New Feature: Add to Activity February 3, 2015 1:58 PM Subscribe
Today we're rolling out a new feature that allows you to add a thread to Recent Activity even if you haven't commented in it.
On thread pages you'll see a new option [add to activity] next to the [add to favorites] link. Click it and the post will show up in your Recent Activity. You can click the link again to remove the thread or use the existing links to remove threads in Recent Activity.
We've had a steady stream of requests for this over the years and we often see people add placeholder comments just to put a thread in Recent Activity. At one point we added a separate My Favorites tab in Recent Activity so folks could see the latest activity on posts they've added to favorites. But we also consistently hear that people add favorites for a variety of reasons and the My Favorites tab contained things they didn't want to follow.
Also, our ISP move last year has given us a bit more server power to work with. We were able to find a way to add this without slowing Recent Activity to a crawl.
We've been testing this internally for a while but there are probably a few bugs lurking. Please mention any you find here and we'll try to get them fixed up quickly.
On thread pages you'll see a new option [add to activity] next to the [add to favorites] link. Click it and the post will show up in your Recent Activity. You can click the link again to remove the thread or use the existing links to remove threads in Recent Activity.
We've had a steady stream of requests for this over the years and we often see people add placeholder comments just to put a thread in Recent Activity. At one point we added a separate My Favorites tab in Recent Activity so folks could see the latest activity on posts they've added to favorites. But we also consistently hear that people add favorites for a variety of reasons and the My Favorites tab contained things they didn't want to follow.
Also, our ISP move last year has given us a bit more server power to work with. We were able to find a way to add this without slowing Recent Activity to a crawl.
We've been testing this internally for a while but there are probably a few bugs lurking. Please mention any you find here and we'll try to get them fixed up quickly.
Nice! Awesome! Thanks!
posted by Sticherbeast at 2:04 PM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Sticherbeast at 2:04 PM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
BEST PONY IS BEST.
posted by Phire at 2:05 PM on February 3, 2015 [8 favorites]
posted by Phire at 2:05 PM on February 3, 2015 [8 favorites]
Ditto what cortex and co said.
THANK YOU.
posted by Michele in California at 2:10 PM on February 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
THANK YOU.
posted by Michele in California at 2:10 PM on February 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
Oh good, because I already didn't have too much to read!
This is an excellent pony, even if it runs away with me.
posted by rtha at 2:11 PM on February 3, 2015 [6 favorites]
This is an excellent pony, even if it runs away with me.
posted by rtha at 2:11 PM on February 3, 2015 [6 favorites]
Hugs! Yay! Happiness! Burrito across my head!
The last one makes sense if you go to chat; I promise we're not complete x-paths there
posted by halifix at 2:12 PM on February 3, 2015 [4 favorites]
The last one makes sense if you go to chat; I promise we're not complete x-paths there
posted by halifix at 2:12 PM on February 3, 2015 [4 favorites]
Will things you've added to your activity be searchable, like how you can search your favorites?
posted by posyblue at 2:19 PM on February 3, 2015
posted by posyblue at 2:19 PM on February 3, 2015
Hell yes.
posted by tonycpsu at 2:20 PM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by tonycpsu at 2:20 PM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
Thank you so, so much.
posted by Lyn Never at 2:23 PM on February 3, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by Lyn Never at 2:23 PM on February 3, 2015 [3 favorites]
Yay!!!!
posted by PorcineWithMe at 2:24 PM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by PorcineWithMe at 2:24 PM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
Will things you've added to your activity be searchable, like how you can search your favorites?
No, you can't search through things you've added to Recent Activity. You'll still want to use Favorites for that.
posted by pb (staff) at 2:24 PM on February 3, 2015
No, you can't search through things you've added to Recent Activity. You'll still want to use Favorites for that.
posted by pb (staff) at 2:24 PM on February 3, 2015
Yessss, this is long awaited
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 2:25 PM on February 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 2:25 PM on February 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
No, you can't search through things you've added to Recent Activity. You'll still want to use Favorites for that.
Gotcha. Thanks for doing this pb!
posted by posyblue at 2:26 PM on February 3, 2015
Gotcha. Thanks for doing this pb!
posted by posyblue at 2:26 PM on February 3, 2015
Thanks, this is great!!
posted by ipsative at 2:26 PM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by ipsative at 2:26 PM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
I approve of this, which means there's probably something very wrong with it.
posted by oneswellfoop at 2:29 PM on February 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by oneswellfoop at 2:29 PM on February 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
Thank you!
posted by MonkeyToes at 2:30 PM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by MonkeyToes at 2:30 PM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
Thanks! Can we also get a "My Comments" tab for AskMeFi?
posted by I-baLL at 2:31 PM on February 3, 2015
posted by I-baLL at 2:31 PM on February 3, 2015
I'm so tempted just to make a comment here so that it shows up on my recent activity page.
posted by OHenryPacey at 2:34 PM on February 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by OHenryPacey at 2:34 PM on February 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
Can we also get...
Let's enjoy our new shiny thing for a while. (We'll give it some thought. I don't think this a great place to hash it out.)
posted by pb (staff) at 2:34 PM on February 3, 2015 [8 favorites]
Let's enjoy our new shiny thing for a while. (We'll give it some thought. I don't think this a great place to hash it out.)
posted by pb (staff) at 2:34 PM on February 3, 2015 [8 favorites]
Ooh, shiny. It glitters. It glows.
posted by Michele in California at 2:36 PM on February 3, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by Michele in California at 2:36 PM on February 3, 2015 [5 favorites]
This is fantastic. Thanks.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 2:40 PM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by MCMikeNamara at 2:40 PM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
Woohoo!
posted by ocherdraco at 2:43 PM on February 3, 2015
posted by ocherdraco at 2:43 PM on February 3, 2015
I am placing a burrito across my head in joy.
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome at 2:44 PM on February 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome at 2:44 PM on February 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
I .... I have nothing left to complain about. Bless you and Thank you and this is really excellent.
posted by benito.strauss at 2:45 PM on February 3, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by benito.strauss at 2:45 PM on February 3, 2015 [5 favorites]
This is great, and I forecast that it will help combat the urge to say something when there is nothing really to say, just to keep track of an interesting conversation.
posted by likeatoaster at 2:45 PM on February 3, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by likeatoaster at 2:45 PM on February 3, 2015 [3 favorites]
fuck yes!!!
posted by nadawi at 2:45 PM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by nadawi at 2:45 PM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
test
posted by Melismata at 2:46 PM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Melismata at 2:46 PM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
I've never asked for it, but I've always wanted it. Thanks!
posted by zombieflanders at 2:49 PM on February 3, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by zombieflanders at 2:49 PM on February 3, 2015 [5 favorites]
This is the best for people such as myself that like to read but don't have much to say. Thanks!
posted by quaking fajita at 3:00 PM on February 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by quaking fajita at 3:00 PM on February 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
This is totally awesome!! I started using Recent Activity to follow threads quite a bit more maybe a year to two ago. But until now, to follow a thread I hadn't commented in, I had to favorite it, and then switch over to the "My Favorites" tab in RA to see those. Not a huge inconvenience, but still.
I'd been doing this more since FanFare debuted. Where a "favorite" on a thread from me meant "I watched this, and want to follow the discussion on it, but I have nothing to add to the discussion at the moment." And often, as the discussion progressed, I would have something to add; but then in would show up on both tabs, and I would go back and un-favorite it so it only showed up on one.
This allows me to unify, from the get-go, the threads I want to follow in RA in a single tab. And also I don't have to change the status once I comment in a thread I had previously wanted to follow without commenting.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 3:01 PM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
I'd been doing this more since FanFare debuted. Where a "favorite" on a thread from me meant "I watched this, and want to follow the discussion on it, but I have nothing to add to the discussion at the moment." And often, as the discussion progressed, I would have something to add; but then in would show up on both tabs, and I would go back and un-favorite it so it only showed up on one.
This allows me to unify, from the get-go, the threads I want to follow in RA in a single tab. And also I don't have to change the status once I comment in a thread I had previously wanted to follow without commenting.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 3:01 PM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
Between this and the previous thread on the edit window, I am
posted by 724A at 3:04 PM on February 3, 2015
posted by 724A at 3:04 PM on February 3, 2015
Right on! I've wanted this for so long!
posted by klangklangston at 3:11 PM on February 3, 2015
posted by klangklangston at 3:11 PM on February 3, 2015
Does this only go back a certain time? (One month, as far as I can figure, although I haven't checked rigorously)? I first discovered that in an AskMe thread from late December which doesn't have the "add to activity."
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 3:14 PM on February 3, 2015
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 3:14 PM on February 3, 2015
Possible bug - I don't see the "add to activity" link on some AskMe threads - I think it's the ones more than a month old.
posted by posyblue at 3:15 PM on February 3, 2015
posted by posyblue at 3:15 PM on February 3, 2015
Does this only go back a certain time?
The option should be available on posts where comments are still open.
posted by pb (staff) at 3:16 PM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
The option should be available on posts where comments are still open.
posted by pb (staff) at 3:16 PM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
Thanks!
posted by Drinky Die at 3:19 PM on February 3, 2015
posted by Drinky Die at 3:19 PM on February 3, 2015
Today we're rolling out a new feature that allows you to add a thread to Recent Activity even if you haven't commented in it.
I love you so much.
posted by SLC Mom at 3:20 PM on February 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
I love you so much.
posted by SLC Mom at 3:20 PM on February 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
Is good pony! Possible dressage request: could there also be an 'add thread to recent activity' link down at the bottom of threads too? There are often enough threads that I'll only have made the decision to stick there when I've caught up to the discussion already present.
posted by Drastic at 3:21 PM on February 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Drastic at 3:21 PM on February 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
Remember that part where I said, "We were able to find a way to add this without slowing Recent Activity to a crawl. " I may have spoken too soon. It seems everyone rushed to the Recent Activity dancefloor at once and now the floor is about to give way.
Dance softly folks! I'll see if we can get things to be more solid.
posted by pb (staff) at 3:26 PM on February 3, 2015 [15 favorites]
Dance softly folks! I'll see if we can get things to be more solid.
posted by pb (staff) at 3:26 PM on February 3, 2015 [15 favorites]
Hooray!!!!!
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 3:32 PM on February 3, 2015
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 3:32 PM on February 3, 2015
!!!
posted by vibratory manner of working at 3:33 PM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by vibratory manner of working at 3:33 PM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
Uh, I meant hooray for the feature, not the fact that it's slowing things down! (My comment just looked funny coming directly after pb's).
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 3:33 PM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 3:33 PM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
awesomeness
[add to activity] [add to favorites] [give pb a high-five] 388 users gave pb a high-five [!]
posted by SpacemanStix at 3:39 PM on February 3, 2015 [11 favorites]
[add to activity] [add to favorites] [give pb a high-five] 388 users gave pb a high-five [!]
posted by SpacemanStix at 3:39 PM on February 3, 2015 [11 favorites]
YAY thank you!
posted by insectosaurus at 3:40 PM on February 3, 2015
posted by insectosaurus at 3:40 PM on February 3, 2015
It's only been 90 minutes, and already I just do not know how we lived without it.
One day your grandkids will ask you to please, please tell them about the days before the [add to activity] button, and you'll sigh and say, "I'm sorry, children. It's better not to remember some things. And besides, it's not searchable, yet."
posted by notyou at 3:42 PM on February 3, 2015
One day your grandkids will ask you to please, please tell them about the days before the [add to activity] button, and you'll sigh and say, "I'm sorry, children. It's better not to remember some things. And besides, it's not searchable, yet."
posted by notyou at 3:42 PM on February 3, 2015
noice.
posted by Room 641-A at 3:45 PM on February 3, 2015
posted by Room 641-A at 3:45 PM on February 3, 2015
Okay, who else added the mayonnaise post?
posted by Room 641-A at 3:48 PM on February 3, 2015
posted by Room 641-A at 3:48 PM on February 3, 2015
This is a beautiful, rainbowy, glittery, bubblegum-scented pony. Thank you!
posted by Metroid Baby at 3:53 PM on February 3, 2015
posted by Metroid Baby at 3:53 PM on February 3, 2015
Remember that part where I said, "We were able to find a way to add this without slowing Recent Activity to a crawl. " I may have spoken too soon. It seems everyone rushed to the Recent Activity dancefloor at once and now the floor is about to give way.
Dance softly folks! I'll see if we can get things to be more solid.
I went to a concert in Vermont once. It was in a theatre and our seats were in the balcony. The balcony had a strict no-dancing policy, which is fine by me because I don't dance. What I didn't realize is that dancing was defined to include pretty much any motion at all. Ushers were telling people to stop tapping their feet (while seated). When an usher came and told me to stop dancing and I said 'But I'm not dancing." they said in a horrified tone "But imagine if everyone did that!" and I said "Maybe the engineers should have imagined if everyone did that." Anyway, I went downstairs where I could continue not dancing to my heart's content.
So my point is, PB, of course everyone is rushing the dance floor. What did you expect to happen? This is the awesomest thing ever. If you build the most awesomest thing ever, they will come, and they will dance until the balcony collapses.
Incidentally, if you're ever going to a concert in a theatre in Vermont, don't get seats on the balcony and don't get seats under the balcony.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 3:54 PM on February 3, 2015 [4 favorites]
Dance softly folks! I'll see if we can get things to be more solid.
I went to a concert in Vermont once. It was in a theatre and our seats were in the balcony. The balcony had a strict no-dancing policy, which is fine by me because I don't dance. What I didn't realize is that dancing was defined to include pretty much any motion at all. Ushers were telling people to stop tapping their feet (while seated). When an usher came and told me to stop dancing and I said 'But I'm not dancing." they said in a horrified tone "But imagine if everyone did that!" and I said "Maybe the engineers should have imagined if everyone did that." Anyway, I went downstairs where I could continue not dancing to my heart's content.
So my point is, PB, of course everyone is rushing the dance floor. What did you expect to happen? This is the awesomest thing ever. If you build the most awesomest thing ever, they will come, and they will dance until the balcony collapses.
Incidentally, if you're ever going to a concert in a theatre in Vermont, don't get seats on the balcony and don't get seats under the balcony.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 3:54 PM on February 3, 2015 [4 favorites]
comment to save thread for later
am I doing this right?
posted by lalochezia at 3:54 PM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
am I doing this right?
posted by lalochezia at 3:54 PM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
I am going to ride this pony and I am going to hug him and squeeze him and name him George.
Or her. George is just a great name.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 4:11 PM on February 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
Or her. George is just a great name.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 4:11 PM on February 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
Oh, nicely done.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 4:38 PM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 4:38 PM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
y2karl, how you do that?? *checks page source* ahaaaaaaa
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 4:42 PM on February 3, 2015
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 4:42 PM on February 3, 2015
Thank you so much!!!
posted by Hermione Granger at 4:54 PM on February 3, 2015
posted by Hermione Granger at 4:54 PM on February 3, 2015
thank you.
posted by Golden Eternity at 5:23 PM on February 3, 2015
posted by Golden Eternity at 5:23 PM on February 3, 2015
At first, I thought "isn't this what favorites are for?"
Then I thought "isn't this why I never click on recent activity?"
You da best
posted by oceanjesse at 6:02 PM on February 3, 2015
Then I thought "isn't this why I never click on recent activity?"
You da best
posted by oceanjesse at 6:02 PM on February 3, 2015
Incidentally, if you're ever going to a concert in a theatre in Vermont
We have one in my town and it's ok for dancing in.... what town were you in, so I can make fun of them?
posted by jessamyn (retired) at 6:03 PM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
We have one in my town and it's ok for dancing in.... what town were you in, so I can make fun of them?
posted by jessamyn (retired) at 6:03 PM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
Nice! Gonna take this opportunity to un-favorite some posts
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 6:14 PM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 6:14 PM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
STEALTH MODE
posted by Artw at 6:47 PM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Artw at 6:47 PM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
oh yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy i longed for this for so long
posted by sockermom at 7:24 PM on February 3, 2015
posted by sockermom at 7:24 PM on February 3, 2015
Ook!
posted by arcticseal at 7:55 PM on February 3, 2015
posted by arcticseal at 7:55 PM on February 3, 2015
Would it be funny if I loudly proclaimed that this ruined metafilter and then disabled my account? No? Okay, let me just say that this is a fantastic feature and it's wonderful to have it implemented. Now I'll be able to have fewer tabs open in my browser.
Thanks!
Also, what got people so upset about titles? That makes no sense to me.
posted by stet at 7:58 PM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
Thanks!
Also, what got people so upset about titles? That makes no sense to me.
posted by stet at 7:58 PM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
Excellent!
posted by homunculus at 8:17 PM on February 3, 2015
posted by homunculus at 8:17 PM on February 3, 2015
OK THATS THE LAST STRAW THESE DRACONIAN MODS WENT TOOO FAR IM DONE BYE SUCKERS
And Im Back
posted by wheelieman at 8:23 PM on February 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
And Im Back
posted by wheelieman at 8:23 PM on February 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
Me: Incidentally, if you're ever going to a concert in a theatre in Vermont
Jessamyn: We have one in my town and it's ok for dancing in.... what town were you in, so I can make fun of them?
After some digging through email archives, it looks like it was Burlington VT, in the Flynn Theater. Besides the no-dancing rule, it was also odd because the theatre is somehow membership/subscription based, it turns out. So you subscribe for the year and then get to go to X number of events they hold there. In addition to people who were specifically there to see that band, there were plenty of people who I'm guessing were subscribers: 60+ year olds in a concert not really targeted to that demographic. They seemed ok with the no-motion-allowed rule.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 8:25 PM on February 3, 2015
Jessamyn: We have one in my town and it's ok for dancing in.... what town were you in, so I can make fun of them?
After some digging through email archives, it looks like it was Burlington VT, in the Flynn Theater. Besides the no-dancing rule, it was also odd because the theatre is somehow membership/subscription based, it turns out. So you subscribe for the year and then get to go to X number of events they hold there. In addition to people who were specifically there to see that band, there were plenty of people who I'm guessing were subscribers: 60+ year olds in a concert not really targeted to that demographic. They seemed ok with the no-motion-allowed rule.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 8:25 PM on February 3, 2015
following
posted by The corpse in the library at 8:28 PM on February 3, 2015
posted by The corpse in the library at 8:28 PM on February 3, 2015
There were a couple places like that on Martha's Vineyard up into the 1990s. The deal was that no dancing of any kind was allowed unless a place had a "cabaret license." But a lot of places had live music and no cabaret license. They really did police you - like, if you were standing and shuffling your feet side to side too much. We used to kind of test the boundaries by keeping feet still but wiggling hips, or shoulders, etc., but it was pretty serious for them as of course it was linked to their ability to serve alcohol, so they actually would clamp down and threaten to throw you out. But I think that issue had faded away by the late 90s/early oughts, and it no longer seems that anyone cares there if you dance. I wonder if it was something similar.
I found this thing about it, I guess it's still in effect, and perhaps it's just that whoever used to care about it doesn't care anymore.
Dance on.
posted by Miko at 8:36 PM on February 3, 2015
I found this thing about it, I guess it's still in effect, and perhaps it's just that whoever used to care about it doesn't care anymore.
Dance on.
posted by Miko at 8:36 PM on February 3, 2015
I have already used this and I love it. Thank you!
posted by jetlagaddict at 9:54 PM on February 3, 2015
posted by jetlagaddict at 9:54 PM on February 3, 2015
Did we have Remove from Activity on the post before? That's actually pretty handy for mobile.
posted by Artw at 10:06 PM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Artw at 10:06 PM on February 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
Finally. The Lurker+ account I always dreamed of.
posted by ActingTheGoat at 10:32 PM on February 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by ActingTheGoat at 10:32 PM on February 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
Should A2A be repeated at the bottom? That's usually where I am when I decide to add a placeholder comment.
posted by five fresh fish at 11:13 PM on February 3, 2015
posted by five fresh fish at 11:13 PM on February 3, 2015
Best thing for MeFi since recent activity became a thing.
posted by five fresh fish at 11:14 PM on February 3, 2015
posted by five fresh fish at 11:14 PM on February 3, 2015
Noticed it earlier. Went "wow, this is great! How come I never noticed it before..." And now I know. Fantastic. Thank you.
posted by Kerasia at 2:10 AM on February 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Kerasia at 2:10 AM on February 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
spiffy! thanks!
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 3:25 AM on February 4, 2015
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 3:25 AM on February 4, 2015
Noticed it earlier. Went "wow, this is great! How come I never noticed it before..."
Me too! I'm totally unobservant so I assumed I'd missed it all this time. This is great, thanks so much! 👍🎉👻
posted by billiebee at 4:29 AM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
Me too! I'm totally unobservant so I assumed I'd missed it all this time. This is great, thanks so much! 👍🎉👻
posted by billiebee at 4:29 AM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
Oooh, fantastic! Thank you!!!
posted by Westringia F. at 5:21 AM on February 4, 2015
posted by Westringia F. at 5:21 AM on February 4, 2015
My browser and I both thank you for helping me reduce the embarrassingly high number of AskMe tabs I have open at any given time. Here I always felt vaguely guilty that I wasn't using favorites as a bookmark for threads, but now I can favorite and activity away in a shameless and self-actualized fashion, just as gods and mods intended. Thank you!!
posted by DingoMutt at 5:39 AM on February 4, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by DingoMutt at 5:39 AM on February 4, 2015 [3 favorites]
Does REMOVING threads from Recent Activity reduce the server load? I usually don't unless I'm actively seeing red, but I would more diligently remove them when they turned boring if it helped.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 6:08 AM on February 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 6:08 AM on February 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
This is surprisingly great for Ask Metafilter posts, where I want to find out the answer, but could not just leave a comment to add it my Recent Activity.
posted by smackfu at 6:27 AM on February 4, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by smackfu at 6:27 AM on February 4, 2015 [4 favorites]
Oh and I shall feed this pony until it grows big and strong, or not big, do ponies get big, I still don't understand what a pony is, but I know I love this one. Who's a good pony, you are, yes you are!
posted by missmary6 at 7:02 AM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by missmary6 at 7:02 AM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
One reason this is so sweet is that after having a certain number of favorites, I find it difficult to use them for bookmarking purposes. The bookmarking favorites get mixed in with the favorites that like to party and have fun and they just end up standing in the corner looking lost and wondering why they aren't at home watching Netflix, so this will work great.
posted by SpacemanStix at 7:05 AM on February 4, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by SpacemanStix at 7:05 AM on February 4, 2015 [3 favorites]
I just glanced over at this tab and was like WAIT WHY IS THE FAVICON FOR RECENT ACTIVITY METATALK GREY NOW
posted by cortex (staff) at 7:47 AM on February 4, 2015
posted by cortex (staff) at 7:47 AM on February 4, 2015
Or, not this tab but the tab for this Metatalk thread. And then got more confused.
DON'T WORRY, I'M A PROFESSIONAL
posted by cortex (staff) at 7:48 AM on February 4, 2015 [6 favorites]
DON'T WORRY, I'M A PROFESSIONAL
posted by cortex (staff) at 7:48 AM on February 4, 2015 [6 favorites]
Does REMOVING threads from Recent Activity reduce the server load?
Nah, don't worry about the server load. Just use Recent Activity however it works best for you. We had some trouble yesterday when a bunch of people tested out the feature at once, but it stabilized pretty quickly. If things are grinding down we'll make adjustments on our end—we won't normally ask you change how you're doing things.
posted by pb (staff) at 8:04 AM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
Nah, don't worry about the server load. Just use Recent Activity however it works best for you. We had some trouble yesterday when a bunch of people tested out the feature at once, but it stabilized pretty quickly. If things are grinding down we'll make adjustments on our end—we won't normally ask you change how you're doing things.
posted by pb (staff) at 8:04 AM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
Wow. Thank you, this is EXACTLY the pony I've dreamed of.
(Given the amount of %$#^ going down this week, I knew there had to be one in there somewhere...)
posted by RedOrGreen at 8:54 AM on February 4, 2015
(Given the amount of %$#^ going down this week, I knew there had to be one in there somewhere...)
posted by RedOrGreen at 8:54 AM on February 4, 2015
This wonderful pony gets ALL THE CARROTS.
Thanks mods and pb! We promise to take good care of it.
posted by litera scripta manet at 9:34 AM on February 4, 2015
Thanks mods and pb! We promise to take good care of it.
posted by litera scripta manet at 9:34 AM on February 4, 2015
We promise to take good care of it.
By that, we mean "love it to death, until it is as worn as the Velveteen Rabbit before the rabbit got be real."
duh.
posted by Michele in California at 9:55 AM on February 4, 2015
By that, we mean "love it to death, until it is as worn as the Velveteen Rabbit before the rabbit got be real."
duh.
posted by Michele in California at 9:55 AM on February 4, 2015
Just used it for realsies for the first time (for the FCC thread). It felt good, I tell you, it felt real good.
posted by benito.strauss at 11:34 AM on February 4, 2015
posted by benito.strauss at 11:34 AM on February 4, 2015
My days of having to make unnecessary comments just to keep tabs on a thread are over! Hooray!
posted by DynamiteToast at 12:17 PM on February 4, 2015
posted by DynamiteToast at 12:17 PM on February 4, 2015
Ha! Just used this today. Thought it was a feature I'd somehow overlooked before. Awesome.
posted by slipthought at 1:50 PM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by slipthought at 1:50 PM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
pb is a fucking god and you all need to bow down and acknowledge this goodness.
posted by adamvasco at 2:58 PM on February 4, 2015
posted by adamvasco at 2:58 PM on February 4, 2015
God bless you. I normally just keep a browser window open on my phone but that doesn't always work and favorites are good but this, this is perfect'
posted by From Bklyn at 4:02 PM on February 4, 2015
posted by From Bklyn at 4:02 PM on February 4, 2015
I found myself wishing for this just a few days ago. This feature is Pinkie Pie. (That is, to say, best pony. Okay I'll shut up now.)
posted by JHarris at 4:24 PM on February 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by JHarris at 4:24 PM on February 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
Does anyone use the "Recent Activity from My Contacts" list? I never go into that page in Recent Activity and I wonder if it'd be more interesting to me if I could also see what people favorite (although I suspect that would get ridiculously spammy pretty quick).
posted by curious nu at 6:42 PM on February 4, 2015
posted by curious nu at 6:42 PM on February 4, 2015
I use that all the time. It's my primary way of finding interesting threads I would have otherwise missed.
posted by ocherdraco at 6:50 PM on February 4, 2015
posted by ocherdraco at 6:50 PM on February 4, 2015
Awesome work, as always :-)
Thinking of starting a pool for a request to make this so:
[add to activity] [add to favorites] 57 users marked this as a favorite | 945 users are following this [!]
posted by dg at 8:15 PM on February 4, 2015 [3 favorites]
Thinking of starting a pool for a request to make this so:
[add to activity] [add to favorites] 57 users marked this as a favorite | 945 users are following this [!]
posted by dg at 8:15 PM on February 4, 2015 [3 favorites]
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
posted by wintersweet at 8:59 PM on February 4, 2015
posted by wintersweet at 8:59 PM on February 4, 2015
Just noticed this today and thought there might be a Meta discussion about it. IS WONDERFUL THANKS BYE
posted by craven_morhead at 7:32 AM on February 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by craven_morhead at 7:32 AM on February 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
As a master lurker and somewhat hesitant favoriter, I will unlurk to say THANKYOU THANKYOU THANKYOU. This is the bee's knees.
posted by cellar door at 9:03 AM on February 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by cellar door at 9:03 AM on February 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
Truly this is the best of all possible Metafilters.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 9:08 AM on February 5, 2015
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 9:08 AM on February 5, 2015
I love this pony and I give it a carrot. (Or celery, or a bloody mary, or whatever it is that ponies like.)
posted by moonmilk at 9:24 AM on February 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by moonmilk at 9:24 AM on February 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
(and why is it a carrot but some celery anyway?)
posted by moonmilk at 9:25 AM on February 5, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by moonmilk at 9:25 AM on February 5, 2015 [2 favorites]
(short answer: because "carrot" is a countable noun and "celery" is an uncountable noun. shorter answer: because English.)
posted by wintersweet at 10:33 AM on February 5, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by wintersweet at 10:33 AM on February 5, 2015 [4 favorites]
You can pick a single carrot, but you have to pick a bunch of celery and then cut it up.
posted by soelo at 10:49 AM on February 5, 2015
posted by soelo at 10:49 AM on February 5, 2015
You can always resort to counting a singular stalk of celery, if shit gets real deep.
posted by cortex (staff) at 11:36 AM on February 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by cortex (staff) at 11:36 AM on February 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
Now I'm imagining The Count, stuck in a room with a bunch of wool, leather, dust, water, rice, flour, and ice; wringing his hands; going slowly mad.
posted by moonmilk at 12:00 PM on February 5, 2015 [9 favorites]
posted by moonmilk at 12:00 PM on February 5, 2015 [9 favorites]
Wait, are there other vegetables that aren't countable nouns? Celery grows in a bunch but we eat it a stalk at a time, so is that the thing? "A rhubarb" doesn't work either ....
posted by benito.strauss at 2:50 PM on February 5, 2015
posted by benito.strauss at 2:50 PM on February 5, 2015
Nor "a cauliflower" or "a broccoli" - they grow in nice neat units but one unit is too big to eat, so I guess they become mass veg rather than count veg.
posted by moonmilk at 2:58 PM on February 5, 2015
posted by moonmilk at 2:58 PM on February 5, 2015
Actually now I totally can't decide whether "a cauliflower" or "a broccoli" is a thing.
posted by moonmilk at 2:58 PM on February 5, 2015
posted by moonmilk at 2:58 PM on February 5, 2015
Some mass veg:
greens - kale, spinach, lettuce...
herbs - dill, parsley, rosemary, basil...
garlic (but not onions!)
ginger
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 3:23 PM on February 5, 2015
greens - kale, spinach, lettuce...
herbs - dill, parsley, rosemary, basil...
garlic (but not onions!)
ginger
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 3:23 PM on February 5, 2015
The only green* I can imagine using in a countable manner is collard, and then only one variety and only if referring to an entire plant: "I have a six-foot-tall tree collard in my garden."
* Which seems wrong in the singular form.
posted by Lexica at 6:00 PM on February 5, 2015 [2 favorites]
* Which seems wrong in the singular form.
posted by Lexica at 6:00 PM on February 5, 2015 [2 favorites]
Not sure if this behaviour as intended or not. When a comment in a closed thread gets a favourite it shows up on favourite activity page as a comment in last Foo hours.
Example. This thread closed a week ago but a recent favourite is bringing up text that says a comment was made.
posted by Mitheral at 6:07 PM on February 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
Example. This thread closed a week ago but a recent favourite is bringing up text that says a comment was made.
posted by Mitheral at 6:07 PM on February 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
Yep, it's intended. On the favorite activity page, the time you see is when the most recent favorite was added—not when the thing favorited was added.
posted by pb (staff) at 6:13 PM on February 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by pb (staff) at 6:13 PM on February 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
Countable and uncountable vegetables makes me love metafilter. <3 <3 <3
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:18 PM on February 5, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:18 PM on February 5, 2015 [2 favorites]
Me too.
Also I wanna see that six foot tall tree collard. I tried to grow some walking stick kale once, but it didn't even come up, let alone reach ten feet tall.
posted by moonmilk at 7:48 PM on February 5, 2015
Also I wanna see that six foot tall tree collard. I tried to grow some walking stick kale once, but it didn't even come up, let alone reach ten feet tall.
posted by moonmilk at 7:48 PM on February 5, 2015
I did this accidentally today and was delighted to see a thread in Recent that I wanted to follow but not comment on. I figured it was a wrinkle in the matrix and I wasn't going to tell ANYONE about it. It's awesome. I will love Recent Activity even more obsessively than before.
posted by amanda at 8:12 PM on February 5, 2015
posted by amanda at 8:12 PM on February 5, 2015
THABK YOU. This is the poniest pony that's ever been ponied in the history of ponydom.
posted by KingEdRa at 3:48 AM on February 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by KingEdRa at 3:48 AM on February 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
Even better than being able to add the Scott Walker thread to my Recent Activity is the ability to remove it just as easily.
posted by Room 641-A at 6:56 AM on February 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Room 641-A at 6:56 AM on February 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
I can remove the Scott Walker thread from Recent Activity, but I cannot remove Scott Walker from recent activity. pb, please fix that bug ASAP.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 8:58 AM on February 6, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 8:58 AM on February 6, 2015 [5 favorites]
Has anyone asked for a "remove from activity" feature for the mobile view? 'cause that'd sure be handy...
posted by five fresh fish at 11:13 AM on February 6, 2015
posted by five fresh fish at 11:13 AM on February 6, 2015
> Actually now I totally can't decide whether "a cauliflower" or "a broccoli" is a thing.
It's "one broccolus" and "two (or more) broccoli".
Yes, I know that technically it's not right, but do you want to be right or do you want to be happy?
posted by benito.strauss at 11:26 AM on February 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
It's "one broccolus" and "two (or more) broccoli".
Yes, I know that technically it's not right, but do you want to be right or do you want to be happy?
posted by benito.strauss at 11:26 AM on February 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
There should be a Remove link next to the Add link under the original post. it's not direct from Recent Activity but it works great!
posted by Room 641-A at 11:26 AM on February 6, 2015
posted by Room 641-A at 11:26 AM on February 6, 2015
It's "one broccolus" and "two (or more) broccoli".
This is not a point on which there is a peaceful consensus. In fact, there's a pretty significant broccolus rift.
posted by cortex (staff) at 11:34 AM on February 6, 2015 [5 favorites]
This is not a point on which there is a peaceful consensus. In fact, there's a pretty significant broccolus rift.
posted by cortex (staff) at 11:34 AM on February 6, 2015 [5 favorites]
Has anyone asked for a "remove from activity" feature for the mobile view?
Scroll down to the bottom of Recent Activity and you should see a "Manage Posts in Recent Activity" link. You can remove threads from there on a phone. If you find you're using it a lot you could always bookmark it to keep it handy.
posted by pb (staff) at 11:42 AM on February 6, 2015
Scroll down to the bottom of Recent Activity and you should see a "Manage Posts in Recent Activity" link. You can remove threads from there on a phone. If you find you're using it a lot you could always bookmark it to keep it handy.
posted by pb (staff) at 11:42 AM on February 6, 2015
Now that we have this feature it might be even faster to just click on the thread title in Recent Activity and click the [remove from activity] link at the thread.
posted by pb (staff) at 11:55 AM on February 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by pb (staff) at 11:55 AM on February 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
Any chance of getting an RSS feed, at a secret URL, for one's activity? I can see how x threads multiplied by y comments would mean subscribing to a firehose, though. (It occurs to me that this is a pony request for the Activity feature in general, not this addition to it.)
posted by sillygwailo at 12:28 PM on February 6, 2015
posted by sillygwailo at 12:28 PM on February 6, 2015
We've discussed RSS for Recent Activity before, and yeah, that would be a firehose of data. Plus, robots never fail to check Recent Activity—it would add quite a bit to the server load. So I don't think that's something we're going to add, sorry about that.
posted by pb (staff) at 12:30 PM on February 6, 2015
posted by pb (staff) at 12:30 PM on February 6, 2015
It's "one broccolus" and "two (or more) broccoli".
Yes, I know that technically it's not right, but do you want to be right or do you want to be happy?
You're being wrong wrong! "broccolo" is the correct way to be wrong here.
The only green* I can imagine using in a countable manner is collard
Cabbage?
posted by aubilenon at 4:28 PM on February 6, 2015
Yes, I know that technically it's not right, but do you want to be right or do you want to be happy?
You're being wrong wrong! "broccolo" is the correct way to be wrong here.
The only green* I can imagine using in a countable manner is collard
Cabbage?
posted by aubilenon at 4:28 PM on February 6, 2015
The correct pluralization is "collards green."
posted by Metroid Baby at 4:31 PM on February 6, 2015 [8 favorites]
posted by Metroid Baby at 4:31 PM on February 6, 2015 [8 favorites]
Scroll down to the bottom of Recent Activity and you should see a "Manage Posts in Recent Activity" link.
Oh ho! I have literally never seen that link, because it falls above the fold when I use "skip to menu".
Duly noted, thx.
posted by five fresh fish at 4:31 PM on February 6, 2015
Oh ho! I have literally never seen that link, because it falls above the fold when I use "skip to menu".
Duly noted, thx.
posted by five fresh fish at 4:31 PM on February 6, 2015
If you make dinner with whatever brassicas you have lying around, that's broccolage.
posted by moonmilk at 4:34 PM on February 6, 2015 [8 favorites]
posted by moonmilk at 4:34 PM on February 6, 2015 [8 favorites]
The correct pluralization is "collards green."
Like "culs-de-sac" instead of "cul-de-sacs"?
posted by sockermom at 8:50 AM on February 7, 2015
Like "culs-de-sac" instead of "cul-de-sacs"?
posted by sockermom at 8:50 AM on February 7, 2015
Awesome! I was just wondering this morning if there was a way to add threads to my recent activity without commenting, and here this is!
posted by apricot at 9:09 AM on February 8, 2015
posted by apricot at 9:09 AM on February 8, 2015
I've used this a few times now, and I just wanted to stop by and say that I'm delighted with it. I've often seen AskMe's come in that I'm curious about the answers to, but I see them before they actually have any answers and I don't remember to go back and find out the answers once they have some. I don't want to favourite them, because a) I'm mostly just curious, I don't want to save them forever and b) because I only look at my favourites once in a blue moon so I still wouldn't see the answers. This is really working well for my needs.
posted by jacquilynne at 7:14 AM on February 9, 2015
posted by jacquilynne at 7:14 AM on February 9, 2015
Mods, will we be able to get any casual stats about the usage? I'd be interested to see how this changes people's interaction with the site. I know for my part there's someone in the Open Tabs Department at Mozilla who is not going to meet their quota this month.
posted by Room 641-A at 7:21 AM on February 9, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by Room 641-A at 7:21 AM on February 9, 2015 [5 favorites]
I really love this feature. Thanks, pb!
posted by kate blank at 2:38 PM on February 10, 2015
posted by kate blank at 2:38 PM on February 10, 2015
This is nifty. Something close to my eight-year-long dream has been realized.
pb, what would you think about a link to add threads to activity from the site front page? Just like the little + that is there for favorites?
posted by grouse at 8:11 PM on February 11, 2015
pb, what would you think about a link to add threads to activity from the site front page? Just like the little + that is there for favorites?
posted by grouse at 8:11 PM on February 11, 2015
We'll think about a front page control. My initial reaction is that we probably don't want to add more controls to the front page. We have the + and that's not too bad, but it's still a little crufty. It could start to get noisy with yet another symbol of some kind after every post.
posted by pb (staff) at 8:41 PM on February 11, 2015
posted by pb (staff) at 8:41 PM on February 11, 2015
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posted by cortex (staff) at 1:59 PM on February 3, 2015 [37 favorites]