How Do MeFites Do It? March 9, 2011 9:52 AM Subscribe
How Do MeFites Do It?, or Maybe I'm Not Spending Enough Time on the Computer Perhaps?
I'm here to inquire about the phenomenon of responding to FPPs. Sometimes it takes me a few days to get around to reading or viewing all of the linked articles/sites/videos on a post. By that time, it's too late to participate in the exchange of responses or even be meaningful saying anything at all on the blue so long after the fact.
What gives, do I simply spend an inordinate amount of time away from the computer & doing real-life outdoors activities than everyone else here? How do you guys do it?
(For the record, I truly appreciate the intelligence & humor of this community & am wondering whether it's possible for me to be more a part of the fray than merely a spectator of it.)
What gives, do I simply spend an inordinate amount of time away from the computer & doing real-life outdoors activities than everyone else here? How do you guys do it?
(For the record, I truly appreciate the intelligence & humor of this community & am wondering whether it's possible for me to be more a part of the fray than merely a spectator of it.)
I'm kind of in your boat. I really try not to post kneejerk reactions before actually reading the article or looking at the website. A lot of the time, that means that I don't get around to posting anything worthwhile until after the discussion has basically passed. In some cases, I never actually get around to reading it and just glean what I can from comments.
I can imagine a Newsfilter site that would be more for ongoing discussion of developing stories. I would like that site.
posted by roll truck roll at 9:58 AM on March 9, 2011 [3 favorites]
I can imagine a Newsfilter site that would be more for ongoing discussion of developing stories. I would like that site.
posted by roll truck roll at 9:58 AM on March 9, 2011 [3 favorites]
Uh. Spend your work day idly tabbing between metafilter and your "real work."
99% of my posts are going to be between 9-5 Monday to Friday. It's like I'm being subsidized to post here. No comment on what effect that has on the quality of my insights.
posted by Stagger Lee at 9:58 AM on March 9, 2011 [15 favorites]
99% of my posts are going to be between 9-5 Monday to Friday. It's like I'm being subsidized to post here. No comment on what effect that has on the quality of my insights.
posted by Stagger Lee at 9:58 AM on March 9, 2011 [15 favorites]
FIRST
posted by NoraReed at 9:58 AM on March 9, 2011 [5 favorites]
posted by NoraReed at 9:58 AM on March 9, 2011 [5 favorites]
In before rest of no-lifers.
posted by Threeway Handshake at 9:59 AM on March 9, 2011
posted by Threeway Handshake at 9:59 AM on March 9, 2011
If you don't believe me, post something anti-Apple, or pro-Obama, and watch two of our most effective bots engage almost instantly.
posted by found missing at 9:59 AM on March 9, 2011 [9 favorites]
posted by found missing at 9:59 AM on March 9, 2011 [9 favorites]
We've already read whatever-it-is a few days before on other link-aggregator sites so by the time it gets posted to MeFi we have a firm opinion and can begin spouting it immediately.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 9:59 AM on March 9, 2011 [9 favorites]
posted by BitterOldPunk at 9:59 AM on March 9, 2011 [9 favorites]
EIGHTH BUT HOPEFULLY HIGH ENOUGH IN THE THREAD TO GARNER A BUNCH OF FAVORITES.
posted by m@f at 10:00 AM on March 9, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by m@f at 10:00 AM on March 9, 2011 [3 favorites]
I assume a lot of us have offices with doors that close but ymmv.
posted by elizardbits at 10:01 AM on March 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by elizardbits at 10:01 AM on March 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
Outsourcing.
posted by haveanicesummer at 10:01 AM on March 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by haveanicesummer at 10:01 AM on March 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
I like to drop into a thread without reading it, type a snarky, knee-jerk response to a poorly worded sentence from what is an otherwise well-worded response by another commenter, try to offend as many people as possible so they don't notice I linked to my website where I'm trying to sell discount viagra, collect my favorites, and GTFO.
But that's just me.
posted by phunniemee at 10:03 AM on March 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
But that's just me.
posted by phunniemee at 10:03 AM on March 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
I don't understand. How do you have time for going outdoors when so many people are wrong on the internet?
posted by clearly at 10:04 AM on March 9, 2011 [67 favorites]
posted by clearly at 10:04 AM on March 9, 2011 [67 favorites]
Aggressive filtering by topic.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 10:04 AM on March 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 10:04 AM on March 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
For people who follow threads they've commented in via Recent Activity, a thread can live a bunch longer than however long it stays on the front page. For really active threads, thre can be active commenting for a few days and really hot button threads on current events can stay alive for a week or more. So I always figure adding something to the discussion if you have something to say is a great idea. But really, it's tough to interact on a site where there are a lot of people who are heavy online users versus people whose jobs or hobbies are not all online. Usually I'll only comment on a post or two a day on MetaFilter and often only if I have something to add that hasn't been said. In AskMe which is more about giving advice or suggestions than "read these links and discuss" it's easier to become part of a [short and to-the-point] conversation.
So I think really it's just making your peace with the fact that some people are online an awful lot more [and others don't read the links] and finding your own way to contribute that feels meaningful to you. I know this is a little handwavey, but a lot of people's participation here ebbs and flows and that's not just okay but actually probably a good thing.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 10:05 AM on March 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
So I think really it's just making your peace with the fact that some people are online an awful lot more [and others don't read the links] and finding your own way to contribute that feels meaningful to you. I know this is a little handwavey, but a lot of people's participation here ebbs and flows and that's not just okay but actually probably a good thing.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 10:05 AM on March 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
do I simply spend an inordinate amount of time away from the computer & doing real-life outdoors activities than everyone else here?
I think it's the opposite: there are people who spend an inordinate amount of time on MetaFilter.
Also, the site has a ton of regularly active users, so even if each of them comments on only one MeFi post per day or every few days, that works out to a lot of comments per post. I would guess that the proportion of users who are on MeFi ALL THE TIME is not as big you as you think it might be.
posted by Tin Man at 10:08 AM on March 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
I think it's the opposite: there are people who spend an inordinate amount of time on MetaFilter.
Also, the site has a ton of regularly active users, so even if each of them comments on only one MeFi post per day or every few days, that works out to a lot of comments per post. I would guess that the proportion of users who are on MeFi ALL THE TIME is not as big you as you think it might be.
posted by Tin Man at 10:08 AM on March 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
90% of mefites are bots. You humans will never keep up.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 10:08 AM on March 9, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by Potomac Avenue at 10:08 AM on March 9, 2011 [3 favorites]
Computer-based desk job + idle time = days MetaFiltered away.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:11 AM on March 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by filthy light thief at 10:11 AM on March 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
How Do MeFites Do It?
we don't - or at least i don't - i don't bother with most of the things posted here and comment on less, even though i have a fairly frequent presence here
it just seems like we post and comment a lot - really
posted by pyramid termite at 10:13 AM on March 9, 2011
we don't - or at least i don't - i don't bother with most of the things posted here and comment on less, even though i have a fairly frequent presence here
it just seems like we post and comment a lot - really
posted by pyramid termite at 10:13 AM on March 9, 2011
Most posters on Metafilter are $$...Return error code:3307::SelfReferenceError::...$$ anyways.
posted by haveanicesummer at 10:17 AM on March 9, 2011
posted by haveanicesummer at 10:17 AM on March 9, 2011
Basically people generally don't click on the links in a post and then just jump into the topic based on what they already know of the subject and/or a flimsy, easy "wow what a great post you put a lot of work into! thanks for this!"
But nobody will ever admit to that :)
posted by flatluigi at 10:17 AM on March 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
But nobody will ever admit to that :)
posted by flatluigi at 10:17 AM on March 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
How Do MeFites Do It? - They have jobs with internet access.
I, myself, am disabled, however, and don't work. Therefore, I have only enough to time in a day to leave an occasional comment, and I can rarely return to a previous thread.
posted by Ardiril at 10:18 AM on March 9, 2011
I, myself, am disabled, however, and don't work. Therefore, I have only enough to time in a day to leave an occasional comment, and I can rarely return to a previous thread.
posted by Ardiril at 10:18 AM on March 9, 2011
I do everything, all the time. I'm working three jobs and I have lots of friends and family to attend to. MetaFilter sort of fills in all the cracks. ALL the cracks. But over the years it has increasingly knit those elements together, so it works.
I check my profile and my recent activity literally dozens of times a day, and refresh the front pages of all three main sites constantly. I do read most of the links, but in a pinch I leap into the comments first to see how much I care to invest in the conversation. I go through fits where I make FPP's almost every day, then I retreat for a while and just read.
When it comes to commenting, I try to exercise restraint (I really do!) by considering whether someone else will probably voice whatever reaction I'm having. If no one has said what I'm thinking, or they have, but seem outnumbered, then I'll jump in. Other times I just (unfortunately) say whatever pops into my head, and often live to regret it.
posted by hermitosis at 10:18 AM on March 9, 2011 [4 favorites]
I check my profile and my recent activity literally dozens of times a day, and refresh the front pages of all three main sites constantly. I do read most of the links, but in a pinch I leap into the comments first to see how much I care to invest in the conversation. I go through fits where I make FPP's almost every day, then I retreat for a while and just read.
When it comes to commenting, I try to exercise restraint (I really do!) by considering whether someone else will probably voice whatever reaction I'm having. If no one has said what I'm thinking, or they have, but seem outnumbered, then I'll jump in. Other times I just (unfortunately) say whatever pops into my head, and often live to regret it.
posted by hermitosis at 10:18 AM on March 9, 2011 [4 favorites]
How do you guys do it?
Can't speak for everyone else, but I don't get much sleep. :P
posted by zarq at 10:19 AM on March 9, 2011 [3 favorites]
Can't speak for everyone else, but I don't get much sleep. :P
posted by zarq at 10:19 AM on March 9, 2011 [3 favorites]
This is a great post, very informative. Thanks
posted by The Winsome Parker Lewis at 10:20 AM on March 9, 2011 [15 favorites]
posted by The Winsome Parker Lewis at 10:20 AM on March 9, 2011 [15 favorites]
Why not try making posts, instead of focussing on making comments? That way you can contribute to the site in a non-time-sensitive way, and catch up on the discussion your post prompts later without feeling you're not participating enough. And don't be put off by folk who make magnum opus multilink posts - a single link to something really cool is fine (better, I'd say!) and I bet most folk have some obscure site already sitting in their bookmarks ripe for posting.
But yeah, when I was properly active on this site (under a different name) it was because I was online all day and doing a job that didn't require much in the way of actual work.
posted by a little headband I put around my throat at 10:20 AM on March 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
But yeah, when I was properly active on this site (under a different name) it was because I was online all day and doing a job that didn't require much in the way of actual work.
posted by a little headband I put around my throat at 10:20 AM on March 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
It helps if you're chronically under-employed.
posted by crunchland at 10:21 AM on March 9, 2011 [13 favorites]
posted by crunchland at 10:21 AM on March 9, 2011 [13 favorites]
PepperMax, it's probably just a case of you notice the subset of people who participate a lot because, well, they participate a lot.
There are probably far more members that just check in now and then.
I personally just rely on serendipity and skimming to find the odd interesting thing that I want to look into. No way do I read all FPPs, questions, or MeTa threads, let alone all the comments made on them. Even then I often find myself thinking: "Gee.. how did I end up spending so much time on Mefi... I only meant to check in for a little bit of break."
posted by philipy at 10:25 AM on March 9, 2011
There are probably far more members that just check in now and then.
I personally just rely on serendipity and skimming to find the odd interesting thing that I want to look into. No way do I read all FPPs, questions, or MeTa threads, let alone all the comments made on them. Even then I often find myself thinking: "Gee.. how did I end up spending so much time on Mefi... I only meant to check in for a little bit of break."
posted by philipy at 10:25 AM on March 9, 2011
a little headband I put around my throat: "a single link to something really cool is fine (better, I'd say!) "
I will fight you! :)
posted by zarq at 10:26 AM on March 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
I will fight you! :)
posted by zarq at 10:26 AM on March 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
99% of my posts are going to be between 9-5 Monday to Friday. It's like I'm being subsidized to post here. No comment on what effect that has on the quality of my insights.
I like that your first thought is for the quality of your posts, not the quality of your work. That shows a sensible choice of priorities, and I applaud.
posted by Infinite Jest at 10:26 AM on March 9, 2011 [16 favorites]
I like that your first thought is for the quality of your posts, not the quality of your work. That shows a sensible choice of priorities, and I applaud.
posted by Infinite Jest at 10:26 AM on March 9, 2011 [16 favorites]
Get a job working in IT waiting around for stuff to break so you have something productive to do.
posted by empath at 10:29 AM on March 9, 2011 [4 favorites]
posted by empath at 10:29 AM on March 9, 2011 [4 favorites]
If I were you I'd post to AskMe to find out how you could spend less time doing real-life outdoors activities. We're here to help.
posted by iconomy at 10:30 AM on March 9, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by iconomy at 10:30 AM on March 9, 2011 [3 favorites]
The answer is clones. Some of me work, others gather food, and still others farm the internet for links.
posted by Glibpaxman at 10:34 AM on March 9, 2011
posted by Glibpaxman at 10:34 AM on March 9, 2011
do I simply spend an inordinate amount of time away from the computer & doing real-life outdoors activities
Where doing what?
posted by DU at 10:41 AM on March 9, 2011
Where doing what?
posted by DU at 10:41 AM on March 9, 2011
What gives, do I simply spend an inordinate amount of time away from the computer & doing real-life outdoors activities than everyone else here? How do you guys do it?
We fester in our moms' basements, pasty faces aglow in the light of the blue with fingers callused from F5'ing like a hummingbird beats its wings. Outside? Outside is for the pizza deliverers, the Chinese takeout drivers, and sometimes the police when the neighbors complain about the smell. And they, like my egg-laying friends in the stacked-up pizza boxes that don't give me any favorites so why should I bother to clean them up, come to us. Your "activities" are the fantasy, PepperMax. This is real life.
posted by katillathehun at 10:41 AM on March 9, 2011 [18 favorites]
We fester in our moms' basements, pasty faces aglow in the light of the blue with fingers callused from F5'ing like a hummingbird beats its wings. Outside? Outside is for the pizza deliverers, the Chinese takeout drivers, and sometimes the police when the neighbors complain about the smell. And they, like my egg-laying friends in the stacked-up pizza boxes that don't give me any favorites so why should I bother to clean them up, come to us. Your "activities" are the fantasy, PepperMax. This is real life.
posted by katillathehun at 10:41 AM on March 9, 2011 [18 favorites]
I post while things are compiling or tests are running. I've tried to multi-task more and try to do other stuff while scripts are running but I end up just getting confused and typing commands into the wrong shell or something similarly stupid.
posted by octothorpe at 10:42 AM on March 9, 2011
posted by octothorpe at 10:42 AM on March 9, 2011
90% of mefites are bots. You humans will never keep up.
posted by dougrayrankin at 10:43 AM on March 9, 2011
posted by dougrayrankin at 10:43 AM on March 9, 2011
For me the key is office hours. I'm required to have them, but students generally prefer to use email. This means I basically sit in an office with a computer and not much to do (if my prep and grading are done) except surf metafilter (which I can justify as prep as I often find important articles/news items for my students here).
I also have a smart phone, which I justified as "Oh I can answer student emails when I'm at the coffee shop or waiting in line at the movies"but really so I can read and comment on threads while I'm riding the bus home.
posted by miss-lapin at 10:47 AM on March 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
I also have a smart phone, which I justified as "Oh I can answer student emails when I'm at the coffee shop or waiting in line at the movies"but really so I can read and comment on threads while I'm riding the bus home.
posted by miss-lapin at 10:47 AM on March 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
I just type randomly. Sometimes, by accident, the letters appear to mean something that applies to the subject at hand. But it's just coincidence. If you like my comment history, you may also enjoy my collection of self-portraits, appearing soon in a wood grain pattern near you.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 10:47 AM on March 9, 2011 [8 favorites]
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 10:47 AM on March 9, 2011 [8 favorites]
My observation (probably biased) is that a high percentage of Mefites are freelancers or telecommuters.
When you work from home, A) nobody's there to see you checking Metafilter all the time, and B) you get lonely.
posted by ErikaB at 10:50 AM on March 9, 2011 [4 favorites]
When you work from home, A) nobody's there to see you checking Metafilter all the time, and B) you get lonely.
posted by ErikaB at 10:50 AM on March 9, 2011 [4 favorites]
Sometimes it takes me a few days to get around to reading or viewing all of the linked articles/sites/videos on a post. By that time...
Many commenters don't wait that long.
posted by John Cohen at 10:51 AM on March 9, 2011
Many commenters don't wait that long.
posted by John Cohen at 10:51 AM on March 9, 2011
I agree with BitterOldPunk - I'd say that 75% of the material I'm interested in and comment on Mefi, I've either seen elsewhere or I heard it on NPR on my drive to work. The other 25% of my comments are knee-jerk responses to the post itself.
That's one of the reasons I'm sort of bugged by regular links to NYT.com or NPR.org or various extremely popular blogs like theawl.com or cracked.com - it seems to me that if their content is good enough to be posted to Mefi, then we should all be subscribers in the first place. This is probably irrational on my part.
posted by muddgirl at 10:51 AM on March 9, 2011
That's one of the reasons I'm sort of bugged by regular links to NYT.com or NPR.org or various extremely popular blogs like theawl.com or cracked.com - it seems to me that if their content is good enough to be posted to Mefi, then we should all be subscribers in the first place. This is probably irrational on my part.
posted by muddgirl at 10:51 AM on March 9, 2011
How Do MeFites Do It?
I'd love to know how Delmoi does it. That man is a commenting machine.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 10:55 AM on March 9, 2011
I'd love to know how Delmoi does it. That man is a commenting machine.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 10:55 AM on March 9, 2011
This was a great post.
MetaFilter has been like a high speed version of my relationship with TV. When I was small my family lived overseas in a remote place and there were no TVs. Then we came back to the US and eventually acquired one (as I eventually found Meta land. I think via Stumble Upon.) We watched occasionally, because we didn't really get it. Then there was quite a period of total TV addiction, watching every moment we weren't in school. But eventually we started figuring out not every show was worth it to us, and that it was good to pick and choose. And now we use a DVR and are really selective about what and when we watch. (MetaFilter equivalent to DVR, sorta, is favorites.)
I.e., now I skim for topics of interest, in the blue, green and gray, when I have time to visit here. I jump in and comment when no one else has said what I am thinking (and I usually favorite those comments.) I wish I could read everything this place has to offer, and in particular I wish I could find more time for Projects and Music, but I also deeply regret I can't read every decent book ever written or travel to every spot on earth. Too bad there's just this one life.
posted by bearwife at 11:00 AM on March 9, 2011 [6 favorites]
MetaFilter has been like a high speed version of my relationship with TV. When I was small my family lived overseas in a remote place and there were no TVs. Then we came back to the US and eventually acquired one (as I eventually found Meta land. I think via Stumble Upon.) We watched occasionally, because we didn't really get it. Then there was quite a period of total TV addiction, watching every moment we weren't in school. But eventually we started figuring out not every show was worth it to us, and that it was good to pick and choose. And now we use a DVR and are really selective about what and when we watch. (MetaFilter equivalent to DVR, sorta, is favorites.)
I.e., now I skim for topics of interest, in the blue, green and gray, when I have time to visit here. I jump in and comment when no one else has said what I am thinking (and I usually favorite those comments.) I wish I could read everything this place has to offer, and in particular I wish I could find more time for Projects and Music, but I also deeply regret I can't read every decent book ever written or travel to every spot on earth. Too bad there's just this one life.
posted by bearwife at 11:00 AM on March 9, 2011 [6 favorites]
You know how some artists have huge shops filled with minions cranking out art under the name of the owner ?
posted by y2karl at 11:04 AM on March 9, 2011
posted by y2karl at 11:04 AM on March 9, 2011
I know how you feel, PepperMax. There was a span of time a few years back where every comment I made ended up being the last comment in the thread. Since then, I've made peace with spending most my time on MeFi lurking and dispensing favorites.
posted by joedan at 11:10 AM on March 9, 2011 [4 favorites]
posted by joedan at 11:10 AM on March 9, 2011 [4 favorites]
do I simply spend an inordinate amount of time away from the computer & doing real-life outdoors activities than everyone else here?
On the whole, Outside is overrated
posted by juv3nal at 11:11 AM on March 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
On the whole, Outside is overrated
posted by juv3nal at 11:11 AM on March 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
How Do MeFites Do It?
In the spare bedroom, or while Bob the Builder is on, apparently.
posted by dirtdirt at 11:12 AM on March 9, 2011 [9 favorites]
In the spare bedroom, or while Bob the Builder is on, apparently.
posted by dirtdirt at 11:12 AM on March 9, 2011 [9 favorites]
I am not only amazed by all of the responses, so many have been downright LOL-inducing! Thank you for the insights & recommendations. This place rocks.
posted by PepperMax at 11:13 AM on March 9, 2011
posted by PepperMax at 11:13 AM on March 9, 2011
I don't participate on the Blue unless I'm really bored with absolutely nothing else to do. Otherwise I'll just lurk. Or maybe just check out whatever the FPP wants me to see without comment (crazy, I know!).
posted by Sara C. at 11:14 AM on March 9, 2011
posted by Sara C. at 11:14 AM on March 9, 2011
If it's a massively multi-link post, I just cherry pick a few different things, and hope to stumble across the 'main' link, before I comment on it. But also, I only actually click through to maybe half a dozen posts a day from RSS, and read and comment on even fewer. It's not like you have to read every post before commenting on one.
posted by jacquilynne at 11:35 AM on March 9, 2011
posted by jacquilynne at 11:35 AM on March 9, 2011
How Do MeFites Do It?
Just speaking personally, a combination of DMT and Nazi Magick gives me panoptic understanding of n-dimensional website space.
posted by naju at 11:36 AM on March 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
Just speaking personally, a combination of DMT and Nazi Magick gives me panoptic understanding of n-dimensional website space.
posted by naju at 11:36 AM on March 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
An elitist would claim never to listen to radio. I never listen to radio nor do I have cable, but I got a 52" flat screen mounted on the wall.
posted by Ardiril at 11:37 AM on March 9, 2011
posted by Ardiril at 11:37 AM on March 9, 2011
heavy online users
The internet in general is addictive IMO, and in particular encourages a lot of superficial pseudo-knowledge and banter. This observation will not be appreciated, but my guess is that many regular MeFi users have a serious and unhealthy addiction to the internet, perhaps due to issues of procrastination and life avoidance, and that metafilter is like a group of enablers in encouraging that kind of psychodynamic.
Unfortunately but unsurprisingly, however, the very notion of internet addiction, and the related notion that the internet fosters limited attention spans, is usually dismissed or lampooned around here ("tl;dr," etc). Part of this is due to the reality that metafilter does, compared to much of the internet, maintain a higher level of discourse--there are, after all, worse places online to while away the hours.
posted by The Emperor of Ice Cream at 11:40 AM on March 9, 2011 [57 favorites]
The internet in general is addictive IMO, and in particular encourages a lot of superficial pseudo-knowledge and banter. This observation will not be appreciated, but my guess is that many regular MeFi users have a serious and unhealthy addiction to the internet, perhaps due to issues of procrastination and life avoidance, and that metafilter is like a group of enablers in encouraging that kind of psychodynamic.
Unfortunately but unsurprisingly, however, the very notion of internet addiction, and the related notion that the internet fosters limited attention spans, is usually dismissed or lampooned around here ("tl;dr," etc). Part of this is due to the reality that metafilter does, compared to much of the internet, maintain a higher level of discourse--there are, after all, worse places online to while away the hours.
posted by The Emperor of Ice Cream at 11:40 AM on March 9, 2011 [57 favorites]
The internet in general is addictive IMO, and in particular encourages a lot of superficial pseudo-knowledge and banter. This observation will not be appreciated, but my guess is that many regular MeFi users have a serious and unhealthy addiction to the internet, perhaps due to issues of procrastination and life avoidance, and that metafilter is like a group of enablers in encouraging that kind of psychodynamic.
I resent that, I engage in "superficial pseudo-knowledge and banter" no matter what the medium!
posted by Stagger Lee at 11:46 AM on March 9, 2011 [15 favorites]
> many regular MeFi users have a serious and unhealthy addiction to the internet, perhaps due to issues of procrastination and life avoidance, and that metafilter is like a group of enablers in encouraging that kind of psychodynamic.
:D
Well, it's untrue and it's kind of true. It pains me greatly that real life has intervened in my once constant metafiltering. I really do wish I had more time to sit and read MeFi, which really enriched me when I did. It's hard to say if my current life of PhD coursework, roller derby and podcast-enhanced commuting is healthier. Fortunately, it doesn't seem too uncool that I still show up to meetups even without opinions on the latest MeTa drama, so I get to see my sweet lil enablers in meatspace, at least.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 11:48 AM on March 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
:D
Well, it's untrue and it's kind of true. It pains me greatly that real life has intervened in my once constant metafiltering. I really do wish I had more time to sit and read MeFi, which really enriched me when I did. It's hard to say if my current life of PhD coursework, roller derby and podcast-enhanced commuting is healthier. Fortunately, it doesn't seem too uncool that I still show up to meetups even without opinions on the latest MeTa drama, so I get to see my sweet lil enablers in meatspace, at least.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 11:48 AM on March 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
I hardly ever see my boss. That's convenient, if you know what I mean.
posted by tommasz at 11:52 AM on March 9, 2011
posted by tommasz at 11:52 AM on March 9, 2011
I thought we were against psychiatric diagnoses over the internet.
While I would never scoff at the idea of an "internet addiction," I can't imagine anyone 5 years ago saying that someone has, like, an addiction to meeting their friends for coffee, or an addiction to reading the newspaper.
posted by muddgirl at 12:01 PM on March 9, 2011 [5 favorites]
While I would never scoff at the idea of an "internet addiction," I can't imagine anyone 5 years ago saying that someone has, like, an addiction to meeting their friends for coffee, or an addiction to reading the newspaper.
posted by muddgirl at 12:01 PM on March 9, 2011 [5 favorites]
This is the first year in many that, upon returning from a disconnected tropical couple of weeks, I haven't tried to "catch up" which used to be it's own weirdly stressful thing! Instead, this year I went straight to MetaTalk to see what raging controversies I may have missed, checked the sidebarred items, and reviewed my Recent Activity to see if any of my weeks-old conversations were still perking! Better this way.
posted by thinkpiece at 12:01 PM on March 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by thinkpiece at 12:01 PM on March 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
Most of my comments (or AskMe answers) tend to be the last one or two responses in a thread. it feels kind of meaningless.
I have thought about writing a short story made up of dialogue between characters (sockpuppets) taking place across threads right before they close. It would be fun to see how long it would take for anyone to discover it. Alas, I do not have the creative chops to pull it off.
posted by rtimmel at 12:04 PM on March 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
I have thought about writing a short story made up of dialogue between characters (sockpuppets) taking place across threads right before they close. It would be fun to see how long it would take for anyone to discover it. Alas, I do not have the creative chops to pull it off.
posted by rtimmel at 12:04 PM on March 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
Sometimes I doubt your commitment to SparkleFilter.
posted by Babblesort at 12:04 PM on March 9, 2011 [15 favorites]
posted by Babblesort at 12:04 PM on March 9, 2011 [15 favorites]
Hmm... The stream seems kinda warm...
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 12:11 PM on March 9, 2011
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 12:11 PM on March 9, 2011
I have thought about writing a short story made up of dialogue between characters (sockpuppets) taking place across threads right before they close. It would be fun to see how long it would take for anyone to discover it. Alas, I do not have the creative chops to pull it off.
This has been done, and done well, but I do not have the search chops to find it. Anybody?
posted by BitterOldPunk at 12:20 PM on March 9, 2011
This has been done, and done well, but I do not have the search chops to find it. Anybody?
posted by BitterOldPunk at 12:20 PM on March 9, 2011
I'm like, five people.
posted by The Whelk at 12:20 PM on March 9, 2011 [8 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 12:20 PM on March 9, 2011 [8 favorites]
You're like five people and I like five people. We have so much in common.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 12:22 PM on March 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 12:22 PM on March 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
I am you and you are me and we all flame out together.
posted by The Whelk at 12:23 PM on March 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by The Whelk at 12:23 PM on March 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
Quick scan over breakfast. Maybe throw off a few one-liners if it seems appropriate. Mental note of anything more interesting which I may or may not come back to if I get the time. Longer scan in the evening. Might make a longer post or two if I'm not busy - which is usually, the way my evenings are these days.
Rest of the day on reddit. :-)
posted by Decani at 12:25 PM on March 9, 2011
Rest of the day on reddit. :-)
posted by Decani at 12:25 PM on March 9, 2011
My secret is to not think too much and type really fast!
posted by Mister_A at 12:29 PM on March 9, 2011
posted by Mister_A at 12:29 PM on March 9, 2011
but my guess is that many regular MeFi users have a serious and unhealthy addiction to the internet, perhaps due to issues of procrastination and life avoidance, and that metafilter is like a group of enablers in encouraging that kind of psychodynamic.
You say that like it's a bad thing.
posted by nooneyouknow at 12:30 PM on March 9, 2011 [4 favorites]
You say that like it's a bad thing.
posted by nooneyouknow at 12:30 PM on March 9, 2011 [4 favorites]
I will fight you! :)
Heh. I'm picturing some sort of Sharks v. Jets style singing streetfight between the Single Linkers and Linkaholics!
I know it's a matter of taste, and one that's aroused some fiery debate on MeTa over the years, but do you really, truly think, eg., your recent post The Billionaire Who Is Planning His 125th Birthday was improved by the extra links? It had a great headline, and you picked a choice pull-quote for the title. I think it would've been just wonderful with the main link alone, like a pretty girl without makeup, or a handsome boy not wearing a fedora.
posted by a little headband I put around my throat at 12:35 PM on March 9, 2011
Heh. I'm picturing some sort of Sharks v. Jets style singing streetfight between the Single Linkers and Linkaholics!
I know it's a matter of taste, and one that's aroused some fiery debate on MeTa over the years, but do you really, truly think, eg., your recent post The Billionaire Who Is Planning His 125th Birthday was improved by the extra links? It had a great headline, and you picked a choice pull-quote for the title. I think it would've been just wonderful with the main link alone, like a pretty girl without makeup, or a handsome boy not wearing a fedora.
posted by a little headband I put around my throat at 12:35 PM on March 9, 2011
Oops
posted by a little headband I put around my throat at 12:39 PM on March 9, 2011
posted by a little headband I put around my throat at 12:39 PM on March 9, 2011
Real life has outdoor activities, too?
I'm really going to have to try that someday.
posted by steambadger at 12:44 PM on March 9, 2011
I'm really going to have to try that someday.
posted by steambadger at 12:44 PM on March 9, 2011
Real life has a swimsuit competition, even!
posted by Mister_A at 12:50 PM on March 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Mister_A at 12:50 PM on March 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
I'm pretty sure that Real Life has had work done.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 12:58 PM on March 9, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 12:58 PM on March 9, 2011 [3 favorites]
The first thing I do when I come to Mefi is look at MetaTalk, so that if there's a contentious thread going on I know about it, and don't come across it and go "I wonder if there's a MeTa about this..." I usually glance at those threads but don't often comment.
Then I go check out all the new questions on AskMe (usually not even 2 pages' worth), but I only really read the ones that I think I might be able to answer or that I would enjoy reading answers to. If I post a few answers it might take me anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour to get through AskMe.
If I have plenty of time I'll look at the blue, but sometimes I'll just let it go till tomorrow. There's usually only 5 or 6 threads on the front page at any given time that I have an interest in. I don't necessarily read the whole thread.
posted by IndigoRain at 12:59 PM on March 9, 2011
Then I go check out all the new questions on AskMe (usually not even 2 pages' worth), but I only really read the ones that I think I might be able to answer or that I would enjoy reading answers to. If I post a few answers it might take me anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour to get through AskMe.
If I have plenty of time I'll look at the blue, but sometimes I'll just let it go till tomorrow. There's usually only 5 or 6 threads on the front page at any given time that I have an interest in. I don't necessarily read the whole thread.
posted by IndigoRain at 12:59 PM on March 9, 2011
Real Life, since some people here seem unfamiliar with it.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 1:18 PM on March 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 1:18 PM on March 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
GOD WARN SOMEONE BEFORE YOU LINK TO TVTROPES YOU MONSTER
posted by The Whelk at 1:25 PM on March 9, 2011 [19 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 1:25 PM on March 9, 2011 [19 favorites]
If you filter your MeFi through MeTa, you get to see all the juicy stuff and don't have to waste time waiting for drama to just happen where you are at the time.
posted by dg at 1:41 PM on March 9, 2011 [5 favorites]
posted by dg at 1:41 PM on March 9, 2011 [5 favorites]
...my guess is that many regular MeFi users have a serious and unhealthy addiction to the internet, perhaps due to issues of procrastination and life avoidance, and that metafilter is like a group of enablers in encouraging that kind of psychodynamic.
Thank you for the diagnosis, Dr. Freud. How do I sign up for your newsletter?
posted by ericb at 1:43 PM on March 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
Thank you for the diagnosis, Dr. Freud. How do I sign up for your newsletter?
posted by ericb at 1:43 PM on March 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
If you don't believe me, post something anti-Apple, or pro-Obama, and watch two of our most effective bots engage almost instantly.
It's true: I feed on tungsten and your hate. Mostly tungsten, though.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 1:47 PM on March 9, 2011
It's true: I feed on tungsten and your hate. Mostly tungsten, though.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 1:47 PM on March 9, 2011
If you don't believe me, post something anti-Apple, or pro-Obama, and watch two of our most effective bots engage almost instantly.Probama.
posted by dougrayrankin at 1:52 PM on March 9, 2011
rtimmel: "Most of my comments (or AskMe answers) tend to be the last one or two responses in a thread. it feels kind of meaningless."
It could be worse. You could be like me and be that guy who finally posts as the thread is petering out and end of being the last word. Then you get that lovely feeling of being the THREAD KILLER.
Oh, and I've posted now so you can all feel free to go off and have fun somewhere else like you always do as I sit here at the end of the thread. Alone.
posted by charred husk at 2:02 PM on March 9, 2011 [8 favorites]
It could be worse. You could be like me and be that guy who finally posts as the thread is petering out and end of being the last word. Then you get that lovely feeling of being the THREAD KILLER.
Oh, and I've posted now so you can all feel free to go off and have fun somewhere else like you always do as I sit here at the end of the thread. Alone.
posted by charred husk at 2:02 PM on March 9, 2011 [8 favorites]
It is simply a matter of priorities. If you let work or family responsibilities interfere, then you will seriously limit your MetaFilter enjoyment.
Note that I do not practice this since I have only had time to post this late in the day...
posted by Cranberry at 2:05 PM on March 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
Note that I do not practice this since I have only had time to post this late in the day...
posted by Cranberry at 2:05 PM on March 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
Thread killer would be a pretty good user name.
posted by theora55 at 2:05 PM on March 9, 2011 [5 favorites]
posted by theora55 at 2:05 PM on March 9, 2011 [5 favorites]
many regular MeFi users have a serious and unhealthy addiction to the internet, perhaps due to issues of procrastination and life avoidance, and that metafilter is like a group of enablers in encouraging that kind of psychodynamic.
I'm curious about this. I often feel that really heavy internet users are online for a reason. For some people it's because they're life avoidant, but other people have maybe other factors. Online or busywork jobs [people who are overnight server farm babysitters, or people who do web design or other techie jobs]. Some people have some sort of disability that makes online interactions sometimes a simpler option than real life interactions. People have social anxiety. They have home situations where they may be looking after a relative who needs constant care so they can't go out for long periods of time. They may have a super demanding job and they kick back with MetaFilter instead of going to the local pub. They may live in some remote area where they don't find people who share their interests. They may have some time shifted situation where the time they're awake isn't the time others are awake, except online.
One of the things that recent research says, if you believe the studies that the Pew Center comes out with, is that people who are heavily active online are also often heavily active offline. That people who are social on Twitter or Facebook or online communities are social generally, in real-life ways as well.
I'm not denying that there are certainly people here who maybe interact here because they can't NOT interact here, that there's some unhealthy life-avoidance going on, but I think it's easy to overstate that sort of thing if you're just someone who doesn't get how people can have TIME for that sort of thing. Everyone makes choices about how to spend their time. Claiming that people are here and interacting because they have an addiction that is both serious and unhealthy goes against I've found in the 600+ folks I've met [in real life, not online].
That said, this is an easy dismissal for me to make since I can say "well this is my job, I have to be here" and I may have my own blind spots in terms of what I might be doing if I wasn't typing this, but I feel like I get plenty of stuff done in my offline life as do many other people here.
So, I dunnow, maybe? Is there a reason you think that?
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 2:06 PM on March 9, 2011 [23 favorites]
I'm curious about this. I often feel that really heavy internet users are online for a reason. For some people it's because they're life avoidant, but other people have maybe other factors. Online or busywork jobs [people who are overnight server farm babysitters, or people who do web design or other techie jobs]. Some people have some sort of disability that makes online interactions sometimes a simpler option than real life interactions. People have social anxiety. They have home situations where they may be looking after a relative who needs constant care so they can't go out for long periods of time. They may have a super demanding job and they kick back with MetaFilter instead of going to the local pub. They may live in some remote area where they don't find people who share their interests. They may have some time shifted situation where the time they're awake isn't the time others are awake, except online.
One of the things that recent research says, if you believe the studies that the Pew Center comes out with, is that people who are heavily active online are also often heavily active offline. That people who are social on Twitter or Facebook or online communities are social generally, in real-life ways as well.
I'm not denying that there are certainly people here who maybe interact here because they can't NOT interact here, that there's some unhealthy life-avoidance going on, but I think it's easy to overstate that sort of thing if you're just someone who doesn't get how people can have TIME for that sort of thing. Everyone makes choices about how to spend their time. Claiming that people are here and interacting because they have an addiction that is both serious and unhealthy goes against I've found in the 600+ folks I've met [in real life, not online].
That said, this is an easy dismissal for me to make since I can say "well this is my job, I have to be here" and I may have my own blind spots in terms of what I might be doing if I wasn't typing this, but I feel like I get plenty of stuff done in my offline life as do many other people here.
So, I dunnow, maybe? Is there a reason you think that?
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 2:06 PM on March 9, 2011 [23 favorites]
MetaFilter sort of fills in all the cracks
I was wondering why my pants were increasingly tight.
posted by maxwelton at 2:11 PM on March 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
I was wondering why my pants were increasingly tight.
posted by maxwelton at 2:11 PM on March 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
I've gotten pretty good at scanning the threads and seeing which ones I'm going to be interested in, so I'll hit those first, then I'll follow up and pop into some of the ones I'm more on the fence about. I know I miss some good stuff, but that's what the sidebar and schmoopy threads in Meta are for.
My biggest problem with the amount of time I spend on Metafilter is the way my "here voice" bleeds its way into my "real-world voice". Where I'm in a meeting or talking with a coworker and some one-off favorite-bait snark will just come tumbling out of my mouth leaving everyone involved confused and worried.
At these times I just shrug and remind everyone that I'm a minor internet celebrity and they should feel grateful to be getting the good stuff in person.
Apropos of nothing, my coworkers all hate me.
posted by quin at 2:26 PM on March 9, 2011 [6 favorites]
My biggest problem with the amount of time I spend on Metafilter is the way my "here voice" bleeds its way into my "real-world voice". Where I'm in a meeting or talking with a coworker and some one-off favorite-bait snark will just come tumbling out of my mouth leaving everyone involved confused and worried.
At these times I just shrug and remind everyone that I'm a minor internet celebrity and they should feel grateful to be getting the good stuff in person.
Apropos of nothing, my coworkers all hate me.
posted by quin at 2:26 PM on March 9, 2011 [6 favorites]
I have met 700+ people in real life. Many of them I have rocked.
Internet abstinence is for exotic holidays (or unexotic holidays in cheap hotels where you have to sit in the lobby with a bunch of spotty German kids who have better technology than you and bogart the bandwidth).
posted by tigrefacile at 2:38 PM on March 9, 2011
Internet abstinence is for exotic holidays (or unexotic holidays in cheap hotels where you have to sit in the lobby with a bunch of spotty German kids who have better technology than you and bogart the bandwidth).
posted by tigrefacile at 2:38 PM on March 9, 2011
Even regarding people who have limited internet time due to family, life, or other obligations - it's all about where you choose to spend your online time. Lately I've been letting my Google Reader get stacked up in favor of reading Mefi first, because I get more out of Mefi. It used to be the opposite - I'd only visit Mefi after emptying my Google Reader feeds.
posted by IndigoRain at 3:13 PM on March 9, 2011
posted by IndigoRain at 3:13 PM on March 9, 2011
I save time by only having three opinions and repeating them ad nauseam.
posted by Abiezer at 3:24 PM on March 9, 2011 [9 favorites]
posted by Abiezer at 3:24 PM on March 9, 2011 [9 favorites]
I get really baked. That usually helps before... doing... it.
posted by J. Wilson at 3:32 PM on March 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by J. Wilson at 3:32 PM on March 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
There have already been 100 replies to this post. That's fine, I don't mind.
My style is this: I read things when I have time for them, or, sometimes, when the time seems right. Sometimes, this leads me to read FPPs after the comment window has closed. Other times, not. As you can see in this Infodump thread [link is to my comment, scroll to top for figures], I often leave the last comment in threads where I post at all (7% of my comments, or one out of every 14). If someone replies, great. If not, no problem. If I have a question about something said in the thread that is really important to me, I may send a MeFiMail to the commenter.
And if I read through a thread, as I often do, and find the things I wanted to say are said, well, awesome. That's great, really. Someone else did the work for me. Which is just the neat thing about human communication, especially in the Internet age. We really do act like a networked superorganism at times. If another lump of brain cells already had the thought and put it out there, then I don't need to make the effort. Someone else's post is no different than if I'd made the post myself. You'd probably never know it from my comments on here, but I do my best to divorce ego from the process entirely. I find it goes a great way toward improving the experience for me (and hopefully, others, since it is a shared site).
So please, contribute when you can and especially when you must; say what no one else has said. There's a good chance (not 7%, but still good) that I'll read your comment some day and reply to it long after you've forgotten about the thread. And you probably won't reply to my reply, but it's cool. I'm used to it. =)
posted by Eideteker at 3:37 PM on March 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
My style is this: I read things when I have time for them, or, sometimes, when the time seems right. Sometimes, this leads me to read FPPs after the comment window has closed. Other times, not. As you can see in this Infodump thread [link is to my comment, scroll to top for figures], I often leave the last comment in threads where I post at all (7% of my comments, or one out of every 14). If someone replies, great. If not, no problem. If I have a question about something said in the thread that is really important to me, I may send a MeFiMail to the commenter.
And if I read through a thread, as I often do, and find the things I wanted to say are said, well, awesome. That's great, really. Someone else did the work for me. Which is just the neat thing about human communication, especially in the Internet age. We really do act like a networked superorganism at times. If another lump of brain cells already had the thought and put it out there, then I don't need to make the effort. Someone else's post is no different than if I'd made the post myself. You'd probably never know it from my comments on here, but I do my best to divorce ego from the process entirely. I find it goes a great way toward improving the experience for me (and hopefully, others, since it is a shared site).
So please, contribute when you can and especially when you must; say what no one else has said. There's a good chance (not 7%, but still good) that I'll read your comment some day and reply to it long after you've forgotten about the thread. And you probably won't reply to my reply, but it's cool. I'm used to it. =)
posted by Eideteker at 3:37 PM on March 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
Me too JW.
posted by Bubbles Devere at 3:38 PM on March 9, 2011
posted by Bubbles Devere at 3:38 PM on March 9, 2011
The Emperor of Ice Cream: "my guess is that many regular MeFi users have a serious and unhealthy addiction to the internet, perhaps due to issues of procrastination and life avoidance, and that metafilter is like a group of enablers in encouraging that kind of psychodynamic."
I would like to clarify this. I am addicted to procrastination and avoidance. I am not addicted to the internet. I can procrastinate very efficiently with no internet at all.
MeFi is my primary online hobby; I don't game, or read the NYT, or read blogs, or haunt craft forums or anything. I do have a lot of posts, but I've been here a while now. This is pretty much what I do when I'm online. I am self-employed and work from home, so I it isn't hard for me to find 5 minute windows for interesting Ask questions, which are my prefered ADD crack.
posted by DarlingBri at 4:02 PM on March 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
I would like to clarify this. I am addicted to procrastination and avoidance. I am not addicted to the internet. I can procrastinate very efficiently with no internet at all.
MeFi is my primary online hobby; I don't game, or read the NYT, or read blogs, or haunt craft forums or anything. I do have a lot of posts, but I've been here a while now. This is pretty much what I do when I'm online. I am self-employed and work from home, so I it isn't hard for me to find 5 minute windows for interesting Ask questions, which are my prefered ADD crack.
posted by DarlingBri at 4:02 PM on March 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
I haven't been here since I got a job. Due to poor judgment on my part, it was a job that required me to work and also it has no internets on it.
posted by toodleydoodley at 4:02 PM on March 9, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by toodleydoodley at 4:02 PM on March 9, 2011 [3 favorites]
jessamyn: "people who are heavily active online are also often heavily active offline. That people who are social on Twitter or Facebook or online communities are social generally, in real-life ways as well."
This is so true of me and I'm so glad to see it's coming through in research. Actually, I'm probably much MORE socially adept because of online socializing, in many ways. It relieves some of the pressure people like me with kind of intense drives to be social have, which makes me a better friend in person.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 4:06 PM on March 9, 2011 [4 favorites]
This is so true of me and I'm so glad to see it's coming through in research. Actually, I'm probably much MORE socially adept because of online socializing, in many ways. It relieves some of the pressure people like me with kind of intense drives to be social have, which makes me a better friend in person.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 4:06 PM on March 9, 2011 [4 favorites]
I love MetaFilter and the content I find on it, but I do find it frustrating in many respects. Like you, PepperMax, I'm astounded that so many people apparently have so much time to make such thoughtful comments (let alone posts). I strongly suspect, however, (and here's where the frustration comes in) that maybe these people are just way better than me at expressing themselves in an intelligent way on a forum like this and it doesn't take them nearly as long to write a comment as it does me. I also sometimes find it difficult to express myself in a way that doesn't invite misunderstanding and confrontation, which is tough because I'm generally an exceptionally good communicator and I get along swimmingly with pretty much everybody. I guess what I'm saying is that MetaFilter makes me feel socially awkward, which is kind of the opposite from how I feel in my day-to-day life. I'm also rather jealous of the many witty and prolific commenters around here and wish I could contribute as much as they do.
So anyways, I totally hear you but have no useful advice to impart. I guess some folks are just more naturally adept at the MetaFiltering than others, and have a job that allows them the time to hone their skills (spending the day teaching grumpy teenagers math is definitely not one of those jobs by the way). I consider my lurking time here to be hours well spent though so it's all good.
posted by Go Banana at 4:23 PM on March 9, 2011 [9 favorites]
So anyways, I totally hear you but have no useful advice to impart. I guess some folks are just more naturally adept at the MetaFiltering than others, and have a job that allows them the time to hone their skills (spending the day teaching grumpy teenagers math is definitely not one of those jobs by the way). I consider my lurking time here to be hours well spent though so it's all good.
posted by Go Banana at 4:23 PM on March 9, 2011 [9 favorites]
I would like to clarify this. I am addicted to procrastination and avoidance. I am not addicted to the internet. I can procrastinate very efficiently with no internet at all.
I tried to stop the very active Not Working by shutting off the internet.
That didn't work, I still had games, so I stopped that
Then I read a ton of books, seriously ask me how many books, so it must be ...smoking! stop smoking.
Okay now I'm reading books and cleaning the apartment obessively but not working, maybe I should..cut down on drinking! yes Do that
Suddenly my windowsill garden is the most fascinating place in the world and I'm very carefully pruning things for hours.
Okay stop that, stop everything, just you and the work.
But you have to feed yourself.
Oh look cook books
oh look 10 of them.
Now yer making elaborate 4-hour long meals that require your full attention - wait it must be the radio that's doing it. That's it, no more radio.
Fine. Just you and the work you need to do. Don't clean, don't cook, don't tend garden, don't drink or smoke or go out or read or research or internet or talk on the phone, just do the thing.
You know exercise helps with concentration. yeah totally, I read it. You should go to the gym. yeah. For like 3 hours. Every day. Who can blame you for that? I'm just trying to be HEALTHY. So amazing, and then too tired to work, after, of course.
Also you should totally take up unrelated classes and language courses, cause you're so busy.
If that doesn't work, you can still spend a good few hours counting the hairs on your head or doing jumping jacks or whatever it is you're doing so you don't have to do what you're supposed to do and thus fail and then fall into a volcano and die.
The internet is an extension of the problems with my brain - not the cause- I am perfectly capable of being a very bad no good human being without the internet.
posted by The Whelk at 4:25 PM on March 9, 2011 [57 favorites]
I tried to stop the very active Not Working by shutting off the internet.
That didn't work, I still had games, so I stopped that
Then I read a ton of books, seriously ask me how many books, so it must be ...smoking! stop smoking.
Okay now I'm reading books and cleaning the apartment obessively but not working, maybe I should..cut down on drinking! yes Do that
Suddenly my windowsill garden is the most fascinating place in the world and I'm very carefully pruning things for hours.
Okay stop that, stop everything, just you and the work.
But you have to feed yourself.
Oh look cook books
oh look 10 of them.
Now yer making elaborate 4-hour long meals that require your full attention - wait it must be the radio that's doing it. That's it, no more radio.
Fine. Just you and the work you need to do. Don't clean, don't cook, don't tend garden, don't drink or smoke or go out or read or research or internet or talk on the phone, just do the thing.
You know exercise helps with concentration. yeah totally, I read it. You should go to the gym. yeah. For like 3 hours. Every day. Who can blame you for that? I'm just trying to be HEALTHY. So amazing, and then too tired to work, after, of course.
Also you should totally take up unrelated classes and language courses, cause you're so busy.
If that doesn't work, you can still spend a good few hours counting the hairs on your head or doing jumping jacks or whatever it is you're doing so you don't have to do what you're supposed to do and thus fail and then fall into a volcano and die.
The internet is an extension of the problems with my brain - not the cause- I am perfectly capable of being a very bad no good human being without the internet.
posted by The Whelk at 4:25 PM on March 9, 2011 [57 favorites]
Actually, I'm probably much MORE socially adept because of online socializing, in many ways. It relieves some of the pressure people like me with kind of intense drives to be social have, which makes me a better friend in person.
Yeah side note, the internet is kind of pressure valve for being social cause all my friends now live far away and I hate my neighborhoods and I have weird hours and no one wants to hang out at 2pm on a tuesday.
posted by The Whelk at 4:26 PM on March 9, 2011 [4 favorites]
Yeah side note, the internet is kind of pressure valve for being social cause all my friends now live far away and I hate my neighborhoods and I have weird hours and no one wants to hang out at 2pm on a tuesday.
posted by The Whelk at 4:26 PM on March 9, 2011 [4 favorites]
people who are heavily active online are also often heavily active offline
Yeah, I don't think the opposite of a person who spends lots of time on MetaFilter is someone who spends lots of time outdoors. I think it's more like a person who spends lots of time in passive activities such as watching TV.
When you look at the activities that many people here are involved in off-line, it's pretty clear to me that the 'active on-line = active off-line' concept has at least some truth to it.
I'm online a lot and also am pretty busy offline with regular evening group activities, gardening on the weekends, and regular trips out of town. My job requires me to have non-superficial face to face interaction with dozens of people each week, and after hours I'm not exactly a shut in. I doubt my situation is abnormal among regular MeFi users
In general, I bet this describes the 'typical' MeFite pretty well. As far as the interaction with people during the day goes, I have a similar situation and, although you didn't mention this, I'm guessing that a lot of that interaction involves people you have to interact with rather than by choice. For me, this means I'm pretty keen to only interact with people by choice outside work and, for better or worse, you are the people I choose for this. Although, like a lot of people (I think), this interaction is outside work, but inside work hours and acts as something of a stress reliever and an escape from that forced interaction.
posted by dg at 4:49 PM on March 9, 2011
Yeah, I don't think the opposite of a person who spends lots of time on MetaFilter is someone who spends lots of time outdoors. I think it's more like a person who spends lots of time in passive activities such as watching TV.
When you look at the activities that many people here are involved in off-line, it's pretty clear to me that the 'active on-line = active off-line' concept has at least some truth to it.
I'm online a lot and also am pretty busy offline with regular evening group activities, gardening on the weekends, and regular trips out of town. My job requires me to have non-superficial face to face interaction with dozens of people each week, and after hours I'm not exactly a shut in. I doubt my situation is abnormal among regular MeFi users
In general, I bet this describes the 'typical' MeFite pretty well. As far as the interaction with people during the day goes, I have a similar situation and, although you didn't mention this, I'm guessing that a lot of that interaction involves people you have to interact with rather than by choice. For me, this means I'm pretty keen to only interact with people by choice outside work and, for better or worse, you are the people I choose for this. Although, like a lot of people (I think), this interaction is outside work, but inside work hours and acts as something of a stress reliever and an escape from that forced interaction.
posted by dg at 4:49 PM on March 9, 2011
Look, I'm here because of the smart people. But it's partially true that I'm here avoiding my life, but that's because it's full of not smart people. But there is more to the problem. I've also been trapped on a bus since 1994 that is armed with a Trojan and if I don't type 50 words per minute on the internet, many innocent people will be forced to interact with Keanu Reeves.
posted by pwally at 5:17 PM on March 9, 2011 [6 favorites]
posted by pwally at 5:17 PM on March 9, 2011 [6 favorites]
One of the things that recent research says, if you believe the studies that the Pew Center comes out with, is that people who are heavily active online are also often heavily active offline. That people who are social on Twitter or Facebook or online communities are social generally, in real-life ways as well.
Yeah. I can't deny that my heaviest periods of online activity coincided with my lightest periods of meat-space interactions (7th grade we had a $200 AOL bill one month), but, I mean, I'm online a lot, socialize with real people at least once a week [and this is low for me, but I don't have a lot of IRL acquaintances where I currently live], read an average of 1-2 books a week, and wrote over 100,000 words of fiction last year. I go for daily walks in the woods. I work out. I have a good relationship, and keep my apartment clean and my cat fed. I'm connected lots because I love people, and information, especially good people and good information, which you find a lot of on Metafilter.
But yeah, the telecommuting job helps, too.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 5:22 PM on March 9, 2011
Yeah. I can't deny that my heaviest periods of online activity coincided with my lightest periods of meat-space interactions (7th grade we had a $200 AOL bill one month), but, I mean, I'm online a lot, socialize with real people at least once a week [and this is low for me, but I don't have a lot of IRL acquaintances where I currently live], read an average of 1-2 books a week, and wrote over 100,000 words of fiction last year. I go for daily walks in the woods. I work out. I have a good relationship, and keep my apartment clean and my cat fed. I'm connected lots because I love people, and information, especially good people and good information, which you find a lot of on Metafilter.
But yeah, the telecommuting job helps, too.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 5:22 PM on March 9, 2011
I come for the bon mots, and leave with my buns matted.
posted by not_on_display at 5:23 PM on March 9, 2011
posted by not_on_display at 5:23 PM on March 9, 2011
F O R J O N M C
N S F W
.:IHHMHHI:..,
.IHHI..IIHMMMMHIHHH:..
MHHMHHMMMMMMHMMHMHI::,
IHHHMHMHMHHMMMMMMMMMMH::..:
MMMMMMMMMHMMMMMMHMMMMMMMMMM:
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMHMMMMMMMMMM,:
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM,
MHMHMEMMMMMMMHMMMMHHMMMMMMMM:..
HMMMMMMHMMMMMMHHMMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMHMMHHHI' '::I HMMMMMI
MMMHMMMMMMMMMMHHI, ' HIHMMMMMM.
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMIII, '':IHMMMM
MMMMMMMMMHMMMMMMH: ... HMMM:
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMHHH IMM MH,
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMI, ...IMMMMMM
MMMMHMMMMMMMMMMM :MIMMI.,
MMMMMMMHHMMMMMMMM IMMI.. IMMIHH:.
MMMMMMMHHHHHMMMMIMMH:::... 'IHI,...
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM'H:MHIII:...: ':.:.
MMMMMHHMMHHMHI ,,MMMII:'::I:I. :I::
MMMMMMMMHH....:'''''::.::I,.: MII:
MMMMMMMMM::.::''' '':::IH:IM:: IM.
MMMMMMMMMMII:'' ' ''::I:: :MMMM.
MMMMMMMMMMII:. ':I:.,MMMMM':
MMMMMMMMMHHHII:. .::I:IIMMM':::
MMMMMMMMMMMMMII::.. .:II: '::II:''.,:''''::..,
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMI:::.:I::.. .. ..:'' ,.:'''::, ':,
MMMMMMMMMMMHII::'II::....' .:' ::.,
IHIMMMMMMMMMMMMMHI::....::::: :' :: '.
'':HMMMMMMMMMMHHHHHI:..::::II::' .::::::III:,, ',
'IHMMMHHHHHHIHIIIIHHHH: ,'' ::, .::.. ',
'MMMHHHHHIIHHHHHHHII: .::: ::::::::...... ....:,
MMHHHHHHHIHIIHHIIII '...'''' '''H:IIHII... ...',
.MMHHHHHHHHHHIIIIII':' ..... .:::::II. 'HHH:.. .. ,
.MMMMMHHHHII::''' '' .. .....:HI:, II:.. ...::
,MHMMMMMHH:.'' ... .. ...::H:, 'I::. .:
.IMHMMMHI:'' ..:. I .. .. ...::II, 'II.... ::..
IMHIMMI:'' . : ....::H: I:: . ...
MMHIMMI:.'' ..: ...: ... ....II,'I:.... .
'MMHIMM:'':. . .. . .. ,: ,.IIHI:::.
IMIHMMI:::'' . , .,, ..::IHIII...
IMIHMMM....... . ..::HH:..
HMIHMMMH:. . ...:::IIHHI.
IHIMMM::... ''':::::::
:MMHOM:.. . ... I II..... . ''':::
'MIHMMI:... :::.. . I. :::::.. ...::.... .. ''
MMHMMM:... .. .:.....:.III:::.........::::........ ..
HMIMMI:... ..:::::::::III:H:IIHII:::::...::::.........
IMHIMM:..... ....:::::III:IIIHHHHHHH'III:....:..........
'MHHMM:... ....:::::IIIIHMI:':::IHHMHIII:::::...........
IMIMM:::... ...:::::III' :....::::IHHMHIIII.::.:......
'MMIMM:... ....::I:.' ' ''''::IIIHMH,':::::::::
IMHMMI:::.... , ..::::::.. .. ... ..::IHMM:, '':::
HMMMMH......: . ..::::::.. ..::::MMMM)
IMIMMHH:...:... .. ...:::::... .. ... ..:,::MMMI
HMHMMHI:... ..:. ....:::::::..:. ....::::IMM'
'MMOHHHI:..::... ....::::II::.::.... ..: ...::IHM'
IMMHHI:.:::... . ......::III:..::.::::::..IIHHM'
'MMMHI:::..::. ......:IIIHIHII::IHHHHHHHHHI''
MIMHHHII::..:. .. ..:::I::.:HHHHIHMMMHMHHIH'
'MMHHHHII::. ... ..:.::HHHHHHHMHHMMHI'
IMMHHIII:::... .....IHHIIHHIIIHHHHMH
'MMHHHIII:..:.. .. ...:HI:...:::IIHHHMH
IMHHHII::::... ..IHI.. ..:HHHIHMHH
'MHHII:::.... ...III:... .IHHHHMMH
IMHHHIII::... .. ..IHH.. ..:::IHHMH
'MHHHIIIII:... . ....II:....:::IHMMHI
MHHIIII:::::. ...:::..:::.HHHHH'
'MMHI::::....... ..:::::.IHHHIHH
MMIII::::....... ....::::::HIIHHH'
'MHHHHHII::... ...:::::MHHHH
MHHHHHHIIH::. .::::HIMMH'
HMHHHHHHHHH::.. ....:::HHHHI
IMMHHHHHIIII:. .. ..::::IHHM'
IMMHHHHHHHHHI::. .. ..::HMHHH
IMHHHHHHHIII::.... ......::HHHI
HMHHHHHHIII::''' ' '''''::MHHM'
IMMHHHIII::''' '::HMMM
,HMHHHII::'''' ''''::MMMHM
IHMHHHHH:'' '' ''':IHMMMMI
,HMHHHHII::. ''..::MMMMM'
,HMHHII::'' ''''':HHHIHMMMM
,HMHHI::. ''::IIIMMHHMMM
,IHMMH::'' ..''IHIIMMHMMH
,HMHHI:'' ... .IIIHIMHMHH
,HMMI:' . ... ::H MMHHI
:HMHI:' .. ... ....:::. MMMHH'
IHMHHHI: . ... ....:::::MMHIM
,IHMHHHHII::. ..... ....::::MM'
,HMMHHHHII::. ....:::MH'
HMHHHHHHII:::. ...... ...:::..IM'
MMMHHHHIII::, ....::.. ..:::M'
:MHHHHHIII::' ....::..:::.:IM'
MMHHHHHIII::' ....::::.::IHM'
,MIHHHHHHHII. . :::. .:III
IMIHHHHMMHHII ''::::::II:,
HMIHHMMHHHHH::. '' :::IIH::,:,
MMHHHHHHHII::' ''::::::II::,
HMHHHHHHHHHI:' .. ..: :::::....
IMMHHHHHHHHH::.. ...:::::..:II::.
'MMHHHHHHHHH::::. .... ....::::.::I::.,
IMMIHHHHHHHHHII::. ....::::::...:::::.
'MMMHHHHHHHHHHII::. ... ........::::::,
HMMMHHHHHHHHHIIII::. ....:::. ....::::..:..
'HMMMHHHHHHHHHHIII:::., ,,: ...::..:,.
MMHMMHHHHHHHHIIII::::... ...:. .. ...::::.
MMHHMMMHHHHHHHHHHHHHI::... ......::.
MMMIHHMMMHHHHHHHHIIIII:::... ...: ...:
MMMMIHMMMMMMHHHMHHHHHHHIIII:::...:: .....::.
MMMMMIHMMMMHHHHMHHHHMHHH::.I:.. ... ....:.
MMMIHHIHHHMMHHHHMMMHHHHHMMHH::. ... .... ..::.
MMMMHHHIHHHHMHHHHHHMMMHHHHHHIII:::.., .... ...::.
MMMMMIHHHIHMMMMMHHHHHHHHMMHHHHHII::::.:' ::::.
:MMMMMIIHHHIHHHMMMMHHHHHHHHHHHHIIII::::.'' ....::::.
IMMMMHHIIIHHIIHHHHMMMHHHHHHHHIHHHHHII::. .... ...:::.
IMMMHHHIHIIIIIIIHHMMMHHHHHHHHHIIIII:::.. ....:::
IMMHHHHHI::IIIHHIHHMMMHHHHHHHII::::::..... . ...::
:MMMMHHIII::IHHHHHIHHMMMHHHHHHII:::::.. .. , ... ..::
IMMHHHHII:' '' ':HMHHHHMMMHHHHHII:::..::'' . ..:::
HMMHHHII::' :::.HHHHHHMMMHHHHHII::'' .. .. ....:::
HHMHHHH... ....::HHHMHMMMMMHHHIII:::''.. ... ....::.
HMHHHII:'' ''''::IHHMMHMMMMIHHHHHH::. .... . . .. ...:::.
MMHHHI::' .. ... IHHHHMMMM 'IHHHHII::...... .... ..:::
MMMHHH:: '':::HHHHMHMM' 'HHHHI::::::.... . ..:
MMMIHI:: : :,:.MHMHMMM 'HHHH::::.......... .:
MMMMHIIH:. ..HHHMMM' 'HMHHHHI::,,,,.. ...
,MMMHHH::. .. ...:HHMM' 'MMMHHHI:::.... ... ..
IMMMMHHH::. ....:::MMMI IMMMHHHH:::...... ..
.HMMMMHHH::... .. ..:MMM ....::II.IIMMMHHHMH::::.......
MMMMMMMMMHHH::.. ..::HHMMM ,:IIIHIIII:IIIHHMMMMMMMMHHH:::.. .
MMMMMMHHHHHIII::. .:HMMMMM:IIIIH:'''':'':''::::IHMMMMHHHH::........
MMMMMMMHHIII::''IHHHIIIIIHHHI:'' '':::.IHMMMMMHHHH::.....
HHHHMMHIIHIIHHHIII::::'''''' '':::IHMMMMHHMHHI:::...
IHII''HHHHIII:'::... .. .... .HHHMMHMMMMHHI::..
HHHHIII:''''':... . ..... :::: .IIHMHHHHHMHHHIMMH:..
II:'':::.. . ....::::::: .::::::IIHHIIIHMHHIIIHHHMMMHHII
.. . . ......::::::::'' IIHHHMHHHHHHHMMMMHHHMMMMMMM
..... ........::::::::::III::IIHHHHHHMHHHHHHHMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
..... ..: ..: ......:::::IIHHHHHHHIIIIIHHMMMMMMMMHHMMMMMMHII::'
::. ........::::::::::IIIHHHHHHMMMMMMMMMMHHHHHMMMMMMMMMMHHMII::'''
:::::::IIIHHHHHHHHHHMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMHHHHHIIII::'''''''
IHIHIIHHHHMMMMMMHHIII:::::::::::::'''''''''
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH'''''''
HHHIIIIIII''''posted by not_on_display at 5:30 PM on March 9, 2011 [8 favorites] Thank you. Now where's my free drugs?
posted by jonmc at 5:33 PM on March 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by jonmc at 5:33 PM on March 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
o_O
You put a naked ASCII lady in MetaTalk because I said I was too busy to play Scrabble, didn't you?
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 5:39 PM on March 9, 2011 [21 favorites]
You put a naked ASCII lady in MetaTalk because I said I was too busy to play Scrabble, didn't you?
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 5:39 PM on March 9, 2011 [21 favorites]
Maybe you have an unhealthy relationship to Scrabble and this is an intervention.
posted by The Whelk at 5:41 PM on March 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 5:41 PM on March 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
Just imagine what'd happen if we still had the image tag!
posted by flatluigi at 5:45 PM on March 9, 2011
posted by flatluigi at 5:45 PM on March 9, 2011
Nice ASC
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 5:53 PM on March 9, 2011
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 5:53 PM on March 9, 2011
lotsa one-handed banning
posted by clavdivs at 5:55 PM on March 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by clavdivs at 5:55 PM on March 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
Howdy!
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 6:00 PM on March 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 6:00 PM on March 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
Cis for Cats, Kitties, and Maru in a crate.
posted by The Whelk at 6:06 PM on March 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by The Whelk at 6:06 PM on March 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
I have met many corrigible people in my time, but you, not_on_display, are not one of them.
posted by cortex (staff) at 6:19 PM on March 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by cortex (staff) at 6:19 PM on March 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
Must you incorrige him?
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 6:38 PM on March 9, 2011 [5 favorites]
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 6:38 PM on March 9, 2011 [5 favorites]
I really wonder why the picture is clipped. It's not even at 80 columns (74 instead) which might make sense if it was originally from Usenet.
posted by Mitheral at 6:41 PM on March 9, 2011
posted by Mitheral at 6:41 PM on March 9, 2011
I'm here for the irritation, principally.
I think I'm an outlier, in politics, age, life experience, and just about every other imaginable metric, from the Average MetaFilter User. And yet, in no way, am I now, or have I ever been, a Special Snowflake.
This Place, and You People, generally, piss me off. You make me question my assumptions, try to validate my heroes, understand goddamn comic books, believe the unbelieveable, and doubt, in good Faith, God.
Something/Someone of Infinite Power and Wisdom should probably damn you all to.... well, Something Awful, and worse. While Something/Someone of Infinite Humor and Appeciation for Chaos should probably protect you all, and all your demon spawn, and all your half-assed ideas and ill considered works.
And there should be Popcorn, Infinite, with Butter and Salt unmitigated, and not a single damn "widow."
posted by paulsc at 7:07 PM on March 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
I think I'm an outlier, in politics, age, life experience, and just about every other imaginable metric, from the Average MetaFilter User. And yet, in no way, am I now, or have I ever been, a Special Snowflake.
This Place, and You People, generally, piss me off. You make me question my assumptions, try to validate my heroes, understand goddamn comic books, believe the unbelieveable, and doubt, in good Faith, God.
Something/Someone of Infinite Power and Wisdom should probably damn you all to.... well, Something Awful, and worse. While Something/Someone of Infinite Humor and Appeciation for Chaos should probably protect you all, and all your demon spawn, and all your half-assed ideas and ill considered works.
And there should be Popcorn, Infinite, with Butter and Salt unmitigated, and not a single damn "widow."
posted by paulsc at 7:07 PM on March 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
*irritates paulsc*
I'm a giver. and I'm hoping to produce a pearl.
posted by jonmc at 7:13 PM on March 9, 2011
I'm a giver. and I'm hoping to produce a pearl.
posted by jonmc at 7:13 PM on March 9, 2011
The real answer? Evelyn Wood Reading Dynamics.
posted by crunchland at 7:29 PM on March 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by crunchland at 7:29 PM on March 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
My reason? Well, as you can see, I'm usually pretty late to the party, living in a different time zone. This past year, in particular, and for about three years before that, I've had jobs that, to put it nicely gave me a lot of free time. A lot of time to kill, pretty much every day. Sadly, from April, a new job will actually force me to do some work, which means I'll probably have to post a lot less.
Aside from the free time/time to kill at work, the main reason I'm here and not elsewhere is that this place is a pretty good source of interesting interaction with others. Most of my day is spent with non-English speakers, and my conversations with them are limited to their understanding of English, or my pathetic level of Japanese. In particular, this past year, I've been the only native English speaker at my school, and my friends and I, having grown up and gotten married and such, are sometimes unable to get together as often as we'd like. This means I've gone, this year, weeks at a time without being able to have a decent conversation in English. Without MeFi, I'd probably have gone nuts this year, so thanks to everyone for all the interesting posts, stimulating conversation, good answers to my poorly worded questions, and of course, all the fish.
posted by Ghidorah at 7:33 PM on March 9, 2011
Aside from the free time/time to kill at work, the main reason I'm here and not elsewhere is that this place is a pretty good source of interesting interaction with others. Most of my day is spent with non-English speakers, and my conversations with them are limited to their understanding of English, or my pathetic level of Japanese. In particular, this past year, I've been the only native English speaker at my school, and my friends and I, having grown up and gotten married and such, are sometimes unable to get together as often as we'd like. This means I've gone, this year, weeks at a time without being able to have a decent conversation in English. Without MeFi, I'd probably have gone nuts this year, so thanks to everyone for all the interesting posts, stimulating conversation, good answers to my poorly worded questions, and of course, all the fish.
posted by Ghidorah at 7:33 PM on March 9, 2011
My most active period on MetaFilter was 2006-2007, during which time I worked a whole bunch of none-too-demanding temp jobs where they truly didn't give a shit what I was doing online as long as it wasn't obscene or bigoted.
Now I have a real job (or a reasonable facsimile thereof) and the Internet is something I see for ten minutes while I'm wolfing down something from Subway on my lunch break.
By the time I get home at night, I'm usually too tired to be a good citizen of MetaFilter and that's a source of some frustration and disappointment for me.
But the health insurance is nice.
posted by jason's_planet at 8:00 PM on March 9, 2011
Now I have a real job (or a reasonable facsimile thereof) and the Internet is something I see for ten minutes while I'm wolfing down something from Subway on my lunch break.
By the time I get home at night, I'm usually too tired to be a good citizen of MetaFilter and that's a source of some frustration and disappointment for me.
But the health insurance is nice.
posted by jason's_planet at 8:00 PM on March 9, 2011
Also, Real Life has funerals, and sobbing widows/widowers, and children whose names I barely remember, and to whom, I have no Real Wisdom to offer, on behalf of their dead relatives. I'm tired of attending ceremonies where I'm obligated to remembering various forms of Death, and signing Visitor books, and driving out to cemeteries, in my thread worn dark suit, and yet...
I'm not done doing all this, yet. But when my obvious obligations can't call me, I'm really, damn, Done With It.
And if my dark suit doesn't cover all my Dark Days, I'm falling back to attending funerals in my worst tux, and then, my next worst tux, etc. Until, every funeral which I must attend, has to include, away from the grave, some band similarly attired, in their Next Worst Tux, and dances...
Also, as an American, how come we go to weddings in formal wear, and bury people in dark suits, and Come As You Are?
posted by paulsc at 8:16 PM on March 9, 2011
I'm not done doing all this, yet. But when my obvious obligations can't call me, I'm really, damn, Done With It.
And if my dark suit doesn't cover all my Dark Days, I'm falling back to attending funerals in my worst tux, and then, my next worst tux, etc. Until, every funeral which I must attend, has to include, away from the grave, some band similarly attired, in their Next Worst Tux, and dances...
Also, as an American, how come we go to weddings in formal wear, and bury people in dark suits, and Come As You Are?
posted by paulsc at 8:16 PM on March 9, 2011
Elaboration: I have a job where I sit in front of a computer, all day. I have meetings and deadlines, projects and things to manage, but all that comes back to computers. When the main server isn't offline, my office is weird and idle. We pace the halls awkwardly, chat about projects or personal lives, and keep looking at the clock. How long have we been offline? What, only 20 minutes? I have a staff report to finish, and she has a presentation to turn in by the end of the day, but we can't do any of that.
When computers are the center of your daily job, there's plenty of opportunities for idle chatting. And when work is slow, MetaFilter is lovely. Or when work is stressful, and I want a mental break from everything else. Or when I want to talk with friends, people I've met in real life.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:07 PM on March 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
When computers are the center of your daily job, there's plenty of opportunities for idle chatting. And when work is slow, MetaFilter is lovely. Or when work is stressful, and I want a mental break from everything else. Or when I want to talk with friends, people I've met in real life.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:07 PM on March 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
Takes one to know one, dude.
posted by unknowncommand at 9:54 PM on March 9, 2011
posted by unknowncommand at 9:54 PM on March 9, 2011
I spend an inordinate amount of the day at a desk with internet access, so I keep MeFi open in a window and tab through every so often.
I do drift in and out of regular MeFi attendance depending on work/travel demands, but like others I'm now neglecting my Reader feeds in favour of keeping up with the Best of the Web.
posted by arcticseal at 4:38 AM on March 10, 2011
I do drift in and out of regular MeFi attendance depending on work/travel demands, but like others I'm now neglecting my Reader feeds in favour of keeping up with the Best of the Web.
posted by arcticseal at 4:38 AM on March 10, 2011
I read Metafilter on my phone most of the time :-D When I was employed, I checked constantly, I have to admit. It was part of my morning reading (local news, Slate, Slashdot) and afternoon reading. Hmm, I probably checked it on an hourly basis actually!
posted by Calzephyr at 5:28 AM on March 10, 2011
posted by Calzephyr at 5:28 AM on March 10, 2011
And yet, in no way, am I now, or have I ever been, a Special Snowflake.
Ha. Ha. On the contrary, my friend, you've repeatedly demonstrated here that you're nothing if not a "special snowflake." You might be the specialist snowflake of them all.
posted by octobersurprise at 5:55 AM on March 10, 2011 [1 favorite]
Ha. Ha. On the contrary, my friend, you've repeatedly demonstrated here that you're nothing if not a "special snowflake." You might be the specialist snowflake of them all.
posted by octobersurprise at 5:55 AM on March 10, 2011 [1 favorite]
I do the same things on MeFi that I do in real life. I follow current events, read voraciously, get deeply into a handful of topics, stay with conversations a long time, obsessively examine specific ideas and themes, occasionally share experiences and give advice. Because my job is a desk one mostly, I can take short breaks throughout the day and scan MeFi. I don't read every thread and don't click every link - just ones that really intrigue me.
I generally start with "Recent Activity" just to see if anything new is happening in ongoing discussions, and so I tend to get deeply embedded in just a few threads rather than moving around the site, as a back-and-forth happens. I don't like being online that much in my off hours, as I'm either generally reading something in print form, cooking, or doing stuff outdoors and/or with people, so I get most of my MeFi'ing at work with maybe 45-60 minutes an evening, while doing various other online tasks, on a usual type of day. I am an insanely busy person, so I always sort of chuckle when someone suggests that my online involvements must mean I'm an introvert, the prototypical angry lonely keyboard fighter living in mom's basement. That actually sounds relaxing, but it doesn't describe the way the internet fits into my life, which is around other things, like community activism, arts, playing music, working out, travel and daytrips, that kind of thing. MeFi also actually helps me solve problems and find ideas for the other offline stuff I do, so it meshes really well into living a better life even outside of screen time.
I absolutely love MeFi, and not least for the social aspect of being able meet people IRL, especially when traveling. As Jessamyn noted, when I've met MeFites I've always been so amazed at what a cool, interesting, thoughtful and creative set of people they are. Of course when you go to meetups you are meeting the kinds of people who go to meetups, so they are probably inherently more social, but that does kind of prove that people who are social on the internet are also social IRL. I would say that's true for me. The internet, and MeFi especially, offer another way to be social and, in fact, to really listen to and understand what people have to say - not always so easy in conversational settings where there's a fast pace and frequent interruption and distraction.
posted by Miko at 7:10 AM on March 10, 2011 [1 favorite]
I generally start with "Recent Activity" just to see if anything new is happening in ongoing discussions, and so I tend to get deeply embedded in just a few threads rather than moving around the site, as a back-and-forth happens. I don't like being online that much in my off hours, as I'm either generally reading something in print form, cooking, or doing stuff outdoors and/or with people, so I get most of my MeFi'ing at work with maybe 45-60 minutes an evening, while doing various other online tasks, on a usual type of day. I am an insanely busy person, so I always sort of chuckle when someone suggests that my online involvements must mean I'm an introvert, the prototypical angry lonely keyboard fighter living in mom's basement. That actually sounds relaxing, but it doesn't describe the way the internet fits into my life, which is around other things, like community activism, arts, playing music, working out, travel and daytrips, that kind of thing. MeFi also actually helps me solve problems and find ideas for the other offline stuff I do, so it meshes really well into living a better life even outside of screen time.
I absolutely love MeFi, and not least for the social aspect of being able meet people IRL, especially when traveling. As Jessamyn noted, when I've met MeFites I've always been so amazed at what a cool, interesting, thoughtful and creative set of people they are. Of course when you go to meetups you are meeting the kinds of people who go to meetups, so they are probably inherently more social, but that does kind of prove that people who are social on the internet are also social IRL. I would say that's true for me. The internet, and MeFi especially, offer another way to be social and, in fact, to really listen to and understand what people have to say - not always so easy in conversational settings where there's a fast pace and frequent interruption and distraction.
posted by Miko at 7:10 AM on March 10, 2011 [1 favorite]
a little headband I put around my throat: "Heh. I'm picturing some sort of Sharks v. Jets style singing streetfight between the Single Linkers and Linkaholics!
That's what we need. A MeFi Musical Throwdown!! :)
I know it's a matter of taste, and one that's aroused some fiery debate on MeTa over the years, but do you really, truly think, eg., your recent post The Billionaire Who Is Planning His 125th Birthday was improved by the extra links? It had a great headline, and you picked a choice pull-quote for the title. I think it would've been just wonderful with the main link alone, like a pretty girl without makeup, or a handsome boy not wearing a fedora."
Honestly? I don't know. Looking back, that article probably could have stood on its own. But I deliberately left it and its accompanying sidebar as the only link above the fold. This way, people didn't have to read additional links if they didn't want to.
I usually do prefer to try to flesh out single link articles or videos with a little background information. Sometimes it works and sometimes not. I don't always bother to try.
I did it here because I was worried that posting such a controversial topic (a graphic memoir from a woman detailing her molestation and relationship with a pedophile) would be a complete minefield unless I framed it properly. But I didn't bother to do that here and the thread (about I/P no less!) went fine.
posted by zarq at 7:11 AM on March 10, 2011
That's what we need. A MeFi Musical Throwdown!! :)
I know it's a matter of taste, and one that's aroused some fiery debate on MeTa over the years, but do you really, truly think, eg., your recent post The Billionaire Who Is Planning His 125th Birthday was improved by the extra links? It had a great headline, and you picked a choice pull-quote for the title. I think it would've been just wonderful with the main link alone, like a pretty girl without makeup, or a handsome boy not wearing a fedora."
Honestly? I don't know. Looking back, that article probably could have stood on its own. But I deliberately left it and its accompanying sidebar as the only link above the fold. This way, people didn't have to read additional links if they didn't want to.
I usually do prefer to try to flesh out single link articles or videos with a little background information. Sometimes it works and sometimes not. I don't always bother to try.
I did it here because I was worried that posting such a controversial topic (a graphic memoir from a woman detailing her molestation and relationship with a pedophile) would be a complete minefield unless I framed it properly. But I didn't bother to do that here and the thread (about I/P no less!) went fine.
posted by zarq at 7:11 AM on March 10, 2011
I think in many cases chatting on places like Mefi is what sociable people do when they find themselves in situations where there aren't so many good opportunities for exercising their proclivities for being sociable, like if they're working from home.
posted by philipy at 9:12 AM on March 10, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by philipy at 9:12 AM on March 10, 2011 [1 favorite]
Come As You Are?
As you were, as I want you to be.
Paul, have you been reading Thomas Lynch?
posted by clavdivs at 10:42 AM on March 10, 2011
As you were, as I want you to be.
Paul, have you been reading Thomas Lynch?
posted by clavdivs at 10:42 AM on March 10, 2011
You put a naked ASCII lady in MetaTalk because I said I was too busy to play Scrabble, didn't you?
This is the weirdest sentence I've read this year (but it's only March).
posted by Mister_A at 12:23 PM on March 10, 2011 [4 favorites]
This is the weirdest sentence I've read this year (but it's only March).
posted by Mister_A at 12:23 PM on March 10, 2011 [4 favorites]
Colorless green scrabblers ASCII pornographically.
posted by cortex (staff) at 12:27 PM on March 10, 2011
posted by cortex (staff) at 12:27 PM on March 10, 2011
Late to the party here as I often am I would have to say that the majority of "first post!" type comments are merely trying to net favourites. I know that I am often guilty of this and caught myself after reviewing a lot of my recent comments. Shitty one liners seem to take up a good 75% or so. I don't need to troll for favourites or even have my commentary acknowledged. This isn't my site and nobody should be forced to read my crap so I'm going to try to make an effort to either add to the conversation or STFU. The signal to noise ratio is skewed quite negatively at the moment with a lot of folks trying to score zingers and that's not the MeFi I love so I'll make a personal effort to avoid doing so in future.
posted by longbaugh at 12:43 PM on March 10, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by longbaugh at 12:43 PM on March 10, 2011 [2 favorites]
A recent discovery: I can watch the Big East tournament (Kemba Walker, are you kidding me?), hold a baby, pretend to work, and tap out comments about cycling all at the same time!
posted by Mister_A at 1:08 PM on March 10, 2011
posted by Mister_A at 1:08 PM on March 10, 2011
How is this thread going? I haven't had time to read it all because I've been busy with my busy, interesting, exciting life in real life. I feel a little bad that my fulfilling real life endeavors are so fulfilling that I haven't needed to seek solace in the hollow, fleeting and ultimately empty pleasures of wasting my existence online, so I apologize for that.
posted by Devils Rancher at 6:10 PM on March 10, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by Devils Rancher at 6:10 PM on March 10, 2011 [2 favorites]
I spend time on Metafilter because no matter how much money I make or how much sex I have I still feel empty. Is that about right?
posted by jnnla at 6:24 PM on March 10, 2011
posted by jnnla at 6:24 PM on March 10, 2011
I spend time on Metafilter because no matter how much money I make or how much sex I have I still feel empty. Is that about right?
Me too, except for the sex and money parts.
posted by NoraReed at 8:24 PM on March 10, 2011 [1 favorite]
Me too, except for the sex and money parts.
posted by NoraReed at 8:24 PM on March 10, 2011 [1 favorite]
If you are feeling unfulfilled by your sex and money I'd be glad to take them off your hands.
posted by The Whelk at 9:53 PM on March 10, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 9:53 PM on March 10, 2011 [2 favorites]
I'm familiar with sex parts, but what's a money part? (Besides $20SAIT)
posted by SpiffyRob at 6:13 AM on March 11, 2011
posted by SpiffyRob at 6:13 AM on March 11, 2011
I'm sad that I was unable to hijack this thread into a Big East basketball discussion.
posted by Mister_A at 6:25 AM on March 11, 2011
posted by Mister_A at 6:25 AM on March 11, 2011
I agree with posts 12, 27, and 81.
posted by indigo4963 at 10:59 AM on March 11, 2011
posted by indigo4963 at 10:59 AM on March 11, 2011
but what's a money part?
I think that's whatever organs you're selling on the black market. So, uh, kidneys?
posted by NoraReed at 12:31 PM on March 11, 2011
I think that's whatever organs you're selling on the black market. So, uh, kidneys?
posted by NoraReed at 12:31 PM on March 11, 2011
I HAVE ARRIVED
posted by THREAD KILLER at 10:33 AM on March 12, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by THREAD KILLER at 10:33 AM on March 12, 2011 [1 favorite]
Ha, late to this thread. I often feel the same way PepperMax where it feels like I've come to the party just as everyone has left. Even when a new post appears in my RSS feed reader I'll check on it and see there's already dozens of comments.
posted by Rarebit Fiend at 12:29 PM on March 12, 2011
posted by Rarebit Fiend at 12:29 PM on March 12, 2011
You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments
posted by found missing at 9:57 AM on March 9, 2011 [9 favorites]