wfrgms has passed away September 19, 2013 8:39 PM Subscribe
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posted by SkylitDrawl at 8:41 PM on September 19, 2013
posted by SkylitDrawl at 8:41 PM on September 19, 2013
Very sorry to hear it, and my condolences to his family.
posted by Errant at 8:50 PM on September 19, 2013
posted by Errant at 8:50 PM on September 19, 2013
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posted by arcticseal at 8:51 PM on September 19, 2013
posted by arcticseal at 8:51 PM on September 19, 2013
Sorry to hear. His profile page here is...interesting.
RIP
posted by dfriedman at 8:53 PM on September 19, 2013
RIP
posted by dfriedman at 8:53 PM on September 19, 2013
His profile page here is...interesting.
He was a banned user (for about four years) before he was a deceased user. Banned users have their profile pages blanked out. Deceased users don't. Don't want to be weird about this, just explaining.
I'm very sorry to hear this news; my heart goes out to his partner and family and his friends who miss him.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 8:58 PM on September 19, 2013 [13 favorites]
He was a banned user (for about four years) before he was a deceased user. Banned users have their profile pages blanked out. Deceased users don't. Don't want to be weird about this, just explaining.
I'm very sorry to hear this news; my heart goes out to his partner and family and his friends who miss him.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 8:58 PM on September 19, 2013 [13 favorites]
So very sorry to read of his passing, condolences to his loved ones.
posted by Lynsey at 9:04 PM on September 19, 2013
posted by Lynsey at 9:04 PM on September 19, 2013
WFRGMS: It's pronounced "fuck Texas."
I wish I got to know him before he passed. Godspeed, fellow traveler.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 9:08 PM on September 19, 2013
I wish I got to know him before he passed. Godspeed, fellow traveler.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 9:08 PM on September 19, 2013
Christ he's younger than me.
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Godspeed, man.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 9:12 PM on September 19, 2013 [1 favorite]
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Godspeed, man.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 9:12 PM on September 19, 2013 [1 favorite]
I'm sorry to hear about this. I hope that his loved ones can find peace.
A MeTa with wfrgms was never boring.
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posted by double block and bleed at 9:20 PM on September 19, 2013
A MeTa with wfrgms was never boring.
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posted by double block and bleed at 9:20 PM on September 19, 2013
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posted by Tell Me No Lies at 9:28 PM on September 19, 2013
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 9:28 PM on September 19, 2013
Safe travels wfrgms.
posted by peeedro at 9:32 PM on September 19, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by peeedro at 9:32 PM on September 19, 2013 [1 favorite]
It's pronounced "fuck death."
posted by subbes at 9:48 PM on September 19, 2013 [6 favorites]
posted by subbes at 9:48 PM on September 19, 2013 [6 favorites]
Will wasn't part of MetaFilter by the time I'd started hanging out with the Chicago IRL crowd, but whenever he was mentioned and I reminded folks that he was "before my time", it was said, to a person, that it was too bad, that I would have liked him. Too bad indeed.
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posted by MCMikeNamara at 10:04 PM on September 19, 2013
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posted by MCMikeNamara at 10:04 PM on September 19, 2013
Wasn't there a debate at some point about whether his name was pronounced "wiffergamous" or "whiffer gems"?
posted by evil otto at 10:11 PM on September 19, 2013
posted by evil otto at 10:11 PM on September 19, 2013
There were at least a couple of those debates, yeah
It's always weird when someone has a tough time getting along with the site, but life is weird in all sorts of ways I guess. Sorry to hear this, thoughts are with those who knew him.
posted by cortex (staff) at 10:21 PM on September 19, 2013 [3 favorites]
It's always weird when someone has a tough time getting along with the site, but life is weird in all sorts of ways I guess. Sorry to hear this, thoughts are with those who knew him.
posted by cortex (staff) at 10:21 PM on September 19, 2013 [3 favorites]
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posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 10:27 PM on September 19, 2013
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 10:27 PM on September 19, 2013
I remember him. I'm sorry for this.
How young he was!
posted by SLC Mom at 10:29 PM on September 19, 2013
How young he was!
posted by SLC Mom at 10:29 PM on September 19, 2013
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posted by Smart Dalek at 10:43 PM on September 19, 2013
posted by Smart Dalek at 10:43 PM on September 19, 2013
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posted by roll truck roll at 11:23 PM on September 19, 2013
posted by roll truck roll at 11:23 PM on September 19, 2013
William is survived by his loving partner of seven years with whom he shared a home, Valerie Ann Curtis, and his mother, Dorothy Feltman Revis, of Pelzer, South Carolina.
Good to know he shared a home, someone named Valerie, and even his mother with his partner of seven years.
posted by Literaryhero at 11:26 PM on September 19, 2013 [38 favorites]
Good to know he shared a home, someone named Valerie, and even his mother with his partner of seven years.
posted by Literaryhero at 11:26 PM on September 19, 2013 [38 favorites]
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Wasn't there a debate at some point about whether his name was pronounced "wiffergamous" or "whiffer gems"?"
It's "Walph Riggums."
posted by klangklangston at 11:39 PM on September 19, 2013 [10 favorites]
Wasn't there a debate at some point about whether his name was pronounced "wiffergamous" or "whiffer gems"?"
It's "Walph Riggums."
posted by klangklangston at 11:39 PM on September 19, 2013 [10 favorites]
So young. My thoughts are with his friends and family.
posted by 26.2 at 11:39 PM on September 19, 2013
posted by 26.2 at 11:39 PM on September 19, 2013
Oh wow. I remember him too, partly because I always wondered how to pronounce his username and because, well, he participated...memorably...in threads. I honestly had no idea he was so young. How sad for his loved ones, terribly sad.
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posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 11:41 PM on September 19, 2013
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posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 11:41 PM on September 19, 2013
I liked the guy, had no idea what the friction was with many people here, mods included (just now read his profile page).
He wrote interestingly and well about bicycles, which I love, and of Chicago, which I love, and wrote also of riding *in* Chicago, which I've done, and which seemed to me at the time (maybe 12 years ago) a death wish sort of thing, but he was super into it.
He appeared to me to be a straight shooter and caught some flack from some users because of that, but I had no idea the vibe with the mods.
I was real disappointed when I found he was offline here, a voice I trusted to tell the truth as he saw it.
There's a few users here who've either closed out, flamed out, or got booted, there's a few of them I think about, wonder about, hope all is well for them, etc. He was one of those I wondered about, time to time.
If there is anything on the other side of this show, I wish him peace there. If it's a heaven, then surely there are bicycles there, and I'm betting he's on one of them.
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posted by dancestoblue at 12:58 AM on September 20, 2013 [5 favorites]
He wrote interestingly and well about bicycles, which I love, and of Chicago, which I love, and wrote also of riding *in* Chicago, which I've done, and which seemed to me at the time (maybe 12 years ago) a death wish sort of thing, but he was super into it.
He appeared to me to be a straight shooter and caught some flack from some users because of that, but I had no idea the vibe with the mods.
I was real disappointed when I found he was offline here, a voice I trusted to tell the truth as he saw it.
There's a few users here who've either closed out, flamed out, or got booted, there's a few of them I think about, wonder about, hope all is well for them, etc. He was one of those I wondered about, time to time.
If there is anything on the other side of this show, I wish him peace there. If it's a heaven, then surely there are bicycles there, and I'm betting he's on one of them.
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posted by dancestoblue at 12:58 AM on September 20, 2013 [5 favorites]
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posted by hattifattener at 1:52 AM on September 20, 2013
posted by hattifattener at 1:52 AM on September 20, 2013
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posted by Defying Gravity at 2:58 AM on September 20, 2013
posted by Defying Gravity at 2:58 AM on September 20, 2013
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posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 3:08 AM on September 20, 2013
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 3:08 AM on September 20, 2013
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Remember him as being a very high profile member during his active time here. Hadn't thought of him in a number of years until today. Ugh.
posted by josher71 at 4:45 AM on September 20, 2013
Remember him as being a very high profile member during his active time here. Hadn't thought of him in a number of years until today. Ugh.
posted by josher71 at 4:45 AM on September 20, 2013
"He was a banned user (for about four years) before he was a deceased user. Banned users have their profile pages blanked out. Deceased users don't."
Uncensored all my death.
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posted by marienbad at 4:48 AM on September 20, 2013 [5 favorites]
Uncensored all my death.
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posted by marienbad at 4:48 AM on September 20, 2013 [5 favorites]
wfrgms sent me one of my very first memails. I must have written some comment about living in Chicago and liking medical history, because his message told me I should visit the International Museum of Surgical Science because I'd probably like it. (I had been a docent there for a while, so yeah, he was right.)
In the memail he also invited me to a meetup, raving about how wonderful the Chicago mefites are and how I'd love them and have a great time. I didn't end up going to a meetup for another 6 months or so, and by that time he had been banned, but he was right about that, too. The Chicago crowd is wonderful.
He finished his message with welcoming me to metafilter and telling me how happy he was that I got to live in Chicago, because it's just such an awesome city and he loved it SO MUCH and he wanted other people to love it, too. He's one of the few people I've interacted with who seems to be as rabidly in love with this city as I am. Maybe it's a side effect of both having grown up in the south (didn't even know that until I read his obit).
I never met wfrgms in person, and I was too new to metafilter to really be aware of metatalk to know who he was on the site. But based on the couple of memails we exchanged, I think we would have been friends.
How terribly, terribly sad.
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posted by phunniemee at 5:07 AM on September 20, 2013 [14 favorites]
In the memail he also invited me to a meetup, raving about how wonderful the Chicago mefites are and how I'd love them and have a great time. I didn't end up going to a meetup for another 6 months or so, and by that time he had been banned, but he was right about that, too. The Chicago crowd is wonderful.
He finished his message with welcoming me to metafilter and telling me how happy he was that I got to live in Chicago, because it's just such an awesome city and he loved it SO MUCH and he wanted other people to love it, too. He's one of the few people I've interacted with who seems to be as rabidly in love with this city as I am. Maybe it's a side effect of both having grown up in the south (didn't even know that until I read his obit).
I never met wfrgms in person, and I was too new to metafilter to really be aware of metatalk to know who he was on the site. But based on the couple of memails we exchanged, I think we would have been friends.
How terribly, terribly sad.
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posted by phunniemee at 5:07 AM on September 20, 2013 [14 favorites]
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posted by Rock Steady at 5:16 AM on September 20, 2013
posted by Rock Steady at 5:16 AM on September 20, 2013
Oh man.
Will was at the very first Chicago meetup I ever attended, and was a huge reason why meetups became one of the highlights of my time living there. Not gonna bother talking about his static on the site, as it certainly doesn't matter now, but once he was banned he stopped coming to meetups, which was hugely disappointing to me.
Will and I hit it off right away because, like my wife, he was from South Carolina. He was just one of those guys who could pretty much add an interesting viewpoint to any conversation. Direct to the point of brusqueness? Surely, but something immediately evident in person that may not have translated to this site is he genuinely gave a shit about the views of anyone he was talking to. He shined in Ask because he had an unreal talent for understanding what people were saying, even when they weren't really saying it.
All I want to be able to do right now is put some words down to shine a little light on him so folks who never met him IRL can get a sense of how awesome he really was, but I'm at a loss because this breaks my heart.
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posted by SpiffyRob at 5:23 AM on September 20, 2013 [27 favorites]
Will was at the very first Chicago meetup I ever attended, and was a huge reason why meetups became one of the highlights of my time living there. Not gonna bother talking about his static on the site, as it certainly doesn't matter now, but once he was banned he stopped coming to meetups, which was hugely disappointing to me.
Will and I hit it off right away because, like my wife, he was from South Carolina. He was just one of those guys who could pretty much add an interesting viewpoint to any conversation. Direct to the point of brusqueness? Surely, but something immediately evident in person that may not have translated to this site is he genuinely gave a shit about the views of anyone he was talking to. He shined in Ask because he had an unreal talent for understanding what people were saying, even when they weren't really saying it.
All I want to be able to do right now is put some words down to shine a little light on him so folks who never met him IRL can get a sense of how awesome he really was, but I'm at a loss because this breaks my heart.
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posted by SpiffyRob at 5:23 AM on September 20, 2013 [27 favorites]
It's a username I remember, either from lurking the site or from digging into the archives for various reasons. I wish his loved ones comfort and peace.
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posted by gauche at 6:16 AM on September 20, 2013
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posted by gauche at 6:16 AM on September 20, 2013
I remember him from when I first joined the site. I didn't realize he got the banhammer, but I did appreciate his straightshooterishness. Terrible to see he passed so young.
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posted by Admiral Haddock at 6:22 AM on September 20, 2013 [1 favorite]
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posted by Admiral Haddock at 6:22 AM on September 20, 2013 [1 favorite]
Aw no. :( He was far too young. May his memory be for a blessing to his loved ones.
wfrgms was a fixture on AskMe, and one of several folks who routinely gave 'tough love' responses to questions. At times his answers could come across as... well, let's call them "brutally honest" and leave it at that, but he had a way of cutting to the heart of a question that when done right could be quite helpful.
And yes, he did not like Texas.
His name was pronounced "Wa-friggums." Everyone else is wrong. ;) (There were a couple of threads where people tried to figure out how to pronounce his name. Always fun.)
Rest in peace, sir.
posted by zarq at 6:29 AM on September 20, 2013 [2 favorites]
wfrgms was a fixture on AskMe, and one of several folks who routinely gave 'tough love' responses to questions. At times his answers could come across as... well, let's call them "brutally honest" and leave it at that, but he had a way of cutting to the heart of a question that when done right could be quite helpful.
And yes, he did not like Texas.
His name was pronounced "Wa-friggums." Everyone else is wrong. ;) (There were a couple of threads where people tried to figure out how to pronounce his name. Always fun.)
Rest in peace, sir.
posted by zarq at 6:29 AM on September 20, 2013 [2 favorites]
I always pronounced it "wolf grams". My condolences.
posted by not_on_display at 6:44 AM on September 20, 2013
posted by not_on_display at 6:44 AM on September 20, 2013
Always thought his nick was pronounced w-f-r-g-m-s.
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posted by JohnnyGunn at 6:58 AM on September 20, 2013
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posted by JohnnyGunn at 6:58 AM on September 20, 2013
He was a year older than me. Life is short.
Peace be to you, wfrgms.
posted by pxe2000 at 7:02 AM on September 20, 2013
Peace be to you, wfrgms.
posted by pxe2000 at 7:02 AM on September 20, 2013
There should be a link to this Meta in his profile, as well as the IRL link.
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posted by Melismata at 7:18 AM on September 20, 2013
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posted by Melismata at 7:18 AM on September 20, 2013
There should be a link to this Meta in his profile, as well as the IRL link.
Will add it, there wasn't a MeTa thread at the time we put that up.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 7:31 AM on September 20, 2013
Will add it, there wasn't a MeTa thread at the time we put that up.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 7:31 AM on September 20, 2013
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posted by Faint of Butt at 8:21 AM on September 20, 2013
posted by Faint of Butt at 8:21 AM on September 20, 2013
Requiescat in pace.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 8:46 AM on September 20, 2013
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 8:46 AM on September 20, 2013
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posted by EvaDestruction at 8:49 AM on September 20, 2013
posted by EvaDestruction at 8:49 AM on September 20, 2013
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posted by whistle pig at 8:51 AM on September 20, 2013
posted by whistle pig at 8:51 AM on September 20, 2013
That's a shame. My sympathy to his friends and family.
posted by Curious Artificer at 8:52 AM on September 20, 2013
posted by Curious Artificer at 8:52 AM on September 20, 2013
So sorry. May memories of him continue to bring great joy to his loved ones.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 9:02 AM on September 20, 2013
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 9:02 AM on September 20, 2013
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posted by doctor_negative at 9:07 AM on September 20, 2013
posted by doctor_negative at 9:07 AM on September 20, 2013
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My condolences to his friends, family, and the old-school Chicago MeFites.
posted by Kattullus at 10:11 AM on September 20, 2013
My condolences to his friends, family, and the old-school Chicago MeFites.
posted by Kattullus at 10:11 AM on September 20, 2013
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posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 10:12 AM on September 20, 2013
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 10:12 AM on September 20, 2013
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Alarmingly not-old, it feels like. Best wishes to his friends and family.
posted by ignignokt at 10:28 AM on September 20, 2013
Alarmingly not-old, it feels like. Best wishes to his friends and family.
posted by ignignokt at 10:28 AM on September 20, 2013
Oh my god. He was at my first meetup too.
I hardly ever tangoed with him on Ask, so I only really knew in his IRL aspect: funny, perhaps a bit gruff, but, as SpiffyRob attests, entirely considerate of others. He had a flame-like passion for conversation, for biking, for his city. God rest the man and sustain his family.
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posted by Iridic at 10:37 AM on September 20, 2013 [1 favorite]
I hardly ever tangoed with him on Ask, so I only really knew in his IRL aspect: funny, perhaps a bit gruff, but, as SpiffyRob attests, entirely considerate of others. He had a flame-like passion for conversation, for biking, for his city. God rest the man and sustain his family.
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posted by Iridic at 10:37 AM on September 20, 2013 [1 favorite]
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posted by Navelgazer at 11:38 AM on September 20, 2013
posted by Navelgazer at 11:38 AM on September 20, 2013
• dead at 37? We really do not know when death will come.
posted by Cranberry at 11:41 AM on September 20, 2013
posted by Cranberry at 11:41 AM on September 20, 2013
Sweet hominy we were all so young six years ago.
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posted by eamondaly at 12:53 PM on September 20, 2013 [1 favorite]
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posted by eamondaly at 12:53 PM on September 20, 2013 [1 favorite]
far too young - may the chicago branches of whole foods be struck by lightning/plague of frogs.
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posted by sgt.serenity at 1:12 PM on September 20, 2013
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posted by sgt.serenity at 1:12 PM on September 20, 2013
Jesus. He was 37. I'm 37. I'm feeling just a bit more mortal right now. I think Mrs. Ghidorah needs a hug.
Condolences to all who knew him, and at the memorial meetup, raise one for me, would you?
posted by Ghidorah at 2:12 PM on September 20, 2013
Condolences to all who knew him, and at the memorial meetup, raise one for me, would you?
posted by Ghidorah at 2:12 PM on September 20, 2013
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posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 2:33 PM on September 20, 2013
posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 2:33 PM on September 20, 2013
Why was the "About" section deleted from his user page? I would like to see it go back up.
posted by Daddy-O at 2:57 PM on September 20, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Daddy-O at 2:57 PM on September 20, 2013 [1 favorite]
His userpage was in "banned" status - that is, with most of the info hidden - until we changed it to "Deceased." That un-hid all that stuff, but after talking about it, we decided that we should leave it hidden, since that was the way it was before and we don't have any way of knowing what he would have wanted to reveal. It's the first time this particular use case has come up, but this seemed like the most respectful way to handle it.
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 3:01 PM on September 20, 2013 [7 favorites]
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 3:01 PM on September 20, 2013 [7 favorites]
You're right, not knowing what he would have wanted, it should be cleared.
posted by Daddy-O at 3:14 PM on September 20, 2013
posted by Daddy-O at 3:14 PM on September 20, 2013
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posted by WidgetAlley at 3:20 PM on September 20, 2013
posted by WidgetAlley at 3:20 PM on September 20, 2013
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posted by computech_apolloniajames at 4:08 PM on September 20, 2013
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 4:08 PM on September 20, 2013
we decided that we should leave it hidden, since that was the way it was before and we don't have any way of knowing what he would have wanted to reveal
I was going to suggest something similar earlier, but I didn't want to start a debate in the thread. I think you've handled it well.
posted by Rock Steady at 4:46 PM on September 20, 2013 [2 favorites]
I was going to suggest something similar earlier, but I didn't want to start a debate in the thread. I think you've handled it well.
posted by Rock Steady at 4:46 PM on September 20, 2013 [2 favorites]
The service was beautiful. I still have graveyard dirt under my fingernails. Chicago mefis are the best and wrfgms was my friend. Dammit. He was my friend.
posted by crush-onastick at 4:55 PM on September 20, 2013 [13 favorites]
posted by crush-onastick at 4:55 PM on September 20, 2013 [13 favorites]
Aw hell, Iridic, I think that's my mail he quotes in that thread. Shit. kaz's pics are visible to me any more; are they the ones with wrfgms' calves? I went looking for those pictures last weekend and could not find them.
posted by crush-onastick at 5:02 PM on September 20, 2013
posted by crush-onastick at 5:02 PM on September 20, 2013
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posted by trip and a half at 5:22 PM on September 20, 2013
posted by trip and a half at 5:22 PM on September 20, 2013
I read his about page yesterday when it was temporarily available. Knowing its contents, I feel that re-hiding it was the wrong call. YMMV
posted by humanfont at 5:50 PM on September 20, 2013 [7 favorites]
posted by humanfont at 5:50 PM on September 20, 2013 [7 favorites]
I remember the pics from that meetup because I studied them in hopes that I'd see kindred spirits (I did and you Chicago mefites are indeed awesome). This is all so sad.
wrfgms reminded me very much of a dear friend who is a contrarian. Contrarians are difficult. But hey, people are what they are and that's why we love them. Deepest condolences to those that loved William.
posted by readery at 6:01 PM on September 20, 2013 [1 favorite]
wrfgms reminded me very much of a dear friend who is a contrarian. Contrarians are difficult. But hey, people are what they are and that's why we love them. Deepest condolences to those that loved William.
posted by readery at 6:01 PM on September 20, 2013 [1 favorite]
It's the first time this particular use case has come up, but this seemed like the most respectful way to handle it.
But it's respectful to refer to a member as a "use case" ? Let's not kid on here - you wanted to tidy up, so you did.
posted by sgt.serenity at 6:10 PM on September 20, 2013 [6 favorites]
Not true. We would have left his user page alone but a few other people brought it to our attention and it seemed to be the most consistent with how we deal with member's user pages otherwise. People who want to discuss this further are welcome to contact us over email.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 6:14 PM on September 20, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 6:14 PM on September 20, 2013 [1 favorite]
Sad news- I like people who are passionate about their bikes and their cities. Had been idly wondering why I hadn't seen him around here in a while and was shocked to find it had been four years.
posted by oneirodynia at 6:40 PM on September 20, 2013
posted by oneirodynia at 6:40 PM on September 20, 2013
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I never knew the man personally, or interacted with him significantly. But his opinions generally had a freakin' point, whether I liked it or not, and his willingness to criticize the Proprietor's and paid help's view of how best to run this site, was ever thought provoking, if rarely acknowledged. While I think he was wrong, in the main, about Texas, I understand how he got there, and his passing is a loss that I feel, and his memory, as will be continuing in evidence in his postings and comments, is one I will gladly revisit, from time to time, as hyperlinks remain effective.
posted by paulsc at 7:20 PM on September 20, 2013
I never knew the man personally, or interacted with him significantly. But his opinions generally had a freakin' point, whether I liked it or not, and his willingness to criticize the Proprietor's and paid help's view of how best to run this site, was ever thought provoking, if rarely acknowledged. While I think he was wrong, in the main, about Texas, I understand how he got there, and his passing is a loss that I feel, and his memory, as will be continuing in evidence in his postings and comments, is one I will gladly revisit, from time to time, as hyperlinks remain effective.
posted by paulsc at 7:20 PM on September 20, 2013
My condolences to his family, SO and those who considered him a friend.
posted by brujita at 8:32 PM on September 20, 2013
posted by brujita at 8:32 PM on September 20, 2013
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posted by mediareport at 8:35 PM on September 20, 2013
posted by mediareport at 8:35 PM on September 20, 2013
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posted by R. Schlock at 10:06 PM on September 20, 2013
posted by R. Schlock at 10:06 PM on September 20, 2013
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posted by oceanjesse at 10:11 PM on September 20, 2013
posted by oceanjesse at 10:11 PM on September 20, 2013
Sad to read this and condolences to his family and friends.
The banning / userinfo wipe / death / userinfo resurrection / userinfo wipe is odd. My hunch is that if you had asked the fellow on Monday if he would want the page wiped he would say yes and then you could ask him on Tuesday and he would say no. Perhaps the NSA metafilter contingent had a great time spying on the site management as they discussed the pros and the cons. I am relieved I did not have to make that call.
posted by bukvich at 8:36 AM on September 21, 2013
The banning / userinfo wipe / death / userinfo resurrection / userinfo wipe is odd. My hunch is that if you had asked the fellow on Monday if he would want the page wiped he would say yes and then you could ask him on Tuesday and he would say no. Perhaps the NSA metafilter contingent had a great time spying on the site management as they discussed the pros and the cons. I am relieved I did not have to make that call.
posted by bukvich at 8:36 AM on September 21, 2013
It's odd but it's more consistent with how we handle banned accounts than what the system actually did, on the account of us never having had to test this situation before. The current setup with keeping a banned user's profile open-text blank is what it should have been doing in the first place, for banned users in general, since that's what we do with banned userpages.
And it's uncomfortable territory to dig into in earnest in here so we'd really rather not, but even beyond that general case if what you got banned for in part was getting super shitty on your profile page as an escalation of previous crappy on-site behavior, it makes no sense that specifically and only passing away would somehow grant retroactive carte blanche for that kind of thing. If you had asked him if he wanted to have been banned from Metafilter years ago he'd have probably had said no, too; that for me doesn't really come into it.
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:50 AM on September 21, 2013
And it's uncomfortable territory to dig into in earnest in here so we'd really rather not, but even beyond that general case if what you got banned for in part was getting super shitty on your profile page as an escalation of previous crappy on-site behavior, it makes no sense that specifically and only passing away would somehow grant retroactive carte blanche for that kind of thing. If you had asked him if he wanted to have been banned from Metafilter years ago he'd have probably had said no, too; that for me doesn't really come into it.
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:50 AM on September 21, 2013
When I die I don't give a shit what metafilter does with my profile page. Just putting that out there.
posted by cjorgensen at 4:55 PM on September 21, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by cjorgensen at 4:55 PM on September 21, 2013 [3 favorites]
When I die I'd like my profile page to be wrapped in blink and marquee tag please.
posted by Meatbomb at 9:18 PM on September 21, 2013 [23 favorites]
posted by Meatbomb at 9:18 PM on September 21, 2013 [23 favorites]
.
I like contrarians. I like people who are honest though not smooth. I liked him and his online presence. I hope his his last moments were lived fiercely.
posted by jadepearl at 8:42 AM on September 22, 2013
I like contrarians. I like people who are honest though not smooth. I liked him and his online presence. I hope his his last moments were lived fiercely.
posted by jadepearl at 8:42 AM on September 22, 2013
it makes no sense that specifically and only passing away would somehow grant retroactive carte blanche
Yeah, the reappearance of a banned user's profile page content after that user dies is so clearly a quirky site design error that it's completely absurd for sgt. serenity to suggest otherwise.
posted by mediareport at 10:10 AM on September 22, 2013
Yeah, the reappearance of a banned user's profile page content after that user dies is so clearly a quirky site design error that it's completely absurd for sgt. serenity to suggest otherwise.
posted by mediareport at 10:10 AM on September 22, 2013
Hi all. I've known Will for, god, 15 years? He was one of those guys that was so lovable in person, but so abrasive online. I never quite understood it. But he was a real sweet guy in person. His bartender cried when he heard the news. True story. Loved that guy. I'll miss him. Way, way too young.
I had dinner with Val and a bunch of Will's old friends last night to swap old Will stories and catch up. Just wanted folks here to know that Val seems to be doing okay, as well as she could anyhow. If you're a friend in real life, just keep being a friend.
Also, I have no idea how to pronounce "wfrgms", but I do know that the "gms" stands for "Give Me Slack".
posted by NiceKitty at 9:12 PM on September 22, 2013 [17 favorites]
I had dinner with Val and a bunch of Will's old friends last night to swap old Will stories and catch up. Just wanted folks here to know that Val seems to be doing okay, as well as she could anyhow. If you're a friend in real life, just keep being a friend.
Also, I have no idea how to pronounce "wfrgms", but I do know that the "gms" stands for "Give Me Slack".
posted by NiceKitty at 9:12 PM on September 22, 2013 [17 favorites]
are they the ones with wrfgms' calves? I went looking for those pictures last weekend and could not find them.
Will's Calves
posted by unliteral at 9:52 PM on September 22, 2013 [2 favorites]
Will's Calves
posted by unliteral at 9:52 PM on September 22, 2013 [2 favorites]
.
posted by Nanukthedog at 6:25 AM on September 23, 2013
posted by Nanukthedog at 6:25 AM on September 23, 2013
Wow, reading the thread of the First Official Chicago Billy Goat Meetup is such a time warp. That was when I, too, met wfrgms and thought he was perfectly swell - anyone who loves Chicago and bikes as much as he does is A-OK in my book. I was sad he stopped attending meetups when he was banned; considering how many Chicago Mefites are now among my closest friends, I wonder if I would have counted him in that number had he continued drinking tiny beers with us once a month.
And I am sad now that we don't even have the chance to see him again.
.
posted by misskaz at 6:23 PM on September 23, 2013 [1 favorite]
And I am sad now that we don't even have the chance to see him again.
.
posted by misskaz at 6:23 PM on September 23, 2013 [1 favorite]
I think that deceased former members who were banned for non-spam reasons should be re-instated. First because the members of project mayhem receive their names back at death per fight club rules. Second because the afterlife can be a confusing place and they may have a need to post an AskMe.
posted by humanfont at 9:28 AM on September 24, 2013 [4 favorites]
posted by humanfont at 9:28 AM on September 24, 2013 [4 favorites]
Wow. I have been away for a few days, and even though I don't post anymore I am still around, and just catching up a bit I see...this. He was still coming to meetups when I first started, and he was an extremely congenial person. I was very surprised to learn of his rep on the site itself. Makes me wonder how many people I can't stand on here would strike me as great folks in the real world. It sucked when he stopped coming around, though I got why he would feel a bit weird about it. This is terrible news.
posted by adamdschneider at 12:59 PM on September 24, 2013
posted by adamdschneider at 12:59 PM on September 24, 2013
Makes me wonder how many people I can't stand on here would strike me as great folks in the real world.
My experience, for what it's worth, is that almost every MeFite I've met (N > 800) are really terrific people in some way or another and very few people who are annoying on the site are similarly annoying in real life.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 1:19 PM on September 24, 2013 [2 favorites]
My experience, for what it's worth, is that almost every MeFite I've met (N > 800) are really terrific people in some way or another and very few people who are annoying on the site are similarly annoying in real life.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 1:19 PM on September 24, 2013 [2 favorites]
I think that's probably true of most people online, period. Socials cues and graces are so different online.
posted by chunking express at 5:12 AM on September 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by chunking express at 5:12 AM on September 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
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posted by grouse at 8:40 PM on September 19, 2013