[MeFi Site Update] March 2025 March 28, 2025 7:58 AM Subscribe
Hello and welcome to this month’s site update! Thanks for your patience, we are and were waiting on some information, details are inside.
Last month’s update can be found here.
Profit & Loss
Last month’s Profit & Loss (P&L) report is on hold. We’re going over it with a volunteer with an accounting background to clear up any inconsistencies and coordinating the time to review has taken a while. We’ll post the results in a separate MetaTalk post.
The previous P&L reports are at this link.
Admin
Done:
Current Site
Added a log of official mod comments and post deletions. The last 50 entries over the presiding seven days are shown.
This mod log is lightweight in features and considered done in this state. The new site will incorporate a moderation log with a more robust feature set.
BIPOC Advisory Board
The BIPOC Board met on March 14th.
All meeting minutes through February 2025 have been posted. Thanks everyone!
The Board's next meeting is on April 19 and members of MetaFilter's Interim Board will be joining it.
--
If you have any questions or feedback not related to this particular update, please Contact Us instead. If you want to discuss a particular subject not covered here with the community, you’re welcome to open a separate MetaTalk thread for it.
Profit & Loss
Last month’s Profit & Loss (P&L) report is on hold. We’re going over it with a volunteer with an accounting background to clear up any inconsistencies and coordinating the time to review has taken a while. We’ll post the results in a separate MetaTalk post.
The previous P&L reports are at this link.
Admin
- Set up a new MeFi PO Box and updated it across the site. The address is:
Metafilter Community Foundation
10002 Aurora Ave N Suite 36 PMB 266
Seattle, WA, 98133 - Twitter redirects are now live! All existing Twitter links, as well as all “X.com” links going forward, will redirect to Xcancel.com, a free and open-source mirror from the Nitter project. You can also follow our official account on Bluesky and Mastodon.
- Frimble has added MeFiQuote, a new quoting function, with code donated by Plutor. It’s currently opt-in; you can activate it in your Preferences, or see the announcement post for more information and share other ideas for site addons.
- AWS backup changes have been made by frimble and Frayed Knot, but it was mid-month so the savings have not been fully realized yet. They're still investigating other changes.
- MeFi’s taxes for last year (under the LLC) have been filed (though not accepted by IRS yet) which is the last step in paying out the “old MeFi money”. The tax return for the Foundation has been prepared and is ready to be submitted.
- Added a General Staff and Site Information FAQ that contains basic information that members have requested be in one place. The link to this FAQ entry will be placed in the navigation bar for easy access and titled "Staff & Site Info". If there's something you think should be added to it, please let us know in the comments!
- Updated the ChatGPT policy based on recommendations from the community. The major difference is that we do not allow Large Language Models like ChatGPT to be used on the site, except in very limited instances.
- Clarified why back and forth discussion is discouraged in AskMetaFilter in response to an email inquiry from a member.
- Updated FAQ entry about favorites and flags to link to the MetaTalk thread where the features was first introduced, after member inquiry.
- Have begun collecting information about member run activities and events to compile into a public list and calendar for everyone to access.
Done:
- Fixed the bugs with adding, editing, and replying to comments
- Added a bookmark feature
- Working through bugs
- Writing developer documentation
- WYSIWYG editor that supports Markdown
Current Site
Added a log of official mod comments and post deletions. The last 50 entries over the presiding seven days are shown.
This mod log is lightweight in features and considered done in this state. The new site will incorporate a moderation log with a more robust feature set.
BIPOC Advisory Board
The BIPOC Board met on March 14th.
All meeting minutes through February 2025 have been posted. Thanks everyone!
The Board's next meeting is on April 19 and members of MetaFilter's Interim Board will be joining it.
--
If you have any questions or feedback not related to this particular update, please Contact Us instead. If you want to discuss a particular subject not covered here with the community, you’re welcome to open a separate MetaTalk thread for it.
tiny frying pan: "My mind is blown by the quote feature! Very cool, thanks!"
INDEED!!!
whoa. this is a really great update. i like the format of the recent mod actions page too. and i'm in love with the mefiquote upgrade!!!
thanks for the hard work from everyone!
posted by chasles at 11:00 AM on March 28
INDEED!!!
whoa. this is a really great update. i like the format of the recent mod actions page too. and i'm in love with the mefiquote upgrade!!!
thanks for the hard work from everyone!
posted by chasles at 11:00 AM on March 28
Very positive update!
posted by warriorqueen at 11:12 AM on March 28 [5 favorites]
posted by warriorqueen at 11:12 AM on March 28 [5 favorites]
Great update, thank you!
Curious why Seattle was selected for the P.O. Box location and how that will work with a board-run site.
posted by Threeve at 11:53 AM on March 28
Curious why Seattle was selected for the P.O. Box location and how that will work with a board-run site.
posted by Threeve at 11:53 AM on March 28
Re: to counter the unsatisfactory 7-day rolling snapshot of mod actions, Klipspringer was kind enough to put up a page archiving all the mod log entries, so we don't have to accept the site management's limited version but can instead see the full accounting of mod actions the mods feel are worth writing down between now and whenever the new site goes up. (June? September? Christmas? Is there a pool?) Here's the comment where Klipspringer announced it:
After a week, deletions and mod notes drop off the new mod log. So I threw together a Mefi mod log archive. This has the same content — but is archived forever, tagged by site and mod, and there are RSS feeds (linked in footer). We check for new mod actions roughly every 10 minutes.
Thanks, Klipspringer. Your time and work are very much appreciated!
posted by catspajamas at 12:24 PM on March 28 [8 favorites]
After a week, deletions and mod notes drop off the new mod log. So I threw together a Mefi mod log archive. This has the same content — but is archived forever, tagged by site and mod, and there are RSS feeds (linked in footer). We check for new mod actions roughly every 10 minutes.
Thanks, Klipspringer. Your time and work are very much appreciated!
posted by catspajamas at 12:24 PM on March 28 [8 favorites]
Nice work, Klipspringer!
posted by kirkaracha (staff) at 12:30 PM on March 28 [4 favorites]
posted by kirkaracha (staff) at 12:30 PM on March 28 [4 favorites]
Every time anyone in site management mentions the 7-day limited mod log, they should also link directly to Klipspringer's more robust version.
posted by catspajamas at 12:33 PM on March 28 [4 favorites]
posted by catspajamas at 12:33 PM on March 28 [4 favorites]
Re: to counter the unsatisfactory 7-day rolling snapshot of mod actions, Klipspringer was kind enough to put up a page archiving all the mod log entries, so we don't have to accept the site management's limited version but can instead see the full accounting of mod actions the mods feel are worth writing down between now and whenever the new site goes up. (June? September? Christmas? Is there a pool?)
We were having positive vibes for a second.
posted by kbanas at 12:41 PM on March 28 [4 favorites]
We were having positive vibes for a second.
posted by kbanas at 12:41 PM on March 28 [4 favorites]
Keep them up!
posted by catspajamas at 12:48 PM on March 28 [1 favorite]
posted by catspajamas at 12:48 PM on March 28 [1 favorite]
Thank you for the updates. The continued non-reliance on hamsters powering the site via exercise wheels is satisfactory.
posted by Atreides at 1:04 PM on March 28
posted by Atreides at 1:04 PM on March 28
[Positively] Is the link to "collecting information about member run activities and events" supposed to go here?
posted by ssg at 1:06 PM on March 28
posted by ssg at 1:06 PM on March 28
Thanks to frimble, I'll be importing usernames and passwords from the old site into the new site. People will then be able to log in with their real usernames and passwords on the new site. I'm also working with the board, loup, and frimble to figure out how to set up voting.
I'm doing a rebuild update MetaTalk post on Monday. Logging in should be set up by then, voting probably won't be.
June? September? Christmas? Is there a pool?
June: possible, not probable. September? Could be! Christmas? No year specified, so sure! But programmers are optimists. Kybard has volunteered to be a project/product manager, and I'm hoping to connect with him this week.
The continued non-reliance on hamsters powering the site via exercise wheels is satisfactory.
We're upgrading to gerbils. Much cuter! Also notoriously easier, more docile, and less likely to bite.
posted by kirkaracha (staff) at 1:09 PM on March 28 [5 favorites]
I'm doing a rebuild update MetaTalk post on Monday. Logging in should be set up by then, voting probably won't be.
June? September? Christmas? Is there a pool?
June: possible, not probable. September? Could be! Christmas? No year specified, so sure! But programmers are optimists. Kybard has volunteered to be a project/product manager, and I'm hoping to connect with him this week.
The continued non-reliance on hamsters powering the site via exercise wheels is satisfactory.
We're upgrading to gerbils. Much cuter! Also notoriously easier, more docile, and less likely to bite.
posted by kirkaracha (staff) at 1:09 PM on March 28 [5 favorites]
Mod note: [Positively] Is the link to "collecting information about member run activities and events" supposed to go here?
Yep, fixed now, thanks for pointing out!
Curious why Seattle was selected for the P.O. Box location and how that will work with a board-run site.
One of the board members lives there, so it's easy for them to pick it up.
Also added a link to the MefiQuote announcement page.
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 1:17 PM on March 28
Yep, fixed now, thanks for pointing out!
Curious why Seattle was selected for the P.O. Box location and how that will work with a board-run site.
One of the board members lives there, so it's easy for them to pick it up.
Also added a link to the MefiQuote announcement page.
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 1:17 PM on March 28
Twitter redirects are now live! All existing Twitter links, as well as all “X.com” links going forward, will redirect to Xcancel.com, a free and open-source mirror from the Nitter project.I would not expect XCancel to be long for this world.
posted by kickingtheground at 2:15 PM on March 28 [1 favorite]
- re mod log archive: thanks catspajamas and kirkaracha!
- re the existing site: I am noticing more connection resets than usual on MetaFilter. This unofficial uptime monitor on statuscake shows a connection failure an hour ago, and a big spike in latency at 9am UTC each day (click the table and set the graph to 1w). Are others noticing this? Do we know what's causing it?
posted by Klipspringer at 2:16 PM on March 28 [2 favorites]
- re the existing site: I am noticing more connection resets than usual on MetaFilter. This unofficial uptime monitor on statuscake shows a connection failure an hour ago, and a big spike in latency at 9am UTC each day (click the table and set the graph to 1w). Are others noticing this? Do we know what's causing it?
posted by Klipspringer at 2:16 PM on March 28 [2 favorites]
I’ve noticed some connection resets but not as many over the last few days as I was seeing last week, 2 weeks ago.
posted by ashbury at 2:28 PM on March 28 [1 favorite]
posted by ashbury at 2:28 PM on March 28 [1 favorite]
Do we have a deadline for when we expect power for the new site to be 100% reliant on gerbils rather than hamsters? Is there no vegan option for running the site? Will the retired hamsters have an option for ongoing housing and medical care? Will the Gerbil Transition Team be identified and will they post regular minutes?
/s although I would absolutely 100% read Gerbil Transition Minutes.
posted by Vatnesine at 2:34 PM on March 28 [4 favorites]
/s although I would absolutely 100% read Gerbil Transition Minutes.
posted by Vatnesine at 2:34 PM on March 28 [4 favorites]
Curious why Seattle was selected for the P.O. Box location and how that will work with a board-run site.
One of the board members lives there, so it's easy for them to pick it up.
I looked up the address and it's a UPS Store, and those also offer a service where they will gather up and send all your mail to you at another address at regular intervals. I've been using private mailboxes for 20+ years because of stalkers, and UPS Stores tend to be very reliable.
Also, Seattle has a bunch of long-time Mefites (there used to be pretty regular IRL meetups before the pandemic) so in a pinch, one of us could be tasked to go get the mail if there was something time sensitive. It's not something I'd want to do on the regular as it would require leaving my rectangle, but if staff reached out in an actual emergency then I'd do it. I'm sure there are at least a dozen other long-time members here who would as well.
posted by Jacqueline at 3:00 PM on March 28 [2 favorites]
One of the board members lives there, so it's easy for them to pick it up.
I looked up the address and it's a UPS Store, and those also offer a service where they will gather up and send all your mail to you at another address at regular intervals. I've been using private mailboxes for 20+ years because of stalkers, and UPS Stores tend to be very reliable.
Also, Seattle has a bunch of long-time Mefites (there used to be pretty regular IRL meetups before the pandemic) so in a pinch, one of us could be tasked to go get the mail if there was something time sensitive. It's not something I'd want to do on the regular as it would require leaving my rectangle, but if staff reached out in an actual emergency then I'd do it. I'm sure there are at least a dozen other long-time members here who would as well.
posted by Jacqueline at 3:00 PM on March 28 [2 favorites]
This is fucking great, that's a lotta good shit! Sorry, I'm in a sweary mood. It is buoying to see many positive actions.
posted by lucidium at 3:20 PM on March 28 [4 favorites]
posted by lucidium at 3:20 PM on March 28 [4 favorites]
re mod log archive: thanks catspajamas and kirkaracha!
That's all Klipspringer. (Well, and catspajamas, but definitely not me.)
We can use the mod logs as a pilot for the new site. Please use the feature request form (current list) to record any features you'd like to add.
posted by kirkaracha (staff) at 4:14 PM on March 28
That's all Klipspringer. (Well, and catspajamas, but definitely not me.)
We can use the mod logs as a pilot for the new site. Please use the feature request form (current list) to record any features you'd like to add.
posted by kirkaracha (staff) at 4:14 PM on March 28
I'll be importing usernames and passwords
Important clarification: are you importing the hashes of the passwords or the passwords? If the passwords are stored in plaintext, that needs to be changed with high priority. In the case of the former, is it being hashed with a suitable algorithm or something that's now too weak, such as md5?
posted by Candleman at 4:57 PM on March 28 [1 favorite]
Important clarification: are you importing the hashes of the passwords or the passwords? If the passwords are stored in plaintext, that needs to be changed with high priority. In the case of the former, is it being hashed with a suitable algorithm or something that's now too weak, such as md5?
posted by Candleman at 4:57 PM on March 28 [1 favorite]
catspajamas: "Re: to counter the unsatisfactory 7-day rolling snapshot of mod actions, Klipspringer was kind enough to put up a page archiving all the mod log entries, so we don't have to accept the site management's limited version but can instead see the full accounting of mod actions the mods feel are worth writing down between now and whenever the new site goes up. (June? September? Christmas? Is there a pool?) Here's the comment where Klipspringer announced it:
After a week, deletions and mod notes drop off the new mod log. So I threw together a Mefi mod log archive. This has the same content — but is archived forever, tagged by site and mod, and there are RSS feeds (linked in footer). We check for new mod actions roughly every 10 minutes.
Thanks, Klipspringer. Your time and work are very much appreciated!"
Just testing the quote feature, it's a nice addition and worth doing, thank you
posted by ginger.beef at 5:37 PM on March 28 [1 favorite]
After a week, deletions and mod notes drop off the new mod log. So I threw together a Mefi mod log archive. This has the same content — but is archived forever, tagged by site and mod, and there are RSS feeds (linked in footer). We check for new mod actions roughly every 10 minutes.
Thanks, Klipspringer. Your time and work are very much appreciated!"
Just testing the quote feature, it's a nice addition and worth doing, thank you
posted by ginger.beef at 5:37 PM on March 28 [1 favorite]
Klipspringer: "Are others noticing this? Do we know what's causing it?"
I actually came here to make a MetaTalk post about it -- I notice this a lot, since I tend to browse the site in the mornings (GMT). The site is often slow and laggy. Sometimes I get outright denials and server errors. Trying to post a response on AskMe took a few tries this morning before it would go through. I'm assuming it's probably something to do with a regular server backup causing it to slow down and have issues loading (I've had similar issues on other sites as US-based sites often schedule their server backups to happen overnight, i.e. in the mornings for European users).
posted by fight or flight at 2:31 AM on March 29 [4 favorites]
I actually came here to make a MetaTalk post about it -- I notice this a lot, since I tend to browse the site in the mornings (GMT). The site is often slow and laggy. Sometimes I get outright denials and server errors. Trying to post a response on AskMe took a few tries this morning before it would go through. I'm assuming it's probably something to do with a regular server backup causing it to slow down and have issues loading (I've had similar issues on other sites as US-based sites often schedule their server backups to happen overnight, i.e. in the mornings for European users).
posted by fight or flight at 2:31 AM on March 29 [4 favorites]
I turned on MefiQuote and now I can't turn it off. I turn it off and save preferences. It says "Your preferences have been saved." When I re-enter my settings, it's still on.
While I'm here, I turned it off because I dislike where it's placed. I think it should be to the right of the favorites "+" or to the right of the flag icon. That way, all the action buttons (+, quote, and flag) are grouped together to the right.
posted by ftrtts at 4:29 AM on March 29 [2 favorites]
While I'm here, I turned it off because I dislike where it's placed. I think it should be to the right of the favorites "+" or to the right of the flag icon. That way, all the action buttons (+, quote, and flag) are grouped together to the right.
posted by ftrtts at 4:29 AM on March 29 [2 favorites]
I'm also working with the board, loup, and frimble to figure out how to set up voting.
Will there be community input into that decision-making process? Or any attempt to present options to the community that take into account previous discussions from members here of voting issues and concerns, before members are presented with a finalized voting process as a fait accompli? Tbh, I don't have much trust in loup to represent member interests on that committee.
And so I don't hit sensitive readers with too many negative waves so early in the morning, I'll submit this as a positive contribution:
June: possible, not probable. September? Could be! Christmas? No year specified, so sure!
That's the most clarity I've ever seen about site management's timeline for the new site. It's not much, I know, but at least it's something. You're welcome.
I'll take Thanksgiving in the pool, but I'm an optimist.
posted by catspajamas at 4:43 AM on March 29 [5 favorites]
Will there be community input into that decision-making process? Or any attempt to present options to the community that take into account previous discussions from members here of voting issues and concerns, before members are presented with a finalized voting process as a fait accompli? Tbh, I don't have much trust in loup to represent member interests on that committee.
And so I don't hit sensitive readers with too many negative waves so early in the morning, I'll submit this as a positive contribution:
June: possible, not probable. September? Could be! Christmas? No year specified, so sure!
That's the most clarity I've ever seen about site management's timeline for the new site. It's not much, I know, but at least it's something. You're welcome.
I'll take Thanksgiving in the pool, but I'm an optimist.
posted by catspajamas at 4:43 AM on March 29 [5 favorites]
And so I don't hit sensitive readers with too many negative waves so early in the morning,
I can't tell you how much I appreciate your thoughtfulness. For my part, I really hope loup doesn't subvert democracy or whatever.
posted by kbanas at 6:30 AM on March 29 [2 favorites]
I can't tell you how much I appreciate your thoughtfulness. For my part, I really hope loup doesn't subvert democracy or whatever.
posted by kbanas at 6:30 AM on March 29 [2 favorites]
I turned on MefiQuote and now I can't turn it off. I turn it off and save preferences. It says "Your preferences have been saved." When I re-enter my settings, it's still on.
When you turn it off, the code seems to change the value of the
posted by ftrtts at 8:18 AM on March 29 [3 favorites]
When you turn it off, the code seems to change the value of the
USE_MEFIQUOTE cookie setting to 0. However, the user interface checks for the presence of the USE_MEFIQUOTE key— it doesn't care about the value. Even if USE_MEFIQUOTE's value is 0, the interface will enable it.posted by ftrtts at 8:18 AM on March 29 [3 favorites]
Do we have a deadline for when we expect power for the new site to be 100% reliant on gerbils rather than hamsters? Is there no vegan option for running the site? Will the retired hamsters have an option for ongoing housing and medical care? Will the Gerbil Transition Team be identified and will they post regular minutes?
/s although I would absolutely 100% read Gerbil Transition Minutes.
posted by Vatnesine at 17:34 on March 28 [3 favorites −] Favorite added! [⚑]
was this posted by a cat?
posted by catspajamas at 15:24 on March 28 [7 favorites +] [⚑]
extremely sus
posted by lalochezia at 9:13 AM on March 29 [3 favorites]
I have noticed a higher frequency of page load issues in the morning (around 07:00 Mountain, N. America)
posted by ginger.beef at 9:38 AM on March 29
posted by ginger.beef at 9:38 AM on March 29
Will there be community input into that decision-making process?
We'll probably have a business requirements document on Google Docs and have a MetaTalk post to discuss it.
Or any attempt to present options to the community that take into account previous discussions from members here of voting issues and concerns, before members are presented with a finalized voting process as a fait accompli?
That's tricky because the previous discussions are scattered in comments across MetaTalk posts and it's likely some will be missed. There's hasn't been a dedicated post on voting, at least in 2025.
posted by kirkaracha (staff) at 10:46 AM on March 29
We'll probably have a business requirements document on Google Docs and have a MetaTalk post to discuss it.
Or any attempt to present options to the community that take into account previous discussions from members here of voting issues and concerns, before members are presented with a finalized voting process as a fait accompli?
That's tricky because the previous discussions are scattered in comments across MetaTalk posts and it's likely some will be missed. There's hasn't been a dedicated post on voting, at least in 2025.
posted by kirkaracha (staff) at 10:46 AM on March 29
We did have a MeTa about voting earlier this month.
posted by ssg at 10:55 AM on March 29 [2 favorites]
posted by ssg at 10:55 AM on March 29 [2 favorites]
We'll probably have a business requirements document on Google Docs and have a MetaTalk post to discuss it.
That's great, thanks. Hope that "probably" disappears at some point, though. The earlier threads raised a lot of questions, and included some contradictory points from various users, so as the site management gets closer to a solid specific proposal for voting, it will be great for members to see that and discuss it before it gets presented to us as a done deal.
posted by catspajamas at 12:04 PM on March 29 [3 favorites]
That's great, thanks. Hope that "probably" disappears at some point, though. The earlier threads raised a lot of questions, and included some contradictory points from various users, so as the site management gets closer to a solid specific proposal for voting, it will be great for members to see that and discuss it before it gets presented to us as a done deal.
posted by catspajamas at 12:04 PM on March 29 [3 favorites]
Getting more page timeouts and connection errors over the last hour or so.
posted by fight or flight at 12:58 PM on March 29 [1 favorite]
posted by fight or flight at 12:58 PM on March 29 [1 favorite]
We did have a MeTa about voting earlier this month.
Thanks! Missed that one.
Ahem
This one, not so much.
Hope that "probably" disappears at some point, though.
I can't speak for the board, and we have a PM now, so it's not my call. My guess is that I'll propose doing a requirements doc and the board will say OK, but it's not up to me.
it will be great for members to see that and discuss it before it gets presented to us as a done deal
Is that not exactly what I'm proposing?
posted by kirkaracha (staff) at 7:41 PM on March 29
Thanks! Missed that one.
Ahem
This one, not so much.
Hope that "probably" disappears at some point, though.
I can't speak for the board, and we have a PM now, so it's not my call. My guess is that I'll propose doing a requirements doc and the board will say OK, but it's not up to me.
it will be great for members to see that and discuss it before it gets presented to us as a done deal
Is that not exactly what I'm proposing?
posted by kirkaracha (staff) at 7:41 PM on March 29
More timeouts. Brandon, is frimble aware of this?
posted by Klipspringer at 2:18 AM on March 30
posted by Klipspringer at 2:18 AM on March 30
Yes I get regular timeouts or over capacity errors, have done for a few weeks. I had not thought to note the time of day, I'll try and keep that in mind. I'm GMT+11, so not an average American user.
posted by deadwax at 2:49 AM on March 30
posted by deadwax at 2:49 AM on March 30
Is that not exactly what I'm proposing?
Sure, it's what you proposed will probably happen, and I said "it will be great," assuming it does happen. It would also be great if one of the 3 members of the interim board could confirm (since you have understandably said you're not comfortable doing so as it's not within your purview) that the plan is indeed to present one or more voting system options to the membership for discussion before a final system is announced by site management, particularly since there were a bunch of conflicting but thoughtful points made in previous voting-related threads that need further discussion/exploration.
I find myself once again going back to a recent comment from Miko:
Before any election takes place, the site needs to make a philosophical decision and create an infrastructure for what constitutes a "member." Right now, though we use the term "member," it's colloquial. At a technical level, we are users, and we have user accounts - some of us have multiple accounts. The site leadership needs to decide what a "member" of the MeFiCoFo is and how that membership is established. It can't be the same as "user account," for obvious reasons...
I suggest that there needs to be a formal process of becoming a MeFiCoFo member. It could have preconditions (such as that you have an active user account) or not. But it should be clearly distinct and separate from being a user. The enrollment process should be clear, simple, straightforward, advertised long in advance with a long registration window, and easy to access on any platform. It could easily be an online form.
The Foundation just needs to establish what is considered a "member," let along a voting member, long before any actual elections take place. And yes, this needs to be codified in the bylaws. [emphasis added]
I'd hope the above concern is near the top of the list of things the interim board is working on, but absent regular formal reports in MetaTalk from the interim board to the community about the board's activities (biweekly would be nice, monthly should be a minimum), it's difficult to know.
posted by catspajamas at 6:26 AM on March 30 [4 favorites]
Sure, it's what you proposed will probably happen, and I said "it will be great," assuming it does happen. It would also be great if one of the 3 members of the interim board could confirm (since you have understandably said you're not comfortable doing so as it's not within your purview) that the plan is indeed to present one or more voting system options to the membership for discussion before a final system is announced by site management, particularly since there were a bunch of conflicting but thoughtful points made in previous voting-related threads that need further discussion/exploration.
I find myself once again going back to a recent comment from Miko:
Before any election takes place, the site needs to make a philosophical decision and create an infrastructure for what constitutes a "member." Right now, though we use the term "member," it's colloquial. At a technical level, we are users, and we have user accounts - some of us have multiple accounts. The site leadership needs to decide what a "member" of the MeFiCoFo is and how that membership is established. It can't be the same as "user account," for obvious reasons...
I suggest that there needs to be a formal process of becoming a MeFiCoFo member. It could have preconditions (such as that you have an active user account) or not. But it should be clearly distinct and separate from being a user. The enrollment process should be clear, simple, straightforward, advertised long in advance with a long registration window, and easy to access on any platform. It could easily be an online form.
The Foundation just needs to establish what is considered a "member," let along a voting member, long before any actual elections take place. And yes, this needs to be codified in the bylaws. [emphasis added]
I'd hope the above concern is near the top of the list of things the interim board is working on, but absent regular formal reports in MetaTalk from the interim board to the community about the board's activities (biweekly would be nice, monthly should be a minimum), it's difficult to know.
posted by catspajamas at 6:26 AM on March 30 [4 favorites]
lucidium: "This is fucking great, that's a lotta good shit! Sorry, I'm in a sweary mood. It is buoying to see many positive actions."
I’m just picking a random comment to test the quote feature, though I swearingly agree that this is fucking great! I’ve been advocating for it for a while. Thanks!
posted by Devils Rancher at 7:06 AM on March 30
I’m just picking a random comment to test the quote feature, though I swearingly agree that this is fucking great! I’ve been advocating for it for a while. Thanks!
posted by Devils Rancher at 7:06 AM on March 30
The quote feature is going to change site culture - it will be far easier to tell who said what if used.
posted by tiny frying pan at 7:09 AM on March 30 [5 favorites]
posted by tiny frying pan at 7:09 AM on March 30 [5 favorites]
Yeah the voting member vs multiple logins needs to be considered. It would be sub-optimal for someone with eight socks to be able to vote eight times. I may be very late to that part of the discussion though so disregard this as noise if it’s already been worked out in previous posts I might have missed.
posted by Devils Rancher at 7:18 AM on March 30 [1 favorite]
posted by Devils Rancher at 7:18 AM on March 30 [1 favorite]
if it’s already been worked out in previous posts I might have missed.
I sat and crunched the numbers and all I could come up with is that I'm Scott Adams ¯\(°_o)/¯ Sorry guys, I only just found out myself.
posted by phunniemee at 7:24 AM on March 30 [5 favorites]
I sat and crunched the numbers and all I could come up with is that I'm Scott Adams ¯\(°_o)/¯ Sorry guys, I only just found out myself.
posted by phunniemee at 7:24 AM on March 30 [5 favorites]
phunniemee: "I'm Scott Adams"
This quote feature is already paying off.
posted by fight or flight at 7:25 AM on March 30 [8 favorites]
This quote feature is already paying off.
posted by fight or flight at 7:25 AM on March 30 [8 favorites]
if it’s already been worked out in previous posts
I don't think it has; just lots of good questions and concerns raised that sometimes conflicted with each other.
posted by catspajamas at 7:42 AM on March 30 [1 favorite]
I don't think it has; just lots of good questions and concerns raised that sometimes conflicted with each other.
posted by catspajamas at 7:42 AM on March 30 [1 favorite]
Devils Rancher, if you haven't seen it, this was a good thread starting on March 1st that raises (but doesn't resolve) a lot of the issues with the board election - defining membership, the urgent need for bylaws first before any kind of voting takes place, a debate over how to stagger terms for the board, etc.
At this point I can't think of anything Gorgik, 1adam12 and Rhaomi should be doing as the interim board that's more important than proposing bylaws for the election to take place, and then running that proposal by the membership.
posted by catspajamas at 8:11 AM on March 30 [2 favorites]
At this point I can't think of anything Gorgik, 1adam12 and Rhaomi should be doing as the interim board that's more important than proposing bylaws for the election to take place, and then running that proposal by the membership.
posted by catspajamas at 8:11 AM on March 30 [2 favorites]
Mod note: Added a General Information FAQ that contains basic information that members have requested be in one place. The link to this FAQ entry will be placed in the navigation bar for easy access and titled "General Site Info". If there's you think should be added to it, please let us know in the comments!
Changed the above paragraph in the post to this:
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 8:19 AM on March 30
Changed the above paragraph in the post to this:
Added a General Staff and Site Information FAQ that contains basic information that members have requested be in one place. The link to this FAQ entry will be placed in the navigation bar for easy access and titled "Staff & Site Info". If there's something you think should be added to it, please let us know in the comments!Done to make it clearer that the link contains information about the staff.
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 8:19 AM on March 30
Mod note: More timeouts. Brandon, is frimble aware of this?
Left a note in the mod Slack for them.
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 8:22 AM on March 30 [1 favorite]
Left a note in the mod Slack for them.
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 8:22 AM on March 30 [1 favorite]
Since we're talking about sock puppets in the context of voting again, maybe one of the mods could let us know what data is available to avoid sock puppets voting? Is there a flag in the database for known socks?
posted by ssg at 9:04 AM on March 30 [1 favorite]
posted by ssg at 9:04 AM on March 30 [1 favorite]
Leaving that up to the Interim Board to comment on.
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 9:11 AM on March 30
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 9:11 AM on March 30
To be clear, the question about sock puppets is not a question about the interim board's plans, it's simply a question about the technical details of the existing site, so someone on staff should be able to answer.
posted by ssg at 9:27 AM on March 30 [1 favorite]
posted by ssg at 9:27 AM on March 30 [1 favorite]
Mod note: One double comment deleted.
posted by travelingthyme (staff) at 10:36 AM on March 30 [1 favorite]
posted by travelingthyme (staff) at 10:36 AM on March 30 [1 favorite]
My understanding is that there are several automated and manual ways for the backend to detect and track sockpuppets to prevent abuse (no details on that since it could compromise effectiveness). Just know that if you're using them to ask sensitive questions or engage in shenanigans, there is a connection there; anonymous activity can be correlated as well, but it's far more obfuscated in the system.
posted by Rhaomi at 11:15 AM on March 30
posted by Rhaomi at 11:15 AM on March 30
As far as you know, Rhaomi or anyone else in site management, were there any issues like sockpuppets double-voting that came to light during the August 2022 Steering Committee vote? Did that run smoothly?
there are several automated and manual ways for the backend to detect and track sockpuppets
The mods have said they leave notes to each other on user profiles, which likely include helpful info about users' previous accounts.
posted by catspajamas at 12:07 PM on March 30 [1 favorite]
there are several automated and manual ways for the backend to detect and track sockpuppets
The mods have said they leave notes to each other on user profiles, which likely include helpful info about users' previous accounts.
posted by catspajamas at 12:07 PM on March 30 [1 favorite]
Great to see a more positive and more positively-received update! Thanks to all concerned.
posted by dg at 3:23 PM on March 30 [1 favorite]
posted by dg at 3:23 PM on March 30 [1 favorite]
Pony request: <blockquote> tags for the quote function, which would indent it and clearly indicate quoted text, rather than italics which is an emphasis.
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 4:34 PM on March 30 [4 favorites]
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 4:34 PM on March 30 [4 favorites]
FWIW the quote function is extremely cool and good and I love it.
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 4:35 PM on March 30 [2 favorites]
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 4:35 PM on March 30 [2 favorites]
Sure, it's what you proposed will probably happen, and I said "it will be great," assuming it does happen.
You could take ownership of this and channel some of your passion and energy into writing a requirements document for voting. I'm not trying to be snotty. It's important, you've clearly given it a lot of thought, and we'd probably have better requirements if you were able to write them.
posted by kirkaracha (staff) at 4:56 PM on March 30 [4 favorites]
You could take ownership of this and channel some of your passion and energy into writing a requirements document for voting. I'm not trying to be snotty. It's important, you've clearly given it a lot of thought, and we'd probably have better requirements if you were able to write them.
posted by kirkaracha (staff) at 4:56 PM on March 30 [4 favorites]
The board has made it clear that that's something they have certain - but not entirely public - requirements for, so I'm not sure it's up to the users at large. That's where the question is coming from - the board hasn't indicated how this process should work, but they *have* made statements about the requirements they've already arrived at.
posted by sagc at 5:02 PM on March 30
posted by sagc at 5:02 PM on March 30
Pony request: <blockquote> tags for the quote function, which would indent it and clearly indicate quoted text, rather than italics which is an emphasis.
I think this is a good idea. I was already planning on having blockquotes as a feature of the WYSIWYG editor, and it should be fairly easy to do this in the new site.
And pony requests should go on the feature request form. (Dang, I should've called it the Pony Request Form.)
posted by kirkaracha (staff) at 5:04 PM on March 30 [1 favorite]
I think this is a good idea. I was already planning on having blockquotes as a feature of the WYSIWYG editor, and it should be fairly easy to do this in the new site.
And pony requests should go on the feature request form. (Dang, I should've called it the Pony Request Form.)
posted by kirkaracha (staff) at 5:04 PM on March 30 [1 favorite]
kirkaracha: "...And pony requests should go on the feature request form. (Dang, I should've called it the Pony Request Form.)"Good pony, good pony / he rides across the website, a smallish quadruped / I've made the application in the quoted thread / We look forward to have the form request evaluated / etc. etc.
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 5:38 PM on March 30 [2 favorites]
« Older I come not to bury but to praise
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posted by tiny frying pan at 9:57 AM on March 28 [6 favorites]