[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 [9 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 [9 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 [5 favorites]
posted by catspajamas at 12:33 PM on March 28 [5 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 [6 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 [6 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 [5 favorites]
/s although I would absolutely 100% read Gerbil Transition Minutes.
posted by Vatnesine at 2:34 PM on March 28 [5 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 [5 favorites]
posted by lucidium at 3:20 PM on March 28 [5 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 [4 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 [4 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 [5 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 [5 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 [1 favorite]
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 [1 favorite]
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 [2 favorites]
posted by Devils Rancher at 7:18 AM on March 30 [2 favorites]
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 [11 favorites]
This quote feature is already paying off.
posted by fight or flight at 7:25 AM on March 30 [11 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 [3 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 [3 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 [2 favorites]
posted by ssg at 9:27 AM on March 30 [2 favorites]
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 [6 favorites]
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 4:34 PM on March 30 [6 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 [3 favorites]
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 4:35 PM on March 30 [3 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 [4 favorites]
posted by sagc at 5:02 PM on March 30 [4 favorites]
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 [3 favorites]
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 [3 favorites]
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 [3 favorites]
One issue I have with the quote feature is that it pulls the entire entry versus just a section. I liked just being able to read the sentence or so that a comment was quoting versus the entire post. I have to trust that the people using the quote tool will delete the parts that aren’t relevant. Still a great feature!
posted by waving at 7:20 AM on March 31
posted by waving at 7:20 AM on March 31
waving: "versus just a section"
If you select the section you want, before tapping quote, it quotes just that section.
posted by Klipspringer at 7:21 AM on March 31 [7 favorites]
If you select the section you want, before tapping quote, it quotes just that section.
posted by Klipspringer at 7:21 AM on March 31 [7 favorites]
tiny frying pan: "My mind is blown by the quote feature!"
This is great!
posted by grouse at 7:22 AM on March 31
This is great!
posted by grouse at 7:22 AM on March 31
Klipspringer: "it quotes just that section."
WHOA.
posted by cooker girl at 7:46 AM on March 31 [2 favorites]
WHOA.
posted by cooker girl at 7:46 AM on March 31 [2 favorites]
Hmm! I believe you, but I can't reproduce that problem on Chrome or Firefox.
I'm not sure who is responsible for investigating/fixing problems with MefiQuote. It's Plutor's code originally but he doesn't seem active on the site now. I guess this is frimble's responsibility now it's integrated in the Mefi codebase.
posted by Klipspringer at 8:04 AM on March 31 [1 favorite]
I'm not sure who is responsible for investigating/fixing problems with MefiQuote. It's Plutor's code originally but he doesn't seem active on the site now. I guess this is frimble's responsibility now it's integrated in the Mefi codebase.
posted by Klipspringer at 8:04 AM on March 31 [1 favorite]
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
But I haven't given it a lot of thought, kirkaracha. I've thought 2 things: 1) site management needs to present members with one or more voting proposals to discuss and offer feedback on, and 2) interim board members Gorgik, 1adam12 and Rhaomi need to post monthly, if not biweekly, updates in MeTa about what the board is working on, has completed, and plans to work on before the interim board's next update.
My energy for Metafilter is at low ebb, sorry, though the passion I feel that the site could eventually bounce back is real. Sadly, there's no space in my life for more than what I post here: noting where site management is failing users again. The interim board needs to be doing nothing but voting work right now. That's my contribution.
posted by catspajamas at 11:22 AM on March 31 [9 favorites]
But I haven't given it a lot of thought, kirkaracha. I've thought 2 things: 1) site management needs to present members with one or more voting proposals to discuss and offer feedback on, and 2) interim board members Gorgik, 1adam12 and Rhaomi need to post monthly, if not biweekly, updates in MeTa about what the board is working on, has completed, and plans to work on before the interim board's next update.
My energy for Metafilter is at low ebb, sorry, though the passion I feel that the site could eventually bounce back is real. Sadly, there's no space in my life for more than what I post here: noting where site management is failing users again. The interim board needs to be doing nothing but voting work right now. That's my contribution.
posted by catspajamas at 11:22 AM on March 31 [9 favorites]
Wow you guys have been working so hard - I didn't even know an update was happening! Thankyou:)
posted by low_horrible_immoral at 1:12 PM on March 31
posted by low_horrible_immoral at 1:12 PM on March 31
catspajamas: "Klipspringer was kind enough to put up a page archiving all the mod log entries"
This modlog-archive should be linked from the modlog page, for ease of access. Should be trivial to add to the existing page?
posted by coriolisdave at 3:44 PM on March 31 [2 favorites]
This modlog-archive should be linked from the modlog page, for ease of access. Should be trivial to add to the existing page?
posted by coriolisdave at 3:44 PM on March 31 [2 favorites]
Also the modlog isn't linked from anywhere on the site. It's only discoverable by URL and from MetaTalk posts which will drop away. As far as I can tell.
posted by Klipspringer at 11:33 PM on March 31 [1 favorite]
posted by Klipspringer at 11:33 PM on March 31 [1 favorite]
...so i just reloaded a page on MetaFilter and got an EXTREMELY WEIRD popup. "Sacky the AI Assistant". Picture of an anthropomorphic fast food cup. I swear i'm not hallucinating. It was gone when i reloaded again, but what the FUCK?
posted by adrienneleigh at 12:46 AM on April 1 [1 favorite]
posted by adrienneleigh at 12:46 AM on April 1 [1 favorite]
adrienneleigh: "...so i just reloaded a page on MetaFilter and got an EXTREMELY WEIRD popup. "Sacky the AI Assistant". Picture of an anthropomorphic fast food cup. I swear i'm not hallucinating. It was gone when i reloaded again, but what the FUCK?"
Note the date
posted by goo at 1:51 AM on April 1 [2 favorites]
Note the date
posted by goo at 1:51 AM on April 1 [2 favorites]
goo: "Note the date"
Oh for fuck's sake. Another place i need to avoid until tomorrow, i guess.
posted by adrienneleigh at 1:54 AM on April 1 [5 favorites]
Oh for fuck's sake. Another place i need to avoid until tomorrow, i guess.
posted by adrienneleigh at 1:54 AM on April 1 [5 favorites]
Mod note: Klipspringer: "Also the modlog isn't linked from anywhere on the site. It's only discoverable by URL and from MetaTalk posts which will drop away. As far as I can tell."
It’s in the Staff & Site info link in the nav bar.
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 3:01 AM on April 1
It’s in the Staff & Site info link in the nav bar.
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 3:01 AM on April 1
Oh for fuck's sake. Another place i need to avoid until tomorrow, i guess.
Just as a PSA, it's actually really easy to get rid, there's a link to click in this MeTa. April 1st jokes go way back (2003 was the first one I found a MeTa about) in Metafilter, and are usually really self contained and easy to turn off. Which, as someone who may or not be in the mood for a jokey post, I really appreciate.
posted by Gygesringtone at 8:50 AM on April 1 [2 favorites]
Just as a PSA, it's actually really easy to get rid, there's a link to click in this MeTa. April 1st jokes go way back (2003 was the first one I found a MeTa about) in Metafilter, and are usually really self contained and easy to turn off. Which, as someone who may or not be in the mood for a jokey post, I really appreciate.
posted by Gygesringtone at 8:50 AM on April 1 [2 favorites]
The link is in this one thread, and is a redirect to the front page of the blue. If you're logged out, and your browser (like mine) doesn't share cookies between private tabs, then it comes back in each new tab.
posted by polytope subirb enby-of-piano-dice at 9:05 AM on April 1 [1 favorite]
posted by polytope subirb enby-of-piano-dice at 9:05 AM on April 1 [1 favorite]
Brandon Blatcher: "It’s in the Staff & Site info link in the nav bar."
Sorry I don't understand what you mean, I can't see a "staff and site" item anywhere in the three navigation bars in the site header (on desktop), nor in the site footer. Is this something that hasn't been added yet? Or am I still being dense here?
posted by Klipspringer at 9:28 AM on April 1
Sorry I don't understand what you mean, I can't see a "staff and site" item anywhere in the three navigation bars in the site header (on desktop), nor in the site footer. Is this something that hasn't been added yet? Or am I still being dense here?
posted by Klipspringer at 9:28 AM on April 1
Socky caused a temp nav bar change, the link is usually there: here it is until tomorrow. It’s a FAQ entry.
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 9:33 AM on April 1 [1 favorite]
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 9:33 AM on April 1 [1 favorite]
I knew that rascal was up to no good. Thanks for explaining.
posted by Klipspringer at 9:35 AM on April 1
posted by Klipspringer at 9:35 AM on April 1
Brandon, will you please add a direct link to Klipspringer's archived moderation log in the description under "SIMPLE MODERATION LOG (SML)" at your link, and also in the answer to the "Is there a moderation log?" question just below on the same page. Language like, "A full archive of moderation log entries is available, thanks to user Klipspringer, here" would work fine, I think. Thanks in advance.
(In anticipation of one possible objection, I'll note that links to the offsite infodump are included in the FAQ.)
posted by catspajamas at 12:35 PM on April 1 [4 favorites]
(In anticipation of one possible objection, I'll note that links to the offsite infodump are included in the FAQ.)
posted by catspajamas at 12:35 PM on April 1 [4 favorites]
Bueller??
posted by coriolisdave at 4:47 PM on April 3
posted by coriolisdave at 4:47 PM on April 3
Watch it Coriolis, last time someone started making jokes about mods gone missing they got permaband.
posted by phunniemee at 5:02 PM on April 3 [3 favorites]
posted by phunniemee at 5:02 PM on April 3 [3 favorites]
If you're wondering why Brandon Blatcher hasn't responded to your request for whole days, keep in mind that he (and Taz) are off this week, "so things may be slower this week". Sending your request to the contact form to reach all the mods might be faster if adding that link to the moderation log is urgent, or wait until he's back from vacation next week.
posted by JiBB at 1:06 PM on April 4
posted by JiBB at 1:06 PM on April 4
Mod note: ...will you please add a direct link to Klipspringer's archived moderation log...
This has now been done, thanks for your patient (for the reasons stated above).
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 12:38 PM on April 5
This has now been done, thanks for your patient (for the reasons stated above).
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 12:38 PM on April 5
Thanks BB!
posted by coriolisdave at 5:40 PM on April 6
posted by coriolisdave at 5:40 PM on April 6
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.
Any update on this?
posted by snofoam at 2:24 AM on April 8 [7 favorites]
Any update on this?
posted by snofoam at 2:24 AM on April 8 [7 favorites]
> 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.
Thank you very much for this. I understand that implementing various things on the old site can take time, which is the main reason we're moving to a new site (wherein things can be added and changed more easily). That said, 2.5 months is a long time, especially if this was piggybacking on existing functionality (which was my understanding). I look forward to when decisive action like this can be handled much more quickly. Again, I'm glad this got added to the existing site, and I have hopes for the new site's ability to be more agile when it comes to stuff like this.
Klipspringer: "If you select the section you want, before tapping quote, it quotes just that section."
Well, this is also phenomenal. Thank you so much for implementing this!
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"
Thank you so much, Klipspringer!
re: timeouts
Brandon Blatcher: "Left a note in the mod Slack for them. "
I can see from the unofficial uptime monitor that things look better than they did, but the site was still down for ~5m a couple days ago. Ultimately, 5m here and there isn't usually a huge deal, but I'd love to know more about why this is happening, if we know.
snofoam: " 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.
Any update on this?"
Seconding. I'd very much like to know what's up with the P&L.
Thank you.
posted by juliebug at 7:01 PM on April 9 [4 favorites]
> Xcancel.com, a free and open-source mirror from the Nitter project. You can also follow our official account on
> Bluesky and Mastodon.
Thank you very much for this. I understand that implementing various things on the old site can take time, which is the main reason we're moving to a new site (wherein things can be added and changed more easily). That said, 2.5 months is a long time, especially if this was piggybacking on existing functionality (which was my understanding). I look forward to when decisive action like this can be handled much more quickly. Again, I'm glad this got added to the existing site, and I have hopes for the new site's ability to be more agile when it comes to stuff like this.
Klipspringer: "If you select the section you want, before tapping quote, it quotes just that section."
Well, this is also phenomenal. Thank you so much for implementing this!
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"
Thank you so much, Klipspringer!
re: timeouts
Brandon Blatcher: "Left a note in the mod Slack for them. "
I can see from the unofficial uptime monitor that things look better than they did, but the site was still down for ~5m a couple days ago. Ultimately, 5m here and there isn't usually a huge deal, but I'd love to know more about why this is happening, if we know.
snofoam: " 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.
Any update on this?"
Seconding. I'd very much like to know what's up with the P&L.
Thank you.
posted by juliebug at 7:01 PM on April 9 [4 favorites]
#pleaseanswer ⬆️
posted by umber vowel at 9:18 AM on April 11 [2 favorites]
posted by umber vowel at 9:18 AM on April 11 [2 favorites]
Hi folks, just wondering if we have any updates on:
- site timeouts
- last month's P&L
Thanks much.
posted by juliebug at 8:36 PM on April 14 [3 favorites]
- site timeouts
- last month's P&L
Thanks much.
posted by juliebug at 8:36 PM on April 14 [3 favorites]
How many more weeks will it take to post the February P&L? It seems concerning that neither staff nor the board understand the site finances enough to prepare and (if necessary) explain it without the help of a volunteer. Is anyone attempting to address this issue for the long term?
posted by snofoam at 10:34 AM on April 15 [3 favorites]
posted by snofoam at 10:34 AM on April 15 [3 favorites]
does anyone read the posts down here?
posted by phunniemee at 5:37 AM on April 16 [2 favorites]
posted by phunniemee at 5:37 AM on April 16 [2 favorites]
Yup, we do. We'll give you an update about the P&L as soon as there is one.
posted by loup (staff) at 9:52 AM on April 16
posted by loup (staff) at 9:52 AM on April 16
I’m glad we have resolved the issue of the delayed P&L and when it might be posted! The staff and interim board are an amazing team that constantly surprises by going above and beyond to make Metafilter the best it can be. 3,000 thumbs up!
posted by snofoam at 10:08 AM on April 16 [2 favorites]
posted by snofoam at 10:08 AM on April 16 [2 favorites]
the financials must be so fucked up
posted by sagc at 1:24 PM on April 16 [6 favorites]
posted by sagc at 1:24 PM on April 16 [6 favorites]
loup: "Yup, we do. We'll give you an update about the P&L as soon as there is one."
This is very concerning. If the state of MetaFilter's accounts is so bad that it isn't possible to resolve the historic issues, just say so and get a set of accounts in place that will be correct moving forward. This response is disrespectful to everyone involved.
posted by dg at 4:22 PM on April 16 [6 favorites]
This is very concerning. If the state of MetaFilter's accounts is so bad that it isn't possible to resolve the historic issues, just say so and get a set of accounts in place that will be correct moving forward. This response is disrespectful to everyone involved.
posted by dg at 4:22 PM on April 16 [6 favorites]
Both the book cook and the cookbook are delayed indefinitely.
posted by snofoam at 2:55 AM on April 17 [3 favorites]
posted by snofoam at 2:55 AM on April 17 [3 favorites]
Thanks for saying something, loup.
I can't speak for others, but if I ask (as I did) "are there any updates on X, Y, Z", I'm not necessarily expecting "yes, here it is". I am, however, expecting "no, there is not," or "yes, there is, and it will be posted in a new post in (timeline)" or "no, there is not, but we expect it (timeline)".
I feel as though silence is the worst possible scenario when people would like more information. Just a quick "Not yet, will keep you posted" is fine as an interim update, too.
I know from personal experience that it sucks to come back to an interested party and be like "yeah, sorry, I don't have anything for you". It really is the worst. And yet, even that can be appreciated.
So thanks for saying so, loup. I hope other mods/etc can work on reporting back more frequently going forward.
To that end... any updates on the site downtime stuff? :)
posted by juliebug at 3:07 PM on April 17 [2 favorites]
I can't speak for others, but if I ask (as I did) "are there any updates on X, Y, Z", I'm not necessarily expecting "yes, here it is". I am, however, expecting "no, there is not," or "yes, there is, and it will be posted in a new post in (timeline)" or "no, there is not, but we expect it (timeline)".
I feel as though silence is the worst possible scenario when people would like more information. Just a quick "Not yet, will keep you posted" is fine as an interim update, too.
I know from personal experience that it sucks to come back to an interested party and be like "yeah, sorry, I don't have anything for you". It really is the worst. And yet, even that can be appreciated.
So thanks for saying so, loup. I hope other mods/etc can work on reporting back more frequently going forward.
To that end... any updates on the site downtime stuff? :)
posted by juliebug at 3:07 PM on April 17 [2 favorites]
Mod note: juliebug: "To that end... any updates on the site downtime stuff? "
Looks like it's been database timeout issues. I believe they've been fixed, are you still having issues with site slowness?
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 3:42 PM on April 17
Looks like it's been database timeout issues. I believe they've been fixed, are you still having issues with site slowness?
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 3:42 PM on April 17
I was experiencing considerable site slowness on the day juliebug posted above, and I didn't bother saying anything because juliebug had already said it and I've been assured that staff is reading the posts down here.
posted by phunniemee at 4:07 PM on April 17
posted by phunniemee at 4:07 PM on April 17
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posted by tiny frying pan at 9:57 AM on March 28 [7 favorites]