How do you organize your favourites (2016 edition)?

June 16, 2016 6:22 PM

I know there have been different scripts floating around, and I guess there's been more than one Meta about this (and at least a few comments); not sure if those solutions still good to go. (Or how to use them, or what they even are, exactly. Not that I particularly need to know precisely what's under the hood, but yeah, just what are they? Roughly.) I'd really like to be able to impose some kind of order onto my favourites, so I can find things (vs browsing through them, or hoping I remember a detail or word pairing vivid and unique enough to pop up in a Google site search). Super curious how people do it! (Sorry if this is old hat for everyone.)
posted by cotton dress sock to MetaFilter-Related at 6:22 PM (26 comments total)

I just scroll through the "Most Popular" feed on my profile from time to time and reminisce about some of my greatest zingers.

Oh wait, you meant things by other people that I favorited? Goodness, I don't know what I'd do with those.
posted by escabeche at 6:46 PM on June 16, 2016 [12 favorites]

Ha, no, yeah I mean other people's comments/posts/questions. (Me neither!)
posted by cotton dress sock at 7:01 PM on June 16, 2016

Sorry - I was less than clear about what "your" might mean :/ (And other things, probably.)

Are the scripts people have mentioned still functioning, and how does one go about using them? Any alternative approaches to finding great comments you've saved?
posted by cotton dress sock at 7:40 PM on June 16, 2016

I'm sorry I don't have anything to contribute, but only a related question: I've been wondering if I could somehow list my favorites associated with my contacts. That is, for everyone in my contacts list, show comments of theirs that I've favorited. This would help remind me _why_ I added them as contacts.



Maybe it would be cool to have a way to generate one huge page with [possibly shortened] all favorited posts and comments, with metadata (poster, time, date, is person a contact); then one could munge the favorites one's self, or do an in-page search for user names, or something. A tag interface might be cool too...
posted by amtho at 7:40 PM on June 16, 2016

I don't have an answer but I want to say, "oh god, me too."
posted by _Mona_ at 8:43 PM on June 16, 2016 [1 favorite]

It's been brought up before, and noted that we can export favorites to other outside services that can help keep them organized. However, I still think that an in-house way to tag favorites to allow for some general sorting would be a great boon to the site.
posted by SpacemanStix at 11:48 PM on June 16, 2016 [2 favorites]

My favorites don't want to be organized, and they'll fight me every time I try it.
They're just laughing at this question right now.
posted by still_wears_a_hat at 5:15 AM on June 17, 2016

Alphabetically by Author in reverse chronological order.
posted by Apoch at 5:20 AM on June 17, 2016 [1 favorite]

I favorite almost exclusively things that make me laugh and then about once a year I read back through all the stuff I've favorited and giggle like an idiot for an hour or so. I don't know if this is "organizing"? It is how I manage my favorites, though; I do come back to them.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 5:22 AM on June 17, 2016 [5 favorites]

API?
posted by amtho at 5:26 AM on June 17, 2016

Anything I might actually want to find later gets bookmarked and tagged on an external service.
posted by zamboni at 5:44 AM on June 17, 2016

Relatedly, is there a way (or could a tiny horse be created) to search your favorites? Like, I know I favorited something with Pepin in it, and now I want to go find the original thread ....
posted by Dashy at 6:24 AM on June 17, 2016

You can already do that! Click on your favorites count and a little search box will show up in the top right corner! It's very useful!
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 6:29 AM on June 17, 2016 [6 favorites]

Thanks! I was looking from the search function itself. Glad to know that now!
posted by Dashy at 6:35 AM on June 17, 2016 [1 favorite]

I print them all out and then file them according to the Dewey decimal system.
posted by From Bklyn at 6:55 AM on June 17, 2016

I just wish there was a way to store all the recipe comments I've liked in one place or under one tag
posted by showbiz_liz at 6:58 AM on June 17, 2016 [2 favorites]

I file mine according to the Haughey Hexadecimal System. C5E.2A2 is the gift that keeps on giving.
posted by michaelh at 7:33 AM on June 17, 2016

I would like a way to tag favourites because I will never get around to exporting them to another place and organising them there. The tags I would like include:

-recipes I will never make
-exercises I will never do
-de-clutter tips I will never follow
-long form articles I will never read
-books I will never buy
-videos I will never watch
-lol!
-misc
posted by billiebee at 7:35 AM on June 17, 2016 [36 favorites]

You can already do that! Click on your favorites count and a little search box will show up in the top right corner! It's very useful!

Awwwwwesome, thank you!
posted by cotton dress sock at 7:37 AM on June 17, 2016

Anything I might actually want to find later gets bookmarked and tagged on an external service.

I used Delicious until they went kerplunk; don't know how I feel about getting involved in yet another (possibly temporary) service. I would, though - if it failed I'd just find another. (But am not filled with confidence by things called "Skloog" or "Favilous".)
posted by cotton dress sock at 7:53 AM on June 17, 2016 [1 favorite]

Pinboard is the new Delicious. There are a lot of us there.
posted by soelo at 8:05 AM on June 17, 2016 [2 favorites]

I used Delicious until they went kerplunk; don't know how I feel about getting involved in yet another (possibly temporary) service. I would, though - if it failed I'd just find another.

Pinboard has been fantastic so far, and I feel reasonably comfortable that the service will stick around for a while, although management is clear that self-reliance is a virtue. The chief point of differentiation is a novel concept- they (well, Maciej) provide a service in return for money.
posted by zamboni at 8:14 AM on June 17, 2016 [2 favorites]

I just keep mine in a large underground vault. Once I have enough I will swim in them like Scrooge McDuck.
posted by Splunge at 11:21 AM on June 17, 2016 [2 favorites]

I print them all out and then file them according to the Dewey decimal system.

Universal Decimal Classification or go home!

Paul Otlet forever!!!!!
posted by GenjiandProust at 7:59 AM on June 18, 2016 [2 favorites]

I organize mine by clicking on this random favorite bookmark every once in a while.
posted by nobody at 5:58 AM on June 19, 2016 [3 favorites]

against favorites and organizing
posted by Joseph Gurl at 9:31 PM on June 20, 2016 [1 favorite]