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eotvos has passed away
Passing on some sad news: long-time site member eotvos died earlier today after suffering a critical brain injury this weekend. He's survived by his wife, who knew his MeFi handle and may see this post; my condolences to you, and to everyone in the MetaFilter community who knew him either as a friend or as a familiar voice on the site.
Another video game roundup thread!
Figure it's about time for another "hey, what are you playing" games roundup post, so, hey, what are you playing? What's new? What have you gone back to for the nth time? What did you bounce right off of?
186: Am I Being A User Right Now
It's episode 186 of the MeFi podcast, with Jessamyn and I...and loup! Who joined us to talk a bit about their experiences with internet past and present and their last couple of years as they've been working here. The three of us have a long and winding conversation about community management, internet ethics, MeFi in particular, the recent transition process, etc. Runs about 90 minutes.
185a: V Rising and Severance
Random podcast bonus content! Jessamyn and I decided to do a mid-month episode to just chat about a couple media things we liked. Is it a FanFare podcast? I dunno! Will we keep doing it? I dunno! But it was fun and so here it is. We talk about V Rising, a survive-o-craft vampire game I have been very much enjoying, and about Severance, a TV show that we have both enjoyed tremendously. Runs just about an hour.
Video game roundup thread!
Hey, what video games are you playing lately? Come on in and talk about it!
185: A very wearing my bathrobe all day day
It's episode 185 of the MeFi Monthly Podcast, with Jessamyn and I talking for a good chunk up front about the whole process over the last couple months of figuring out transferring ownership of the site from me to her. We also talk about, like, good stuff from the site for most of it.
184: Sentences are music
I didn't edit or write this month's podcast (other than this little bit)! Thanks so much to eotvos for all his work on this; note his note at the end of the podcast about other possible contributions as well! In any case, Jessamyn and I talk about MetaFilter as we are wont to do; it runs the usual 90-ish minutes.
Transition Team initial discussion summary and kickoff
I've had an initial discussion with several folks in the MetaFilter community about planning the next steps in building the community management and engagement structure necessary for the long-term health of the site. I'd like to report on who I've talked with, what we've talked about, and some of the core questions and ideas that came up in that discussion of what we're now calling a temporary Transition Team. This is the start of a process that I expect will actively involve the whole MetaFilter community in new and constructive ways, and I’m excited about that.
183: Severance, not Succession
It was a very busy turn of the month so we're wandering in pretty late with this episode. I talk a little bit about my recent decision to transition away from running MetaFilter (but we'll, inter alia, keep podcasting); Jessamyn and I talk about MeFi stuff as per usual; we establish that she started watching the wrong show and couldn't figure out why people liked it; and we chatter about at least three words we're not sure how to pronounce and establish, once more, that neither of us can read IPA. Runs our usual "about 90 minutes".
First steps in some MetaFilter changes
I've come to the conclusion that I need to step away from running MetaFilter. I'm still figuring what the totality of that will look like, but the initial steps include handing over day to day business administration processes to loup, mod duties to the existing mod staff, and working to set up a steering structure that incorporates community members. My goal is this transition shouldn’t disrupt day-to-day member experiences on the site. Come on in and I'll go into some preliminary detail.
Short site outage earlier this morning
The site was down for a couple of hours this morning; resolved now and we're looking into what triggered it. Sorry about the inconvenience, y'all.
182: too many trees, not enough goats
Psst, hey kid, wanna buy a podcast?
181: Pivot Table the Calendar
I love podcasts, woo woo woo! I love podcasts, how 'bout you? Here's episode 181, with jessamyn and I contemplating the idea of a week and a month and talking about misc. MetaFilterian stuff. Runs about 90 minutes.
Introduce yourself!
Hey, are you newish to MetaFilter? Or not new but you don't comment or post much? Come on in and say hello, introduce yourself, talk about what brought you here, and so on!
180: Is Sunset A Local Phenomenon?
I checked in with management and apparently we have to do a 2022 now even though we just finished wiht 2021. Jessamyn and I do our best to roll into the new year and talk about MetaFilter stuff and get in a philosophical discussion of the nature of the literal horizon qua solar objects. Runs about 90 minutes.
179: Calendrical Is Totally A Word
In our triumphant return to posting podcasts at the turn of the month, Jess and I talk about time management and reminders, complicated conversational dynamics, the assassination of JFK (but only very briefly), and a bunch of somewhat more MetaFilter-centric things. We time-managed our way up to about 93 minutes. Also I play a euphonium.
178: Leisure Suit Larry's, Uh, Pixels
We got a rootin' tootin' podcast here. Darn tootin'. Can you both rootin'- and darn'- something that's tootin' in the same paragraph like this? I don't know. I really don't know. I might be going to podcast jail. Before that happens, though, here's me and jessamyn chattering about MetaFilter, the nature of daylight, representation vs. allusion in crappy old Sierra erotic comedy adventures, MetaFilter, the concept of (for some reason) No Nut November, "Meta", and who knows what else because we're both still getting used to the time change. It runs exactly, precisely, to the second 90 minutes.
MetaTalktail Hour: what are you currently looking forward to?
It's the weekend, and it's time for some largely-unstructured chatter, and so: what are you looking forward to? Big stuff, small stuff, long-sought stuff, random stupid little stuff: it's good to be looking forward to something, so, what have you got? I see you shiver with anticip...
177: Good Soup
I accidentally wrote "make a podcast" on a colander instead of the calendar, so on the downside this episode is pretty late but on the upside it has been thoroughly rinsed. Is that anything? Can we do anything with that? Anyway, here's a podcast, it's about 90 minutes, and it involves me and Jessamyn getting off on at least a couple different tangents on the subject *of* getting off on tangents, so it's a very MetaFilter podcast indeed.
Fundraising update
Fundraising updates now that August is over: we're up about $1100/mo in new recurring monthly subscription income from where we started at the start of the month. We've also received a few thousand dollars in additional one-time donations from site members and readers. And, as an extremely generous cherry on top, we also recieved a $15,000 donation from long-time nerd and friend of the site Jeff Atwood.
176: Low-Key Podcast
Jessamyn and I managed to stumble our way into and through a podcast despite both having the needle pegged hard to E this afternoon, and here is recorded evidence of that fact, at about 75 minutes.
Metatalktail Hour: more like metatakenap
This week's topic is man, who has the energy to come up with a topic? I'm bushed, you look bushed, let's just say we're gonna read a book on the couch and then immeeeeediately sack out of an hour. So it's an open thread, talk about that good nap you took or that nap you need, or talk about hey whatever.
Hey, it's a MetaFilter newsletter!
Something new we're trying out: a MetaFilter email newsletter. I want to share the first issue with y'all, to discuss and brainstorm about. For the moment, we're calling it...Untitled MetaFilter Newsletter. You can subscribe here.
August is MetaFilter fundraising month
It's fundraising time! MetaFilter depends primarily on user and reader support to continue to operate: that funding pays for moderation, site development, and basic administrative costs like server hosting. It is increasingly difficult to operate a site like ours in the modern web economy, and your financial contributions through one-time contributions and recurring subscriptions have made, and will make, all the difference in keeping MeFi going.
You can start or increase your subscription here. I'll answer some questions about what we need, where the money goes, and what's coming up below, so come on inside if you want more detail.
You can start or increase your subscription here. I'll answer some questions about what we need, where the money goes, and what's coming up below, so come on inside if you want more detail.
175: Don't Throw The Banana Peel In The Toilet
It's only the first day of August, but the weather in Portland is such that it already feeling like plural dog days have elapsed. And yet, through it all, a podcast episode drags itself through the sun-baked streets to appear, sweating and winded, on your doorstep. Come along with Jessamyn and I as we...chatter about MetaFilter? Basically what we normally do. This one's about an hour and 45.
MetaFilter's new Privacy Policy document
We're rolling out a new formal Privacy Policy document for MetaFilter! You can read it here right now; in the next few days we'll get a link added in the site footer and update the FAQ, etc. If you want to discuss it or have questions, come on inside.
A change in moderator coverage of the site
I want to update everybody about how moderator schedules have changed recently to account for budget constraints. The short version is: we’re actively monitoring the site most of the time instead of 24/7 to reduce costs, and while this shouldn’t directly affect member experiences overall it does mean occasionally waiting a little longer than previously for moderator responses on flags and emails. Come on in for some more detail if you’re interested.
174: Knobs and Dials
Jessamyn and I were both feeling excessively chatty today so this one clocks in at about one hour fifty five, with discussions about MeFi, Ask, etc. along with a bunch of wanderings and heat wave chatter. Also there is a spider and a bird, and Jessamyn saw a bear outside her window. Also I fixed my goddam GarageBand, so we have music tracks again. I missed those.
Metatalktail Hour: I'm Gonna Do Something With It Eventually
As a kind of complement to last weekend's question, I want to know what thing/object/item has been sitting on your desk or a table or a shelf (or moved between various among them) for Objectively Too Long because dangit one of these days you're gonna get around to thing you were gonna do with it or use it for.
173: No That's A Different Penguin
My dog ate my podcast synopsis. It's me, it's Jessamyn, it's a podcast recorded in the deep past of before the long weekend, it's about 90 minutes.
On the situation in Gaza, and MeFi discussions
The situation in Gaza is awful, and as a moderation team collectively we are horrified by the violence and destruction and loss of life the Israeli government has been causing in Palestine. As a Jew, personally, I am too; for the mod team and for many people in the MetaFilter community this isn't just a terrible situation but one with very direct and personal resonances. Jewish identity and history is complex; overt and oppressive violence isn't, and what the state of Israel is doing right now to the people in Palestine is wrong.
The desire to talk about and react to the situation on MeFi is completely understandable. But it's also a topic that has, in particular during times of open conflict, been incredibly difficult to manage as an open discussion without it escalating to a point of being more harmful than helpful, and that's something we can't knowingly support playing out in the community here.
It's hard to say when and how a broad discussion of this can go well; we are going to have to exercise a lot of care in assessing whether the framing of a post and available moderator resources will make for a workable thread. In the mean time it feels necessary to me to make this MetaTalk post acknowledging both that site dilemma and the actual situation at large since MeFi, as a place built around posts, can end up feeling conspicuously silent when there's not a thread happening organically.
I'd like to try and fill the gap left by the lack of an open thread by using the space inside this post to round up informational resources; the mod team will aim to add to this post periodically if folks will forward good links to us via the contact form.
The desire to talk about and react to the situation on MeFi is completely understandable. But it's also a topic that has, in particular during times of open conflict, been incredibly difficult to manage as an open discussion without it escalating to a point of being more harmful than helpful, and that's something we can't knowingly support playing out in the community here.
It's hard to say when and how a broad discussion of this can go well; we are going to have to exercise a lot of care in assessing whether the framing of a post and available moderator resources will make for a workable thread. In the mean time it feels necessary to me to make this MetaTalk post acknowledging both that site dilemma and the actual situation at large since MeFi, as a place built around posts, can end up feeling conspicuously silent when there's not a thread happening organically.
I'd like to try and fill the gap left by the lack of an open thread by using the space inside this post to round up informational resources; the mod team will aim to add to this post periodically if folks will forward good links to us via the contact form.
172: I'll Get There At Some Point
I'll be straight with you: this is an episode, of a podcast, and it's me and Jessamyn, and we talk about MetaFilter and stuff adjacent to MetaFilter. There's no sugar-coating it: this is 90 minutes of MeFi-adjacent chatter.
Updating the graphical style of mod notes
We're introducing a new visual styling for moderator comments today! Instead of the older [small text and brackets style], mod comments will now feature a contrasting border, full-sized text, and for text browsers and screenreaders an explicit "Mod note:" text prefix to compensate for the lack of graphical cues.
171: Was I Weird
We've made it through the dark tunnel that is April 1 online and jessamyn and I are here with that good good MetaFilter chatter and a little bit of linguistics speculation. Runs about 85 minutes.
Uncle Mefi's Big Book of Beans
Cooped up because of reasons, and need something to distract yourself? Spend a little time with Uncle Mefi's Big Book of Beans [PDF], a collection of paper and pencil activities for MeFites of all ages. Word puzzles! Coloring! Money counterfeiting! Graduate-level logic problems! More coloring!
Right day, wrong century
Oh man, someone printed this calendar wrong; it's actually April 1, 1921, and it turns out we're all a bunch of French Dadaists. Nothing to do for it but play a little Exquisite Corpse I guess!
Site Update #7, 3/29/2021
Sort of hard to believe that big boat got stuck in the Suez Canal and then unstuck again all since the last update, but life is a rich tapestry indeed. Quick update this time in any case.
Site Update #6, 3/15/2021
It's our first Monday update after having done these on Fridays the last few months. We have team meetings every Sunday, so this is a more natural fit for getting these updates ready to go and keeping them up-to-date come posting time.
Site Update #5, 2021
Not a lot of site news this update, though we’ve been laying groundwork for upcoming stuff and have checked off a few lingering items from the last while.
170: Through A Paper Towel Tube Darkly
number one victory royale / yeah podcast with Jess who's my pal / 90 minutes running time oh wow / just cleaned out my Chrome tabs now
Site update #4, 2021
It’s been a busy couple of weeks since the last update, with a more comprehensive State of the Site update and some site dev progress as frimble’s had some more time available recently.
State of the Site, Feb 2021
Heya, folks, here's an update on the site over the last year and what we're looking at in 2021.
Site update #3, 2021
We’re easing into February now, in what has felt like a remarkably...uneventful couple of weeks? Relatively speaking, at least. Not a lot of new site stuff to report, in any case.
169: Soon May The Podcast Come
It's Febuary, Februr, uh, it's Ferbur—it's not January anymore and here's a new podcast episode. We're catching up since episode 168 a couple months ago because last month we did the live-stream gala instead! So jessamyn and I try and sum up a couple months of MetaFilter best we can. Runs about 85 minutes.
New merch! Shirts, stickers, and magnets!
We talked about this in the run-up to the Gala, so: let's start off 2021 with some new merch! We've got new designs up, available as shirts on Neatoshop and as magnets and stickers on Teepublic, so if you've been looking for something MeFi-centric to drape over your mortal form or stick to your laptop or fridge or car or whatever the heck this is your lucky day.
168: Marquee Biz
When the sound hits your ear
Like a Jess/cortex schmear
That's apodcast
Like a Jess/cortex schmear
That's apodcast
If you're in the US, vote Biden/Harris and get Trump out of office.
Hey. It's cortex. We don't usually do this sort of thing, but: this US election is a couple weeks away and is really important for the future of the US and for the world. We're four years into creeping authoritarianism and outright regressive bigotry from the President and the GOP. If you're in the US, it's really important that you vote Biden/Harris and get Trump the hell out of office. Vote early if you can. There's state-by-state voting information available from vote411 and Ballotpedia.
167: The Gang Records A Podcast
Back on something resembling a schedule, jessamyn and I chat about MetaFilter and also...other things? I am very punchy! This has been successfully posted! Have a great weekend!
166: The Metafilter Monthly-ish Podcast
After an August break, jessamyn and I are back to talk about Metafilter, bad weather, libraries, Metafilter, blaseball, and Metafilter.
Help cortex cut his hair, fundraising edition.
My hair is too long! Something's gotta be done! So, here's the deal: for every new $50 in monthly recurring contributions to MetaFilter we see in September, I'll cut an inch off. I've got about 14 inches of hair right now, so we've got a lot of ground to cover. Come inside to track my progress with the patent-pending MetaFilter Hair-O-Meter.