Save for later?

August 26, 2013 1:36 PM

This comment made me realize just how much I wish there was a "save for later" feature. So I guess this is a pony request, or perhaps asking if there is a greasemonkey script that accomplishes something similar.

For instance, I don't feel comfortable watching videos at work because of the sound and bandwidth. But I'd like to be able to mark things to do/watch/read when I get home. Reddit's "save" function does this perfectly. I suppose you could use favorites for this, but that feels wonky, and I know everybody uses favorites differently anyway.

Is there any chance of a "Save" (or something similar) next to the "mark as favorite" link on posts/comments, and a corresponding "My saved stuff" tab up there by the MyMefi tab? Failing that, is there a greasemonkey script for this?

posted by jbickers to Feature Requests at 1:36 PM (54 comments total)

Personally, it's what I use a lot of my favorites for.
posted by deezil at 1:38 PM on August 26, 2013 [11 favorites]

This is exactly what I use favorites for. I'm not totally sure but will Instapaper or the Reading List feature in Safari do this?
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 1:39 PM on August 26, 2013

I use favorites for that, yeah. You can always un-fave 'em after.
posted by cortex (staff) at 1:42 PM on August 26, 2013

That's why it's called a "favorite". Because you haven't seen it yet.
posted by Wolfdog at 1:46 PM on August 26, 2013 [14 favorites]

I'm another user who favorites things to keep track of them for later viewing/reading.
posted by rmd1023 at 1:48 PM on August 26, 2013

If I want to remember to watch/ see/read something later, I just email the link to myself while I'm at the link.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 1:49 PM on August 26, 2013 [2 favorites]

I use Pocket for this.
posted by grouse at 1:53 PM on August 26, 2013

I have a "send via email" extension in Chrome that I use for this sort of thing. Basically, I remind myself via email, with only a click of a button that sends the proper link, to read it later.
posted by SpacemanStix at 1:56 PM on August 26, 2013

I know some people use favorites for this, but I've been using favorites for things I like for a long time now, and it doesn't work to use them for both purposes.

If it's a huge pain in the ass I understand not implementing this suggestion, but if it's not, I know I would totally use this proposed feature.
posted by latkes at 1:58 PM on August 26, 2013 [2 favorites]

Another option is a bookmark manager. I use Pinboard. They even have a "read later" option that you can check to add a URL to your "to read" list. They cost a little money to join (like MetaFilter) but there are some free options out there.
posted by pb (staff) at 2:12 PM on August 26, 2013 [3 favorites]

You can also make a comment like "i will totally watch this later when i have time" and then it will show up on your recent activity, for those who can't multi-task favorites.
posted by OHenryPacey at 2:13 PM on August 26, 2013 [2 favorites]

Evernote also.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 2:25 PM on August 26, 2013

Copy the URL and email it to yourself.
posted by Sys Rq at 2:45 PM on August 26, 2013

I just wanna grouse about this bullshit, since I can't do it in the thread: "If you were to transcribe everything he said, it would also take you twice as long to read it (and fully comprehend with near 100% accuracy). Not to mention the tone of voice and other stylistic things that do not carry over to text."

Twice as long to read? Pretty much every single video ever takes me so much less time to just read than to sit through — it's one of the reasons I often get annoyed at videos. I can understand arguments from medium, that there are things that work there that wouldn't written out (and in terms of being eye-catching and shareable, video wins for coms folks), but this is such a weird denigration of reading comprehension that I'm just o_0
posted by klangklangston at 3:02 PM on August 26, 2013 [30 favorites]

Pretty much every single video ever takes me so much less time to just read than to sit through — it's one of the reasons I often get annoyed at videos.

Also, the barrier of entry on most video hosting sites is getting much higher, in terms of getting past advertising built into the front end of the video. There's a lot more of it than there used to be, and everyone's just taking it like it's an inevitability that we've seen coming the last few years. That's fine, but I'm actually much less likely now to watch your video.
posted by SpacemanStix at 3:06 PM on August 26, 2013 [3 favorites]

Pinboard, favorites, Google Keep, or even Firefox or Chrome synced bookmarks.
posted by mrbill at 3:11 PM on August 26, 2013 [1 favorite]

this is such a weird denigration of reading comprehension that I'm just o_0

I share your o_0 at that. I think that person either reads very slowly and overgeneralizes or was maybe hyperbolizing the situation for no reason that I can fathom. I am sure that I read 10x faster than I can watch someone talk about a thing, especially because the talking (which is great for in person but so terrible on video) has all the other "Today I'm going to talk to you about...." blablabla padding which is just so much noise if you just want to learn the stuff.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 3:13 PM on August 26, 2013 [6 favorites]

I'm less likely to watch videos because not many are captioned. I wouldn't say that people shouldn't post non-accessible videos, but if you have the choice to post one, it's really nice. Not just for the hearing impaired, but for people who would like to see the video content but can't listen to the audio at the office/library/coffee shop.

Anyway, back on topic - you can use Pinboard with their little javascript bookmarklet. It's one more click than favoriting, though.
posted by desjardins at 3:25 PM on August 26, 2013 [4 favorites]

If it's Youtube, click to the actual Youtube page. They have a link for "videos you want to watch later."
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 3:32 PM on August 26, 2013 [1 favorite]

(I too prefer to read transcripts, for the record. I read pretty fast.)
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 3:33 PM on August 26, 2013

This is was I use my "not marking as 'read' in my RSS reader" for.
posted by DU at 3:39 PM on August 26, 2013 [2 favorites]

I much prefer reading to watching videos for most things, because with the former you choose the narrative voice in your head (e.g. yourself, Miley Cyrus, FDR, George Costanza), but with the latter the voice is imposed on you.
posted by Wordshore at 3:40 PM on August 26, 2013

"I think that person either reads very slowly and overgeneralizes or was maybe hyperbolizing the situation for no reason that I can fathom."

Yep, I can read much faster than most people speak, this is far from rare. Hell, I can type extemporaneously faster than many people speak.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 3:54 PM on August 26, 2013 [1 favorite]

Suggestioned soutions: 1) keep an open email message to yourself, either sending at the end of the day, or review the the draft at home; or 2) create a second MeFi account to use only to favorite things to review later. Both are hacks, but not terrible hacks.

Or, as you can only favorite 100 things per day, favorite things to watch later along with your current favoriting practice, then review your favorited things at home. You can probably skim through favorites pretty fast to fond what you wanted to view later.
posted by filthy light thief at 4:05 PM on August 26, 2013

...as you can only favorite 100 things per day...

We increased the limit to 240 a while ago.
posted by pb (staff) at 4:19 PM on August 26, 2013 [6 favorites]

I also support this option. And an in-house solution sounds best.
posted by dhruva at 4:23 PM on August 26, 2013

"Yep, I can read much faster than most people speak, this is far from rare. Hell, I can type extemporaneously faster than many people speak."

I mean, if I was to come up with one single characteristic that unites MeFites, it'd be that we're readers.
posted by klangklangston at 4:42 PM on August 26, 2013 [3 favorites]

Is that 240 decimal?
posted by Obscure Reference at 4:50 PM on August 26, 2013

that unites MeFites, it'd be that we're readers.

I have no idea what it means to untie a MeFite, but it sounds uncomfortable.
posted by SpacemanStix at 4:50 PM on August 26, 2013

Question: Would creating a sockpuppet account for this kind of thing be acceptable? I've been kicking around the idea of doing that, since I have favorited so many things at this point that favorites don't really work as bookmarks, too. I just don't want the Cabal to get an idea I'm a shady character.

Not that I mean to imply there is a Cabal!

There is no Cabal.
posted by misha at 5:58 PM on August 26, 2013 [1 favorite]

Sure. Basically what we don't want people to do is create an alternate identity on the site. having a sock puppet account for normal things like

- asking or answering questions you don't want linked to your main account
- occasionally commenting about something you dont' want linked to your main account
- favorite collecting
- not sure what else, folks can ask us

are all totally fine. Having two accounts that both look like individual users or using those accounts more or less interchangeably or to get around posting limits is the big no-no.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 6:01 PM on August 26, 2013 [2 favorites]

I hate it when I search for a solution to a technical problem only to find a screen capture video showing a supposed solution. I can very quickly scan though a forum thread to figure out if the solution applies to my problem, whether the poster is full of crap and whether it worked for other people. Hate, hate, hate it.

I know that has nothing to do with metafilter. My wife just doesn't want to hear it anymore.
posted by double block and bleed at 7:22 PM on August 26, 2013 [4 favorites]

I hate it when I search for a solution to a technical problem only to find a screen capture video showing a supposed solution.

I am giving videogame walkthroughs major side eye right now.
posted by Rock Steady at 8:15 PM on August 26, 2013 [2 favorites]

Favorite - verb
1. record the address of (a website or other data) to enable quick access in future.

"you can see who else favorited the same pictures"
posted by oceanjesse at 8:39 PM on August 26, 2013

Well would it be ok to use an alternate account if you're actually a doppelganger from the alternate universe to post spoilers from the version of Fringe that went fifteen seasons over there? (... just getting through season 1 on netflix while browsing MiFi and a bit weirded out by the odd similarities on some of the topics, well, on THIS version of MiFi)
posted by sammyo at 10:48 PM on August 26, 2013 [1 favorite]

Heh. I just got through season three. It doesn't get less weird, at least so far. Totally ridic, yes. Less weird, no. Netflix seems to not have the final season, or maybe I'm misreading things.
posted by klangklangston at 10:51 PM on August 26, 2013

They are going to get the final season next month.
posted by Rock Steady at 2:58 AM on August 27, 2013 [1 favorite]

I wish there was a "save for later" feature

I've established pretty clearly that for me the "later" never actually comes. YLMV.
posted by Segundus at 3:51 AM on August 27, 2013

Exactly, "later" is vastly insufficient, we need a google like interface that is able to estimate mood, current interest, current attention span and feed a qualified list of potential threads that have been culled by a background AI assistant that watches your metabolic and eye pattern signals during your initial of the front page.

How's that for a pony request!
posted by sammyo at 7:30 AM on August 27, 2013

*rides faithful old nag, Favorites Tagging, into thread*

I mostly use favorites for this, but I also use favorites for things I have read and want to refer back to, and for things that I think are particularly well-written, and I like using favorites in lieu of "this is a good idea" in AskMe, so yeah, it's messy. Although, as much as I like to think being able to tag favorites "read later" would actually make that happen, it probably wouldn't. Realistically, my ongoing desire for favorites tagging is probably a manifestation of my impulse to procrastinate via organizational projects, and I should be grateful to have that impulse denied. But I would still like favorites tagging.
posted by EvaDestruction at 8:51 AM on August 27, 2013 [1 favorite]

We added the Favorites Export feature so you could import your favorites to your favorite (ahem) tagging service. There's a link to export your favorites at the bottom of the Preferences page. This puts them in a format that sites like Pinboard can understand. So if you really want to organize things you could try that route.
posted by pb (staff) at 9:04 AM on August 27, 2013 [3 favorites]

Not a big fan of the video-zation of the web, either, speaking as one of The Olds. What I really hate though, is when you're watching the news on TV and they tell you to go to blahnews.com for more, then when you go to blahnews.com, they show you the TV broadcast & tell you to tune in to Blah News at 11 on the TV. It's a weird circular bullshit thing, where half the content of either version of their media is burned up telling you to check the other.

New media. Feh!

/Old!
posted by Devils Rancher at 9:27 AM on August 27, 2013 [4 favorites]

*Jerry Seinfeld shakes fist*

NEWMedia!
posted by cortex (staff) at 9:29 AM on August 27, 2013 [1 favorite]

I know there are other ways to export and categorise favourites using other sites etc. so I appreciate there's no pressing need to do it. But I'm just quietly adding my vote to an in-site solution because, personally, I know I will never use any of those alternatives. Because I am lazy. So very, very lazy.
posted by billiebee at 10:41 AM on August 27, 2013 [1 favorite]

Twice as long to read? Pretty much every single video ever takes me so much less time to just read than to sit through — it's one of the reasons I often get annoyed at videos. I can understand arguments from medium, that there are things that work there that wouldn't written out (and in terms of being eye-catching and shareable, video wins for coms folks), but this is such a weird denigration of reading comprehension that I'm just o_0

Word.

"The average adult reads prose text at 250 to 300 words per minute....Audiobooks are recommended to be 150–160 words per minute, which is the range that people comfortably hear and vocalize words...."
posted by solotoro at 10:51 AM on August 27, 2013

And, for additional data, the nightly news is somewhere in the range of 140-180 words per minute (Cronkite slowed it down to 124 which seems positively speedy next to some of these "Let me tell you what I am going to tell you and then tell you and then tell you what I have told you" YouTubers). This thread is 3000-ish words which would be a 20 minute newscast but most of us read it much faster than that.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 11:19 AM on August 27, 2013 [1 favorite]

sammyo: Exactly, "later" is vastly insufficient, we need a google like interface that is able to estimate mood, current interest, current attention span and feed a qualified list of potential threads that have been culled by a background AI assistant that watches your metabolic and eye pattern signals during your initial of the front page.

Now available: Google Moodz™

Google Moodz is a brain mapping and mood enhancement tool with a built-in "motivational layer" designed to enhance your online experience.

Our patented GoogleShock Therapy delivers gentle reminders throughout the day to keep you on track and on the move.

• Fully compatible with Google Glasses!
• Integrates seamlessly with existing social networks.
• Synch favorites over the cloud!
• Migrate existing Google+ contacts to your NEW Google+ Moodz Rings!
• Customize your Moodz Rings with a variety of color choices!

Choose the "Moodz" option now to link your existing Google account for instant access to Google Moodz features. You might as well. We're going to keep reminding you until you do, anyway.
posted by misha at 12:50 PM on August 27, 2013 [2 favorites]

Instapaper works wonderfully for this, and makes long threads much more readable on iPhone in my opinion.
posted by cacofonie at 7:39 PM on August 27, 2013

Pocket[1] is awesome! There's no better RIL service than this. You can also use Pinboard's RIL if you have it.


[1] Earlier it was called ReadItLater.com and I still fail to understand why they changed the name. Maybe, it's the compulsion to change the name and re-brand and stuff after some time. It's a shame, such a perfect name and domain going to die.
posted by amar at 11:27 PM on August 27, 2013

Bookmarking + Firefox Sync do it for me.
posted by flabdablet at 12:33 AM on August 28, 2013

I am sure that I read 10x faster than I can watch someone talk about a thing, especially because the talking (which is great for in person but so terrible on video) has all the other "Today I'm going to talk to you about...." blablabla padding which is just so much noise if you just want to learn the stuff.

I think this parody from Hyperbole and a Half's Allie Brosh absolutely nails it: How to Put Yourself Inside of a Coat
posted by en forme de poire at 12:56 AM on August 28, 2013 [4 favorites]

AAAAAAAAA, exactly. And she was even talking sort of quickly.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 8:35 AM on August 28, 2013

mrbill: "even Firefox or Chrome synced bookmarks"

You've got to be careful with this lest your, um, personal bookmarks get synced to your work machine.
posted by Mitheral at 7:45 PM on August 30, 2013

Xmarks has the ability to set up bookmark sync profiles. You might be able to set it up so that your MeFi bookmarks get shared between your home and work computers but your vast selection of furry pr0n bookmarks don't.

What? Why are looking at me like that?
posted by double block and bleed at 4:57 PM on August 31, 2013