up 53% of all postings in all years.

I would think you'd get inaccurate results, though, because often threadshitting itself and thus ensuing and related accusations of threadshitting would be deleted.

That, Mrs. Pterodactyl, cannot be helped.
Interestingly, one accusation of it, aimed modwards, managed to survive.
posted by clarknova at 2:35 PM on December 31, 2010 [1 favorite]

It's definitely been my Mefi word of the year, such that I've inadvertently started spreading it via comments to other sites. It's an excellent and precise word.
posted by rhizome at 2:43 PM on December 31, 2010 [1 favorite]

Have you ever actually tried to shit on a thread? It takes some practice to get it to balance.
posted by Rhomboid at 2:44 PM on December 31, 2010

"...the trick to avoiding threadshitting is to be sure to leave a thread no worse than you found it."
posted by MonkeyToes at 2:50 PM on December 31, 2010

Does it work as both noun and verb? Like, "hey, try not to threadshit. You're getting threadshit everywhere and I just cleaned the sheets."
posted by Lutoslawski at 2:54 PM on December 31, 2010

I think as a noun it would have a human referent. Like, "Why, you dirty rotten cocksucking little threadshit. I oughta...."
posted by nebulawindphone at 3:18 PM on December 31, 2010 [3 favorites]

Have you ever actually tried to shit on a thread? It takes some practice to get it to balance.

You're doing it wrong.
posted by Tuesday After Lunch at 3:43 PM on December 31, 2010

Clearly a case were double-silt becomes messy. In particular, the emission aspect and cognitive dissonance. see.

As to semantic approval of said observation, the hefty hand of some 'little cocksucker' is diminished it its capacity to persuade.
posted by clavdivs at 3:50 PM on December 31, 2010

I kinda hate that scatological terms have become standard in pretty much every discussion of Metafilter policy and site behavior.
posted by painquale at 3:55 PM on December 31, 2010 [2 favorites]

I pretty much hate threadshitting. Lets all try not to threadshit in 2011.
posted by Artw at 3:56 PM on December 31, 2010 [3 favorites]

Threadshitting: Kind of like the Filibuster...
posted by schmod at 3:58 PM on December 31, 2010 [1 favorite]

Threadshitting. That's so 2010.
posted by 26.2 at 4:12 PM on December 31, 2010 [2 favorites]

I shit on this thread.
posted by philip-random at 4:12 PM on December 31, 2010

I shit on your grave.
posted by The Whelk at 4:23 PM on December 31, 2010 [2 favorites]

I kinda hate that scatological terms have become standard in pretty much every discussion of Metafilter policy and site behavior.

No shit?

[I kinda agree with you; but it was just too good a setup to ignore..]
posted by Tuesday After Lunch at 4:27 PM on December 31, 2010

Me cago en el hostia hilo que te parió.
posted by donpedro at 4:41 PM on December 31, 2010 [4 favorites]

I pretty much hate threadshitting. Lets all try not to threadshit in 2011.

I hate it too. Here's hoping we see less of it in the new year.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 4:46 PM on December 31, 2010 [1 favorite]

This idea is really fucking stupid and this post is a waste of time.

Am I doing it right?
posted by griphus at 4:54 PM on December 31, 2010 [1 favorite]

painquale: "I kinda hate that scatological terms have become standard in pretty much every discussion of Metafilter policy and site behavior."

One of the things I love most about Mefi is the cursing.
posted by octothorpe at 5:07 PM on December 31, 2010 [2 favorites]

Am I doing it right?

That'd the sort of thing, yes.
posted by Artw at 5:11 PM on December 31, 2010

The secret is to eat the thread and just let nature take its course.
posted by boo_radley at 5:16 PM on December 31, 2010 [1 favorite]

Anyone who has ever had the unfortunate experience of their inquisitive dog eating the contents of the bathroom rubbish bin during certain times of the month will have an entirely different outlook on the word "threadshit".

That is all.
posted by elizardbits at 5:33 PM on December 31, 2010

Well if that isn't a perfect metaphor I'm not sure what is.
posted by Artw at 5:45 PM on December 31, 2010

I kinda hate that scatological terms have become standard in pretty much every discussion of Metafilter policy and site behavior.

. . . . . . . poop.
posted by Think_Long at 5:50 PM on December 31, 2010

One of our cats made a concerted effort to eat a cat-toy-on-a-string today and we got to witness firsthand some threadpuking. So that was something.
posted by cortex (staff) at 5:53 PM on December 31, 2010 [2 favorites]

One of our dogs ate the tassel off my daughter's knitted stocking cap. Nature took its course and he threadshit in the backyard. It was very colorful.
posted by amyms at 6:05 PM on December 31, 2010 [3 favorites]

I kinda hate that scatological terms have become standard in pretty much every discussion of Metafilter policy and site behavior.

I'm having trouble thinking of any other poopy moderation vocab.

Is "coprofascist" a thing?
posted by Sys Rq at 6:20 PM on December 31, 2010 [1 favorite]

I'm having trouble thinking of any other poopy moderation vocab.

I was trying to think of stuff along these lines earlier as well and came up wanting, but I might be forgetting something. I supposed I describe stuff as "crappy" on a regular basis and describe some things as "bullshit", but I'm not sure if that's really a strong argument toward "scatalogical terms" in the sort of visceral sense that the phrase suggests to me.
posted by cortex (staff) at 6:22 PM on December 31, 2010

One of our dogs ate the tassel off my daughter's knitted stocking cap.

That's just his way of letting you know that it's called a toque, god damn it.

(Sorry.)
posted by Sys Rq at 6:23 PM on December 31, 2010 [3 favorites]

It's definitely been my Mefi word of the year, such that I've inadvertently started spreading it via comments to other sites. It's an excellent and precise word.

...for me to poop on.
posted by escabeche at 6:55 PM on December 31, 2010 [3 favorites]

. . . . . . . poop.
posted by Think_Long at 7:50 PM on December 31

report
posted by Sailormom at 7:15 PM on December 31, 2010

That's just his way of letting you know that it's called a toque, god damn it.

If he's sending pedantic messages about our headwear via his tassel consumption, he's one toque over the line.
posted by amyms at 8:01 PM on December 31, 2010 [3 favorites]

Threadshitting gave me a valuable insight into academia. This is a true story. I was having a terrible day, and I had to go meet a professor to discuss a class. She was having a bad day too: her cat had eaten a rather sizeable ribbon (or other string-like object) the day before, and Professor X was really worried about this. She had been about to take the cat to the vet when lo and behold, the cat squats down and starts *pooping the ribbon out.* It must have realized that something was wrong, because it hopped out of the litter box and made a mad dash through the room. It kept running through the house until Professor X--charming, witty, much-published Professor X--leaped onto the cat and began the very touchy task of extracting the rest of the ribbon from her cat's butt.

Watching her tell the story gave me an uncontrollable fit of giggling (kitty was now fine, fine but annoyed, she said) as I pictured her wrestling with the cat. That day more than any other in my long schooling experience taught me that degrees and well-reviewed books sometimes pale next to the ability to wrangle a ribbon from a cat's ass.
posted by MonkeyToes at 8:08 PM on December 31, 2010 [4 favorites]

You have 99% too much time on your hands. There, did I just up the quota in time for this year's figures?





:-P
posted by 1000monkeys at 8:54 PM on December 31, 2010

Just here to say I'm very much in favor of MeFi developing its own "Irritating-Year-End-List" traditions. Word of the Year is a good one. Top Ten Longboats might be interesting. "." Review, or as folks in print media call it, the "dead people roundup" could also be fun. Other categories welcome.
posted by Miko at 9:37 PM on December 31, 2010

I must say, the idea of a horribly distasteful ranking of fresh corpses based on the number of dots in their respective obit threads seems oddly compelling.

A posthu-larity contest, if you will.
posted by Sys Rq at 10:39 PM on December 31, 2010 [2 favorites]

This thread sucks.
posted by fourcheesemac at 10:41 PM on December 31, 2010 [1 favorite]

I'm having trouble thinking of any other poopy moderation vocab.

There was a Meta thread a little while back (forget the one, sorry) in which I took notice that the first four mod comments all contained different scatty references. Threadshitting, taking a dump in the thread, and flinging poo were all mentioned. And those aren't just idiomatic... they're usually built upon, and embellished with adjectives like 'steaming' or other descriptors like that. It's just become the way that trollish behavior is discussed on the site.
posted by painquale at 11:05 PM on December 31, 2010

MONKEYTOES I CANT BELIEVE YOU KNOW PROFESSOR-X DO YOU GO TO HOGWARTZ SCHOOL FOR GIFTED MUTANTS?
posted by orville sash at 12:31 AM on January 1, 2011 [3 favorites]

God I would pay CASH MONEY for some decent Xaiver School pins
posted by The Whelk at 12:33 AM on January 1, 2011

I prefer to call it "poop dispensing" so as not to offend the thread shitters; who are, as we all know, sensitive and special snowflakes.
posted by arcticseal at 1:00 AM on January 1, 2011 [1 favorite]

Yeah, since Xmas, mine looks like it's passed through the eye of a needle as well.

Wait. What?
posted by PeterMcDermott at 1:09 AM on January 1, 2011

.
posted by caddis at 4:59 AM on January 1, 2011 [1 favorite]

I prefer to call it "poop dispensing" so as not to offend the thread shitters; who are, as we all know, sensitive and special snowflakes.
posted by arcticseal

Yes, please don't call it threadshitting because I happen to poop (almost) daily, and I find it very offensive because everyone knows that threadshitting is a derogatory term for "poopers" like me. I don't care what the etymology or even generally accepted meaning of the term is or the fact that it doesn't actually refer to what I'm saying it refers to, it still offends me so can we please all agree to stop using the word and ban it from MetaFilter? Great, thanks bye!
posted by 1000monkeys at 7:38 AM on January 1, 2011

HAPPY POO YEAR EVERYBODY
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:09 AM on January 1, 2011 [1 favorite]

In fact, the word threadshit is already a politically correct term protecting the egos of the sensitive and special snowflakes. :)

If you think about it, you'll realize that threadshitting does not differ much from trolling. There are two reasons why a separate term for threadshitting makes sense.

First, even perfectly normal heated debate can disrupt those who wish to read for higher quality stuff, like snarky gems, related links, etc., well assuming the message board has that stuff. In other words, an accused threadshiter has merely lowered the conversation down to say the level of say slashdot or wherever.

Second, the term threadshitting doesn't imply any particularly negative motivation, just that you're a hot head who's detracting from the thread by blabbering on about his opinions. Trolling otoh implies the explicit desire to disrupt discussion, often for comedic intent and often by posting stuff even you don't believe. Btw, the term boorish seems vaguely related too, although not terribly relevant to the internet.

It's amusing when people use threadshit coupled with terms like disingenuous to give themselves a classier way to accuse commenters of trolling. I'd personally prefer if the term trolling was eventually restricted to meaning its current connotations, i.e. comedic intent, not believing it yourself, etc., although that's not how the internet currently uses it.
posted by jeffburdges at 8:39 AM on January 1, 2011

I prefer to say 'Feel the prick of my rapier, besmircher of discourse!', but I can see how it might not be appropriate for all occasions.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 8:55 AM on January 1, 2011 [3 favorites]

There's already far too many potential rapiers going on about feeling their pricks on Metafilter.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 9:00 AM on January 1, 2011

I've seen tinselshitting. Cats will eat stuff.
posted by pracowity at 11:15 AM on January 1, 2011

One person's shitpile is another person's bouquet of fragrant posies.
posted by blucevalo at 11:37 AM on January 1, 2011

There's already far too many potential rapiers going on about feeling their pricks on Metafilter.

In which case maybe I'll save it for International Fight Like a Dandy Day.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 11:39 AM on January 1, 2011 [5 favorites]

MonkeyToes: Watching her tell the story gave me an uncontrollable fit of giggling (kitty was now fine, fine but annoyed, she said) as I pictured her wrestling with the cat. That day more than any other in my long schooling experience taught me that degrees and well-reviewed books sometimes pale next to the ability to wrangle a ribbon from a cat's ass.

Not to rebuff the larger point, but good jesus, all I can think is that that sounds like a good way to accidentally disembowel the cat if the ribbon were stuck.
posted by carbide at 12:02 PM on January 1, 2011

My goal, when I fall into a thread of shit, is to come out smelling like a crocheted rose.
posted by amyms at 1:25 PM on January 1, 2011

Perhaps we need to be walked more often.
posted by brundlefly at 6:20 PM on January 1, 2011

Bah humbug. Criticizing the quality of a post is not necessarily threadshitting, it is how community norms are established.
posted by LarryC at 4:37 PM on January 2, 2011

Have to disagree with you heavily there. Flagging stuff (and moving on)is okay, quietly noting that something is a double is okay. If something is a real big deal to you taking it to meta is okay (though no guarantees can be made as to how seriously your metatalk thread will be taken). Arguing that a post is terrible and should not have been made is not okay, constitutes threadshitting and the act of an asshole, and the more voiciferously you do it the more of the asshole you are.

The alternative is a "community norm" where commentors just wait for posts to come along and rip them to shreds on the faintest of pretexts, which is shitty al lround.
posted by Artw at 4:49 PM on January 2, 2011