Still "Best of the Web": A typical but great AskMe this morning

January 24, 2019 8:02 AM

[This is a general appreciation post and maybe those are not cool for MetaTalk anymore but I generally appreciate you so I am trying it.] chesty_a_arthur wrote an AskMe question this morning about a commonly-repeated but factually-unclear legal point: do mothers get legal preference in U.S. child custody cases? Within 4 hours, there are 7 substantive answers, with links to 6 general articles and 4 scholarly papers that are on-point.

What struck me is how quietly normal this is for AskMe posts. (Except in DTMFA questions, where some emotion is called for), people write dispassionately and respectfully and actually answer the question asked.

I always thought the "best of the web" tag had a great double meaning: MeFi posts highlight the best stuff out there, but the discussion and comments and support you find in our community is the best, too.

It's nice to share this little island with you guys as Internet Climate Change swallows respectful places up.

posted by AgentRocket to MetaFilter-Related at 8:02 AM (17 comments total)

I was just thinking about how good AskMe is the other day, after I asked a question on a Facebook group for owners of a specific bike and got a reply of the "get rid of your PC and buy a Mac" style.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 8:09 AM on January 24, 2019 [9 favorites]

Metafilter: except in DTMFA questions, where some emotion is called for.
posted by Melismata at 8:29 AM on January 24, 2019 [3 favorites]

Yeah, this was super helpful and I appreciated peoples' thoughtful answers. They didn't all answer the question I meant to ask, but they did answer the question I DID ask -- and this difference actually helped me evaluate the claim I was asking about a little further.
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 9:01 AM on January 24, 2019 [14 favorites]

I like this type of Ask, and this Ask in particular, because it gets at complex issues that are not easy nor straightforward to answer, and the variety of experiences and perspectives and sources that can rally in response can be very interesting and thought-provoking.

I regret that I hadn't had any coffee yet when I first started participating this morning, but I am glad to feel like I got more on point after caffeination, and especially glad to see all of the thoughtful responses being posted, so yes, warm fuzzies all around.
posted by Little Dawn at 10:08 AM on January 24, 2019 [4 favorites]

I was just thinking about how good AskMe is the other day, after I asked a question on a Facebook group for owners of a specific bike and got a reply of the "get rid of your PC and buy a Mac" style.

But Macs have notoriously poor handling on city streets.
posted by Sangermaine at 12:55 PM on January 24, 2019 [25 favorites]

But Macs have notoriously poor handling on city streets." Yeah I noticed even running at them full speed, I can only slide 6-8 feet on one, at the most. And that's with it open and lying flat using both sides as a foot rest.
posted by Oyéah at 5:53 PM on January 24, 2019 [4 favorites]

Yeah but Metafilter makes it really hard in the whole rest of your life or even just the rest of your internets because you expect people to actually read the question and answer it as asked instead of spouting off about whatever popped into their heads after reading the first two words.

I want a MeFi mod to follow me around and delete all the off-topic comments in my life.
posted by HotToddy at 8:55 PM on January 24, 2019 [24 favorites]

> I want a MeFi mod to follow me around and delete all the off-topic comments in my life.

Or even just on the rest of the internet. Because UGH.
posted by desuetude at 11:21 PM on January 24, 2019 [2 favorites]

I want a MeFi mod to follow me around and delete all the off-topic comments in my life.

OK, I’m nicking that idea for a short story. I’m not saying it’ll be blackly dystopian - and I’m not saying it won’t.
posted by Segundus at 12:54 AM on January 25, 2019 [6 favorites]

Black Mirror season 5, episode 1: Noise/Derail/Other
posted by EndsOfInvention at 1:20 AM on January 25, 2019 [28 favorites]

I want a MeFi mod to follow me around and delete all the off-topic comments in my life.

Can we just drop the pretense, and admit that we all just basically want Jessamyn as a full-time life coach?
posted by Mayor West at 5:15 AM on January 25, 2019 [20 favorites]

Can we just drop the pretense, and admit that we all just basically want Jessamyn as a full-time life coach?

A life mod. Not just coaching you but also everyone else in your life. Running your life like she runs a thread. Yessssss.
posted by HotToddy at 5:50 AM on January 25, 2019 [11 favorites]

Agreed, this was a good example of an AskMe thread, on a potentially sensitive topic.
posted by carter at 6:09 AM on January 25, 2019 [1 favorite]

Jessamyn for Benevolent God Empress of My Life and Also the World 2020
posted by Grandysaur at 9:04 AM on January 25, 2019 [3 favorites]

I'm really glad that the "since the 70's" and changes popped up.
posted by zengargoyle at 2:19 PM on January 25, 2019 [2 favorites]

This is really nice to see. I get very flustered and defensive when people don't read the full AskMe questions (and feel like it's still a big issue even if it's improved a lot over the years), even if I'm not the one asking them...but compared to anywhere else on the web, AskMe is a shining example of how to be helpful.
posted by the thorn bushes have roses at 2:32 PM on January 25, 2019 [3 favorites]

I also very much appreciate this MeTa and general appreciation posts, personally, so I am very glad to have seen this.
posted by sciatrix at 8:12 PM on January 25, 2019 [3 favorites]