Blank comments, the new "."?

July 15, 2005 12:59 AM

Blank comments, the new "."? (or a bug?)
posted by thedevildancedlightly to Bugs at 12:59 AM (37 comments total)

They were both in Rove threads, which have become something of a Plague in Our Times and other comments from the same user, both before and after those highlighted, have included content.
Not to mention the fact that f³ hasn't come hurtling into MeTa moaning "               " and "          " about how he can't seem to say anything.

An indication that the thread isn't worth it, I suspect.
Feel free to point out the irony in this.
posted by NinjaPirate at 1:23 AM on July 15, 2005

posted by Plutor at 4:38 AM on July 15, 2005

.
posted by Rothko at 5:05 AM on July 15, 2005

.


posted by sebas at 5:19 AM on July 15, 2005

[ expletive deleted ]
posted by soyjoy at 7:30 AM on July 15, 2005

All you need to do is type & n b s p ; -- only without the spaces between the characters--a couple of times and hit preview and then post. It's nothing new.
posted by y2karl at 7:32 AM on July 15, 2005

 
posted by y2karl at 7:46 AM on July 15, 2005

 
posted by monju_bosatsu at 8:04 AM on July 15, 2005

Soyjoy, you get a gold star. You can always get me with an appropriately placed Nixon joke.
posted by Pollomacho at 8:14 AM on July 15, 2005

I was marking the threads so they'd appear in "My Comments." I had absolutely nothing to contribute to the threads, but I very much want to continue to monitor them. Matt's never delivered on that pony, alas, and I thought a "." might be more intrusive than a simple empty message.

I don't plan on using it often at all.
posted by five fresh fish at 9:43 AM on July 15, 2005

Thanks for the explanation fff, wasn't sure if it was a bug with my display (hence the "bug" part), posting, or an intentional bump.
posted by thedevildancedlightly at 9:50 AM on July 15, 2005

(!) is the new (Y)
posted by tiny purple fishes at 10:12 AM on July 15, 2005

Maybe we should make it (M) for "Matt!" or "I'm telling Mom!"
posted by Pollomacho at 10:40 AM on July 15, 2005

What if everybody did that? Haven't we had this discussion before?
posted by grouse at 10:45 AM on July 15, 2005

What if everybody did that? Haven't we had this discussion before?

You do raise a good point... if just 100 active users sat there and made blank comments then the signal-to-noise ratio would plummet.

Maybe it's time to start flagging blanks for the admins to delete them?
posted by thedevildancedlightly at 11:06 AM on July 15, 2005

What's wrong with bookmarking or adding them to one's del.icio.us list?

Why should the site be cluttered up with blank/useless "comments" simply because others are unwilling or unable to organize themselves?

BTW, for OSX/Tiger users, I highly recommend MetaDash as a tool to use with del.icio.us to follow threads of interest.
posted by terrapin at 11:27 AM on July 15, 2005

Maybe it's time to start flagging blanks for the admins to delete them?

trust me, they do. I feel the same way as I do about the "dot as bookmark" thread, it confuses people, it takes up space, it results in flagging, and it serves a purpose that is almost just as easily served by other tools that don't do the other three things.
posted by jessamyn at 11:30 AM on July 15, 2005

thedevildancedlightly writes "Maybe it's time to start flagging blanks for the admins to delete them?"

Not even sure one would need to flag them. I am pretty sure Matt can query the database for "comments" that contain only &nsbp;.

But it is a good idea.
posted by terrapin at 11:32 AM on July 15, 2005

 
posted by quonsar at 1:11 PM on July 15, 2005

What if everybody did that?

If it showed signs of being a common thing, I wouldn't do it. As far as I know, it happens very rarely. Considering all the other noise and crap that happens in MeFi, I think there are far, far more important things about which to be concerned!
posted by five fresh fish at 1:20 PM on July 15, 2005

So you are purposely introducing noise into threads because doing so is convenient for yourself?
posted by LarryC at 3:29 PM on July 15, 2005

Well, Larry, we could just insert noise for no reason whatsoever. - luv m
posted by mischief at 3:39 PM on July 15, 2005

If typographic silence is considered noise, then yes.

I guess this makes me as bad as ParisParamus. I shall be sure to flagellate myself this evening.
posted by five fresh fish at 3:41 PM on July 15, 2005

Quit being willfully obtuse five fresh fish. People don't like blank comments because they're annoying, take up space, and contribute nothing to the discussion. Further, they're used solely for your benefit and no one else, which strikes me as a tad selfish.

It has nothing to do with ParisParamus; and it's bad because it sets a bad precedent.
posted by SeizeTheDay at 3:49 PM on July 15, 2005

Settle.
posted by Count Ziggurat at 5:20 PM on July 15, 2005

       
posted by loquacious at 5:24 PM on July 15, 2005

.
posted by loquacious at 5:29 PM on July 15, 2005

You can say that again.
posted by cortex at 6:15 PM on July 15, 2005

whence yon rectangle?
posted by cortex at 6:20 PM on July 15, 2005

shy is the new in your face
posted by ijoshua at 8:39 PM on July 15, 2005

I'll take your thoughts into consideration next time I feel a need to bookmark a thread.
posted by five fresh fish at 8:53 PM on July 15, 2005

FFF, would you like a bookmarking tutorial? Cause there's no shame in admitting you have trouble drag-and-dropping URLs into your browser toolbar, then naming them M so you can fit a dozen in. Collecting an RSS feed (Bloglines is best for this) and checking "keep new" on favorites would help too, or, as mentioned, using Delicious.

Cause given that, commenting in threads actually seems like more work. So I'm sure you just forgot for a moment the ease of these methods, cause you're not a stubborn selfish bastard.
posted by NickDouglas at 7:37 AM on July 17, 2005

I have already indicated that I shall take your thoughts into consideration next time I feel a need to bookmark a thread.

What the fuck more do you want?
posted by five fresh fish at 11:11 AM on July 17, 2005

Hello, Cranberry. How are you? I am fine. We had fun at your house last weekend. Thanks for the hospitality. Your potato salad was not nearly as bad as everyone claimed.
posted by gramschmidt at 12:27 AM on July 25, 2005

gramschmidt - I did not make the potato salad. I made the delicious yellow Jello with green olives that no one ate.
posted by Cranberry at 12:51 AM on July 25, 2005

Logically we should be in 9824, guys. Admittedly going to 9723 instead of 9722 was just because 9722 was deleted, but I think we've got a nice tradition going now and we shouldn't abandon it.
posted by kenko at 12:46 PM on July 25, 2005

What the fuck more do you want?
posted by If I Had An Anus at 6:55 PM on July 25, 2005