We have a new meme. Yay! But it's like fingernails across a chalkboard. Boo! April 12, 2012 2:59 PM Subscribe
Has anyone else noticed the quick spread of Yay! and Boo! on Metafilter, particularly AskMetafilter? I find it very annoying. I'm wondering whether others have noticed this too.
Are yay! and boo! popular on other sites too? Or is this a homebrew annoyance?
Are yay! and boo! popular on other sites too? Or is this a homebrew annoyance?
Boo!
posted by koeselitz at 3:03 PM on April 12, 2012 [7 favorites]
posted by koeselitz at 3:03 PM on April 12, 2012 [7 favorites]
Okay, I apologize. That was totally stupid. I guess somebody had to do it. Sad that it had to be me.
posted by koeselitz at 3:03 PM on April 12, 2012 [4 favorites]
posted by koeselitz at 3:03 PM on April 12, 2012 [4 favorites]
Wait, do you mean just those words literally? Does it matter if they're used as part of a larger comment? Do you just dislike their being posted as one-word replies?
I don't have any feelings about "Boo," but I'm not backing down from "Yay." I've already been told here and elsewhere that "Awesome," "Super" and "Fantastic" are off-limits -- I have to take a stand somewhere.
BOO ON COMPLAINING ABOUT YAY.
posted by Narrative Priorities at 3:06 PM on April 12, 2012 [14 favorites]
I don't have any feelings about "Boo," but I'm not backing down from "Yay." I've already been told here and elsewhere that "Awesome," "Super" and "Fantastic" are off-limits -- I have to take a stand somewhere.
BOO ON COMPLAINING ABOUT YAY.
posted by Narrative Priorities at 3:06 PM on April 12, 2012 [14 favorites]
YAY ON COMPLAINING ABOUT BOO.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 3:07 PM on April 12, 2012
posted by Admiral Haddock at 3:07 PM on April 12, 2012
I like imagining that your other tags besides "yay" and "boo" are alternative suggestions for things to shout in threads.
posted by roll truck roll at 3:08 PM on April 12, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by roll truck roll at 3:08 PM on April 12, 2012 [2 favorites]
I say yay! now and then when what I am feeling is pretty much a welling up of positive enthusiasm about something (generally a creative work) and I don't have anything more erudite to offer on that front. Probably mostly in Projects threads.
But I haven't noticed any more or less of it, or boo!, than usual, and certainly it doesn't strike me as any sort of mefi-specific usage or something over-represented here. Maybe I'll try running some numbers to see what historical usage has been like.
posted by cortex (staff) at 3:08 PM on April 12, 2012 [3 favorites]
But I haven't noticed any more or less of it, or boo!, than usual, and certainly it doesn't strike me as any sort of mefi-specific usage or something over-represented here. Maybe I'll try running some numbers to see what historical usage has been like.
posted by cortex (staff) at 3:08 PM on April 12, 2012 [3 favorites]
Yayo!
(Seriously, though, no, I haven't noticed any rise in it lately.)
posted by box at 3:09 PM on April 12, 2012
(Seriously, though, no, I haven't noticed any rise in it lately.)
posted by box at 3:09 PM on April 12, 2012
How about instead we use: Hurrah! and Woe! Woe unto you!
posted by Jofus at 3:09 PM on April 12, 2012 [7 favorites]
posted by Jofus at 3:09 PM on April 12, 2012 [7 favorites]
New meme? Hardly. I've been noticing it less and less since what seems like a high incidence of occurrence several years ago. But that could just be the Baader-Meinhof talking...
posted by Aquaman at 3:11 PM on April 12, 2012
posted by Aquaman at 3:11 PM on April 12, 2012
Can we use the infodump to compare "boo," "yay," "meh," and "HAMBURGER?"
posted by The White Hat at 3:14 PM on April 12, 2012
posted by The White Hat at 3:14 PM on April 12, 2012
Maybe it is my fault? I've been saying Yay and Boo for years.
posted by k8t at 3:17 PM on April 12, 2012
posted by k8t at 3:17 PM on April 12, 2012
Wait, it's new? I feel like I've seen it around here for ages.
posted by rtha at 3:21 PM on April 12, 2012
posted by rtha at 3:21 PM on April 12, 2012
Beats "Win!" and "Fail!" by a mile.
posted by oneswellfoop at 3:24 PM on April 12, 2012 [22 favorites]
posted by oneswellfoop at 3:24 PM on April 12, 2012 [22 favorites]
Meh.
posted by Artw at 3:25 PM on April 12, 2012 [4 favorites]
posted by Artw at 3:25 PM on April 12, 2012 [4 favorites]
Yay! and Boo! hardly qualify as a 'new meme'. This meta reads like a pet peeve issue that you should ignore, not an actual site culture concern.
posted by lazaruslong at 3:25 PM on April 12, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by lazaruslong at 3:25 PM on April 12, 2012 [3 favorites]
I figured "boo" was coming from the ghosts of banned users who still haunt these pages today.
posted by aubilenon at 3:25 PM on April 12, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by aubilenon at 3:25 PM on April 12, 2012 [2 favorites]
Can we use the infodump to compare "boo," "yay," "meh," and "HAMBURGER?"
In fact, you can. Or more specifically, the Mefi Corpus Frequency Tables, which is a sort of linguistic cousin to the Infodump I've been working on on and off over the last while.
There's no clever search tools for it at this point—it's just raw data files—but analyzing this stuff to track yearly (or monthly/daily) trends is totally doable with a little bit of scripting and elbow grease. And really simple stuff you can do just by grabbing a few of the files and searching them manually.
So, for example, in 2010 "boo" occurred 296 times out of 37.6M total words, or about 8 times for every million words used on the site (or ppm, "parts per million"). In 2009, it was 337 times out of 32.4M words, about 10 ppm.
"yay" was 32ppm in 2010, 31 ppm in 2009.
So not huge swings there in either case, but a slight shift toward positivity and away from negativity from 2009 to 2010 if you want to read it like that.
meh 2009: 36 ppm. 2010: 29 ppm.
hamburger 2009: 11ppm. 2010: 17ppm.
Worth noting here that the Corpus does not retain case or bounding punctuation info here, so it counts "HAMBURGER" and "hamburger" as the same, and "yay" and "yay!" as the same. If you want more specific data on the punctuated string, that's a taller order.
posted by cortex (staff) at 3:26 PM on April 12, 2012 [6 favorites]
In fact, you can. Or more specifically, the Mefi Corpus Frequency Tables, which is a sort of linguistic cousin to the Infodump I've been working on on and off over the last while.
There's no clever search tools for it at this point—it's just raw data files—but analyzing this stuff to track yearly (or monthly/daily) trends is totally doable with a little bit of scripting and elbow grease. And really simple stuff you can do just by grabbing a few of the files and searching them manually.
So, for example, in 2010 "boo" occurred 296 times out of 37.6M total words, or about 8 times for every million words used on the site (or ppm, "parts per million"). In 2009, it was 337 times out of 32.4M words, about 10 ppm.
"yay" was 32ppm in 2010, 31 ppm in 2009.
So not huge swings there in either case, but a slight shift toward positivity and away from negativity from 2009 to 2010 if you want to read it like that.
meh 2009: 36 ppm. 2010: 29 ppm.
hamburger 2009: 11ppm. 2010: 17ppm.
Worth noting here that the Corpus does not retain case or bounding punctuation info here, so it counts "HAMBURGER" and "hamburger" as the same, and "yay" and "yay!" as the same. If you want more specific data on the punctuated string, that's a taller order.
posted by cortex (staff) at 3:26 PM on April 12, 2012 [6 favorites]
Jofus: "How about instead we use: Hurrah! and Woe! Woe unto you!"
A pox on all your questions!
posted by brundlefly at 3:28 PM on April 12, 2012
A pox on all your questions!
posted by brundlefly at 3:28 PM on April 12, 2012
Yay and Boo are not memes. They are... words.
posted by that's how you get ants at 3:29 PM on April 12, 2012 [40 favorites]
posted by that's how you get ants at 3:29 PM on April 12, 2012 [40 favorites]
brundlefly: " A pox on all your questions!"
Accomplisheth What Thee Saith On Thee Tin.
posted by zarq at 3:30 PM on April 12, 2012 [4 favorites]
Accomplisheth What Thee Saith On Thee Tin.
posted by zarq at 3:30 PM on April 12, 2012 [4 favorites]
It's no worse than "SLYT", "SLNYTimes" or whatever other pieces of redundancy people feel so compelled to attach to their FPPs nowadays.
posted by MattMangels at 3:31 PM on April 12, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by MattMangels at 3:31 PM on April 12, 2012 [1 favorite]
Congratulations, jayder. You figured out a way to point out an annoying meme on the site without incurring the wrath of the community. You've put me and meatbomb to shame.
posted by crunchland at 3:31 PM on April 12, 2012
posted by crunchland at 3:31 PM on April 12, 2012
MetaTalk: a slight shift toward positivity and away from negativity
Imma pin that to my vision board next to the crayon drawing of Steve Reich getting out of a DeLorean.
posted by mintcake! at 3:35 PM on April 12, 2012 [1 favorite]
Imma pin that to my vision board next to the crayon drawing of Steve Reich getting out of a DeLorean.
posted by mintcake! at 3:35 PM on April 12, 2012 [1 favorite]
Would HUZZAH! work better? maybe FIE!
They're words. If they make you this mad (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻ maybe it's time to take a break...
posted by pupdog at 3:39 PM on April 12, 2012
They're words. If they make you this mad (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻ maybe it's time to take a break...
posted by pupdog at 3:39 PM on April 12, 2012
Narrative Priorities: Wait, do you mean just those words literally? Does it matter if they're used as part of a larger comment? Do you just dislike their being posted as one-word replies?
cortex: I say yay! now and then when what I am feeling is pretty much a welling up of positive enthusiasm about something (generally a creative work) and I don't have anything more erudite to offer on that front. Probably mostly in Projects threads.
No, I'm referring to the specific little thing people do that has this form: "So I have a new pet. Yay! But he has fleas. Boo!"
This particular usage has suddenly become very common on AskMe, I am pretty sure.
Oh, and as to the "that's not a meme, those are just words ..." observation. Yes, I know. I was just trolling all you pedants who I knew would jump on that. :)
posted by jayder at 3:42 PM on April 12, 2012
cortex: I say yay! now and then when what I am feeling is pretty much a welling up of positive enthusiasm about something (generally a creative work) and I don't have anything more erudite to offer on that front. Probably mostly in Projects threads.
No, I'm referring to the specific little thing people do that has this form: "So I have a new pet. Yay! But he has fleas. Boo!"
This particular usage has suddenly become very common on AskMe, I am pretty sure.
Oh, and as to the "that's not a meme, those are just words ..." observation. Yes, I know. I was just trolling all you pedants who I knew would jump on that. :)
posted by jayder at 3:42 PM on April 12, 2012
I am sad that Burhanistan does not like yay, but yay so perfectly expresses how I feel about things that I like I cannot see yay not being a thing I do forever.
If it helps, when I am saying yay I am usually making this \o/ gesture with my arms at about the same time. I could replace yay with \o/ if it is that terrible.
ahh jaydar has explained yeah that is kind of annoying but only kind of.
posted by winna at 3:45 PM on April 12, 2012
If it helps, when I am saying yay I am usually making this \o/ gesture with my arms at about the same time. I could replace yay with \o/ if it is that terrible.
ahh jaydar has explained yeah that is kind of annoying but only kind of.
posted by winna at 3:45 PM on April 12, 2012
what if we combine them and instead of saying "boo yeah" say "boo yay"?
posted by ifjuly at 3:46 PM on April 12, 2012
posted by ifjuly at 3:46 PM on April 12, 2012
If it's specifically the juxtaposition of both in the same comment, the good news is you can do some data collection on this yourself using the site search function and probably tabulate up usage by year in about ten minutes of napkin math. Hop to it!
posted by cortex (staff) at 3:46 PM on April 12, 2012
posted by cortex (staff) at 3:46 PM on April 12, 2012
So, for example, in 2010 "boo" occurred 296 times out of 37.6M total words, or about 8 times for every million words used on the site (or ppm, "parts per million"). In 2009, it was 337 times out of 32.4M words, about 10 ppm.
"yay" was 32ppm in 2010, 31 ppm in 2009.
I feel quite certain that when we have the data from the second half of 2011 and 2012 it will be significantly higher.
Actually, the better metric would be of their occurrences in AskMe questions. I'd be interested in seeing the data on frequency of yay/boo occurrences in AskMe questions (where yay and boo both appear in a question), because that's where I think it's almost always done, since the trend started. Including comments in the data would water the occurrences down so much that we would not notice the leap, since the trend is yay/boo in questions themselves. I didn't explain myself very well, I'm afraid, but I hope you get the gist.
posted by jayder at 3:48 PM on April 12, 2012
"yay" was 32ppm in 2010, 31 ppm in 2009.
I feel quite certain that when we have the data from the second half of 2011 and 2012 it will be significantly higher.
Actually, the better metric would be of their occurrences in AskMe questions. I'd be interested in seeing the data on frequency of yay/boo occurrences in AskMe questions (where yay and boo both appear in a question), because that's where I think it's almost always done, since the trend started. Including comments in the data would water the occurrences down so much that we would not notice the leap, since the trend is yay/boo in questions themselves. I didn't explain myself very well, I'm afraid, but I hope you get the gist.
posted by jayder at 3:48 PM on April 12, 2012
If we're going to change it, let's go for "Cheers! and "Jeers!", ok?
posted by tristeza at 3:49 PM on April 12, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by tristeza at 3:49 PM on April 12, 2012 [1 favorite]
Actually, the better metric would be of their occurrences in AskMe questions. I'd be interested in seeing the data on frequency of yay/boo occurrences in AskMe questions (where yay and boo both appear in a question), because that's where I think it's almost always done, since the trend started.
Filter that above search down to just AskMe. 47 total hits, you can probably do it in two minutes.
posted by cortex (staff) at 3:50 PM on April 12, 2012
Filter that above search down to just AskMe. 47 total hits, you can probably do it in two minutes.
posted by cortex (staff) at 3:50 PM on April 12, 2012
Ooh, let's do Hot! and Not!
posted by zamboni at 3:51 PM on April 12, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by zamboni at 3:51 PM on April 12, 2012 [1 favorite]
No, I'm referring to the specific little thing people do that has this form: "So I have a new pet. Yay! But he has fleas. Boo!"
I can't remember if I've been responsible for one of these or not, which leads me to conclude that I probably have been, and I'm just in deep denial about it.
Henceforth, I shall mend my ways and find another way to communicate good news/bad news. Maybe...
"So I have a new pet! VICTORY FOR ZIM! But he has fleas. NOOOOOOOO! MY TALLEST!"
Yep, that'll work nicely.
posted by bakerina at 3:52 PM on April 12, 2012 [16 favorites]
I can't remember if I've been responsible for one of these or not, which leads me to conclude that I probably have been, and I'm just in deep denial about it.
Henceforth, I shall mend my ways and find another way to communicate good news/bad news. Maybe...
"So I have a new pet! VICTORY FOR ZIM! But he has fleas. NOOOOOOOO! MY TALLEST!"
Yep, that'll work nicely.
posted by bakerina at 3:52 PM on April 12, 2012 [16 favorites]
Hmm, cortex, I didn't realize the search function worked so well. It is interesting to see that its first occurrence in a question happened in 2002, then another one a few years later, and it has steadily grown in popularity. But it has been appearing in comments with reasonable frequency for some time now.
posted by jayder at 3:54 PM on April 12, 2012
posted by jayder at 3:54 PM on April 12, 2012
I'm so, so sorry! I am personally responsible for "Yay!"ing and "Boo!"age. It's an old, very deeply ingrained, habit that I won't ever be free from. Everyone in this thread has my explicit permission to send me as many boo!s as you can stand. I will bake the best boo!berry pie in the world and everything will be yumtastic with a cherry on top again.
posted by byanyothername at 3:57 PM on April 12, 2012
posted by byanyothername at 3:57 PM on April 12, 2012
I knew a girl named Barbara, her hair bright red like rhubarb stalks. She worked in a tavern frequented by savages, whose mutton chops she'd trim:
"Rhubarb Barbara Barbarian bar beard barber."
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 4:00 PM on April 12, 2012 [5 favorites]
"Rhubarb Barbara Barbarian bar beard barber."
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 4:00 PM on April 12, 2012 [5 favorites]
Askme comments containing both "yay" and "boo", by year:
2012 is only a little more than a quarter over, so if the trend continues from year-to-date we'll have about the same volume this year, though with such small numbers there's a lot of potential for sampling error here.
posted by cortex (staff) at 4:01 PM on April 12, 2012 [1 favorite]
2012: 3 2011: 14 2010: 5 2009: 9 2008: 7 2007: 2 2006: 1 2005: 5For context, there were just about 438,000 askme answers posted in 2011, so that 14 occurrences is about one for every thirty one thousand answers offered.
2012 is only a little more than a quarter over, so if the trend continues from year-to-date we'll have about the same volume this year, though with such small numbers there's a lot of potential for sampling error here.
posted by cortex (staff) at 4:01 PM on April 12, 2012 [1 favorite]
I use yay sparingly (although I did use it yesterday with the same meaning as winna), rarely use boo unless I'm trying to sneak up on the cat. Your argument and data, DATA! I say, are not persuading me to modify my usage frequency.
posted by arcticseal at 4:02 PM on April 12, 2012
posted by arcticseal at 4:02 PM on April 12, 2012
"Yay" and "Boo" do what they say on the tin.
posted by The Deej at 4:03 PM on April 12, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by The Deej at 4:03 PM on April 12, 2012 [1 favorite]
It's a sign of increasing public acceptance of noncognitivism.
posted by LobsterMitten at 4:04 PM on April 12, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by LobsterMitten at 4:04 PM on April 12, 2012 [2 favorites]
I vote for "Huzzah!" and "Bollocks!"
posted by ladygypsy at 4:06 PM on April 12, 2012 [6 favorites]
posted by ladygypsy at 4:06 PM on April 12, 2012 [6 favorites]
AskMe posts containing both "yay" and "boo," by year:
2005: 1
2006: 0
2007: 6
2008: 5
2009: 5
2010: 5
2011: 10
2012: 4
posted by jayder at 4:07 PM on April 12, 2012
2005: 1
2006: 0
2007: 6
2008: 5
2009: 5
2010: 5
2011: 10
2012: 4
posted by jayder at 4:07 PM on April 12, 2012
Zoob!
posted by Artw at 4:11 PM on April 12, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Artw at 4:11 PM on April 12, 2012 [1 favorite]
2005: 1
2006: 0
2007: 6
2008: 5
2009: 5
2010: 5
2011: 10
2012: 4
Devastating.
posted by longsleeves at 4:15 PM on April 12, 2012
2006: 0
2007: 6
2008: 5
2009: 5
2010: 5
2011: 10
2012: 4
Devastating.
posted by longsleeves at 4:15 PM on April 12, 2012
This thread reminds me of the time I watched "The Lives of Others".
It was like:
Yay
Boo
Yay
Yay
Yay
Boo
Boo
Boooo
Yay
Boo Bitch Boo
Yay you bastard
Oh Boo
Boo Boo Boo
Under the boo boo
Bitch
Bastard
Bam!
Boxes
Boo...
posted by Elmore at 4:24 PM on April 12, 2012 [1 favorite]
It was like:
Yay
Boo
Yay
Yay
Yay
Boo
Boo
Boooo
Yay
Boo Bitch Boo
Yay you bastard
Oh Boo
Boo Boo Boo
Under the boo boo
Bitch
Bastard
Bam!
Boxes
Boo...
posted by Elmore at 4:24 PM on April 12, 2012 [1 favorite]
I prefer 'yippee' and 'oy vey iz mir'.
posted by Splunge at 4:30 PM on April 12, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Splunge at 4:30 PM on April 12, 2012 [1 favorite]
They're not saying BOO!, they're saying LOU!
posted by birdherder at 4:34 PM on April 12, 2012 [4 favorites]
posted by birdherder at 4:34 PM on April 12, 2012 [4 favorites]
As long as we're being crabby about interjections, I protest "yum" and its derivatives.
posted by gingerest at 4:39 PM on April 12, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by gingerest at 4:39 PM on April 12, 2012 [2 favorites]
Haro! Haro! Haro! A l'aide, mon Prince, on me fait tort.
posted by unliteral at 4:41 PM on April 12, 2012
posted by unliteral at 4:41 PM on April 12, 2012
Notre Père qui est aux cieux. Ton nom soit sanctifié. Ton règne vienne. Ta volonté soit faite sur la terre comme au ciel. Donne-nous aujourd'hui notre pain quotidien. Et nous pardonne nos offenses, comme nous pardonnons à ceux qui nous ont offensés. Et ne nous induis point en tentation, mais délivre-nous du mal. Car à toi est le règne, la puissance et la gloire, aux siècles des siècles.
posted by unliteral at 4:42 PM on April 12, 2012
posted by unliteral at 4:42 PM on April 12, 2012
I gave a little yay! to the checker at the grocery store when he fit all my items into one bag. He seemed to appreciate it. I use boo! all the time for things that displease me, like this callout.
posted by mimo at 4:43 PM on April 12, 2012 [6 favorites]
posted by mimo at 4:43 PM on April 12, 2012 [6 favorites]
On the one hand, I have nothing but mockery for "People don't write like me. Can we fix that?" MeTas.
On the other hand, I favor mandatory Internet Punching for use of the word "twee."
It's a conundrum, really.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 4:45 PM on April 12, 2012
On the other hand, I favor mandatory Internet Punching for use of the word "twee."
It's a conundrum, really.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 4:45 PM on April 12, 2012
Maybe they're saying 'Bruuuce'. I know that threw me off the first time I heard it. (On the Jimmy Fallon video posted on the BLUUE).
posted by bquarters at 4:47 PM on April 12, 2012
posted by bquarters at 4:47 PM on April 12, 2012
I probably shouldn't have beanplated this, but I was feeling snowflaky.
posted by jayder at 4:48 PM on April 12, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by jayder at 4:48 PM on April 12, 2012 [1 favorite]
Also, why IS 'twee' all of a sudden a thing? It is used as a descriptor in so many play/film reviews just this week! Ok, two, but still.
posted by bquarters at 4:50 PM on April 12, 2012
posted by bquarters at 4:50 PM on April 12, 2012
I think twee gained currency around the time that McSweeney's became popular, because people were looking for a descriptor of its sensibility. Seems like it started getting used a lot more after that.
posted by jayder at 4:54 PM on April 12, 2012
posted by jayder at 4:54 PM on April 12, 2012
"I got good news and bad news..."
"Okay, what's the bad news?"
"The bad news is I don't have any good news."
"But... then, what's the good news?"
"The good news is that's all the bad news I have..."
- Albert Brooks, doing both voices, from "A Star Is Bought", a LONG time ago
posted by oneswellfoop at 4:56 PM on April 12, 2012 [2 favorites]
"Okay, what's the bad news?"
"The bad news is I don't have any good news."
"But... then, what's the good news?"
"The good news is that's all the bad news I have..."
- Albert Brooks, doing both voices, from "A Star Is Bought", a LONG time ago
posted by oneswellfoop at 4:56 PM on April 12, 2012 [2 favorites]
My last AskMe included a Yay and Boo. I don't think I've noticed it in anyone else's post one way or the other. I didn't mean to bother you!
posted by bessel functions seem unnecessarily complicated at 5:01 PM on April 12, 2012
posted by bessel functions seem unnecessarily complicated at 5:01 PM on April 12, 2012
I say "Yay!" all the time and I think I got it from here.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 5:02 PM on April 12, 2012
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 5:02 PM on April 12, 2012
Remember: You're not a man, you're a chicken boo!
(Note: I have nothing to say about yay!)
posted by .kobayashi. at 5:07 PM on April 12, 2012 [3 favorites]
(Note: I have nothing to say about yay!)
posted by .kobayashi. at 5:07 PM on April 12, 2012 [3 favorites]
"So I have a new pet! VICTORY FOR ZIM! But he has fleas. NOOOOOOOO! MY TALLEST!"
Yep, that'll work nicely.
I'm gonna write the doom meta now!
Dear metafilter: doom de-doom doom doom doom. Doom doomdoom de-dooom. Doom! doom doom dooMMM doom doom d'doom.
(in case explanation is required)
posted by curious nu at 5:10 PM on April 12, 2012 [1 favorite]
Yep, that'll work nicely.
I'm gonna write the doom meta now!
Dear metafilter: doom de-doom doom doom doom. Doom doomdoom de-dooom. Doom! doom doom dooMMM doom doom d'doom.
(in case explanation is required)
posted by curious nu at 5:10 PM on April 12, 2012 [1 favorite]
I recently used "yay" in a comment, but in context it was sarcastic. Is this still an allowed usage or do I have to include a {hamburger} tag?
posted by workerant at 5:14 PM on April 12, 2012
posted by workerant at 5:14 PM on April 12, 2012
w00t and fail are two options that would get you burned at the stake, if you're looking for alternatives.
posted by davejay at 5:20 PM on April 12, 2012
posted by davejay at 5:20 PM on April 12, 2012
Boo!
(Actually, that's my cat. His name is Boo Boo. After Boo Boo Kitty.)
(But really what I'm doing now is just trying to up the ppm for Boo. Boo on Booists!)
posted by peagood at 5:22 PM on April 12, 2012
(Actually, that's my cat. His name is Boo Boo. After Boo Boo Kitty.)
(But really what I'm doing now is just trying to up the ppm for Boo. Boo on Booists!)
posted by peagood at 5:22 PM on April 12, 2012
An audience hissing is an awesome thing. I might even say "Yay" if I was lucky enough to see one.
posted by Packed Lunch at 5:25 PM on April 12, 2012
posted by Packed Lunch at 5:25 PM on April 12, 2012
Also, why IS 'twee' all of a sudden a thing?
it's all those incomplete sentences on twitter
posted by pyramid termite at 6:04 PM on April 12, 2012 [1 favorite]
it's all those incomplete sentences on twitter
posted by pyramid termite at 6:04 PM on April 12, 2012 [1 favorite]
You will pry the "Yay!" from my cold, dead tongue. I am trying to live a life full of as much "Yay!" as is possible.
But I see that this is actually a callout of the "Yay! X. But boo! Y" structure. I don't know. Is it worse than "Good news: I got a new job! Bad news: I have to move" or any of the other ways of structuring a statement about the good and bad aspects of something you're discussing?
It feels like MetaTalk is becoming "Your favorite turn of phrase sucks" lately, and I just don't think it's going to wendell.
posted by Sidhedevil at 7:03 PM on April 12, 2012 [11 favorites]
But I see that this is actually a callout of the "Yay! X. But boo! Y" structure. I don't know. Is it worse than "Good news: I got a new job! Bad news: I have to move" or any of the other ways of structuring a statement about the good and bad aspects of something you're discussing?
It feels like MetaTalk is becoming "Your favorite turn of phrase sucks" lately, and I just don't think it's going to wendell.
posted by Sidhedevil at 7:03 PM on April 12, 2012 [11 favorites]
I'm fine with "yay" but "boo" frightens me, as it makes me fear a ghost is in the thread.
posted by 4ster at 7:04 PM on April 12, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by 4ster at 7:04 PM on April 12, 2012 [1 favorite]
Also, what the fuck is with Team Anti-"Twee" lately? "Twee" is the best word for things that are twee. I don't have time to type out "sickeningly cutesy with a dash of smug" every time I want to talk about twee shit and how much I hate it.
posted by Sidhedevil at 7:07 PM on April 12, 2012 [6 favorites]
posted by Sidhedevil at 7:07 PM on April 12, 2012 [6 favorites]
"Twee" is, itself, equal parts cutesy and smug. You're literally showing how much more mature and cynical you are than the thing you don't like by lapsing into baby-talk.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 7:15 PM on April 12, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 7:15 PM on April 12, 2012 [1 favorite]
At one point I was having a house cooling party (which is like a house warming party but in reverse, we gave away a bunch of crap and one or two really nice things), and my brother-in-law and one of his friends showed up. The friend said "Rofl."
Out-loud.
While not vomiting.
That came later after he consumed 2\3rds of a bottle of Blue Curacao.
The whole thing created two policies that I highly recomend:
1) I make sure that before every party involving college students I hide the brightly colored booze.
2.) I only make fun of people for spoken internetisms and do my best not to cringe at the written ones.
posted by Gygesringtone at 7:19 PM on April 12, 2012
Out-loud.
While not vomiting.
That came later after he consumed 2\3rds of a bottle of Blue Curacao.
The whole thing created two policies that I highly recomend:
1) I make sure that before every party involving college students I hide the brightly colored booze.
2.) I only make fun of people for spoken internetisms and do my best not to cringe at the written ones.
posted by Gygesringtone at 7:19 PM on April 12, 2012
"The friend said "Rofl.""
How did he pronounce it? I feel like it'd be "Rot-fle" because "Rof-fle" just doesn't roll off the tongue the same.
I have, on occasion, wanted to say "I LOLed."
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:56 PM on April 12, 2012 [1 favorite]
How did he pronounce it? I feel like it'd be "Rot-fle" because "Rof-fle" just doesn't roll off the tongue the same.
I have, on occasion, wanted to say "I LOLed."
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:56 PM on April 12, 2012 [1 favorite]
How did he pronounce it? I feel like it'd be "Rot-fle" because "Rof-fle" just doesn't roll off the tongue the same.
Roffle. One syllable. and LOL is a verb. I lol. You lol. He/she/it lols.
Sometimes, LOL is used in reverse assumed declarative :
[You trip over your shoelaces]
Me : [I] "LOL, hosebag. First day on your new feet ?"
I turn 40 in a few weeks. Language prescriptivists aint gonna keep me down.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 8:08 PM on April 12, 2012 [1 favorite]
KACHOW!
posted by Artw at 8:31 PM on April 12, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Artw at 8:31 PM on April 12, 2012 [1 favorite]
Twee twee twee twee twee twee twee. Seriously, if you don't like it, boo yay.
posted by Sidhedevil at 8:59 PM on April 12, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Sidhedevil at 8:59 PM on April 12, 2012 [1 favorite]
The O in ROFL is pronounced like the O in Comb.
Also, BOOOOOOOOOOOO this callout. Let people talk however they like.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 9:19 PM on April 12, 2012
Also, BOOOOOOOOOOOO this callout. Let people talk however they like.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 9:19 PM on April 12, 2012
B ⨀ ⨀ B S !
posted by mazola at 10:25 PM on April 12, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by mazola at 10:25 PM on April 12, 2012 [1 favorite]
As a basically friendly, but thoroughly introverted, and thoroughly socially unhelpful man, "Yay" and "Boo" as one word responses, probably make up about 60% of my real life dialog.
But my girlfriend cant take me to metatalk.
Yay.
posted by St. Sorryass at 12:03 AM on April 13, 2012 [3 favorites]
But my girlfriend cant take me to metatalk.
Yay.
posted by St. Sorryass at 12:03 AM on April 13, 2012 [3 favorites]
Emotivism was A.J. Ayer's theory that all moral statements reduce to statements of preferences. "I disapprove of theft" is supposed to mean nothing more than "boo, stealing!" So, when we see a yay/boo we should keep in mind the possibility that it was written by someone under the influence of logical positivism and consider staging an intervention.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 1:59 AM on April 13, 2012 [5 favorites]
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 1:59 AM on April 13, 2012 [5 favorites]
I feel like I say "yay" a lot, so I looked up how frequently it turns up in my comments (omitting instances where I'm quoting someone else):
2012: 8*
2011: 6
2010: 18
2009: 12
2008: 0
2007: 0
This is interesting. The yays didn't start until I started going to meetups (and therefore started to feel like I really knew you people), and they dipped waaaaay down the year I was depressed. How many times I post "yay!" on MetaFilter is like my own personal mood barometer.
Also, I love the way you can tell what I get excited about by looking at when I say "Yay, X!":
posted by ocherdraco at 5:07 AM on April 13, 2012
2012: 8*
2011: 6
2010: 18
2009: 12
2008: 0
2007: 0
This is interesting. The yays didn't start until I started going to meetups (and therefore started to feel like I really knew you people), and they dipped waaaaay down the year I was depressed. How many times I post "yay!" on MetaFilter is like my own personal mood barometer.
Also, I love the way you can tell what I get excited about by looking at when I say "Yay, X!":
Yay, Nasreddin Hoca reference! Yay, MefiMusic! yay! more schmoopy! Yay Birmingham! Yay Alabama! Yay for pb! some of my favorite radio shows [yay!] Yay! More hopping! Yay! More^d^d^d^dExactly the same hopping! Yay! Finns in New York! Hurraa! Yay! I love seeing cool things from my home state. Yay! HotPatatta's back! yay Del Far—I'm excited to meet you! yay being home with a sore throat and fever? Yay! I've been quonsed! yay for last day of chemo, thinkpiece! Yay for Brooklyn meetups! Yay! I had a good time. Yay! Josh Ritter is one of my favorites, and I love animation. Yay! I just took my first really good shower in this apartment since we moved in. Yay! I'm glad it went well. Yay Brooklyn Brainery!*my prediction for 2012 total yays: 24 (yays in this post don't count, obviously)
posted by ocherdraco at 5:07 AM on April 13, 2012
The O in ROFL is pronounced like the O in Comb.
Rolling ON the floor laughing. Unless you pronounce "on" like "own", I have no idea how that makes sense.
posted by Night_owl at 5:37 AM on April 13, 2012
Rolling ON the floor laughing. Unless you pronounce "on" like "own", I have no idea how that makes sense.
posted by Night_owl at 5:37 AM on April 13, 2012
I"ve noticed friends saying "stink!" instead of boo. I am a bit more vulgar than that. But I do say yay! and quite a bit of woo hoo! Am I a naughty person?
posted by taff at 6:07 AM on April 13, 2012
posted by taff at 6:07 AM on April 13, 2012
Also, would you American types please stop saying "different than"? I find it most irksome.
posted by Decani at 7:05 AM on April 13, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Decani at 7:05 AM on April 13, 2012 [1 favorite]
Also, why IS 'twee' all of a sudden a thing? It is used as a descriptor in so many play/film reviews just this week! Ok, two, but still.
Squee takes up too many characters.
posted by Mitheral at 8:12 AM on April 13, 2012
Squee takes up too many characters.
posted by Mitheral at 8:12 AM on April 13, 2012
"How did he pronounce it? I feel like it'd be "Rot-fle" because "Rof-fle" just doesn't roll off the tongue the same."
Raw with fl at the end. All one syllable, but with a very clear L sound. If it sounds like you're gagging, you're saying it the same way he did. It wasn't the most aesthetically pleasing of pronunciations.
posted by Gygesringtone at 8:53 AM on April 13, 2012
Raw with fl at the end. All one syllable, but with a very clear L sound. If it sounds like you're gagging, you're saying it the same way he did. It wasn't the most aesthetically pleasing of pronunciations.
posted by Gygesringtone at 8:53 AM on April 13, 2012
I am imagining it rhyming with "waffle" and having trouble with the single-syllable notion.
posted by cortex (staff) at 9:01 AM on April 13, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by cortex (staff) at 9:01 AM on April 13, 2012 [2 favorites]
"said Rofl"
See, that's their problem right there, never SAY it. rofl is to be grunted, or muttered, preceded by a short, nearly silent, sharply punctuated plosive snort (OED).
How about a moratorium on moratoriums for all the Dick-taters, Law-Gnomes & their Rules-Lawyerly sidekicks.
Twee is one of those words that IS what it sounds like (and yes, folks who think "twee" is to be used as some derogatory attack... like a weapon (an indiscriminate once size fists all bludgeon). You are as 'bad' as whatever you think you are hating [Auto-recursive-Onomatopoeia] though people can use it in a friendly [or non-hating/silencing] way, so, eh, use it away).
Saying Twee is Twee.
posted by infinite intimation at 9:02 AM on April 13, 2012
See, that's their problem right there, never SAY it. rofl is to be grunted, or muttered, preceded by a short, nearly silent, sharply punctuated plosive snort (OED).
How about a moratorium on moratoriums for all the Dick-taters, Law-Gnomes & their Rules-Lawyerly sidekicks.
Twee is one of those words that IS what it sounds like (and yes, folks who think "twee" is to be used as some derogatory attack... like a weapon (an indiscriminate once size fists all bludgeon). You are as 'bad' as whatever you think you are hating [Auto-recursive-Onomatopoeia] though people can use it in a friendly [or non-hating/silencing] way, so, eh, use it away).
Saying Twee is Twee.
posted by infinite intimation at 9:02 AM on April 13, 2012
I am imagining it rhyming with "waffle" and having trouble with the single-syllable notion.
Yeah, it's sort of like trying to tell people about the sound the deaf hound that lives in our neighborhood makes, you really have to hear it to get a clear mental concept of it.
I've been sitting here trying to figure out how to explain it, and repeating it over and over again. At various times in the last five min. I've been visited by: My four year old son, my one year old daughter, and both the beagle and the other dog. All with concerned looks on their faces.
Anyway, I think that the key is to say the L with the back of your tongue almost simultaneous with the F. It takes practice.
posted by Gygesringtone at 9:30 AM on April 13, 2012
Yeah, it's sort of like trying to tell people about the sound the deaf hound that lives in our neighborhood makes, you really have to hear it to get a clear mental concept of it.
I've been sitting here trying to figure out how to explain it, and repeating it over and over again. At various times in the last five min. I've been visited by: My four year old son, my one year old daughter, and both the beagle and the other dog. All with concerned looks on their faces.
Anyway, I think that the key is to say the L with the back of your tongue almost simultaneous with the F. It takes practice.
posted by Gygesringtone at 9:30 AM on April 13, 2012
People saying 'Yay!' and/or 'Boo!' in a comment does not annoy me.
Busybody posts on MeTa where someone wants to institute new policies or rules about what kind of words or phrases I can or cannot use in my comments, or in everyday speech for that matter, do.
I don't think this particular callout was one of those.
posted by KHAAAN! at 2:48 PM on April 13, 2012
Busybody posts on MeTa where someone wants to institute new policies or rules about what kind of words or phrases I can or cannot use in my comments, or in everyday speech for that matter, do.
I don't think this particular callout was one of those.
posted by KHAAAN! at 2:48 PM on April 13, 2012
How about instead we use: Hurrah! and Woe! Woe unto you!
Apparently when Jesus went around saying words that would eventually be translated into "Woe unto you" the actual meaning of his words was much closer to "Fuck you".
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 3:56 PM on April 13, 2012
Apparently when Jesus went around saying words that would eventually be translated into "Woe unto you" the actual meaning of his words was much closer to "Fuck you".
posted by a snickering nuthatch at 3:56 PM on April 13, 2012
Decani: "Also, would you American types please stop saying "different than"? I find it most irksome."
Decani is different than me.
YOU CAN'T STOP ME!! MUAHAHAHA!!
posted by deborah at 4:30 PM on April 13, 2012 [1 favorite]
Decani is different than me.
YOU CAN'T STOP ME!! MUAHAHAHA!!
posted by deborah at 4:30 PM on April 13, 2012 [1 favorite]
"Also, would you American types please stop saying "different than"? I find it most irksome."
Meanwhile, from my perspective, people who say 'different to' or 'different from' sound like drooling kallikaks.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 4:34 PM on April 13, 2012
Meanwhile, from my perspective, people who say 'different to' or 'different from' sound like drooling kallikaks.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 4:34 PM on April 13, 2012
Overwhelmed by this thread?
Confused over appropriate word choices?
No worries. New! Handy Dandy Metafilter Cheat Sheet.
posted by misha at 7:27 PM on April 13, 2012
Confused over appropriate word choices?
No worries. New! Handy Dandy Metafilter Cheat Sheet.
posted by misha at 7:27 PM on April 13, 2012
Misha, I'm seeing a login page.
posted by arcticseal at 9:27 PM on April 13, 2012
posted by arcticseal at 9:27 PM on April 13, 2012
concur/reject--
Like the squeak of a non-toxic dry erase marker across a whiteboard.
YAY!
posted by BlueHorse at 10:21 AM on April 14, 2012
Like the squeak of a non-toxic dry erase marker across a whiteboard.
YAY!
posted by BlueHorse at 10:21 AM on April 14, 2012
"Twee" is, itself, equal parts cutesy and smug. You're literally showing how much more mature and cynical you are than the thing you don't like by lapsing into baby-talk.
To you, maybe. It's fairly common usage in UK English and doesn't come across as baby-talk to my (British) ears.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 10:17 PM on April 14, 2012
To you, maybe. It's fairly common usage in UK English and doesn't come across as baby-talk to my (British) ears.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 10:17 PM on April 14, 2012
What the hell? 'Twee' is not baby talk, it's English. If you're going to piss people off -- and holy fucking jesus-buttering hell it pisses me off -- by trying to control what words they're going to use and how, at least have the common sense and grace to have a grasp on the rich variety of the English language as it is used outside your picturesque bayou or holler.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 11:01 PM on April 14, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 11:01 PM on April 14, 2012 [1 favorite]
Sorry. Feeling cranky today.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 11:35 PM on April 14, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 11:35 PM on April 14, 2012 [1 favorite]
> "Twee" is, itself, equal parts cutesy and smug. You're literally showing how much more mature and cynical you are than the thing you don't like by lapsing into baby-talk.
Yes, yes, I read the Pitchfork article too [checks date] from...2005!. Uh, the usage has evolved a bit since then.
posted by desuetude at 12:50 AM on April 15, 2012
Yes, yes, I read the Pitchfork article too [checks date] from...2005!. Uh, the usage has evolved a bit since then.
posted by desuetude at 12:50 AM on April 15, 2012
I have no problem with the use of Twee to describe things that are actually twee. Now if you use it to describe a screwdriver, it had better damn well be twee otherwise I'm fetching my pitchfork.
posted by arcticseal at 2:03 AM on April 15, 2012
posted by arcticseal at 2:03 AM on April 15, 2012
You will pry the "Yay!" from my cold, dead tongue. I am trying to live a life full of as much "Yay!" as is possible.
You are Fluttershy and I claim my five pounds.
Also, I could care less about using yah/boo in comments or posts, but is it me or has statistical analysis just shown it's been used more in this very thread than ever before on mefi?
Nobody should police anybody elses' language usage -- save for elementary speling errors like lose/loose or whatever -- with the exception of people using "one of the only". It's either the only one or one of the few. Learn the difference or be banished to the strawberry mines once I'm emperor of the universe.
posted by MartinWisse at 5:45 AM on April 16, 2012
You are Fluttershy and I claim my five pounds.
Also, I could care less about using yah/boo in comments or posts, but is it me or has statistical analysis just shown it's been used more in this very thread than ever before on mefi?
Nobody should police anybody elses' language usage -- save for elementary speling errors like lose/loose or whatever -- with the exception of people using "one of the only". It's either the only one or one of the few. Learn the difference or be banished to the strawberry mines once I'm emperor of the universe.
posted by MartinWisse at 5:45 AM on April 16, 2012
Pitchfork? I just checked the entry on Wiktionary.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 7:52 AM on April 16, 2012
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 7:52 AM on April 16, 2012
(And the fact that it was even there was a surprise to me; I thought it was a pure Metafilter-ism with no defined meaning...basically an insulting Internet version of "smurf.")
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 7:55 AM on April 16, 2012
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 7:55 AM on April 16, 2012
Twee is old. Not, like, England-being-repeatedly-invaded-by-various-countries old, but not a neologisim. OED has it back to 1905.
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:21 AM on April 16, 2012
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:21 AM on April 16, 2012
And yet I've never seen or heard it anywhere but here, despite being a writer and hanging around in real life with people who use “squee” on a semi-regular basis. I'm not sure what that says about whom, but it says something.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 8:38 AM on April 16, 2012
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 8:38 AM on April 16, 2012
Again: it's UK English. The fact that it's not in use in your locale does not make it any less real a word. Hrrumph.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 8:58 AM on April 16, 2012
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 8:58 AM on April 16, 2012
Okay, I'm trying this again! I'd intended to make it editable but I honestly have no idea what I am doing.
So!
Losing track of acceptable Metafilter vernacular? Feeling overwhelmed?
Keep up with this handy dandy tool: NEW! Metafilter Cheat Sheet!
Fool the Old Guard with user numbers lower than 14K!
Rival The Whelk for favorites!
DISCLAIMER: CHEAT SHEET IS CURRENT AS OF 4/14/12. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. NOT VALID ON REDDIT, BOING BOING OR TWITTER. METATALK ACTIVITY EXCEEDING 4 POSTS IN 24 HOURS MAY INDICATE A MORE SERIOUS PROBLEM. IF YOU NEED HELP, DO NOT EAT IT AND SEEK THERAPY IMMEDIATELY. DO NOT CONSULT THE MODERATORS. YMMV, YANML, YANMD, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
posted by misha at 10:01 AM on April 16, 2012 [3 favorites]
So!
Losing track of acceptable Metafilter vernacular? Feeling overwhelmed?
Keep up with this handy dandy tool: NEW! Metafilter Cheat Sheet!
Fool the Old Guard with user numbers lower than 14K!
Rival The Whelk for favorites!
DISCLAIMER: CHEAT SHEET IS CURRENT AS OF 4/14/12. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. NOT VALID ON REDDIT, BOING BOING OR TWITTER. METATALK ACTIVITY EXCEEDING 4 POSTS IN 24 HOURS MAY INDICATE A MORE SERIOUS PROBLEM. IF YOU NEED HELP, DO NOT EAT IT AND SEEK THERAPY IMMEDIATELY. DO NOT CONSULT THE MODERATORS. YMMV, YANML, YANMD, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
posted by misha at 10:01 AM on April 16, 2012 [3 favorites]
Um not knowing twee is American centric. Australians and NZers and Poms use it. When necessary. But it's possibly not the most common word because it's pretty negative. And twee things aren't that common. Thankfully. But yeah, it's a grown up person's word.
posted by taff at 2:02 PM on April 16, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by taff at 2:02 PM on April 16, 2012 [1 favorite]
the common Askme format is like this:
snowflakes inside:
something good happened. YAY! However: blah blah problem.
...yes, I find it kind of annoying.
posted by bearette at 1:37 AM on April 18, 2012
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posted by mathowie (staff) at 3:03 PM on April 12, 2012 [1 favorite]