Comment removal discussion

July 13, 2005 1:44 PM

I really don't think "a Glock" is an inappropriate answer to this thread, but it seems to have been pulled anyway. In fact, I've seen lots of relevant answers that might offend a mod's delicate sensibilities get pulled. That's not cool.
posted by trevyn to Etiquette/Policy at 1:44 PM (50 comments total)

It IS noise, though, isn't it? (Which i have posted myself, god knows).
posted by tristeza at 1:47 PM on July 13, 2005

The idea is that Ask MetaFilter be as noise-free as we can make it. A heavy hand on the delete button is a good thing. Like the man says, wisecracks don't help people find answers.
posted by gleuschk at 1:48 PM on July 13, 2005

It might appear to be noise, until you realize that there is a large contingent that believes in using firearms for self defense, this is legal in many areas with the appropriate permit, and such an item would easily fit in a purse--and in fact, is carried in many purses.
posted by trevyn at 1:49 PM on July 13, 2005

Why did you comment on it in the thread AND post it here? Talk about noise.
posted by smackfu at 1:53 PM on July 13, 2005

Because I'm a MetaFilter newbie. Beg pardon.
posted by trevyn at 1:55 PM on July 13, 2005

Really, I yearn for a with-noise/without-noise view option, because one man's noise is another man's signal. The potential for meta-discussion should not be overlooked. Maybe I need to start MetaMetaFilter.
posted by trevyn at 1:59 PM on July 13, 2005

I agree with trevyn. A Glock is a perfectly reasonable answer to that question, at least as much as the duct tape and green garbage bags (?!) or other survival-oriented items already mentioned as being a part of the "murse".

Perhaps the moderator thought the comment was facetious, but then perhaps the moderator is not part of the very large number of Americans who own a firearm for self-defense.
posted by Asparagirl at 2:03 PM on July 13, 2005

I can see how "a Glock" might be an inappropriate answer to "how should I deal with my neighbor having parties at 3 in the morning", but it seems appropriate in the linked thread...
posted by clevershark at 2:13 PM on July 13, 2005

Sorry Asparagirl, I'm cool with guns and didn't pull it because I hate them or something (I'm kind of surprised you think I can be that petty), it just seemed like a joke, since there were several other comments I deleted that had smileys and plays on words in that thread. Maybe the person was serious, fine, but the user has a history of goofing around a bit.

I culled about a dozen comments from other threads this morning that were very clearly jokes. It's gotten pretty bad, and looked to be mostly new users that just had to get that joke in that didn't help anyone and just added to the noise. People are poisoning their own well here.

I was kind of pissed about that and might have mis-read "glock" as a joke, but it sure seemed that way compared to the other jokey answers.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 2:13 PM on July 13, 2005

trevyn writes "Maybe I need to start MetaMetaFilter."

I'm sure that if that existed there would be calls for a MetaMetaMetafilter...
posted by clevershark at 2:14 PM on July 13, 2005

Men who carry Glocks don't carry purses, therefore it was noise.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 2:16 PM on July 13, 2005

Someone's watching that thread very closely. My stupid reponse (it was very stupid and not weapon-related) didn't even last a minute. Cool.

On preview, fast work there matt.
posted by TimeFactor at 2:16 PM on July 13, 2005

I came to the MeTa to post about this actually. IMO, there's a delicate balance to be maintained here. AxeMe has to be noisless enough to be useful, but not humorless. If the delete button is too heavy handed then people will just stop posting.

I would think that unless a post was outright libelous or beyond-the-pale offensive, it wouldn't be deleted unless flagged.

I guess what I'm saying is: Careful With That Axe Eugene.
posted by Capn at 2:25 PM on July 13, 2005

The thread is really just a self-link in disguise, anyway. The links aren't necessary and should be deleted.

Ooh! Guns! Scary!
posted by keswick at 2:25 PM on July 13, 2005

I'm simply displeased that "murse" has been added to my vocabulary.
posted by boo_radley at 2:28 PM on July 13, 2005

murse... any relation to a merkin?

A purse is a purse is a purse. The question's poster should reconsider carrying one if he's too insecure to call the damn thing what is is anyway.
posted by clevershark at 2:30 PM on July 13, 2005

AxeMe has to be noisless enough to be useful, but not humorless

As I've seen first MetaFilter, then MetaTalk lead into somewhat noisy spaces, it always started with good-natured humor that was eventually copied by others until you have what you have.

I'm cutting out the jokes because they don't answer the question. Ask MetaFilter is for asking and answering questions. I'm not going to entertain 20 plays on "manpurse" or "manpon" or "mangina" for a few laughs.

I'm trying to maintain some semblence of usefulness.

I have noticed that people are now doing the Hollywood Squares thing. I keep seeing answers like this:

"What you should do is punch that person in the face and laugh at them. Then steal their car and girlfriend.

But seriously, I think you should have a frank, open discussion with your coworker, perhaps bringing a manager into the meeting to moderate."

I leave those around, but it's still noise.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 2:39 PM on July 13, 2005

Personally, I find punching people in the face and laughing at them to be very theurapetic and useful in a variety of situations. I can't vouch for stealing cars, but they girlfriends I've stolen over the years have been nothing but trouble.
posted by keswick at 2:48 PM on July 13, 2005

trevyn: If you are going to be a joker here, you have to expect some of your serious answers to be taken wrong and get deleted. - luv m
posted by mischief at 2:50 PM on July 13, 2005

For-the-record, the Glock answer was not mine, I just took objection to its being deleted. My deleted answers are usually of the pure noise variety. ;)

mathowie, I appreciate what you're trying to do here, and I hope you keep a "with-noise" view in the back of your mind. I know that when I ask a question, I'd want to see everything that people saw fit to post, joke or not.
posted by trevyn at 2:59 PM on July 13, 2005

AxeMe has to be noisless enough to be useful, but not humorless

Good lord, where on earth do you get that? From day one, AskMe's posting page has been very clear about keeping wisecracks out. Sheesh. As if there weren't plenty of other places to show off one's sparkling wit around here...
posted by mediareport at 2:59 PM on July 13, 2005

Men who carry Glocks don't carry purses, therefore it was noise.

Men who carry Glocks do wear fanny packs, though.
posted by mlis at 3:19 PM on July 13, 2005

I switch off what I carry in my 'Man-Bag'. No Glock, but sometimes I carry a Colt 1911 .45 and sometimes my Ruger p-89 9mm.
It is a survival pack. I also carry:
wallet/checkbook, candy (or jerky), tweesers, a Leatherman, water purification tablets, a Surefire flashlight, a roll of quarters, a $50 bill (my friend carries a changepurse full of 'junk silver' dimes and quarters to pay for another tank of gas, assuming the economy tanks out on his drive home from work), lighters, pens, pencils, antacid, New-Skin, asprin, 2 knives (fixed and folding), lip balm, medical tape, ear plugs, a whistie, parachute cord, a copy of the Declaration if Independence/Constitution (thanks, CATO institute), and some water.

Some of the things get used every day (antacid, Leatherman, pens) and some things never get used, but I'd rather carry them around unused than wish I had one later (pistol, water purification tablets, $50).

If I get stuck in an elevator/snowdrift/woods overnight, I'll be fine. If the Russians/Chineese/Jihadi's ever try to pull a 'Red Dawn' type episode, I'll at least have a head start.

Mountian men called it a Possibles Bag, everything they might need. The '50's taught men that all they should carry is a wallet, a pocket comb, and a hankerchief. Alas, more than that is needed for survival.
posted by Balisong at 3:27 PM on July 13, 2005

when I ask a question, I'd want to see everything that people saw fit to post, joke or not.

You could always start your own noise-filled question-and-answer site. Just a thought.
posted by mediareport at 3:33 PM on July 13, 2005

I'D STILL LIKE TO KNOW WHY THIS SELF-LINK IS ALLOWED TO REMAIN.

I'm a vocal critic of the ban on self-links, but man, at least be consistent. The links in the question are there for no other reason to increase pagerank.
posted by keswick at 3:38 PM on July 13, 2005

The glock is back.
posted by jessamyn at 3:49 PM on July 13, 2005

Also, I changed the self-link issue and emailed the poster. If the links contained information that was necessary to help answer the question, it would have been fine for them to be there, and to stay. In this case, I don't know what the poster's motivation was, but the question works fine without the self-links.
posted by jessamyn at 4:00 PM on July 13, 2005

I'm trying to maintain some semblence of usefulness.

And thank you for that. A no-funnies culture in AskMe is A Very Good Thing.

There are plenty of places for the jokers to go if they really need to get attention.

And, yes, I have had my own sometimes-lame answers deleted from AskMe, and it's good that they were.
posted by five fresh fish at 4:00 PM on July 13, 2005

Total self-link. Good call.
posted by Mid at 4:01 PM on July 13, 2005

Sorry Asparagirl, I'm cool with guns and didn't pull it because I hate them or something (I'm kind of surprised you think I can be that petty), it just seemed like a joke, since there were several other comments I deleted that had smileys and plays on words in that thread.

Sorry if my comment came off too snarky, Matt. I put down "moderator" because I didn't know if it was you or Jessamyn doing the overzealous pruning, and because I have a twitchy knee-jerk reaction to people being anti-gun, which many MeFites admittedly are. (Also, a twitchy knee-jerk reaction to people being anti-bunny rabbit. :-) )

*hugs all around*
posted by Asparagirl at 4:08 PM on July 13, 2005

I was going to have to agree with trevyn.


But mr_crash_davis is correct:

Men who carry Glocks don't carry purses, therefore it was noise.
posted by Steve_at_Linnwood at 4:12 PM on July 13, 2005

Actually come to think of it a Glock wouldn't be the best choice after all... the HK P7 is much smaller, and so leaves more room in the purse for other things.
posted by clevershark at 4:29 PM on July 13, 2005

Meh. Self-links aren't a problem in ask.mefi if they're relevant (i.e., look at this page and tell me something based on it).

If the person wasn't already a gun-wielder, telling them to put a glock in their murse wouldn't make them one -- therefore, noise.
posted by j.edwards at 4:30 PM on July 13, 2005

Sometimes a self-link disguised as a question pops up, but I wouldn't say so in this case. There are no google ads or anything resembling silly seo crap on the site. It's just some person's blog.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 4:43 PM on July 13, 2005

If the person wasn't already a gun-wielder, telling them to put a glock in their murse wouldn't make them one

Do you think that no one reading Metafilter could ever 'convert' to gun ownership? It's not, ya know, illegal.
It might even save your life someday, in this ever increasingly violent world.
Personally, I'm in the camp that every household should own a gun, almost to the point of issuing a govt. firearms. I treat every person I meet with the tact involved that they could be armed. People are politer, people don't piss off their neighbors, people are provided the means to overthrow said govt. when oppression demands that govt.'s removal.

And if you can't appriciate the entertainment factor of firearms, you've never blown apart a cantalope with a hollowpoint bullet.
posted by Balisong at 4:47 PM on July 13, 2005

Actually come to think of it a Glock wouldn't be the best choice after all... the HK P7 is much smaller, and so leaves more room in the purse for other things.

Grenades are also important. And if you have to walk outside to your car, maybe a razor blade for hand-to-hand combat. If you're planning to go to the movies or any other entertainment that finishes late in the evening, something long and pointed for poking in the eyes.

Or you could just live somewhere sane.
posted by Armitage Shanks at 4:51 PM on July 13, 2005

Or you could just live somewhere sane.

Yer one a' them Utiopists, huh!
posted by Balisong at 4:59 PM on July 13, 2005

Based on my reading of the initial list, Glock was the first thing that popped into my head. It seemed to fulfill my need, based on years of testing, to complete the pattern. So while it wasn't a totally serious answer, it seemed to go along with the others. And, it might be as necessary as a green garbage bag.

I try not to add noise to AskMe threads and at least kept my answer short.

It's interesting that I have a history of goofing around a bit here. I guess some history is better than none.
posted by strangeleftydoublethink at 5:01 PM on July 13, 2005

Actually come to think of it a Glock wouldn't be the best choice after all... the HK P7 is much smaller, and so leaves more room in the purse for other things.

Or you could just live somewhere sane.

Um, the person posting the comment you are responding to lives in Montreal.

Do you think that no one reading Metafilter could ever 'convert' to gun ownership? It's not, ya know, illegal.

The person who posted the question in Ask Metafilter lives in Canada - are you up on concealed carry firearm laws in Canada?

Does anyone, y'know, ever visit the user page to check for information?
posted by mlis at 5:06 PM on July 13, 2005

There are plenty of firearms in Canada.
Some would say more than would ever be needed.
posted by Balisong at 5:13 PM on July 13, 2005

Um, the person posting the comment you are responding to lives in Montreal.

"Or one could just live somewhere sane." Happier now?
posted by Armitage Shanks at 5:14 PM on July 13, 2005

Armitage Shanks writes "Grenades are also important."

They're too damn bulky though. Grenades need a better form factor.

Also, yes there are plenty of firearms in Canada, but most of 'em are the hunting types (rifles, long-barrelled shotguns, etc.). We're not as big on sidearms, although they can be legally obtained.
posted by clevershark at 5:23 PM on July 13, 2005

Canada has a user page?! tsk tsk
posted by mischief at 5:23 PM on July 13, 2005

There are plenty of firearms in Canada.
Some would say more than would ever be needed.

Some would say grampa 'lost' his firearms on the last hunting trip. We're ready for Red Dawn II: Attack on the Great White North.
posted by tweak at 5:33 PM on July 13, 2005

You know I wonder, perhaps some askme threads should be considered more "open" then others. This one was clearly very open ended.
posted by delmoi at 6:20 PM on July 13, 2005

Capn : "AxeMe has to be noisless enough to be useful, but not humorless."

Disagreed.
posted by Bugbread at 7:14 PM on July 13, 2005

Maybe I need to start MetaMetaFilter

Wow, you really are a newbie! Well, it's all good, anyway.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 8:18 PM on July 13, 2005

All I have to say is this article filled me with fear and wonder. That guy makes McGuyver look like an amateur. Thanks AskMe!
posted by nixerman at 10:26 PM on July 13, 2005

MetaMetaFilter
posted by dg at 10:46 PM on July 13, 2005

Matt actually has a history of making sure that gun related stuff stays clean and focussed on guns, instead of on politics. When answers in this AskMe started to go off topic he deleted them and defended the thread in MeTa to make sure it stayed about guns.
posted by OmieWise at 6:15 AM on July 14, 2005