MetaTalk

This is a post to discuss the moderator actions in this recent FPP. [more inside]
posted by fight or flight at 9:13 AM - 102 comments

A recent Ask about JD Salinger sticks out to me as very un MeFi somehow. The question itself together with the OP's follow-up responses felt kinda Facebook: "Bold claim: come at me!" [more inside]
posted by Text TK at 1:53 PM - 99 comments

I had an upsetting thing happen to me yesterday as a trans man, and was trying to find some solace in reading Metafilter, and instead ran into the train wreck of the metatalk on antisemitism. The whole experience got me thinking a lot about the quote "divided we fall, united we stand" in the face of the current fascist rise in this country (sorry to be so US focused), and made me wonder whether this might be an opportunity for understanding and reconciliation rather than leaving that thread be as is and letting it become an old wound that just festers. [more inside]
posted by lab.beetle at 7:06 AM - 30 comments

If a user is a member of staff, and is not a moderator, should they have mod powers? Are there situations where it would be appropriate for them to use mod powers? If not, should they have mod powers at all? If they must have mod powers, what policies are/should be in place to prevent misuse? If they do misuse mod powers, how should this community deal with it? (Going to describe the inciting incident here as gently as I can below the fold) [more inside]
posted by polytope subirb enby-of-piano-dice at 11:01 AM - 51 comments

The site update should happen by Wednesday of next week at the very latest. If it doesn't, mods will make a post a MeTa explaining the delay.] posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 8:44 PM on March 20 [+] [⚑] [more inside]
posted by bowbeacon at 8:05 AM - 131 comments

How can we create a safer and more respectful space for Jewish MeFites?
posted by Jacqueline at 9:26 PM - 149 comments

Brandon Blatcher said, in February, that

Since December 24, 2024, the queue has been operating under the premise of just push anything through that isn't hugely fighty.

However, there are at least two MeTa posts just in the last month which have vanished into thin air. I'm not sure what the earlier one was, because the person who wanted to post it has apparently wiped their account, but it is referenced in my comment here. The second is a MeTa which Violet Blue apparently made. Now, it's possible that both of these MeTas were in fact "hugely fighty", but there is no evidence of that. Most of the people who post on the Grey (certainly including me) already have less than zero trust in the moderators' judgment by this point, and failing to live up to assurances that you made not even six weeks ago only serves to further erode the possibility of ever trusting it again. What can be done about this, both in the case of the specific posts which were disallowed and in general?
posted by adrienneleigh at 7:32 PM - 72 comments

this is a meta to discuss the practice of mods deleting comments that don't break guidelines, but receive pushback after the fact, solely due to the original commenter coming back and saying "please delete my comment." [more inside]
posted by sagc at 4:18 PM - 112 comments

Although many tariffs are again delayed, the political landscape has been shifted by Donald Trump and Canadians and Americans uneasily find themselves on opposite sides of a border that is, economically at the least and potentially existentially under threat. If this week’s tariff thread is any indication, this fracture can lead to differences in opinion and sentiment – new and old – flaring up on the site. This post is from a Canadian perspective – one, because there are many of course. Hoping it may help to express a minority (8% of all traffic) perspective and also have some discourse. This is NOT a policy or mod ask. All opinions my own. [more inside]
posted by warriorqueen at 1:00 PM - 129 comments

In these turbulent times, we literate few (who voluntarily inhabit a non-threaded text-only 20-year-old website that doesn’t use algorithms) cry out for the solid comforts of Fine Poetry to unify us and soothe our collective fevered brow. In short, fellow Mefites, we need a Poet Laureate (Pro Tempore*). +++This is the Poet Laureate (Pro Tempore) Election Thread+++ [more inside]
posted by Vatnesine at 8:03 PM - 79 comments