#JulyByWomen slightly passes goal

July 30, 2014 11:43 PM

The original JulyByWomen project aimed for an ambitious 90 extra posts this month. As August approaches, the tag #JulyByWomen has hit 397. The original thread is archived, so here's a place to celebrate, analyse and discuss plans to first take over Metafilter, then the world! continue the fabulous diversity and discussions July brought.
posted by viggorlijah to MetaFilter-Related at 11:43 PM (160 comments total)

I want to thank everyone who took part in this project. I'll be crunching numbers and making little charts for August 1, but I just wanted to start this thread off by saying thanks to the mods, the women who posted prolifically, for the very first time, and with enthusiasm, for the people who contributed through comments, ideas and discussion, the mods for their help, and the metafilter community in general for being awesome.

This was a really bad month for my family personally, and watching the project take off and become so amazing was a bright spot each day. Thank you so much!
posted by viggorlijah at 11:55 PM on July 30, 2014 [40 favorites]

Well, that turned out to be an unmitigated success.

Looking forward to seeing the crunched numbers, and very happy that my worries about running out of steam due to going all out at the start were totally unfounded.
posted by Bugbread at 12:09 AM on July 31, 2014 [2 favorites]

Huge thank you for suggesting this project, it pushed me past my comfort zone, and now I'm addicted to posting!
posted by ellieBOA at 12:21 AM on July 31, 2014 [8 favorites]

The project is obviously a great big fat success and I hope you are proud! I also hope your family situation improves very soon.
posted by Too-Ticky at 12:38 AM on July 31, 2014

I just posted my first real FPP. I don't know if it'll stay but after procrastinating all month I finally did it.
posted by gingerest at 1:34 AM on July 31, 2014 [21 favorites]

I thought it looked super useful, gingerest!
posted by NoraReed at 1:50 AM on July 31, 2014 [1 favorite]

This months has been so interesting! Thank you everyone who posted. Don't stop!
posted by Kerasia at 1:55 AM on July 31, 2014 [2 favorites]

Great job, everyone!
posted by FAMOUS MONSTER at 2:04 AM on July 31, 2014 [1 favorite]

I was trying to remember what you call those roll up party tooters so I could *toot* one in celebration, and I found the best wikipedia page. Fandoozles for everyone!
posted by rollick at 2:11 AM on July 31, 2014 [6 favorites]

I keep a packet of those in my desk drawer in case of emergency celebration.
posted by gingerest at 2:30 AM on July 31, 2014 [12 favorites]

I enjoyed the rich quality and quantity of the #JulyByWomen FPPs. Hurrah!
posted by GenjiandProust at 2:32 AM on July 31, 2014 [5 favorites]

So much to catch up on! Thanks again viggorlijah and everyone who posted for setting this up and for the wonderful posts.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane (staff) at 2:49 AM on July 31, 2014 [2 favorites]

I didn't post but I thought it was a standout month. Thanks to all who did.
posted by superfish at 2:56 AM on July 31, 2014 [3 favorites]

Without this effort, I think I would have maybe posted 1 of the 11 FPPs I made this month. I certainly wouldn't have started a list on my desktop with possible FPPs/topics to keep an eye on, and I probably wouldn't have become conscious about how I have a tendency to overwork my posts as if I could achieve masterpiece status.

So it's been a really interesting project for me, personally.
posted by julen at 3:07 AM on July 31, 2014 [10 favorites]

Nicely done.
posted by FishBike at 5:18 AM on July 31, 2014

I LOVED this and had every intention of participating and then the month got away from me. I would see a post on the blue, say to myself, "Hmmm...this is *different* from what I usually see here. Is this a JulybyWomen post?" and 9 times out of 10 it was.

Thank you to all who posted!
posted by kimberussell at 5:42 AM on July 31, 2014 [36 favorites]

I feel bad - I couldn't figure out what to post, the whole month. I enjoyed the great surge in interesting pots though!
posted by agregoli at 5:54 AM on July 31, 2014

It's still July, you have one more day.
posted by smackfu at 6:00 AM on July 31, 2014 [9 favorites]

This was a good thing that spawned good things and you should feel good.
posted by psoas at 6:00 AM on July 31, 2014 [27 favorites]

It was a fun month, knowing there was going to be something for this on the front page every day. Don't stop just cause the month is over. :P
posted by Drinky Die at 6:09 AM on July 31, 2014 [1 favorite]

Metafilter has always been eclectic, but this month seemed to fill in gaps on some topics in really satisfying ways. Good work, team!
posted by ChuraChura at 6:10 AM on July 31, 2014 [5 favorites]

What julen said. I had a post I was kicking around for a while, planning to post it when I got my act together. But while I was putting it together, I found another, and another. I think I ended up posting 5 FPPs this month in all (I usually do that many in a couple years) because I decided that maybe my thinking something was interesting was enough to warrant an FPP, instead of running it through my usual "is this as good as the best posts I see here?" filter and then backing out.

I do worry that means that I lowered the bar for the site, so I'm not sure if this will turn me into a more prolific poster or not. But I'm glad for having the exposure and the experience that the tag gave. Well done, viggorlijah and everyone.
posted by Mchelly at 6:11 AM on July 31, 2014 [7 favorites]

I think I said this in the original thread partway through the month, but this month has had far more interesting FPPs, covering a much wider array of topics, than what I would normally expect, and I have loved it. And that's the impact of just one small and informal experiment, with no resources or structural support other than one or two MeTa threads and the sidebar notice.

It would be great if Matt chose to formalize and support this commitment to all of the voices in the community over the long term, with the same thoughtful approach that has gone into moderation here more generally. I think it has long been assumed that things were egalitarian and open, but first with Vigorlijah's original analysis of the numbers that showed how skewed things were, and then this experiment which showed how much improvement even a relatively small shift in that balance made, I'd like to see the improvement in the front page continue.

Congratulations everyone!
posted by Dip Flash at 6:14 AM on July 31, 2014 [13 favorites]

This was a triumph.
I'm making a note here, 'huge success.'
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome at 6:26 AM on July 31, 2014 [21 favorites]

Thanks, viggorlijah; fun project! I'm looking forward to seeing the stats.
posted by MonkeyToes at 6:29 AM on July 31, 2014

This was so much fun! Thank you, viggorlijah and everyone!
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 6:30 AM on July 31, 2014 [1 favorite]

...because I decided that maybe my thinking something was interesting was enough to warrant an FPP, instead of running it through my usual "is this as good as the best posts I see here?" filter and then backing out.

I do worry that means that I lowered the bar for the site

If the posts you've made this month are an example of you lowering your personal bar, I'm almost afraid to ask where it was originally set. You made six excellent posts, in a month that was literally filled to the brim with utterly fantastic, fascinating ones.

--

This will probably sound ridiculously self-serving, but I've often thought it would be cool if the December best post contest could run year-round, somehow. December is one of my favorite months to be on Metafilter, because the contest sparks So Many brilliant posts. And I've been thinking lately of offering a monthly token reward (like a $10 Amazon gift card) for the mod-chosen best post of the month (which I would be ineligible for, of course.) They pretty much already do something like that for the podcast, and it would be of my own volition so it shouldn't add any stress to the mod team.

But on the other hand, if I have $10 to spare per month, maybe I should just increase my donation to MeFi? #FirstWorldProblems :)

As an "outsider" looking in, I'm so proud of everyone who made this month such an amazing success. Posts of all lengths and complexity, covering a huge variety of topics. So much reading material, and so many things to learn about. Thank you, everyone!
posted by zarq at 6:35 AM on July 31, 2014 [9 favorites]

So, a few things:

1) I forgot that this was a thing so I just went back and tagged the two posts I made this month.

2) I have subconsciously noticed more women-focused posts.

3) I think this is probably why a few days ago I decided that I should make more of an effort to read things by women, and have decided that for at least the next 6 months I'm only going to read books/stories from female authors.

4) If you have any can't-miss fictional, modern, scienceishy recommendations let me know! I am aware of this and this and this and this.

5) This is just one more of the myriad ways in which metafilter has encouraged me to be a better, more well-rounded person. Thanks, people, you rock.
posted by phunniemee at 6:38 AM on July 31, 2014 [15 favorites]

I haven't been super active around these parts lately, but I thought I'd throw in my 2 cents here. I was a little skeptical at the beginning of the month when viggorlijah proposed the #JulyByWomen project that it would have a meaningful impact on the front page, or if it did, that it would be limited to raising awareness of and encouraging discussion about gender issues.¹ However, I have been pleasantly surprised by the number and variety of posts the project encouraged, which no doubt reflects the diversity of the women posting them.² Maybe it's confirmation bias, but several times this month I've read really great posts which not only brought new and interesting subjects to my attention but also seemed to have fresh views on what sorts of forms posts should take. A brief perusal of the #julybywomen tag shows just how diverse these posts are in subject matter and form. Fantastic!

In my working world, I have the opportunity to participate in and help organize diversity initiatives not only to generally raise awareness about these issues, but also to push our suppliers to be more diverse. I'm an intellectual property lawyer and my little group manages a fairly substantial docket of cases where we need to hire outside counsel. Unfortunately, intellectual property law is sort of notorious for its historical lack of diversity. Combine law and STEM careers, and it's not surprising that most big law firm intellectual property litigation practices are dominated by white dudes.³ We push our law firms to field teams that are meaningfully diverse, and fight against not just lack of diversity generally but also the tokenism that sometimes occurs when a big firm sticks a junior associate on a case just so they aren't quite so lily white and/or male.

Sometimes, when wrestling with law firms over what it really means to offer diverse teams, it can be easy to lose sight of why were are doing it, and let it devolve into a box-checking exercise. But the #julybywomen project has reminded me that encouraging diversity in terms of gender and many other dimensions isn't just the right thing to do to combat the historical exclusion of anyone other than white males from my field, but also that the diversity of perspective, viewpoint, and experience it necessarily brings meaningfully improves the quality of the work.

So, thank you not just for brightening my MetaFilter experience, but also for reminding me why we need to be cognizant of these issues in our broader worlds.

¹ These sorts of consciousness-raising exercises are, of course, laudable goals in themselves, but I think that also would have been a more limited result than the goal for which the project was aiming.
² Query whether this means I have some latent unexamined bias affecting how I think about what women must be interested in. Probably, and this project has helped me understand that.
³ The good news, as in many other areas of the law, is that the overwhelming dominance of white dudes appears to be changing. At least at the associate level, there is a lot more diversity along many dimensions. I hope that trend continues and as these associates advance in seniority we will see a meaningful change in the complexion of large law firms.
posted by monju_bosatsu at 7:01 AM on July 31, 2014 [34 favorites]

This project made MetaFilter feel so much more welcoming to me personally and women generally, although it's still a bit terrifying to release a post into the wild, and I really feel like it made the blue a more compelling place to read and explore. It's been so nice to see what we've been missing out on for so long! I'm ridiculously grateful to viggorlijah for proposing #JulyByWomen and for my fellow women MeFites for well and truly bringing the ruckus. Enthusiastic solidarity high-fives for each and every one of you.

I was, like, 1000% busier this month than I had expected to be, so I still have a drafts folder full to bursting with half-finished FPPs. I hope to have my most painstakingly curated post wrapped up by tonight so I can get one last FPP in under the wire. More to follow!
posted by divined by radio at 7:01 AM on July 31, 2014 [14 favorites]

What fun! Let's do it again next July, shall we?
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:20 AM on July 31, 2014 [13 favorites]

Greatest stretch of posts MetaFilter ever knew.
posted by jamjam at 7:44 AM on July 31, 2014 [2 favorites]

I've been thinking lately of offering a monthly token reward (like a $10 Amazon gift card) for the mod-chosen best post of the month

I might change this up a little and just choose a user who can choose their favorite post. Or rotate among the mods somehow. I've always loved the best post contests but when there were big prizes on the line it always felt like a lot of work (worth it, but a lot of work) and when we did MeFite's Choice there was still a lot of vote tallying and notification of winners and etc. I think in keeping with how #JbW worked out, it might be good to open this up to the users and find ways of doing user-recognized posts with small tokens of appreciation tied to it. I know I'd chip in.

This was a really bad month for my family personally, and watching the project take off and become so amazing was a bright spot each day.

I am sorry for whatever you've been dealing with. You approached this project and some of the pushback and concerns with grace and charm and it would not have been the same without you. Thank you so much for the idea and the steady supportive presence.
posted by jessamyn (retired) at 8:50 AM on July 31, 2014 [27 favorites]

Thanks to viggorlijah and everyone who contributed to the #JulyByWomen prject, I really enjoyed seeing and reading these posts. Another vote for making it an annual thing.
posted by arcticseal at 8:56 AM on July 31, 2014 [2 favorites]

ellieBOA: Huge thank you for suggesting this project, it pushed me past my comfort zone, and now I'm addicted to posting!

Join us Welcome to the club, here's our un-anonymous support group (or reminder to step away from the keyboard more often, and stop obsessively writing down all those good post ideas you get from conversations, books, TV, the radio, and when you're looking up at the clouds).
posted by filthy light thief at 8:58 AM on July 31, 2014 [3 favorites]

I have to say that I was super excited by the posts this month and I think #julybywomen was the reason. There were posts on topics that we rarely see on the front page, topics that really spoke to me and to my experience, sometimes just posts on topics that were tremendously interesting. 'More like this' is a fantastic idea and I support whatever form (annual thing in July, incentivized year-round thing) it might take.

I was on the road most of July so I didn't get anything posted. My latest idea is sitting in draft form waiting for me to check for double posts, but I think I'll work to get it up to be counted in this. Thanks for the push, viggorlijah!
posted by librarylis at 9:20 AM on July 31, 2014 [5 favorites]

Yeah, a lot of the #JulyByWomen FPPs have ended up being my favorite things on the site this month — they've been new and interesting and not-the-sort-of-thing-we-usually-get-around-here and so on.

I didn't post any FPPs myself, but the whole thing ended up making me a lot more engaged with the site in other ways, especially since I'm coming back from a couple months of hiatus and had broken the habit of checking MetaFilter at all.

So thumbs up and thanks for making this happen!
posted by nebulawindphone at 9:21 AM on July 31, 2014 [2 favorites]

Also, thank you viggorlijah for proposing this! I really enjoy seeing more members taking part in making posts, as it does create a more diverse site.

Mchelly: I do worry that means that I lowered the bar for the site

Hubba wha? You did nothing of the sort.

I think it would be interesting to survey MetaFilter users on what they think the site should be, and how attached they are to the notion of "best of the web," with filters for people who make posts and folks who don't. I would be interested to see what people think MetaFilter should be, because I only know how I feel about the site, though I can guess at some other folks ideas, based on their comments. Bonus: run the poll every year, to see if ideas change, and if people change their notions after they start making posts.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:24 AM on July 31, 2014 [2 favorites]

All y'all posters kicked ass and took names this month. Great work, and thanks once more to viggorlijah!

Let's keep it going in August and beyond!
posted by Celsius1414 at 9:32 AM on July 31, 2014 [1 favorite]

I have found myself reading a much higher percentage of FPPs this month and commenting more often than I usually do, so I want to thank everyone for their efforts!
posted by Squeak Attack at 9:34 AM on July 31, 2014 [1 favorite]

I'm telling myself that posting the FPP I've had percolating in my head in August isn't procrastinating, it's continuing on with the spirit of the project and carrying its benefits forward into the rest of the year! Or something. Anyway, I've definitely found myself participating and commenting more this month--I thought I'd just reached a certain level of comfort with the site but I'm sure this had something to do with it too. And I love this thread.
posted by sunset in snow country at 9:56 AM on July 31, 2014 [2 favorites]

I posted three times this month, which is to say almost half of the posts I've made to the blue came about because of this project. I notice the blue has been full of different and more interesting things. Definitely let's do it again next year.

FWIW, I'd also enjoy seeing other #monthby posting projects for other groups (though I'm probably not eligible to post in them) because of the different views this project has brought to the front page.
posted by immlass at 10:06 AM on July 31, 2014 [3 favorites]

Mad props to joseph conrad is fully awesome. Your posts made my July more awesome and informed. Cheers to everyone who participated.
posted by Lardmitten at 10:06 AM on July 31, 2014 [9 favorites]

immlass: FWIW, I'd also enjoy seeing other #monthby posting projects for other groups (though I'm probably not eligible to post in them) because of the different views this project has brought to the front page.

Me, too! I'd love seeing more from say... non-US posters, or folks who share different heritages, or share challenges, or even groups of folks who share an interest in a topic they'd like to see more of on Metafilter (anything from art to medicine/medical issues; 18th century agrarian business to literature; science to WWI; gardens and landscapes to robotics). I think whatever we can do to encourage different voices would be great.

I know the last idea (a topical focus) is a bit afield, but I think it might be a nice complementary way to get different voices involved.
posted by julen at 10:27 AM on July 31, 2014 [9 favorites]

Congratulations, viggorlijah, on the thoroughgoing success, and many thanks to all the JulyByWomen posters for enriching the the front page, and comments threads, of the Blue. It's been a great month for reading interesting and varied FPPs!
posted by Doktor Zed at 10:36 AM on July 31, 2014 [1 favorite]

As a long-time participant in this Online Experiment in Human Goodness that is MetaFilter, frequent poster of mostly-silly stuff, and easily identifiable White Male, I chose to take the month off from posting this month and just sat back and enjoyed the results of #JulyByWomen. And it was quite enjoyable, thankyouverymuch everybody! And congratulations to viggorlijah on one of the best ideas to pop up in MetaTalk since - well - ever (and my sympathies for whatever else has been not-so-good IRL this month).

If I may make a modest proposal, maybe we should have a "theme" every month, not necessarily as serious or meaningful as this (because I am all about the NOT serious or meaningful). Let me EMPHASIZE that I do not wish to denigrate the achievements of #JulyByWomen, just to extend it in less-serious ways.

If this is not subject to an overwhelmingly negative response (feel free to MeMail me with your negativity; I really don't want to derail this thread and its overwhelming positivity), I'll make a post here with some frivolous suggestions for August later today....
posted by oneswellfoop at 11:00 AM on July 31, 2014 [1 favorite]

I really enjoyed this month's posts, too! Thanks to everyone who posted.

Other ideas:
#AlternativeLifestyleAugust (you are free to determine alternative however you wish)
#smallcaseseptember (for those members who eschew capitalization)
#ObviousOctober (because we know that month's going to be full of Halloween stuff, right?)
#NewsfilterNovember
posted by misha at 11:04 AM on July 31, 2014

Omnomnom, I just wanted to thank you for this :)
posted by jenfullmoon at 12:49 PM on July 31, 2014 [2 favorites]

I notice the blue has been full of different and more interesting things.

Yes.

More so than getting more women to post here, or even getting more interesting posters posting interesting things, #JulyByWomen has given Mefi as a whole a much needed kick up the butt, as it was getting dull and somewhat lifeless in the few months before it.

But now we not only got more posts by women, more women posting regularly, the posts themselves have been more interesting, more diverse and more often best of the web.

So thank you viggorlijah for your work and inspiration and hopefully August will be a better month for you and your family.
posted by MartinWisse at 12:51 PM on July 31, 2014 [11 favorites]

#NewsfilterNovemberthankyou. I feel there's enough newsfilter as it is, and there is no need to support more of that.

Instead, I propose #NonWesternNovember, not only to emphasize posts from non-western members, but to promote posts on broader topics.

And if we're kicking the monthly theme idea around, I think 3-4 "themed" months is enough, because beyond that, I think it's pushing into "theme party" territory, but that's just my take on the ideas presented so far.
posted by filthy light thief at 1:02 PM on July 31, 2014 [4 favorites]

Thanks viggorlijah for this project and your inspiration, and thanks everyone else from the original thread who were so encouraging and helpful! I just joined the site in May and made my first FPP on June 29, so the timing was perfect for me. I also gained confidence from the tip that kept coming up to comment on other people's posts and while I might not have added much to many conversations, I've increased my Great post! Thanks! frequency and that can't be too bad.

It's been great to see all the wonderful content everyone has been sharing! I hope people keep contributing, too!

Best of wishes to you and your family, viggorlijah.
posted by danabanana at 1:27 PM on July 31, 2014 [1 favorite]

"So, thank you not just for brightening my MetaFilter experience, but also for reminding me why we need to be cognizant of these issues in our broader worlds."

Yeah, I remarked in the other thread that I think it's a great answer to everyone who maunders about "what we've lost" by shifting to a more active anti-sexism/boyzone moderating philosophy — this is what we gain. It's one of the best months in recent memory for MeFi, just chock full of great stuff that I wouldn't have seen otherwise. That's part of why I come to MeFi, and this was a fantastic example of it. I mean, I feel a little guilty thinking about this in terms of what I gain (you know, since it's not really about me), but I really did feel like I got to read a tremendous amount of stuff from places that I would have never stumbled on by myself even though I already have what I consider a pretty broad set of interests.

What fun! Let's do it again next July, shall we?"

Uh, why stop?
posted by klangklangston at 1:48 PM on July 31, 2014 [7 favorites]

#PostsByWomen ?
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 1:49 PM on July 31, 2014 [1 favorite]

Yeah, a lot of the #JulyByWomen FPPs have ended up being my favorite things on the site this month — they've been new and interesting and not-the-sort-of-thing-we-usually-get-around-here and so on.

Agreed. Every time I got on Metafilter this month there was just a whole lot of great stuff to read. Thanks, everyone.
posted by gerstle at 1:56 PM on July 31, 2014 [1 favorite]

Thanks to flex for a very tiny reminder yesterday that I was one of the never-posted-befores who said the project was encouraging to them - I just posted my first fpp.
posted by heyforfour at 2:12 PM on July 31, 2014 [12 favorites]

Me too!
posted by fundip at 2:18 PM on July 31, 2014 [9 favorites]

> why stop?

Exactly. I hope JulyByWomen fades seamlessly into PostsByWomen and MeFi just keeps on being as interesting and diverse as it has been this last month.

> You know, just because this was a fantastic success doesn't mean that it needs to be expanded to other things.

Amen!
posted by languagehat at 2:24 PM on July 31, 2014 [1 favorite]

I'm not sure I ever said it, because I was so busy thinking about how I would participate, but this was a good idea that had a really fantastic implementation because of the quality and dedication of the contributors - the women who posted weekly or daily, those who posted just once, and all those who simply read, commented, and generally made themselves heard. I despise self-congratulation but I think you've really earned a moment, women of MeFi. Well done, gang. And viggorlijah, thank you for your good idea and your excellent leadership in launching it.
posted by gingerest at 2:41 PM on July 31, 2014 [6 favorites]

Yes, I am already regretting my silly idea to expand the "theme months", although #AlternativeLifestyleAugust (determine alternative however you wish) is intriguing, especially if abbreviated (and expanded) into #AltAugust, but then I remember my long-ago days in The Radio, and two particular stations I worked at which helped define "Alt Rock" as a musical category - and thus pushed it into the mainstream. So maybe not.

And looking up some of the "Official Designations for August"...

Child Support Awareness Month (#AugustForKids?)
Immunization Awareness Month
Admit You're Happy Month (absolutely NO Pharrell-related content allowed)
Family Fun Month
Catfish Month
Eye Exam Month
Golf Month
Peach Month
Romance Awareness Month
Water Quality Month
Picnic Month
and Sump Pump Awareness Month

So maybe we should just drop it. Then again, just because August is considered 'the dog days of summer' we could do, #AugustByDogs (let me RE-EMPHASIZE that I do not wish to denigrate the achievements of #JulyByWomen, just having some fun with monthly designations).

I'll shut up now.
posted by oneswellfoop at 3:41 PM on July 31, 2014

Yes, please drop it.
posted by jaguar at 4:06 PM on July 31, 2014 [6 favorites]

I don't get it, why don't we have #AugustByWomen, #SeptemberByWomen, etc

it'll be great
posted by NoraReed at 4:07 PM on July 31, 2014 [2 favorites]

You know, in the Southern Hemisphere, that August is the end of winter, right?
posted by b33j at 4:08 PM on July 31, 2014

I just wanted to pop in and say thanks to all who participated; there were amazing posts from names I hadn't seen before, and the conversation felt fresher than usual. Plus this stuff is just way more civilized than my Facebook feed has been of late.

MeFi > FaBo, by, like, orders of magnitude.
posted by GrammarMoses at 4:25 PM on July 31, 2014 [1 favorite]

I really was planning on participating, but certain family events boggled my brain. I still have my original idea, just thinking on an approach that would seem interesting, and I came up with another today, but then I ate something bad and my stomach said, "NOPE! Not today!"

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who did participate and I appreciate your efforts.
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 5:16 PM on July 31, 2014

Instead, I propose #NonWesternNovember, not only to emphasize posts from non-western members, but to promote posts on broader topics.

I think this is a great idea. I'd love to have more posts by people with direct experience in non-western countries. ChuraChura's sidebarred comment from yesterday was fascinating.
posted by desjardins at 5:20 PM on July 31, 2014 [7 favorites]

Then again, just because August is considered 'the dog days of summer' we could do, #AugustByDogs (let me RE-EMPHASIZE that I do not wish to denigrate the achievements of #JulyByWomen, just having some fun with monthly designations)

Then pick another venue for your performance art. That was wildly inappropriate.
posted by jessamyn (retired) at 5:25 PM on July 31, 2014 [20 favorites]

Just posted my last FPP of the month. I've posted more this month than in quite a while, and it's been very enjoyable.
posted by ocherdraco at 5:30 PM on July 31, 2014 [1 favorite]

How many were first time posters, out of curiosity? That is the statistic I am most excited to hear.
posted by michaelh at 5:35 PM on July 31, 2014 [1 favorite]

"I don't get it, why don't we have #AugustByWomen, #SeptemberByWomen, etc

it'll be great"

Heh. It could just keep rolling with #JulyByWomen, it could go #AugustByWomen etc., or #PostsByWomen.

(#JulyByWomen has the advantage of continuing the continuity here, and making it the most used tag ever.)

I have other opinions, but since I won't be posting any of the content it's not really up to me. Curious what some of the posters who are interested in continuing on say though.
posted by klangklangston at 5:35 PM on July 31, 2014

I'm not against any of the other ideas mentioned, I just particularly like the idea of an annual event. Something fun to look forward to all year long, like the Quonsmas gift exchange, or the charity gift drive, or the annual November 18th $5 n00b celebration, or any of the other things that happen once a year (most of which seem to happen in the fall/winter, having something scheduled for summer might be a nice calendar balance).
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 6:06 PM on July 31, 2014 [3 favorites]

I'll be interested in the overlap that the data demonstrates. Looking at the tag I see a lot of familiar names and some new names too and, perhaps oddly about half of those who I had indentified as male turn out to have been female [Such as it is of course].

Going forward I like the idea of #firstpost, which would no doubt have some overlap and also because your first post is scary.
posted by vapidave at 6:12 PM on July 31, 2014 [1 favorite]

Maybe move away from the blue and do a drive in projects. There must be so many interesting things people aren't posting.
posted by michaelh at 6:23 PM on July 31, 2014 [1 favorite]

I'll be interested in the overlap that the data demonstrates.

Probably worth making sure this is an in-process thing on the mod side (via the contact form) since gnfti is the only mod who has commented in this thread and as wonderful as he is, he is usually not the number cruncher.
posted by jessamyn (retired) at 6:28 PM on July 31, 2014 [1 favorite]

I didn't even realise there was a special event going on until mid way through the month and then the tag was so self descriptive I didn't bother looking for an instigating meta, it just looked like some organically occurring thing. I did notice though that many of the posts I ended up reading were tagged that way so Yay for good stuff getting posted.

As an awareness tool we might be better off keeping JulyByWomen as a one month a year thing. Pretty well everyone that lurks for a while before posting knows that the first one is far and away the hardest and having this be an annual event would better encourage first posters rather than something that runs year round and ends up fading into the noise floor. And making it for a limited time motivates people (At least it works for Disney). I also worry that with a year round tag identifying posts by women might be seen by first time women posters as something they have to tag their posts with and not everyone is going to be comfortable identifying that aspect of themselves. The only downside is if women start thinking they can only post in July but I don't see that happening.

Mchelly: " I think I ended up posting 5 FPPs this month in all (I usually do that many in a couple years) because I decided that maybe my thinking something was interesting was enough to warrant an FPP, instead of running it through my usual "is this as good as the best posts I see here?" filter and then backing out.

I do worry that means that I lowered the bar for the site, so I'm not sure if this will turn me into a more prolific poster or not. "

The bolded reason is pretty well the only filter I use so I don't think that is moving the bar.

zarq: "'ve often thought it would be cool if the December best post contest could run year-round, somehow."

I see why users like the best post month but I kind of dread it. So many of the posts tend to the Magnum Opus end of the scale instead of the Cool/Fun/Interesting/Cats end of the scale. It gives the site a Serious Business vibe.
posted by Mitheral at 6:29 PM on July 31, 2014 [8 favorites]

Maybe move away from the blue and do a drive in projects. There must be so many interesting things people aren't posting.

I would be really excited about this.
posted by nebulawindphone at 6:51 PM on July 31, 2014

The only bad part about the past month is that there were so many good posts my 'favorited to return to later' list is super backlogged and I'm not sure I'll be able to get to everything I mean to. Seriously well done folks.
posted by Lutoslawski at 7:05 PM on July 31, 2014 [1 favorite]

Mmmm, I'd like to seriously emphasize the point that insofar as #julybywomen has encouraged anyone who would not normally post to post, that is really, really excellent. Metafilter is only as good as the diversity of the posts, and I hope people who have felt brave to post this month continue to do so.
posted by Lutoslawski at 7:11 PM on July 31, 2014

"I'll be interested in the overlap that the data demonstrates.

Probably worth making sure this is an in-process thing on the mod side (via the contact form) since gnfti is the only mod who has commented in this thread and as wonderful as he is, he is usually not the number cruncher.
posted by jessamyn (retired) at 8:28 PM on July 31 [+] [!] "

No hurry here and I'm not sure what "in-process thing on the mod side (via the contact form)" means. Can you elaborate?
posted by vapidave at 7:37 PM on July 31, 2014

Just saying that if people want data that's easily collected/crunched by mods, they should email them via the Contact Form and not just presume they're reading along in these threads because in many cases I don't think they are.
posted by jessamyn (retired) at 7:49 PM on July 31, 2014 [1 favorite]

Jessamyn, I did it by scraping the website pages and cleaning up the data in Excel. I'm about 75% done. A large part of this is figuring out gender for people. Close to half of people who posted this month have their gender on their profile, and for the other half I'm following a quick public search policy - if they identify themselves as a particular gender on their first page of activity, or if they have a website attached to their profile that includes their gender, then I will add that gender. Otherwise, I'm putting them as U for unknown (differentiating this time from Q for queer-gender as a catchall.) I'm taking anyone trans as their gender by choice. I'm also putting U for people who say they do not want a gender identified, vs Q.
posted by viggorlijah at 8:02 PM on July 31, 2014 [1 favorite]

I definitely feel like I encountered a much greater variety of posts this month, which was great! Y'all rock. My only regret is that I didn't get it together to do my first FPP.

If there was interest, I think it could be cool to do a month for non-USians, or people of color, or queer folks, or such.
posted by evidenceofabsence at 8:06 PM on July 31, 2014

Oh. "I'll be interested in the overlap that the data demonstrates" coming from me means hiya Cortex or Fishbike or any of the other data mavens here, could you maybe do this? Though I thought the infodump was quite public [which is a great thing] and didn't require mod contact.

On preview more international would be cool too. There is a big deal coming up in Scotland in a couple of months. And first posts no matter the subject, as I said above, are a good thing always.
posted by vapidave at 8:22 PM on July 31, 2014

I think what Jessamyn is saying is that there's no reason to think that any of the people who are data mavens are watching this thread, so you might need to use the contact form or MeMail to raise your Batsignal.
posted by gingerest at 8:28 PM on July 31, 2014 [1 favorite]

The infodump doesn't include gender information, and it's not updated to the most recent posts unfortunately. Very useful for lots of other info!

I will put the raw data up on the page where I put the results so other people can play with the data too - it's two giant tables, cross-referencing posters and posts. I'm not entirely sure about posting userids and gender for some reason, it feels sort of private? so I might put the userids as numbers and put the key (userid to number) separate on request. I am probably beanplating that.
posted by viggorlijah at 8:36 PM on July 31, 2014 [1 favorite]

It gives the site a Serious Business vibe.

*nod* Perhaps lower stakes and a single award would make it more fun and provide a bit of variety.

Jessamyn, thank you for your input/suggestions. Will think about what I want to do (if anything) and then speak with the mods about what would be plausible and (ideally) make it trouble free for them.
posted by zarq at 8:36 PM on July 31, 2014

And one definite point: there was a sizeable small group of women who posted without the tag, either by choice or because they didn't know about the project.

I'm also categorising posts by topic, being very broad in assigning topics, multiple per post. So far what I have are:

feminist
social justice
obituaries (a perennial at mefi)
fine art
music
pop culture
news
women's magazine (what could appear in a Vogue/TheHairpin - lots of overlap here)
tech
sports
posts featuring a notable woman
posts featuring a notable man
parenting
politics

Any suggestions?
posted by viggorlijah at 8:41 PM on July 31, 2014

If I may make a modest proposal, maybe we should have a "theme" every month, not necessarily as serious or meaningful as this (because I am all about the NOT serious or meaningful)

One of the things that made this effort special is it was aimed at encouraging members of our community whose participation has been consistently underrepresented on the front page.

I am sure your heart is in the right place, but I wouldn't want to cheapen their efforts and the spectacular success of this project by taking something that was empowering and positive and turning it into a monthly "raise awareness" gimmick.
posted by zarq at 8:41 PM on July 31, 2014 [3 favorites]

viggorlijah, gender/sexuality. There were some good posts on transgender/gay topics.
posted by zarq at 8:42 PM on July 31, 2014 [2 favorites]

This was the best 31 days on the site.
posted by shakespeherian at 8:49 PM on July 31, 2014 [6 favorites]

Chiming in to say thank you to viggorlijah for initiating this and steering it so gracefully, and to everyone who participated and supported....it really was a notable burst of energy and interesting-ness and general radness. I didn't manage to read nearly enough of the #julybywomen posts, and so many looked so interesting! I am going to be browsing through that tag for a long time to come to catch up on all the diverse and interesting posts.
posted by aka burlap at 9:14 PM on July 31, 2014 [2 favorites]

I feel like - though I think it's coming from a really well-intentioned place - having #PostsByWomen is a whole different, less positive notion than #JulyByWomen. Having a one-time, optional group effort tag and set of goals is great, but specifying women's contributions as a special effort indefinitely frames women as different from the expected MeFi poster, which is counterproductive from the perspective of increasing diversity and amplifying female voices.
As well, I think part of what made the tag/GetOutthePost effort successful this time was that it was grassroots - women had expressed frustration about feeling unheard, a woman stepped up to lead an effort, women took part. I don't think proposing groups of which you're not a member but that you'd like to hear more from - again, with the best of intentions - is at all the same thing or likely to produce the desired effect.
posted by gingerest at 9:19 PM on July 31, 2014 [32 favorites]

I think that gingerest is spot on. I have enjoyed participating this month, but I don't want to be pigeonholed.
posted by ocherdraco at 9:23 PM on July 31, 2014 [1 favorite]

Any suggestions?

Food! (Ahem. Several of the posts I did were about food.) And I think it's a wide-enough topic to be worth calling out explicitly.
posted by Lexica at 9:48 PM on July 31, 2014 [1 favorite]

Point well taken, gingerest.

Is the glassboard going to remain a thing?
posted by evidenceofabsence at 10:17 PM on July 31, 2014

Any suggestions?

You might take a look at the list of related tags on the julybywomen tag page. For example, I notice history was a frequently used related tag but isn't on your list.
posted by pb (staff) at 10:24 PM on July 31, 2014 [1 favorite]

So just finished reading the announcement thread. I hadn't realised that the TTL on the front page had been reduced to less than a day at some points. That's awesome. If this momentum holds we're going to need pb to increase the number of front page posts to prevent stuff scrolling to page two too quickly.
posted by Mitheral at 10:36 PM on July 31, 2014

I posted because of this (but didn't tag sorry ... Missed that part of the plan) so I want to say thanks for the encouragement.
posted by chapps at 10:55 PM on July 31, 2014

It's possible to go back and add tags to your old posts--just click on "Add tag" underneath the list of current tags.

And for anyone else who missed the project announcement or forgot to tag a post or wasn't sure whether their posts merited the julybywomen tag--it's not too late to help us reach the "stretch goal" of 448 posts tagged #julybywomen, which would put it on the list of most popular tags of all time!
posted by drlith at 12:47 AM on August 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

The glassboard is fine to stay open and be used as much as people want. I will ask whoever it is who maintains the wiki (Pronoiac still?) if we can add a link to the glassboard with details. Might be nice to put a little recap of #JulyByWomen up there with some links.

I will add to my list:
GLBT issues
gender/sexuality issues (including trans, crossing over with GLBT)
food
photography
video
non-US
history
fashion (not the same as Women's Magazine, overlapping)
humor
race

I'm also going to add the deleted mefi posts that month to see if there's a noticeable difference.
posted by viggorlijah at 1:47 AM on August 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

It's not perfect, as the current infodump is missing the last 5 days of July, and it of course doesn't catch posts that were intended to be within #julybywomen, but didn't use the tag, but I did a basic search for the overlap between new posters and #julybywomen.

In July 2014, 53 people made Metafilter posts who had never posted to the Blue before, a high for the past year and the second highest number of new posters in 2013/2014. Together, these 53 people made 70 Metafilter posts.

Of those 53, 21 made at least one post using the #julybywomen tag.

As showing my work would be lengthy and not informative to anyone who doesn't want to see SQL queries, I saved it elsewhere if anyone wants to see how I got these numbers.

Once a more recent infodump is available, I can re-import the data, to get a tally including all of July.
posted by frimble at 1:57 AM on August 1, 2014 [3 favorites]

Sorry I missed this, but glad it was a success.
posted by Eideteker at 3:21 AM on August 1, 2014

Great initiative, a lot of good posts. Thanks.
posted by dmh at 4:26 AM on August 1, 2014

I loved Julybywomen. But we don't need theme months very often. Kudos to the never-posted-befores who took the plunge, and all the posters.
posted by theora55 at 5:31 AM on August 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

This was so great, I enjoyed a ton of the posts. Thanks everyone for contributing!
posted by DynamiteToast at 6:12 AM on August 1, 2014

Kudos to everyone who posted using this tag. It inspired me more than I thought it would and I've got at least two more posts that I'm working on which I'd hoped to get up before the end of July but alas, time got the better of me (and life and brain malfunction etc). They'll get posted eventually, I'm sure.

Thanks, viggorlijah, for instigating this and giving me good reason to actually try and put something together that's worthwhile.
posted by h00py at 6:15 AM on August 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

Shout out to my sweetie Lexica for going 30 for 31 on this project. Well done, babe.

And props to everyone who participated. Great stuff.
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 6:58 AM on August 1, 2014 [4 favorites]

Thank you so much for thinking of this idea, viggorlijah. When I first saw that Meta thread I was excited to participate but I also thought "Well, I have nothing interesting to say." And yet I still ended up making 5 FPPs which were all fairly well-received. So the next time I come across an interesting thing on the interwebs I will not hesitate to make an FPP about it.
posted by Librarypt at 7:05 AM on August 1, 2014 [6 favorites]

I am sorry that I did not have a chance to participate. Life just got in the way. But I am glad it was so successful and so filled with amazing, different posts.
posted by jeather at 7:32 AM on August 1, 2014

1) I like pb's suggestion of using the tags as guidance, rather than creating your own categories. For instance, I really disliked the "women's magazines" category suggested above.

USE THE TAGS! they're there for a reason. (sorry for the shouting - I don't want someone else characterizing my post as something other than how I've presented it. and why reinvent the wheel?)

2) Also: "And making it for a limited time motivates people"

Yes, a thousand times yes.

3) Next July, please give a week or two's worth of a "heads-up", so people can start planning (well so I can start planning). Also - I started posting at a late time on July 1, not knowing about the project, so I got locked into a late time of day for posting FPPs, and it just got later and later. :P If I had known, I would've started at 9AM or something, giving me enough time to moving later and later (since I wanted to post every day).

Many thanks for this initiative, viggorlijah ! Others have expressed much better their appreciation - even-handedness, humor, great communication, other great qualities you brought to this project. Patience, I guess. Tired! Signing off now.
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome at 8:06 AM on August 1, 2014 [3 favorites]

(Please don't put my handbag post in "women's magazine" category.)
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome at 8:09 AM on August 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

The "Related Tags" on #julybywomen are a delight (top 25 below):

Related tags:
women + (29)
art + (26)
feminism + (22)
music + (21)
gender + (15)
photography + (14)
video + (13)
sexism + (12)
youtube + (11)
food + (11)
fashion + (11)
history + (10)
science + (10)
tumblr + (10)
humor + (9)
transgender + (9)
race + (9)
comedy + (9)
trans + (8)
film + (8)
literature + (8)
TV + (8)
books + (8)
language + (8)
popculture + (7)

Of course, many of those are also popular year-round, but it'd be interesting to see which tags were used much more by JBW participants than by the general population (of the ones I've excerpted, "gender", "sexism", "tumblr", "transgender", "trans", and "popculture" are those that do not appear in the 150 most-used tags master list.)
posted by kagredon at 8:12 AM on August 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

The purpose of the women's magazine category is to counter the perception that women's posting falls into either feminist or fluff. I'd like to find a better way to phrase it, but there's definitely a strong overlap of socially designated women's light issues.

Interestingly, the top two posts for comments in July? By women who didn't use the tag for World Cup and MH17.
posted by viggorlijah at 8:14 AM on August 1, 2014

Interestingly, the top two posts for comments in July? By women who didn't use the tag for World Cup and MH17.

Not that surprising. Both were sort of the broad-interest, lots of breaking-updates situations that lend themselves to megathreads.

Also, I feel a little :/ about discussing threads by female posters who didn't use the tag in analysis about the tag.
posted by kagredon at 8:32 AM on August 1, 2014 [2 favorites]

There are a lot of people out there who probably don't follow Metatalk. Best to ask the posters in question how they feel about being referenced before :/ing on their behalf, don't you think?
posted by h00py at 9:10 AM on August 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

Thanks so much for suggesting this viggorlijah. I'm glad I was able to make a couple of small contributions. Life is really busy so I'm looking forward to having some time to work through all the julybywomen posts - there were just too many interesting things to read every day! High fives all round.
posted by billiebee at 9:14 AM on August 1, 2014

Thanks for this project! I joined the site in 2006, and because of this project, I felt inspired to make my first front page post in 2014. 8 years may not be the longest Time To First Post, but it might be up there. I think metafiter was a different place when I joined- I remember feeling very strongly about not wanting to have a female-gendered username (although I briefly considered and rejected following a username based on a pattern that I'd noticed a few users doing at the time, "Ms. cortex"). It wasn't exactly a feminist thing, I just wanted to be neutral, just another user, and to not have what few comments I might make colored by preconceived notions. But hey, times have changed, and I decided I may as well fill out the gender field in my profile.

viggorlijah, as far as categories, could we have Science? People often talk about how there's a lack of women who work in science or the STEM fields, but I think metafilter actually has quite a few, and that's a neat thing.

To those suggesting women on metafilter should tag their posts (#postsbywomen), always, no matter what month: that's not helping.
posted by Secretariat at 9:39 AM on August 1, 2014 [2 favorites]

"The purpose of the women's magazine category is to counter the perception that women's posting falls into either feminist or fluff. I'd like to find a better way to phrase it, but there's definitely a strong overlap of socially designated women's light issues."

Dear God no. My brain is fried and I cannot argue well but GHETTO. GHETTO. GHETTO.

Do not use Women's magazine - this is the internet, first of all. Please don't use old media categories.

Also, there is an evaluative thing going on with "women's magazines" which is MOST definitely not going on if you just stick with the factual, clinical, non-judgementally Tags.

It sounds like you're committed to it? I thought we were discussing it, please don't use this.
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome at 9:44 AM on August 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

I noticed the JulyByWomen MeTa when it was first posted then kinda forgot about it. About halfway through the month I noticed that there were a lot more quality FPPs than usual. Then I noticed that there were a lot of usernames I wasn't used to seeing on the front page. Then I remembered JulyByWomen.

This has been a fantastic success and I hope that rather than a one-time experiment, this creates a new status-quo full of wonderful contributions we would otherwise have gone without.
posted by [expletive deleted] at 9:44 AM on August 1, 2014 [4 favorites]

Also, I meant to say: props to Lexica for publishing every day- whoo hoo!
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome at 9:45 AM on August 1, 2014 [6 favorites]

I really, REALLY enjoyed the FPPs by women this month. I think they added extraordinarily to the richness of the blue, and I'm bummed I wasn't able to be among your ranks.
posted by mynameisluka at 9:53 AM on August 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

I cannot argue well but GHETTO. GHETTO. GHETTO.

Am I supposed to understand what GHETTO means in this context?
posted by sweetkid at 9:54 AM on August 1, 2014

GHETTO means shuffled off into another category, a collection of others, in any context. Not the best way to go about things. The new normal is women posting interesting shit on the blue using whatever tags they want. Not so new, terribly normal. Let's get on it!
posted by h00py at 10:00 AM on August 1, 2014 [3 favorites]

Almost all the categories involve evaluation if not going only by tags, which is why I've left that until the end. My approach would be to generously assign categories in multiples to look for patterns - do the art+video posts by women get more comments than those by undefined? Do feminist+political posts by men get more comments than those by women, etc.

I think I'll leave the categories aside for the weekend because they take a lot of grunt work to assign. Just using the tags is a helpful start but not complete.

I am pretty certain that the 'fluffier' topics in July were evenly split between male and female posters. I am also pretty sure that most of the posts about a single person were about a woman this month, or near parity.

Sweetkid, the Ghetto is to the very common phrase in print media of "the pink ghetto" for women's magazines, from Vogue to Women's Weekly, for lifestyle journalism on beauty, fashion and relationships aimed at women readers.
posted by viggorlijah at 10:00 AM on August 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

gotcha, thanks.
posted by sweetkid at 10:01 AM on August 1, 2014

Looking forward to seeing those stats, Viggorlijah!
posted by rebent at 11:04 AM on August 1, 2014

There are a lot of people out there who probably don't follow Metatalk. Best to ask the posters in question how they feel about being referenced before :/ing on their behalf, don't you think?

There are also a handful of people who posted in the original Meta saying why they, personally, elected not to use the tag. I don't think it's out of line or paternalistic to suggest that we keep the spirit of JBW enthusiastically opt-in.
posted by kagredon at 11:14 AM on August 1, 2014 [6 favorites]

There are also a handful of people who posted in the original Meta saying why they, personally, elected not to use the tag. I don't think it's out of line or paternalistic to suggest that we keep the spirit of JBW enthusiastically opt-in.

This. I am a woman, I don't try to hide that in any way, I posted during July and I didn't use the tag.

I love the project. I love all the excellent posts that people were inspired to make because of it. But it wasn't instrumental to me deciding to post. So I didn't use the tag, and I don't think I'd like to have it retroactively applied to my post.
posted by dotgirl at 12:50 PM on August 1, 2014 [6 favorites]

Also excited to see stats! =)

I agree the initiative should be enthusiastically opt-in, without question.

It's my understanding that #JulyByWomen had as its goal not only to encourage more women members to post, but also to raise the visibility of women posting to the front page in general - to show women contributing in order to encourage more women to contribute, and to show that women's contributions were valuable (to prove that it's worthwhile for the community to actively reach out in order to be more inclusive).

I would've posted anyway, so the initiative neither inspired me to post nor was it instrumental in my deciding to post. But I felt if I tagged my posts then I was actively contributing to an environment that encouraged other women to post (who might not be as comfortable posting as I am). I also felt by tagging that I was including my posts in a pool which would show, in the aggregate, the value of a more inclusive front page.

Women are, of course, online - but not as visible as men. Women have good reasons not to be as visible, individually; but the result is that, unthinkingly, online spaces are too often coded "male" by default. You can't see what isn't visible, and initiatives that make us more visible help to reshape the environment, and how people approach it, interact with it, and move within it. I think that's important, and there is safety in numbers too, so as a group we can stand up; the less-visible are less likely to do it without the more-visible standing with them.
posted by flex at 1:49 PM on August 1, 2014 [18 favorites]

I'd just like to say what a good idea, well executed. Thanks, viggorlijah! (And Mefi, posters and mods)
posted by glasseyes at 3:02 PM on August 1, 2014

I loved the front page this month -- so many times I'd click on a fascinating link and start reading, then wonder, "Hmm, julybywomen?" And more than 9 times out of 10, it was so tagged. So thanks for the increase in awesomeness on the front page, even for those of us who didn't post ourselves.
The interesting thing to me was that the shift in the way I felt about the front page affected the way I felt about the entire site. For as long as I've been on Metafilter (like so many of us, I lurked for a long time before signing up) I've considered it my internet home. This past month, however, it's felt even more comfortable and home-like for me, and it's increased my level of involvement in the site even apart from posting or commenting. This has made Metafilter better all around, and I'm so glad you did it. Thanks to viggorlijah and to everyone who participated for contributing to the awesomeness!
posted by katemonster at 4:30 PM on August 1, 2014 [11 favorites]

This was certainly a huge success, beyond even optimistic expectations, and in my opinion it led to much more interesting content getting posted than typically happens during what I personally think of as the December of Everybody Trying Too Hard.

I hope the new and more frequent posters who emerged from this July stick around; if this momentum carries forward, the result is going to be a noticeable long-term improvement in the quality of the front page.
posted by strangely stunted trees at 6:15 PM on August 1, 2014 [5 favorites]

That's really cool. I totally forgot about the JulyByWomen thing, and I don't usually look at tags. But I did feel like this month's metafilter was a bit different, and I was really enjoying the diversity.
posted by lollusc at 7:53 PM on August 1, 2014

Thank you for posting all that great content during July, folks!
posted by Harald74 at 12:22 AM on August 2, 2014

What a glorious July!

Thank you for each and every outstanding post.
posted by Pudhoho at 4:17 AM on August 2, 2014

Thanks for doing this! I wish I'd thought of this when I made my MetaTalk post about looking at how Mefi deals with non-US/non-Western content a while ago.

I would totally be down for a NonWesternNovember or a GlobalSouthSeptember, if that's ok - I don't want to take away from JulyByWomen.
posted by divabat at 7:09 PM on August 2, 2014 [1 favorite]

Now that there is new infodump data, here are updated numbers through the end of July:

64 people made Metafilter posts who had never posted to the Blue before, a record for 2013/2014.

Together, these 64 people made 89 Metafilter posts.

Of those 64, 26 made at least one post using the #julybywomen tag.

Detailed tables also updated.
posted by frimble at 3:46 AM on August 3, 2014 [8 favorites]

Thanks for the stats, frimble.

to show women contributing in order to encourage more women to contribute

flex has it. I tagged my FPPs in the spirit of being the change I wish to see. More posters = more discovery and discussion.
posted by MonkeyToes at 7:05 AM on August 3, 2014 [3 favorites]

Not that it was or should be a competition, but my favorite JBW tagged post was this one by immlass that was basically a link to a straight up image dump of dresses designed by CF Worth. The perfect mefi post in my opinion, clean, simple, and no frills.


hehehe frills in a post about fashion
posted by Think_Long at 7:53 AM on August 3, 2014 [2 favorites]

Aww, thanks! I'm glad people enjoyed the post. It was one of the things I would normally never thought about posting, but the #julybywomen effort reminded me that I can and should post when I find interesting things on the web.
posted by immlass at 8:59 AM on August 3, 2014 [2 favorites]

I would totally be down for a NonWesternNovember or a GlobalSouthSeptember, if that's ok - I don't want to take away from JulyByWomen.

Any detailed discussions of future proposals probably belong in their own MeTa threads, but it's worth noting that part of what made JulyByWomen work so well was that it was data driven, deriving from a clear analysis of how posting numbers have remained consistently unreflective of community demographics, and hence having equally clear metrics for success (both the direct outcome of the month's posts, and the ability to watch long term trends and see if they change).
posted by Dip Flash at 10:38 AM on August 3, 2014

it's worth noting that part of what made JulyByWomen work so well was that it was data driven

I don't think that's true at all. It worked well because women encouraged each other to post more. The original thread strongly fought against the idea that data was the main goal, or that we had to meet some sort of metrics in order to call it successful.

Grassroots efforts are lovely, and I would love to see a NonWesternNovember or GlobalSouthSeptember. I agree the planning would need its own MeTa thread, though.
posted by jaguar at 10:58 AM on August 3, 2014 [7 favorites]

jaguar: "The original thread strongly fought against the idea that data was the main goal, or that we had to meet some sort of metrics in order to call it successful. "

I love data as much as the next mefite, but jaguar is right here.

viggorlijah, thanks again for kicking this off! I only got around to posting one FPP, since I was travelling for half the month, but in the spirit of the project, I've tried to participate more in threads on the front page.
posted by daisyk at 12:53 PM on August 3, 2014 [1 favorite]

Almost 13 FPPs by women per day in July. That number alone is awesome.
posted by Phire at 12:28 AM on August 4, 2014 [3 favorites]

The previous average was 8% of posts made to MetaFilter were by women. What was July's percentage rate for women posters?
posted by zarq at 7:08 AM on August 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

There were so many interesting links this month! viggorlijah is my newest role model for identifying an issue she cared about and doing something about it. Thank you.
posted by ersatz at 8:01 AM on August 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

yea seriously. I saw the comments that some women feel uncomfortable posting here and thought, well, that sucks. Good for viggorlijah for doing something really positive, relaxed and fun to try to change things.
posted by sweetkid at 8:16 AM on August 4, 2014 [2 favorites]

I definitely noticed an uptick in interesting click-ables this month. Good experiment.
posted by stp123 at 9:21 AM on August 4, 2014

#JulyByWomen statistics with pretty charts

A big quantifiable difference in July. Two of my favourite findings were that all the gender categories comment more on posts by the same gender category - even Undetermined for people who do not post with a gender! And also that women who posted tended to have a much much shorter posting history than any of the other genders posting. Experience counts.
posted by viggorlijah at 11:39 AM on August 4, 2014 [12 favorites]

Oh and I may do categories at some point, but that would be about 2000+ posts to categorize for comparison, so I am mostly hoping not to. My very rough breakdown was that women post a little more feminist stuff and posts featuring other women, but about the same spread as the other genders for topics. Women - we're just like humans!
posted by viggorlijah at 12:00 PM on August 4, 2014 [11 favorites]

Fascinating. Thank you, viggorlijah.
posted by zarq at 12:03 PM on August 4, 2014

Well done to the women of mefi and viggorlijah for JulyByWomen. Such a success, I hope this has made a safer space for women on the internet.
posted by marienbad at 12:17 PM on August 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

Viggorlijah, check your memail.
posted by divabat at 3:28 PM on August 4, 2014

I loved this! Thanks to everyone for participating!
posted by zennie at 4:03 PM on August 4, 2014

I was planning to make a post (my first), as soon as I got better from the awful cold I had. And I still have a cold. But I certainly read more of the blue than I normally do. Fantastic month!
posted by kjs4 at 11:14 PM on August 4, 2014 [1 favorite]

I forgot to tag mine too! Fixed. Only had one this month, but I was certainly more motivated by the encouragement to post. I need to make putting together a more in-depth post more often a goal of mine; it's fun to find something cool and post it, but I haven't recently done one of those multi-link jobbers that reveal something new. This is a tough crowd for that, ya'll know so damn much already. But it's a worthy goal.
posted by emjaybee at 8:11 PM on August 5, 2014 [1 favorite]

I'm finding that JulyByWomen has definitely boosted my posting comfort. Before this past month, my general pattern was that I would come across an interesting thing and think "huh, I should post that" (and then forget about it) or at best start a note in my "FPP planning" folder (and then forget about it). Now, I come across an interesting thing, pull up a new tab to see if it's already been posted, and (assuming it hasn't) either (depending on complexity of topic) put up a quick post about it, or start a note that I actually go back to fill out and post within a reasonable time.

Thanks, viggorlijah. I think JulyByWomen was a fractal success: whatever level you zoom in to, it's had positive effects.
posted by Lexica at 9:24 PM on August 5, 2014 [4 favorites]

My only problem with JulyByWomen is that I keep thinking, "This is really cool, I bet MetaFilter would love it! I should make a FPP about it."
posted by daisyk at 12:37 AM on August 6, 2014 [1 favorite]

Just wanted to encourage the women of mefi that, even though July has finished, they should still keep posting awesome stuff to the FP. Seriously, please please continue! It sorta feels like you are trailblazing a space for women to speak up and out safely online, please keep it up!

I would be interested to know how different this August was to last August in terms of women posting, whether JbW has increased ongoing participation.
posted by marienbad at 3:42 AM on August 6, 2014 [1 favorite]

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who sent me reading recommendations! I got so many memails, you guys are the best.
posted by phunniemee at 5:35 AM on August 6, 2014

I'd finally joined MeFi after years of lurking in June, and I'd've probably taken a lot longer to post any FPPs at all had I not seen the original JulyByWomen post. I want to do a big, complex post one of these days (or at least something more lighthearted than the heavy topics I've made FPPs about recently), but right now I think it's great that I feel really comfortable making quick, short posts about articles I've read.

Thanks, viggorlijah.
posted by supermassive at 8:47 PM on August 7, 2014 [5 favorites]