MetaTalk

While catching up with the latest politics megathread, I was surprised to see this mod note from LobsterMitten: [Note about post drafts - putting here so people will see it, but happy to talk it over more in email, will email some of the recent posters. Please keep the posts on the shorter side, maybe 1000 words or that neighborhood. Thanks.] As a longtime crafter of megaposts, I don't think I've ever seen official mod guidance to cut them (relatively) short in this way. Posts have been edited for leaving too much above the fold, but I can think of only a handful of incidents where the post body itself got official pushback for being Too Long -- and those largely involved novella-sized posts with length-induced display errors (really) or blanket copy-pasting a website's contents. Is LobsterMitten's advice targeted at the political megathreads only -- perhaps for performance reasons -- or should it be construed more broadly? I happen to think a well-organized megapost is the best of MeFi and a feature few vid- and listicle-driven sites can match, and in the case of the politics threads specifically they're a fine example of community collaboration that provide a valuable curated record of this chaotic era. But what do you think?
posted by Rhaomi at 12:49 PM - 48 comments

Our Lady of Paris (Notre Dame) is in flames, the spire and roof have fallen, the news images are heart-breaking. I come to MeFi to learn more and to share this terrible moment and mourn with my community. Posts are deleted. [more inside]
posted by theora55 at 12:57 PM - 347 comments

Is there an area of MetaFilter for publicly appreciating an especially generous poster? [more inside]
posted by R2WeTwo at 7:16 PM - 17 comments

Should legal AskMe's be banned? [more inside]
posted by rhizome at 5:53 PM - 61 comments

For the sake of our tender political psyches as well as the mods' I propose either: A )Dem primary candidates' posts are not included on the current US politics side bar or B) there be a separate Demprimary side bar, with the same opt in/out button. [more inside]
posted by Cold Lurkey at 8:05 PM - 28 comments

This is fairly minor in the scheme of things, and I feel kind of weird making a post about it, but it never gets easier to see Georgette Heyer and The Grand Sophy warmly recommended. [more inside]
posted by trig at 4:03 PM - 42 comments

After posting an ask.metafilter question, I like to Best Answer replies, except in some cases when I find all possible approaches awkward. What's best practice in Best Answering? [more inside]
posted by daisyace at 8:37 AM - 27 comments

Poop month was January! JANUARY! And yet Johnny Wallflower and his nefarious assistant Fizz are turning February into Poop month 2: The wrath of crap! When. Will. It. Stop?
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 5:28 PM - 137 comments

I discovered the metacommentary deletion policy under less than great circumstances. Can we talk about how to enforce that policy with a little less collateral damage? Maybe by better documentation, or user education? [more inside]
posted by meaty shoe puppet at 3:37 PM - 32 comments

I can’t be the only person on this site with hand pain. Carpal tunnel is pervasive, and lots of people have arthritis. For those of us who have hand pain, it hurts to click on a link. So I generally don’t go to links unless I know there’s something I want to see. Sometimes people link using a word like “this” or “here” with no other explanation. If someone, say, asks for muffin recipes and I want to contribute one, I have to click on the vague links to make sure I’m not repeating what that person said. And having to click on a link without knowing what it is is annoying even for people without hand pain. I’m guessing this is something many people don’t even think about. Fellow MeFites, I’d like to ask you to think about it. Please identify your mystery links.
posted by FencingGal at 6:56 AM - 49 comments