Learned League and more

April 10, 2018 10:10 AM

User 1 interviews user 292 on the Hobby Horse podcast.
posted by Chrysostom to MetaFilter-Related at 10:10 AM (41 comments total)

RTFM, matt!
posted by terrapin at 10:20 AM on April 10, 2018

That tremendous crash you just heard was me dropping everything to listen to this right now. If there's two things on the Internet I love, they're Metafilter and LL!
posted by zeusianfog at 12:44 PM on April 10, 2018 [2 favorites]

What a couple of nerds....who I could listen to for a lot longer than just one hour.
posted by wenestvedt at 1:30 PM on April 10, 2018 [1 favorite]

I like this podcast so far. I enjoy finding out what people's passions are, outside of the thing I know them from. That's why I like following MeFites on social media, because I get to see who they really are.

Learned League really intrigues me and but I'm not going to join because I know I'd get bored after a couple of weeks and then I'd be That Guy who makes my sponsor look bad.

Also, episode one of this podcast really upped my Alto's Odyssey game. I'm a wingsuit convert now.
posted by bondcliff at 1:40 PM on April 10, 2018

brb, sending mathowie a memail to invite him to the MeFi private rundle

(I learned about LL from jessamyn!)
posted by Huffy Puffy at 2:00 PM on April 10, 2018 [3 favorites]

I'm pretty bad at podcasts. I basically have to give them my full attention or they just bounce off my ears completely. So the bar is high for what I will block out time to listen to. However, I am a big fan of mathowie, jessamyn, Learned League, and the MIT Mystery Hunt, so you better believe I listened the heck out of this!

Btw: Anyone scared off from the Mystery Hunt* might want to try the puzzle analogue of pub trivia: Puzzled Pint. It's super casual, it happens in a ton of cities, it's every month, and this month's one is tonight! (If you want to find out where exactly, you have to either solve a puzzle or click on the link to the solution)

* Anyone not scared off from the Mystery Hunt also might like it!
posted by aubilenon at 3:35 PM on April 10, 2018 [1 favorite]

As it is LL referral time again like they mentioned, I'll go ahead and put my hat in the ring if someone wants a referral, just MeMail me.
posted by rewil at 4:01 PM on April 10, 2018

I listened to some of the episode with User 109 (it was interesting, but got a little too in-the-weeds for me). Definitely going to check out this one!
posted by radioamy at 4:13 PM on April 10, 2018

I learned about LL from jessamyn!

Shit, then who invited me...?
posted by jessamyn (retired) at 7:10 PM on April 10, 2018

shothotbot! Sorry I was confused, and thank you.
posted by jessamyn (retired) at 7:11 PM on April 10, 2018

I don't think Jessamyn West is a real person. To me it just looks like an algorithm that scours the web for every reasonable opinion and then just posts them to metafilter.
posted by Pyrogenesis at 1:59 AM on April 11, 2018 [2 favorites]

Also I just looked up what the word 'scour' actually means and it does not mean what I thought it meant and now my above comment sounds completely wrong and the opposite of what I meant.
posted by Pyrogenesis at 2:04 AM on April 11, 2018

Apparently 'look for' and 'hoard' and 'scour' are not in fact synonyms.
posted by Pyrogenesis at 2:08 AM on April 11, 2018

the web could use a good scouring though
posted by Huffy Puffy at 4:43 AM on April 11, 2018 [2 favorites]

Also I just looked up what the word 'scour' actually means and it does not mean what I thought it meant and now my above comment sounds completely wrong and the opposite of what I meant.

Seems fine to me.

scour, v.1 1. a. intr. To move about hastily or energetically; esp. to range about in search of something, or in movements against a foe.

However, the idea of jessamyn roistering about by night, waylaying passing netizens for any opinions in their pockets also amuses me.

3. spec. in 17th–18th century slang (cf. scourer n.¹ 2)
a. intr. To roam about at night uproariously, breaking windows, beating the watch, and molesting wayfarers.
posted by zamboni at 6:06 AM on April 11, 2018 [1 favorite]

scours the web for every reasonable opinion and then just posts them to metafilter

Or roams the barrooms of Vermont, laying waste to pub trivia nights.

"Scoregasms" is a pretty good name for a team, TBH.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:17 AM on April 11, 2018

The main guy on Scoregasms has this super deep baritone voice and is a screenwriter who gets Academy screeners around Oscar-time. He'd be better at trivia if he didn't drink so much.
posted by jessamyn (retired) at 7:25 AM on April 11, 2018 [1 favorite]

We need to add LearnedLeague to the list social apps we can add to our MeFi profiles so we can find other LLeFites in the social explorer!
posted by zsazsa at 9:31 AM on April 11, 2018 [2 favorites]

That's been discussed, zsazsa, but I think the consensus was that since it's not really "open" for anyone to join and profiles are only viewable if you're logged in, it doesn't quite meet the requirements.

There's an informal listing on the wiki, created by Huffy Puffy, though I don't know how current the information is.
posted by Ufez Jones at 10:25 AM on April 11, 2018 [2 favorites]

I believe it is not eligible given that you cannot see a LLama's page unless you are signed in. Perhaps that restriction was lifted in the last go round? In any case, there is a page on the wiki.
posted by Rock Steady at 10:26 AM on April 11, 2018

What my fellow Morningstarian said above.
posted by Rock Steady at 10:27 AM on April 11, 2018 [1 favorite]

I’ve recreated the private rundle for this next season. It’s the same rundle name “MetaFilter” and registration code as we used in every previous season. It doesn’t automatically renew or notify people.

Last season we had 18 members!
posted by Huffy Puffy at 11:26 AM on April 11, 2018 [2 favorites]

Thank you, Huffy Puffy!
posted by leesh at 12:32 PM on April 11, 2018

Metafilter private rundle?! I had no idea!
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 1:46 PM on April 11, 2018

What my fellow Morningstarian said above.
posted by Rock Steady at 12:27 PM

Not only that, but you're in my branch! (for now, until leesh inevitably gets her own)
posted by Ufez Jones at 5:22 PM on April 11, 2018 [2 favorites]

Wow, I didn't think I could platonic love jessamyn any more than I already did, but she's a trivia pro too? So excellent! Thanks for being here jessamyn!
posted by Meatbomb at 2:54 AM on April 12, 2018 [1 favorite]

I'm pretty bad at podcasts. I basically have to give them my full attention or they just bounce off my ears completely. So the bar is high for what I will block out time to listen to

I'm similar and especially now that baseball season has started I tend to put a live game on instead of a podcast while doing things like cleaning homebrewing equipment. But this one sounds cool so I will try and listen at some point and meanwhile hope that some kind soul will generate a transcript.

Also I thought about asking for an invite to this trivia thing but going through their sample questions has humbled me. I refreshed the page a few times to try different questions but I generally tend to do below average. It's fun to try though.
posted by exogenous at 5:52 AM on April 12, 2018

Keep in mind that at the level mathowie and I play, I'm usually getting between two and three out of six only. Because of the way the thing is structured, after the first season you play against people who are about at your level. So, totally fine if you think you wouldn't enjoy it, but because of how the play is structured (with defense being a big part of it) but if you're just concerned you don't get many questions right, you might be surprised that you can still do okay.
posted by jessamyn (retired) at 6:48 AM on April 12, 2018 [3 favorites]

LL76 was my rookie season, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. So MFmail me if you want a referral and are NOT a dirty forfeiter.

I can only afford the basic membership at this time, so I won't be joining in the private rundle for a while. Wah wahhhh.
posted by DrAstroZoom at 6:52 AM on April 12, 2018

This was a lot of fun to listen to! Especially with a little bit of a preview about it just chatting with Jess in the preroll for the last MeFi podcast. Like watching DVD special features before the actual movie. But also it's kind of fun to listen to something that's halfway to being a MeFi podcast but doesn't require any effort on my part.

My wife's been enjoying LL too the last couple months and I feel like I'm sold now on giving it a go at some point even though I'm definitely not a strong overall trivia person.
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:28 AM on April 12, 2018 [1 favorite]

Yeah, I enjoyed my rookie season and I'll make sure to refer cortex for this next one! I'm pretty awful at it- I get generally 2-3 correct, sometimes just 1. It doesn't feel awful to do bad at! I only went for the basic membership for now, but maybe I'll aim for upgrading to join the private rundle in the future.

I should listen to this podcast!
posted by Secretariat at 9:49 AM on April 12, 2018 [2 favorites]

I refreshed the page a few times to try different questions but I generally tend to do below average.

Even folks in the top flight of the league get questions wrong every day. I've been in the highest level, Rundle A, since I managed a Battlefield Promotion coming out of Rundle R, and my career percentage of questions answered correctly (QPct) is .657, which means I get 3.942 questions right per day.
posted by Rock Steady at 11:15 AM on April 12, 2018

Also, as with all tests, you get better at taking the test as you go along-- my rookie season, my QPct was .573; last season, it was .673. I get a lot fewer "Oh, that's what he was asking for..." reactions these days, because I'm more used to the flow and the writing.
posted by Etrigan at 12:52 PM on April 12, 2018 [1 favorite]

This reminds me to pull the podcast up in my (perpetually growing) to listen queue.

Did ok in my rookie season, but my defense ducked up the wazoo so will probably end up in E. Will definitely join the private MeFi rundle so I can lose just as poorly to people I recognize. :)
posted by RyanAdams at 1:04 PM on April 12, 2018

I'm proud of finishing 6th in my rookie rundle despite having the 5th worst defense (0.537 DE).
posted by zsazsa at 4:08 PM on April 12, 2018 [1 favorite]

Podcast listened to and thoroughly enjoyed. It also makes me pine a bit for the days of kidless pub trivia nights. LL does a good job of replacing that itch... and there's a lot less music rounds here that I can utterly suck in.
posted by RyanAdams at 4:56 PM on April 12, 2018

Glad I put the time in to listen to the podcast. Many LOLs were had. Also big thanks to rewil for giving me a referral — I am now in LL!
posted by exogenous at 2:04 PM on April 23, 2018

Loved this! Fun conversation, even though I had never heard of Learned League and I'm not great at trivia. It did make me think that I need to brush up on my geography. I could name about 10 African countries off the top of my head (there are more than 50, which is more than I would have guessed!).
posted by radioamy at 9:14 PM on April 24, 2018 [1 favorite]

I have officially referred cortex and it is officially ON.
posted by jessamyn (retired) at 8:32 AM on April 25, 2018 [3 favorites]

*Hulks out, brain-style*
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:48 AM on April 26, 2018 [1 favorite]

FYI for folks who may be reading this. There was a LL database failure and stuff's a little messed up at the moment. We're over at the LL FB group commiserating.
posted by jessamyn (retired) at 9:45 AM on May 6, 2018