Happy BasTeal Day*, MetaFilter!

July 10, 2013 10:21 AM

On July 14, 1999, Stan Chin stormed the internet with the first ever post on MeFi. It was about... cats. (Unrelated: later that same day, a Lampson Transi heavylift crane nicknamed Big Blue crashed through the walls of Miller baseball park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.)

* Oui, it's a few days too early for an anniversary post, but I'm traveling this weekend.

From the Boston bombings to Betty Draper backlash, your top ten most commented upon MeFi stories in the last year:

10. No one's ever on your side, Betty. 2,429 comments
9. It's Time For Another Woman Moderator for the U.S. Presidential Debate! 3,076 comments
8. Thrilla or Vanilla? 3,094 comments
7. Many dead in Connecticut primary school shooting 3,220 comments
6. Hurricane Sandy 4,151 comments
5. Obama and Romney battle it out, rap style 4,489 comments
4. Explosions at Boston Marathon Finish Line 4,559 comments
3. Boston in lockdown as hunt for marathon bombers unfolds 5,008 comments
2. my job is is not to worry about those people 5,935 comments
1. we choose to have an election thread and and do the other things, not because they are easy but because they are hard 8,218 comments

And the most favorited:
10. Terror has a new game... 220 favorites
9. OK. 3, 2, 1. Let's Jam! 221 favorites
8. "Distribution is the core of the problem we face." 230 favorites
7. I ♥ DULUTH, The Story of the Maria Bamford Show 255 favorites
6. two Erics summarize SCIENCE! for life improvement & greater understanding 258 favorites
5. Basically every classic game and system in your browser 259 favorites
4. jeans (mostly women's fit and such) 267 favorites
3. privilege-checking and call-out culture 285 favorites
2. aggregating an aggregator: Peggy Wang (all killer no filler!) 351 favorites
1. High Weirdness By Mail 430 favorites

And the most favorited comments: (How meta!)
10. 332 favorites of Slap*Happy's comment on Many dead in Connecticut primary school shooting
9. 335 favorites of Blasdelb's comment on Many dead in Connecticut primary school shooting
8. 348 favorites of DrMew's comment on Consent is Sexy
7. 385 favorites of LarryC's comment on On Why Star Trek is Great
6. 397 favorites of fraula's comment on Happiness Happens
5. 408 favorites of 0xFCAF's comment on my job is not to worry about those people
4. 481 favorites of Eyebrows McGee's comment on The other death sentence
3. 554 favorites of Admiral Haddock's comment on As you wish!
2. 600 favorites of Slarty Bartfast's comment on Honestly, you guys, these are *supposed* to be pretty rare...
1. 636 favorites of kyrademon's comment on Obama and Romney battle it out, rap style

posted by wensink to MetaFilter-Related at 10:21 AM (62 comments total)

......

I've wasted my life.
posted by The Whelk at 10:31 AM on July 10, 2013 [4 favorites]

Stan Chin with the first ever post on MeFi? Not sure I agree with you a hundred percent on your police work, there, Lou.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 10:32 AM on July 10, 2013 [8 favorites]

Wasn't it the mythical Math Owie who did the first post?
posted by Mister_A at 10:33 AM on July 10, 2013

Stan Chin has a time machine and also likes to skin people and wear them.
posted by cortex (staff) at 10:40 AM on July 10, 2013 [5 favorites]

No - This is just some revisionist nonsense put out by those who can't understand that the site is actually only 6 years old.

All those "previous posts"? They were placed there by a "database administrator" to make it look as though the site is older than it actually is. Think of it as a test of faith, and an example of "world building". Many websites prepopulate the site with content before going live, and Metafilter is one of those sites.

Stan Chin made the first post, and the database administrators retconned the site history to make it look seamless.
posted by zoo at 10:40 AM on July 10, 2013 [7 favorites]

Wasn't it the mythical Math Owie who did the first post?
Grumble. That's what I had thought (and found) when first looking for links for this post yesterday, but when I searched this morning, I was pointed to Mr. Chin.

Apologies, mathowie.
posted by wensink at 10:41 AM on July 10, 2013

Well, this will wensink.
posted by koeselitz at 10:41 AM on July 10, 2013 [16 favorites]

stan chin's gold star made the first post.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 10:42 AM on July 10, 2013 [6 favorites]

Stan Chin rode iguanadons with Jesus 6,000 years ago.
posted by Kafkaesque at 10:44 AM on July 10, 2013 [2 favorites]

Happy BasTeal Day

Wait, did nobody do the thing yet? Do I get to do the thing?

Did I get it right?
posted by capricorn at 10:45 AM on July 10, 2013

Stan's Chin was God's model for Bruce Campbell.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 10:46 AM on July 10, 2013

If they weren't hidden from us, you'd see that the first eighteen posts to MetaFilter were by Stan Chin.
posted by charred husk at 10:49 AM on July 10, 2013

It's Stan Chins all the way down.
posted by 2bucksplus at 10:56 AM on July 10, 2013 [2 favorites]

You know, I was just thinking about how I've been way too productive at work today. If only I had a whole list of time-sinks to peruse instead of dealing with my work...

Thanks!
posted by Elly Vortex at 10:58 AM on July 10, 2013

Okay. Awkward.
posted by leotrotsky at 11:18 AM on July 10, 2013 [4 favorites]

That guy turned out to be high-maintainence
posted by thelonius at 11:24 AM on July 10, 2013

I'd like to mention here that Achewood sucks.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:24 AM on July 10, 2013 [2 favorites]

Aw, dammit. I just remembered that I wanted to slip "See you Space Cowboy...." in as the final comment in my Bebop thread just before it closed.

This post is awesome. So many links I missed. THANKS!
posted by zarq at 11:24 AM on July 10, 2013 [1 favorite]

Grumble. That's what I had thought (and found) when first looking for links for this post yesterday, but when I searched this morning, I was pointed to Mr. Chin.

No! You were supposed to let everyone THINK you were slyly playing on Stan Chin's near-legendary reputation with your misattribution! (at least that's what I thought you were doing).
posted by Curious Artificer at 11:40 AM on July 10, 2013 [1 favorite]

On behalf of all the asians on Metafilter, I will be officially accepting all apologies for this gross discrimination. It would be best understood if it was in our native dialect, so please reply here with a "SO SOLLY" and all will be forgiven, you white fuckfaces.
posted by Stan Chin at 10:37 PM on January 2, 2007

my favorite comment.
posted by mullacc at 11:48 AM on July 10, 2013 [1 favorite]

I had no idea I was stirring a Stan Chin-neck beard-hornet's nest. Yipes!
posted by wensink at 11:48 AM on July 10, 2013

Just noticed that my Mefiversary was last week. 13 years.

13 years.

Damn.
posted by MrMoonPie at 11:56 AM on July 10, 2013 [1 favorite]

Makes my 8+ years here seem almost sane by comparison. Almost.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 12:05 PM on July 10, 2013

My 13 years passed in May. What's the 13th anniversary? A Kaycee Nicole t-shirt?
posted by Zosia Blue at 12:09 PM on July 10, 2013 [4 favorites]

The mods close you to further comments.
posted by Kafkaesque at 12:20 PM on July 10, 2013 [2 favorites]

Stan Chin is the second most legendary "why don't they post here anymore?" MeFites, after MiguelCardoso.

No, wendell, of "this will wendell" fame doesn't count because he I just changed his my name; besides, he I would barely make the top 20.
posted by oneswellfoop at 12:51 PM on July 10, 2013 [2 favorites]

My 7th anniversary was last week and I missed it. I may have to un-spouse myself.
posted by arcticseal at 1:15 PM on July 10, 2013

Great stuff. Though I too thought this was a post about the legendary Stan Chin.

As for Miguel, he's everywhere on Portuguese TV promoting his new book and talking about his wife's cancer. Here he is. (That's his wife in the blue shirt)
posted by vacapinta at 1:37 PM on July 10, 2013 [6 favorites]

I'm glad his wife has (apparently) recovered (I don't speak Portuguese). The last time he was around here at all was to use Ask for help with that ordeal.
posted by Curious Artificer at 1:47 PM on July 10, 2013

All's I'm saying here is that you lot had best not make me do another afternoon anniversary post.

I'm counting on you.
posted by reprise the theme song and roll the credits at 2:25 PM on July 10, 2013

I saw that AskMe - how good to hear that she is doing well
posted by thelonius at 2:36 PM on July 10, 2013

This is the part where I feel a little weird that I've been coming to this website for over 12 years.
posted by ColdChef at 2:54 PM on July 10, 2013 [3 favorites]

Whereas I can feel superior knowing that I've only been coming here for over 11 years.
posted by dg at 3:05 PM on July 10, 2013

Shimmering veil has lost its shimmer.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 3:19 PM on July 10, 2013

This is the part where I feel sad that it took me more than a decade to know about MetaFilter.
posted by bearwife at 4:14 PM on July 10, 2013 [2 favorites]

I was on Metafilter when a spam filter was something you used for making ham mousse and catscan was a big metal tub filled with cats.
posted by The White Hat at 4:45 PM on July 10, 2013 [2 favorites]

The last time he was around here at all was to use Ask for help with that ordeal.

I think he made a deleted post semi-recently.
posted by cjorgensen at 7:32 PM on July 10, 2013

Was Stan Chin spamming again?
posted by slogger at 7:52 PM on July 10, 2013 [1 favorite]

gosh, I feel like a young'n in this thread.
posted by slogger at 7:57 PM on July 10, 2013

I am still happy for the time his account was in-Stan Chin-ated.

(Due to the fact he was the first poster, for a while I thought his account was an "instantiated" joke)
posted by mikeh at 8:32 PM on July 10, 2013

Was Stan Chin spamming again?

Matthew Chen
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 8:47 PM on July 10, 2013 [1 favorite]

picture on a bus stop bench!
posted by cortex (staff) at 9:21 PM on July 10, 2013

This is the part where I feel a little weird that I've been coming to this website for over 12 years.

This is the part where I get to yell "get off m'lawn!" at coldchef.
posted by Catch at 9:31 PM on July 10, 2013 [3 favorites]

Lucky thirteen years, y'all! :D
posted by Lynsey at 9:43 PM on July 10, 2013 [2 favorites]

I feel kinda tingly and warm (in my feets) knowing I've been coming to this site for 13 years.
posted by fluffy battle kitten at 12:03 AM on July 11, 2013 [1 favorite]

This is the part where I realize I've been of the opinion for seven years that cortex should write a full-length version of Matthew Chen is Spamming.

I still stand by that opinion, my 25 year old self was right then and is right now.
posted by Kattullus at 3:27 AM on July 11, 2013 [2 favorites]

Only 5 years on this here site. I suddenly feel like a babe in the woods.
posted by Sophie1 at 8:56 AM on July 11, 2013

Damn, how did I miss that Cowboy Bebop post? I just finished watching Samurai Champloo on Netflix over the winter and loved it, not realizing it was by the same guy.

Please to be making more of that kind of anime for me, thanks. <3
posted by jillithd at 12:31 PM on July 11, 2013

Gah, 12 years for me as of two months ago.

And I still hate every one of you.
posted by eyeballkid at 2:11 PM on July 11, 2013 [3 favorites]

even Stan?
posted by clavdivs at 7:44 AM on July 12, 2013

I hesistate to put words in his mouth, but I don't think that the eyeballkid would want to just lump Mr. Chin in with the rather impersonal and dismissive "you" that he used.
posted by wenestvedt at 8:05 AM on July 12, 2013

I miss iconomy.
posted by y2karl at 9:16 AM on July 12, 2013 [2 favorites]

I hate you all in specific ways for specific reasons. I have a list. It's here.
posted by eyeballkid at 1:53 PM on July 12, 2013 [5 favorites]

12 years next month, but only because the site was closed to new signups the month I found it because some lazy ass was on vacation.
posted by yerfatma at 12:59 PM on July 13, 2013 [1 favorite]

One year! Oh...
posted by Literaryhero at 10:51 PM on July 13, 2013

It's July 14th so guess it's happy 14th birthday MetaFilter.

Oooooooooo, 14 on the 14th...
posted by Wordshore at 8:38 AM on July 14, 2013

wensink: I had no idea I was stirring a Stan Chin-neck beard-hornet's nest.

I wish to hear more about these beard-hornets, and why they nest in Stan Chin's neck.
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:31 AM on July 14, 2013

Here's the happy wishing celebratory lucky MeFi post.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane (staff) at 11:37 AM on July 14, 2013

This post in the "Queuing questions" thread on metatalk has 654 favorites.

In the sub-basement of what was once an industrial park, the server continued asking questions to the void. The network was long-gone--the ethernet cables vaporized right where they emerged to the surface--but this didn't stop the server. It had a queue.
posted by jjj606 at 11:44 AM on July 14, 2013

"July 14 is Bastille Day, when the people of France released the prisoners being held in the Bastille. Not just the political prisoners, mind you; all the prisoners... 'Bastille'. It's French for 'Why are you stabbing me? I just released you from prison.'" - The Daily Show
posted by maryr at 4:52 PM on July 14, 2013

I have two posts in the top ten, yeah! Of course, they are my video game posts, and not my Serious Posts, but, still, is there any way I can put that on a resume?
posted by blahblahblah at 9:58 PM on July 14, 2013

I snowflake context read Stan Chin as 'Stanchion', a prodigiously underused word, and architectural instantiation.
(Wow, ITIB, also, of course it is now also used to name a mass-beef-sci-fi-thing only baddie aliens would dream up, not to say utilize and mass market [spoiler: it and soilent green is will always be people]).

{This whole comment collapses into metaenemesis: No one seeks to build stanchions on Bastille day, not to mention recommends them architecturally... or maybe when people line up beside stanchions for summer blockbusters with lacklustre character development and mass death, it is done so to honour a particular past?†}

In thought of Bastille (stanchions).

The Bastille: Volume One>_
†It is a curious fact, and one worthy of notice, that when the Bastille was captured by the mob in 1789, the stanchions which supported the scaffold upon which Biron was executed were still to be seen, and were pointed out as an additional piece of evidence against the stronghold of tyranny. The revolutionary mob of 1789 had, of course, no idea that the stanchions represented a mark of Royal favour, slight as that favour was.*
....
*Lord Ferrers petitioned to be executed in the Tower, but this was refused.

posted by infinite intimation at 12:14 AM on July 15, 2013