WomensMarch 2: Electric Boogaloo? February 3, 2017 12:07 PM Subscribe
Not the actual physical Women's March on Washington--the MeFi traditional version of a month where we encourage women to make front page posts to the Blue, especially first time posters. More on that if you aren't familiar under the cut.
It's occurred to me that we have a whole lotta focus on politics right now, in part because pretty much everyone with ties to the USA and a lot of people who don't are currently terrified of fascists. Consequently, the politics megathreads are taking up a lot of energy and attention. I miss this site having a lot of interesting front page posts so that I can take breaks and do things besides endless screaming sometimes here, too. And I remember our MonthByWomen events as being a great effort for womens' solidarity, as well as a really good way to get more voices bringing up lots of interesting and useful topics.
Is anyone else interested in holding another WomensMarch here on MeFi?
2015's WomensMarch asked to see if we could get 100 new FPPs by women on the Blue in the month of March. JulyByWomen, in 2014, called for 90 new posts. Because new posts to the Blue have been down a bit lately as we focus on the megathreads, I'm going to say that we should aim for 100 FPP posts by women on the Blue in March.
That's the goal. I'm going to, as is traditional, post viggorlijah's excellent original #JulyByWomen FAQ as an introduction here:
"What's the goal?
More posts by women.
Do posts have to be about "women's issues"?
Nope. Great posts on any subject.
Why do this?
Women post to the front page proportionally less often, and I want to see if we can shift that. By my calculations (1, 2), only about 8% (lowballed because women don't identify themselves always on profiles) of FPPs are made by women. This is much lower than the number of self-reported women on Metafilter, and lower than the percentage of women commenting. "
I'm going to add another couple of questions I've seen in past posts here:
My gender identity is complicated. Am I included here?
If you are asking this question and feel comfortable participating, the answer is yes, of course.
What can men do to help?
Keep on keeping on; you're not really being asked to alter your FPP posting habits any. If you want to support women here, keep an eye out for women who post asking for support, or cheerleading, and try to be helpful. Look out for first time posters in particular and try to help ensure their first FPPs go well--or send them an encouraging message if the FPPs don't go so hot. Most folks appreciate the support.
I also want to echo Deoridhe's explicit point from last WomensMarch, in the vein of acknowledging the intersectionality present both in the physical Marches across the world a few weeks ago and also the intersectionality of our community here.
"I want to specifically invite women who are marginalized along more than one axis to participate if they want to - women of color, trans women, women with physical and/or mental disabilities, indigenous women, poor women, lesbians and bisexual women, and other groups I may have missed."
We need your voices, too! We especially need your voices, so that we can be inclusive in our activism and also, y'know, because I bet you have a lot of cool stuff you know or care or think about that would make the rest of us laugh or weep or think more clearly about. Me, my to-FPP list includes things like the St. Patrick Day's Battalion and all, but it also includes things like "how do dimples form?" and "why do your own farts not smell as bad as other people's?" Whatever you want to bring, I bet you it will be interesting, and I bet you it will liven things up around here.
Historically, we have offered fora on glassboard or chatter or otherwise offsite for women to use to brainstorm FPPs if it's too scary to do that out in public here. Historically--at least in my memory, JulyByWomen being before my time--those things haven't seen a lot of use. So I would like to instead invite people who want to help out with an initiative like this to post here in this MeTa, and maybe to say if they're okay with folks MeMailing them and asking for help.
2015's WomensMarch asked to see if we could get 100 new FPPs by women on the Blue in the month of March. JulyByWomen, in 2014, called for 90 new posts. Because new posts to the Blue have been down a bit lately as we focus on the megathreads, I'm going to say that we should aim for 100 FPP posts by women on the Blue in March.
That's the goal. I'm going to, as is traditional, post viggorlijah's excellent original #JulyByWomen FAQ as an introduction here:
"What's the goal?
More posts by women.
Do posts have to be about "women's issues"?
Nope. Great posts on any subject.
Why do this?
Women post to the front page proportionally less often, and I want to see if we can shift that. By my calculations (1, 2), only about 8% (lowballed because women don't identify themselves always on profiles) of FPPs are made by women. This is much lower than the number of self-reported women on Metafilter, and lower than the percentage of women commenting. "
I'm going to add another couple of questions I've seen in past posts here:
My gender identity is complicated. Am I included here?
If you are asking this question and feel comfortable participating, the answer is yes, of course.
What can men do to help?
Keep on keeping on; you're not really being asked to alter your FPP posting habits any. If you want to support women here, keep an eye out for women who post asking for support, or cheerleading, and try to be helpful. Look out for first time posters in particular and try to help ensure their first FPPs go well--or send them an encouraging message if the FPPs don't go so hot. Most folks appreciate the support.
I also want to echo Deoridhe's explicit point from last WomensMarch, in the vein of acknowledging the intersectionality present both in the physical Marches across the world a few weeks ago and also the intersectionality of our community here.
"I want to specifically invite women who are marginalized along more than one axis to participate if they want to - women of color, trans women, women with physical and/or mental disabilities, indigenous women, poor women, lesbians and bisexual women, and other groups I may have missed."
We need your voices, too! We especially need your voices, so that we can be inclusive in our activism and also, y'know, because I bet you have a lot of cool stuff you know or care or think about that would make the rest of us laugh or weep or think more clearly about. Me, my to-FPP list includes things like the St. Patrick Day's Battalion and all, but it also includes things like "how do dimples form?" and "why do your own farts not smell as bad as other people's?" Whatever you want to bring, I bet you it will be interesting, and I bet you it will liven things up around here.
Historically, we have offered fora on glassboard or chatter or otherwise offsite for women to use to brainstorm FPPs if it's too scary to do that out in public here. Historically--at least in my memory, JulyByWomen being before my time--those things haven't seen a lot of use. So I would like to instead invite people who want to help out with an initiative like this to post here in this MeTa, and maybe to say if they're okay with folks MeMailing them and asking for help.
Oh gosh yes PLEASE. I could not be more enthused about the return of MonthByWomen. Thank you for this MeTa!
posted by amnesia and magnets at 12:25 PM on February 3, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by amnesia and magnets at 12:25 PM on February 3, 2017 [6 favorites]
Oh, this is a GREAT idea! I am always so anxious about posting and having extra incentive/encouragement helps so much. Plus the last two had so many interesting and fun posts!
posted by leesh at 12:40 PM on February 3, 2017
posted by leesh at 12:40 PM on February 3, 2017
I always think of things to post about and never get round to it, so thanks for a kick up the rear.
posted by emilyw at 12:44 PM on February 3, 2017
posted by emilyw at 12:44 PM on February 3, 2017
I really enjoyed WomensMarch and JulyByWomen, and I'm looking forward to WomensMarch 2. Let's do this!
posted by mogget at 12:47 PM on February 3, 2017
posted by mogget at 12:47 PM on February 3, 2017
I will commit to doing this and commit to making it as far from politics as possible. Perhaps I will reveal some super embarassing nerdery of mine!
posted by corb at 12:57 PM on February 3, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by corb at 12:57 PM on February 3, 2017 [4 favorites]
So on board. Thanks for making this post!
posted by everybody had matching towels at 1:00 PM on February 3, 2017
posted by everybody had matching towels at 1:00 PM on February 3, 2017
Yay! I'm excited for this.
posted by ocherdraco at 1:13 PM on February 3, 2017
posted by ocherdraco at 1:13 PM on February 3, 2017
Yas yas yas!
posted by supercrayon at 1:23 PM on February 3, 2017
posted by supercrayon at 1:23 PM on February 3, 2017
This is great. I haven't done an FPP before but am highly encouraged now to come up with a good one.
Also, I do want an answer to the why your own farts don't smell as bad as other people's. So please get on that one.
posted by knownassociate at 1:27 PM on February 3, 2017 [2 favorites]
Also, I do want an answer to the why your own farts don't smell as bad as other people's. So please get on that one.
posted by knownassociate at 1:27 PM on February 3, 2017 [2 favorites]
Yes please! I am tired of all the US politics posts (they even seem to be all over askme) because they make me sad and angry, so I'd love to see some interesting new topics appear on the front page. I'll make an effort to post at least one thing myself.
posted by billiebee at 1:28 PM on February 3, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by billiebee at 1:28 PM on February 3, 2017 [2 favorites]
(Not that I'm not personally in the endless screaming threads myself, you understand, but it's gotten to the point that I have like twenty unanswered memails from people who seem concerned that my head will actually explode if I don't take a break, so
yeah
I love all of you guys but at some point I gotta take that particular hint)
posted by sciatrix at 1:30 PM on February 3, 2017 [6 favorites]
yeah
I love all of you guys but at some point I gotta take that particular hint)
posted by sciatrix at 1:30 PM on February 3, 2017 [6 favorites]
Woohoo!
posted by lazaruslong at 1:30 PM on February 3, 2017
posted by lazaruslong at 1:30 PM on February 3, 2017
What tag to use?
posted by slipthought at 2:24 PM on February 3, 2017
posted by slipthought at 2:24 PM on February 3, 2017
Looking forward to helping support this challenge and the women who participate. Cheers.
posted by Fizz at 2:32 PM on February 3, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Fizz at 2:32 PM on February 3, 2017 [1 favorite]
Looking forward to helping, too.
posted by thedarksideofprocyon at 2:40 PM on February 3, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by thedarksideofprocyon at 2:40 PM on February 3, 2017 [1 favorite]
I figured we'd use #WomensMarch as our tag again. It seems a useful sort of catchall. If you add #monthbywomen, that will add #WomensMarch to the corpus of work from the two previous events.
posted by sciatrix at 2:44 PM on February 3, 2017
posted by sciatrix at 2:44 PM on February 3, 2017
Excellent suggestion! I vote yes.
Re:
So if you see a post you like, say something. It's nice. (Sitewide and year-round, even.)
posted by kristi at 2:59 PM on February 3, 2017 [12 favorites]
Re:
What can men do to help?I think one great, fairly simple thing is just to say something nice when there's a WomensMarch post you like. I've made a handful of FPPs, and sometimes the responses are lukewarm and sometimes the responses really miss the point of the post. My latest FPP has a bunch of explicit "nice post!" and "excellent post!" comments, and those are REALLY encouraging.
Keep on keeping on; you're not really being asked to alter your FPP posting habits any. If you want to support women here, keep an eye out for women who post asking for support, or cheerleading, and try to be helpful. Look out for first time posters in particular and try to help ensure their first FPPs go well--or send them an encouraging message if the FPPs don't go so hot. Most folks appreciate the support.
So if you see a post you like, say something. It's nice. (Sitewide and year-round, even.)
posted by kristi at 2:59 PM on February 3, 2017 [12 favorites]
This is a great idea!
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 3:46 PM on February 3, 2017
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 3:46 PM on February 3, 2017
I love this, support this, and am looking forward to extra awesomeness on the front page in March!
I made my first FPP during JulyByWomen. I really just hadn't considered myself someone who makes FPPs, at least not before that nudge. Like, I could leave the posting up to people better at framing things coherently and with less niche interests. But I enjoyed making the first so much, I made another one that month, and I've made more since then, and despite my insecurities, no disasters have befallen (at least not related to me posting FPPs). And I remember enjoying so many interesting posts during the previous two events. So, yes, I am thrilled to see this again!
posted by mixedmetaphors at 3:50 PM on February 3, 2017 [3 favorites]
I made my first FPP during JulyByWomen. I really just hadn't considered myself someone who makes FPPs, at least not before that nudge. Like, I could leave the posting up to people better at framing things coherently and with less niche interests. But I enjoyed making the first so much, I made another one that month, and I've made more since then, and despite my insecurities, no disasters have befallen (at least not related to me posting FPPs). And I remember enjoying so many interesting posts during the previous two events. So, yes, I am thrilled to see this again!
posted by mixedmetaphors at 3:50 PM on February 3, 2017 [3 favorites]
Count me in!
posted by nightrecordings at 4:34 PM on February 3, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by nightrecordings at 4:34 PM on February 3, 2017 [1 favorite]
Yes yes yes. I'll commit to making at least one post--probably about some women's issue :-D.
posted by Excommunicated Cardinal at 5:56 PM on February 3, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Excommunicated Cardinal at 5:56 PM on February 3, 2017 [2 favorites]
amazing, yes please! I always find the monthbywomen to be some of the most interesting and best-of-metafilter months!
posted by rebent at 6:14 PM on February 3, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by rebent at 6:14 PM on February 3, 2017 [1 favorite]
I will attempt to post both space-related AND non-space-related posts!
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 6:37 PM on February 3, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 6:37 PM on February 3, 2017 [7 favorites]
Cool, I will try to post in it this time!
posted by snorkmaiden at 8:00 PM on February 3, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by snorkmaiden at 8:00 PM on February 3, 2017 [3 favorites]
Fantastic idea! Big fan of these and it is definitely the right moment.
posted by ellieBOA at 9:28 PM on February 3, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by ellieBOA at 9:28 PM on February 3, 2017 [2 favorites]
I like this and also how clever the tag now is in 2017.
posted by thetortoise at 9:42 PM on February 3, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by thetortoise at 9:42 PM on February 3, 2017 [4 favorites]
This sounds great!
knownassociate: I haven't done an FPP before but am highly encouraged now to come up with a good one.
Protip: don't over-think it, and don't doubt yourself if the topic is good enough to post. Really, anything other than current politics will likely be welcomed with open arms.
But do make sure it's not a duplicate, because it's a drag to put time into making a post, only to find that it was up before with a different URL. YouTube videos are the worst for this, but it also happens when a site moves from a blog platform with the usual something.tumblr.com or topic.blogspot.com to a dedicated URL.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:39 AM on February 4, 2017 [3 favorites]
knownassociate: I haven't done an FPP before but am highly encouraged now to come up with a good one.
Protip: don't over-think it, and don't doubt yourself if the topic is good enough to post. Really, anything other than current politics will likely be welcomed with open arms.
But do make sure it's not a duplicate, because it's a drag to put time into making a post, only to find that it was up before with a different URL. YouTube videos are the worst for this, but it also happens when a site moves from a blog platform with the usual something.tumblr.com or topic.blogspot.com to a dedicated URL.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:39 AM on February 4, 2017 [3 favorites]
I've made a handful of FPPs, and sometimes the responses are lukewarm and sometimes the responses really miss the point of the post.
Yeah I definitely got a few comments on my last post that were clearly just Crabby Internet People getting their Crab on and if I wasn't someone who was comfortable here, it would have been really discouraging. So a combination of "Hey this post is great" and maybe holding back on your snark (for all genders) is a great thing and will help women (or anyone) be more comfortable making posts.
I will personally be happy to read anyone's post if they want a second set of eyes and some feedback. Email in profile etc.
posted by jessamyn (retired) at 11:50 AM on February 4, 2017 [4 favorites]
Yeah I definitely got a few comments on my last post that were clearly just Crabby Internet People getting their Crab on and if I wasn't someone who was comfortable here, it would have been really discouraging. So a combination of "Hey this post is great" and maybe holding back on your snark (for all genders) is a great thing and will help women (or anyone) be more comfortable making posts.
I will personally be happy to read anyone's post if they want a second set of eyes and some feedback. Email in profile etc.
posted by jessamyn (retired) at 11:50 AM on February 4, 2017 [4 favorites]
Yes, please, for another WomensMarch. The last one and JulyByWomen were just fantastic, tons of great posts. I would dig it if this were an annual thing.
posted by soundguy99 at 12:58 PM on February 4, 2017
posted by soundguy99 at 12:58 PM on February 4, 2017
I remember the last time we had this. It greatly increased the breadth and depth of topics discussed on Metafilter. It added diversity to both the people posting, and the subject matter of the front page.
posted by zabuni at 10:17 PM on February 4, 2017
posted by zabuni at 10:17 PM on February 4, 2017
Yes. Count me in.
posted by marteki at 10:04 PM on February 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by marteki at 10:04 PM on February 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
I love this idea, although it reminds me yet again that I really need to start cultivating more cool places to hear about things because right now my life usually involves my sharing stuff from Metafilter with other people, not sharing stuff on Metafilter that I've found elsewhere.
posted by Sequence at 8:17 AM on February 6, 2017
posted by Sequence at 8:17 AM on February 6, 2017
I think this is a fine idea, and I will certainly do my best to post an FPP again. It's been a while.
It's also been a while since I read much of anything on the Blue, except for. You know.
posted by Too-Ticky at 2:49 PM on February 6, 2017
It's also been a while since I read much of anything on the Blue, except for. You know.
posted by Too-Ticky at 2:49 PM on February 6, 2017
I would be okay with folks memailing me.
Is the plan that this will be done in the month of March? Because I am failing to see that explicitly stated and would like to be sure.
Thanks.
posted by Michele in California at 5:01 PM on February 6, 2017
Is the plan that this will be done in the month of March? Because I am failing to see that explicitly stated and would like to be sure.
Thanks.
posted by Michele in California at 5:01 PM on February 6, 2017
Yeah, I think the hope is for 100 new posts by women in March.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 5:15 PM on February 6, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 5:15 PM on February 6, 2017 [2 favorites]
I just looked back at my FPP history and saw: 1 in 2013, 1 in 2015, 3 in 2016, 3 in 2017 which is only a few weeks long so far. (And I submitted 1, maybe 2, over the years, that got deleted for being too close to the self-link line or for being accidental duplicates.) Clearly I'm becoming more comfortable posting to the front page, and even though I haven't yet participated explicitly in a women's month effort, I think the encouragements I heard in women's month initiatives probably served to boost my postitivity. So thank you!
posted by brainwane at 4:22 AM on February 7, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by brainwane at 4:22 AM on February 7, 2017 [2 favorites]
From below the break in the OP by sciatrix:
I don't mean to list these numbers as a challenge for now, but a celebration of the prior event, and to remind myself to finish reading those favorited posts.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:44 AM on February 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
Because new posts to the Blue have been down a bit lately as we focus on the megathreads, I'm going to say that we should aim for 100 FPP posts by women on the Blue in March.For more information, here's an end of March MeTa post on WomensMarch / support thread, where there were 275 tagged posts on March 26, and in looking at the WomensMarch tag, there were 329 through the end of the month! (333 currently, but 4 were posted after the month).
I don't mean to list these numbers as a challenge for now, but a celebration of the prior event, and to remind myself to finish reading those favorited posts.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:44 AM on February 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
Yay!
My memail is open for anyone wanting encouragement to post! I am a fantastic cheerleader, complete with the "Rah!"s and the "Sis Boom Bah!"s.
posted by Deoridhe at 12:00 PM on February 7, 2017 [4 favorites]
My memail is open for anyone wanting encouragement to post! I am a fantastic cheerleader, complete with the "Rah!"s and the "Sis Boom Bah!"s.
posted by Deoridhe at 12:00 PM on February 7, 2017 [4 favorites]
Small sub-suggestion: even if you don't feel comfortable posting, if you see a post you really like, say so! Sometimes the comments can get derailed pretty quick with weird nitpicks and knee-jerk crankiness from folks who haven't engaged with the content, which can be pretty discouraging to the poster, especially if it's their first time. Consider sending encouraging memails, dropping "this is great, I really liked [x]," comments, things like that.
posted by everybody had matching towels at 6:58 AM on February 8, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by everybody had matching towels at 6:58 AM on February 8, 2017 [9 favorites]
I hadn't made a FPP since 2014 (gosh how time flies) and I'm early for March, but I finally got off my butt and made a post (about beetles pretending to be butts). Yay! So anyhow, YES on the March posting drive.
posted by jzed at 11:54 PM on February 14, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by jzed at 11:54 PM on February 14, 2017 [3 favorites]
I think "posting drive" is the best expression ever for these events.
posted by Michele in California at 9:47 AM on February 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Michele in California at 9:47 AM on February 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
I think so! sciatrix, if you want to post another MeTa that'd be fine, or I can just sidebar this one.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 7:15 AM on March 1, 2017
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 7:15 AM on March 1, 2017
(I sidebarred this one)
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 10:31 AM on March 1, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 10:31 AM on March 1, 2017 [2 favorites]
The last FPP I made was for the last Womens March. Guess I'm overdue! I'll make an effort to post something fun (and to comment more, rather than just reading) -- thanks for the kick in the rear!
posted by cellar door at 2:05 PM on March 1, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by cellar door at 2:05 PM on March 1, 2017 [1 favorite]
Oh this is awesome! I keep wanting to make an FPP but never really get to, so this is an awesome encouragement!
posted by yueliang at 10:01 AM on March 2, 2017
posted by yueliang at 10:01 AM on March 2, 2017
If anyone is in want of something fun and interesting to post, just think about less common and/or local things you like! Atlas Obscura could be a good starting point, or it might have an article that covers the topic well.
Or you can pull an idea from the man of twists and turns' list of topics, and there's the mostly dead Wiki page of drafts and collaborations, which I started years ago after wanting to help people collaborate and share ideas.
posted by filthy light thief at 1:16 PM on March 2, 2017
Or you can pull an idea from the man of twists and turns' list of topics, and there's the mostly dead Wiki page of drafts and collaborations, which I started years ago after wanting to help people collaborate and share ideas.
posted by filthy light thief at 1:16 PM on March 2, 2017
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posted by cortex (staff) at 12:07 PM on February 3, 2017 [4 favorites]