(at the moment the ordering is somewhat random and we're just collecting questions and answering them on the fly, but organization by category and tag will happen soon. Also, you can suggest a question not listed using the form at the bottom)
Go to the New User page to read about accounts and follow the link to sign up and pay for the account. The current sign-up fee is $5 and is the only cost associated with using the site. Once the PayPal payment is completed, your account will be active and you will be allowed to post comments on various MetaFilter threads. (tags: MetaFilternewusersmembership ) February 15, 2006 - back to questions
Can I change my username?
No. Usernames are your identity in the community and carry a lot of weight with others that read your comments. If you are changing your username you are effectively disappearing from the site and reappearing anew. Unless there is a grave and life-threatening reason to change your username, you cannot get it changed. If you are really unhappy with your username, you can sign up for an all new account. (tags: usernameuserpreferences ) March 6, 2006 - back to questions
Do I need to put an email in my profile? How do I change my email address?
You need to register a working email address in your profile. Only site admins can see that and may use it to contact you, as well as send password reminders. You cannot remove your email entirely, but by default it is hidden from everyone else and not shown on your profile page. Your email address will only show up to registered logged-in users if you set your preferences to show it, otherwise it doesn't show up on your user page at all.
However, being contactable by other users can sometimes be advantageous. Many members use a semi-disposable address for MetaFilter only so that people can contact them. The admins also have the email address you used when you signed up, and may use it to contact you for admin reasons. They will not give out this address, and it is not available to other users. You can use MeFiMail for contacting other users and being contacted if you don't want to have a user-facing email address.
Can I post to the front page immediately after registering?
No. You need to be a member for a short amount of time and you need to make a few comments to the site before you can make a front page post. You need to be a member for at least a week to make an AskMe post. (tags: fpppostingnewmembersaskme ) April 20, 2006 - back to questions
Can I change my password? What if I forget my password?
You can change your password using this form (linked on your preferences page as well).
If you have forgotten your password, you can get it reset here, which requires a working, authenticated email address to receive your password reset link. (tags: password ) April 20, 2006 - back to questions
Can I have more than one account?
Having a second account, known as a sock puppet, is generally discouraged. However, people have sock puppet accounts for various reasons and they are not forbidden unless they are being used deceptively to mess with the site (see this thread for an example).
Some reasons people have sock puppet accounts:
- their account was blocked/banned and they want to "start over" (this is not always okay, check with mathowie if you are uncertain)
- they want to ask a question in Ask MetaFilter that is not linked to their primary account
- they have a second account for making jokey comments (see usernames like baby jesus or Official Mefi Head Complainer)
It is against the rules to use a sock puppet to get around the time limitations between AskMe, MeFi and MeTa posts. People who do this will risk losing the sock puppet account, getting a time out on theeir main account and/or having their extra question or post removed. Please do not do this. (tags: sockpuppetaccountsusers ) April 20, 2006 - back to questions
I want an account but I don't want to use PayPal. What do I do?
There is no official way to get an account without using PayPal. You can contact Jessamyn if you want to try to work out alternate account payment arrangements. (tags: paypalmembership ) December 26, 2006 - back to questions
Can I close or delete my account permanently or temporarily?
If you no longer want to be a part of the MeFi community you can close your own account. If you go to your profile page when you are logged in and click edit profile and scroll to the bottom you will see a link that says "Close Your Account" Clicking this will take you to an "are you sure?" page. If you confirm, your account will be closed and you will be unable to log in, post, comment or access MeFiMail. Your existing posts and comments will remain. If you change your mind at a later date and want to reactivate your account, an admin can do it for you. (tags: accountclosetimeout ) November 25, 2007 - back to questions
My AskMe question was edited to remove my cute more inside play on words, wtf?
The "more inside" words don't appear when people read AskMe via RSS. As a result when you end your question with "as always there's..." it makes no sense to people reading via RSS. Editing cute more inside jokes is the only editing we do in AskMe that is not at the poster's request. (tags: moreinsideaskmeediting ) October 18, 2007 - back to questions
How can I view ALL the questions I asked in the past?
There is no way to see them all on one page, but you can go to either of these URLs
replacing the number 1 with your usernumber to see a list of the questions you have asked. The first option is what is available on your profile page. (tags: askmeprofile ) June 11, 2007 - back to questions
Is there a way to turn my non-anonymous old questions into anonymous ones ?
We do have a way to anonymize old posts. While doing this does somewhat decrease the value of the questions to the community -- since people answered it with a user in mind and some answers may not make sense -- we'll anonymize old questions if it's important. Contact a mod if you want this done. (tags: askmeanonymeanonymous ) March 28, 2008 - back to questions
My Ask Metafilter question was removed as chatfilter. What does that mean?
Ask Metafilter questions need to have some possible answer or should be asking for information that will be put to some practical use. Chatty open-ended questions diminish the usefulness of Ask Metafilter and push other questions off the front page. If you want to avoid having your question flagged and possibly removed, here are some things to avoid.
- Questions where everyone's answer is equally valid along the lines of "What's your favorite X?". Maybe there is a reason you want to know? Super, just put it in your question.
- Asking the question and giving your own answer before getting the answers of others, saying some variant of "I'll go first" If you can authoritatively answer your own question, it's probably not right for AskMe.
- Questions with no problem to be solved or where the problem is some variant of "I'm curious if other people feel like I do"
- Open-ended unanswerable or hypothetical questions like "What if Hitler had never been born?" or made up "what if" science questions. Creating arbitrary constraints and then playing "what if" is not a good use of AskMe.
- Questions that are some version of "What is the deal with X?"or "X sucks, am I right?" tend to not go well on Ask MetaFilter. Please do not rant on AskMe and pretend it is a question.
Put another way "...if your motivation for asking the question is 'I would like to participate in a discussion about X,' then you shouldn't be doing it in AskMe. If your motivation is 'I would like others to explain X to me,' then you're probably OK." (tags: askmeaskmetafilterchatfilterdeletion ) May 3, 2006 - back to questions
What is MetaFilter Music? How does it work?
MetaFilter Music is a site for members to upload their own songs for others to enjoy and share. MeFi members can upload up to one song per day, MP3 only, with a 10Mb limit. Please upload covers and mashups sparingly. Please do not upload things that are not your own work in some way.
Any logged in user can listen to the music or make music playlists. The site is not intended to be a hosting service to be linked to externally and it's not intended to be promo space for your band. This is the MetaTalk thread announcing it. This is the tags page for it.
Someone called my comment/post Pepsi Blue; what does that mean?
Pepsi Blue has become a sort of catch-all catcall for something that's a possible shill posting on MetaFilter - that is, an ad or product endorsement for reasons other than just overall consumer joy. The reason why Pepsi Blue was chosen had to do with the large number of bloggers who seemed to pay special notice of the Pepsi Blue launch, including this post on MetaFilter.
Many MetaFilter members are suspicious of posts (and to a lesser extent, comments) that appear to endorse a (usually new) product or service. If you do want to make a post recommending a product, it is a good idea that you shouldn't have a special interest, financial or otherwise, in the product. Even if you don't, you should still be prepared to face some probing questions in the thread. There are ad sites out there already where such posts might be better received. (tags: pepsiblueads ) March 30, 2006 - back to questions
How long does it usually take for an anonymous question to be posted to Ask Metafilter?
Usually anonymous questions are posted within a few days. Some types of questions may not be approved such as illegal, repetitive, trollish, unanswerable or obvious questions, or ones that don't appear to require anonymity. If you have a question about the status of your anonymous question, you can contact mathowie or jessamyn. (tags: anonymeaskmetafilteranonymousaskme ) April 20, 2006 - back to questions
Why are some MetaTalk threads closed?
There are a few reasons why MetaTalk threads are closed. The main reason is for threads with very specific requests -- typo fixes, double post deletions -- that don't require additional discussion once the problem is solved. These can often be resolved more simply with an email or IM to an admin. Sometimes a thread duplicates an existing open MetaTalk thread, devolves into noise and/or a trainwreck, or was a joke thread to begin with. Very rarely a MetaTalk thread will be deleted rather than closed. (tags: metametatalkclosedthreads ) April 20, 2006 - back to questions
How does anonymous posting work in AskMe? Is there a function for anonymous follow-ups?
When you use the anonymous posting form, your question goes into a queue that is only read by the admins. Your posting is not linked to your username in any way once it goes up on the site, though the admins may know who posted the question. It is posted through an Anonymous user account. There is currently no mechanism for following up anonymously though the admins will post an email to an anonymous thread, as will many other MeFi users. Sometimes people set up disposable email accounts so they can be contacted about an anonymous posting. (tags: anonymousaskmeanonyme ) March 6, 2006 - back to questions
What are other MeFi spinoff sites? What other sites use MetaFilter code?
MeFi Projects is a space in the MetaFilter universe for members to toot their own horn and link to something that they have done. Projects has built in mechanisms so that people can give a post the thumbs up, either through clicking the vote link to give it a thumbs up, or clicking the "post this project to mefi" button on the project's permalink page. People can also send comments to the original poster of the project. More information can be found here. (tags: mefiprojectsprojectsselflink ) March 6, 2006 - back to questions
What is the MetaFilter wiki?
The MetaFilter Wiki is an unofficial collaborative wiki run by Adrian Hon. The purpose of this Wiki is to produce and maintain a general guide for the community weblog called MetaFilter. It is editable by anyone, whether they are a MetaFilter user or not. There is a lot of good information about MetaFilter there, especially about specific users and community norms and behaviors. (tags: wiki ) March 6, 2006 - back to questions
What does a single period in a comment by itself mean?
It's MeFi shorthand for a moment of silence and is usually used in obituary threads. (tags: obitobituary ) February 23, 2006 - back to questions
How soon can I post again after starting a thread in different parts of the site?
After you have posted a thread, you have to wait this long before posting a second thread in that same area. There is no similar limit for comments.
MetaFilter - 24 hours
MetaFilter Music - 24 hours
MetaTalk - one week
AskMetafilter - one week
Metafilter Projects - one month (tags: timeframemetaaskmemefiprojectsfpp ) March 6, 2006 - back to questions
Can I post a link to CNN if there's a breaking news story that doesn't have a permalink yet?
There are very rare cases where this is appropriate, usually large scale disasters (like once-in-a-lifetime events). Updates to the latest political intrigue do not qualify. Generally speaking, if a breaking story isn't linked on the Internet yet, it won't make a very good post. If you're posting it thinking, "I'd better hurry before someone else posts this" — then it's probably not a good post. (tags: breakingnewsnewsfiltermetafilter ) March 6, 2006 - back to questions
What does NSFW mean? Do I have to indicate if my link is not safe for work? What about spoilers?
Generally if what is behind a link is not safe for work (porn, nudity, shock sites, sound) a NSFW indicator is appreciated. Admins will sometimes add NSFW to links, especially front page posts, if the poster doesn't include them. The same is true for spoilers -- posts that indicate the ending of a book, movie, sporting event etc -- please try to be polite and include them inside the thread or a [more inside] section rather than in the post itself.
Do not assume that all content that isn't safe for work browsing will be labeled as such. There are always instances where the NSFW indicator is missing, and the admins cannot be expected to catch every single one of them and fix it. The same is true for spoilers, which the admins will try to tuck inside a post. When browsing, it is safest to consider the NSFW tag and the spoiler indication a favor performed by the admins and posters, rather than an expectation or obligation. (tags: nsfwetiquettespoilers ) March 6, 2006 - back to questions
What is double posting? Is there a statute of limitations on double posting? How do I avoid double posting?
A double post is when someone posts something to the front page of MetaFilter (or sometimes MetaTalk) that has been there before.
There is no hard and fast rule on when a post is not a double anymore. For an identical URL and a site that hasn't changed in content "a few years" is a good guideline. For a site with the same URL and new content, indicating the previous post in your new post is a good idea. If there is a post on a similar topic still on the front page, please post your link into the open thread instead of starting a new post.
With few exceptions, there is no such thing as a doublepost in AskMe although users should generally search prior questions before posting to determine whether a very similar question has already been asked and answered.
Try searching for the URLs that are in your post before posting it. There is an oft-referred to way to check for doubleposts called "the crunchland method" Here is the synopsis. Go to his userpage for more information on making good posts to MetaFilter [now with nthdegx's advice on multi-link posts]
After you've found a site you want to feature on the front page, first go to the POST A LINK page on Metafilter, and enter in the url of the site. Leave off everything but the domain name -- no "http," no "www" and no directory or html file information. Press "Preview." If it's been posted before, even as a secondary link on someone else's post, it should pop up as a double.
How do I use HTML in my posts? Why don't I see the B, I, Link buttons sometimes in the posting area?
If you know how to use HTML, you can include an abbreviated list of HTML tags in your posts, including a, b, strong, i, em, ul, li and blockquote.
The format for adding italics, for example, is: <em>italicized word</em>
The format for adding a link to example.com is: <a href="http://example.com">example.com</a>
If you use a modern browser, you'll see B/I/link buttons below the compose/comment box that you can use to add basic formatting. UBB code does not work in MetaFilter. There is also a restriction on using html to make the words "posted by" in small size in comments to keep people from making comments looking like they're being posted by others.
Not all HTML is allowed. If you stick to simple text formating (b, strong, i, em, a) and lists (ul/li/ol) you'll be ok. Things like tables, embeded video code, javascript, images, and inline styles will be stripped out.
Here's a short screencast showing how to use the buttons to insert HTML for you:
If a thread has been removed or deleted, can I still find it someplace?
Threads that are deleted from MetaFilter, MetaTalk or AskMetaFilter still show up at their old URLs with the reasons for deletion written in, but they no longer show up any other place on the site. In extremely unusual instances a thread will be removed with no trace. (tags: deleteddeletedposts ) March 6, 2006 - back to questions
If a comment has been removed or deleted, can I still find it someplace?
According to the guidelines page "A good post to MetaFilter is something that meets the following criteria: most people haven't seen it before, there is something interesting about the content on the page, and it might warrant discussion from others." Posts shouldn't be terribly long, and they don't have to contain multiple links or end with a discussion-sparking question. The Best Post of the Day contest from August 2006 contains many examples of a wide variety of good MetaFilter posts. (tags: fppmetafilterposts ) April 20, 2006 - back to questions
How do I create the [more inside] jump when posting on Ask MetaFilter?
There are several boxes to fill in when posting an AskMe question. The box called "your question" will be the part of the question that appears on the main page. This should be a short version of your question. The next box called "extended explanation" will be the [more inside] part of your question and can be as long as you want. The words "more inside" will automatically be added to the end of your question. The "Headline/Title" box will create a title for your post that is only visible when people view Ask Metafilter via RSS. Please do not use this box to include information that is necessary to your question because people viewing your question on the web site will not see it on the main Ask MetaFilter page, they will only see it when they view the question on its own page. (tags: askmeaskmetafiltermoreinside ) July 21, 2006 - back to questions
When are threads closed to new comments?
After a certain amount of time, threads that remain open get closed to new comments.
MetaFilter/MetaTalk/MetaFilter Music - 30 days (except the MeTa meetup category which stay open for six months)
Ask MetaFilter - one year
MetaFilter Projects - never (tags: threadscommentsclosed ) August 2, 2006 - back to questions
How do I delete my own post?
You can't delete or edit your own post once you've submitted it, so be sure to use the preview and spellcheck features. If you want to have your post removed, contact one of the admins. Please do not post a question to AskMe assuming you can have it removed once it has been answered. This is unfair to the people who answered the question and diminishes the usefulness of the site. (tags: askmeaskmetafilterdelete ) August 22, 2006 - back to questions
Is it necessary or mandatory to add a [via] link if you found it from another site?
No. Many people do this as a courtesy, but it is in no way mandatory. Adding a [via] comment to someone else's post is often considered rude and/or annoying. (tags: viametafilter ) April 23, 2006 - back to questions
If my post has more than one link, or the link isn't first, do I need to use the URL box?
The "URL" and "Link title" fields are there for your convenience. If you have a one link post you can just fill them in and go. If you want to make a post with a few links, or without the beginning text as your link, you can skip those boxes (but don't skip the title box) and just write the HTML for the links in the post yourself. (tags: htmlpostfpplink ) January 11, 2007 - back to questions
Are self-links ever okay on any part of the site?
Sometimes, but rarely. It's against the rules to link to your own site, a site that you host or contribute to substantially or a site of someone who is a close friend or relative of yours. People who self-link in front page posts on MetaFilter will have their posts removed and their account banned. Transparency and honesty are important to the community and we rely on users to abide by the guidelines and participate honestly.
Including a link to your own site in a comment is okay provided that it has some relevance to the topic being discussed and is not your only form of site particpation. Random off-topic insertions of self-links into other posts are discouraged and such links may be removed.
Linking to your own site in an Ask MetaFilter question is only okay if it has something specific to do with the question being asked, for example "Can you look at my logo and tell me why everyone thinks it looks like a devil?" or "What else do I need to do to this website to make it ADA compliant?" Other self-links will be removed.
Ask MetaFilter questions that seem to be thinly veiled self-promotion will be removed. Do not use Ask MetaFilter to drive traffic to your site or your friend's site or sell a product or service. Questions that seem to be being asked with the intent to promote a poster's product or service or friend's product or service will be removed and the participating accounts banned. Feel free to include a link to your work in your profile and people can click through to it. If you are unsure about a specific example, please contact us.
Every comment has a permalink associated with it. If you click on the timestamp on a comment, the URL that shows in your browser's address bar is the permanent link to that comment. (tags: permalinkcomments ) May 19, 2006 - back to questions
My HTML seemed to work in the live preview but don't come through correctly. Is this a bug or intentional?
The live preview seen below the comment forms shows a real-time approximation of your comment, but does not go through the extensive text filtering done on the server side. As a result, it's possible to place almost any HTML code into a comment and reproduce it in the live preview area, but that code is stripped out once the comment is posted to the site.
If you are wondering if your HTML code will display properly, please use the Preview button before your post. The Preview button will render things like < into < however, so before you post, you have to re-type things like angle brackets into their < format. We are aware that this is a less-than-perfect solution. (tags: htmllivepreviewcomments ) October 17, 2006 - back to questions
Why are some people's answers in AskMe highlighted in their own box?
This is what it looks like when the original question asker highlights a best answer. Best answers are chosen by the original asker of the question. A question can have multiple best answers. The answers can be either the "right" answer or answers that the asker found useful in some way When an answer is marked as a best answer it's highlighted in its own box on the AskMe question page and the user with the best answer sees a check mark next to the question on their list of answers off their profile page. (tags: askmebestanswer ) November 10, 2006 - back to questions
How do I find someone's profile page if I only know their username not their user number?
You can add their username to the end of a string like this:
Please note that this does NOT work with a small subset of usernames [for example c:\awesome] in which case you'll have to find a comment or post by that user and click on their username. (tags: usernamesusersprofile ) March 23, 2007 - back to questions
I want to make a post to something behind a free registration, is this okay?
Generally speaking, no. Things that you link to should be freely available on the web. This means no registration (use the NYTimes link generator for NYT articles) even if there is a handy workaround using bugmenot. This goes for double for links behind reasonably prevalent pay walls (Chronicle of Higher Education, JSTOR content, etc); try to make sure your link is available for everyone before you put it on MetaFilter. (tags: registration,newyorktimes,paywall ) March 27, 2007 - back to questions
How do I link to other online communities I participate at in my profile?
If you contribute to other online communities, you can link to your profiles at some other sites from your MetaFilter profile page. (announced here) To add a link, click on "Preferences" at the top of any page, and scroll down to the bottom of the "Customize Metafilter" page. Under the heading "Social Apps", choose a service name from the drop-down menu and then enter your username at that site. If you want to add another link, click "add another service" and you'll get another menu/name combo. When you're finished, click "Save your Preferences" to save everything.
If you want to remove a link to a site you've added, go back to editing your profile. Clear your username for the link you want to remove and click "Save your Preferences". The link won't show up on your profile anymore.
It's not always easy to figure out your username at other services, so here's a quick guide to finding your username/id at some of the more challenging sites:
Flickr
Your Flickr photostream URL does not necessarily contain your Flickr username, and your Yahoo! login is not necessarily your Flickr username. To find your Flickr username, sign into Flickr and take a look at the line at the top of the page that says, "Signed in as...". Whatever appears there as a link is your official Flickr username. Make sure your Flickr profile isn't set to hide your profile from searches.
LinkedIn
Go look at your public profile page (you'll have to log in if you haven't already). Your profile page will show you your public profile URL and whatever is at the end is what you need to enter. It should look like this:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/[some name]
Grab [some name] and enter it as your LinkedIn Name in your MeFi profile.
SportsFilter
Log into SportsFilter and click on your profile page. You should see a URL like this:
Copy the number, and use that as your FaceBook ID in your MeFi profile.
Steam
Log into the Steam website, and click the "View my SteamID" link toward the top of the page. You should see a URL in your browser address bar like this:
http://steamcommunity.com/id/[some name]
Use the name as your Steam Name in your MeFi profile. If you see a URL like this instead:
http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/[some long number]
Go into your Steam profile settings and set up a "Custom URL". Note what you enter for that custom URL value and use that as your Steam Name in your MeFi profile. (tags: socialusersprofileuserpage ) August 8, 2007 - back to questions
How does MeFiMail work?
MeFiMail is a private messaging system for MetaFilter users and allows contact with users who may not have an email address in their profile. It is enabled by default but can be turned off in the profile editing area. Members can opt to have these messages sent directly to their profile email address. When new messages are received the little envelope will turn orange on the header bar of each page of MetaFilter.
Members that have this option enabled will have a "send MeFi Mail" option visible on their profile page underneath their username that can be used to contact them. Users can also opt to block MeFiMail messages from another user. HTML cannot be used in MeFiMail messages but URLs will turn into hyperlinks. Banned users cannot use or access MeFiMail.
Unless you have specific permission, reposting someone's MeFiMail is a violation of site guidelines. Do not use MeFiMail to harass or stalk other users. Abusing MeFiMail in this way can result in your account being banned. (tags: mefimailmailprofilepm ) October 20, 2007 - back to questions
For the new users, where can we find a list of common lingo and mefi specific abbreviations?
This was a feature that some users had requested and it is totally optional. You can indicate your borthday [day/month/year or just year] and your age will appear on your prolfile to logged-in users. If you decide you no longer want to make your age/birthday visible you can revert to having no birthday showing. (tags: ageprofileuserpagebirthday ) April 10, 2008 - back to questions
What are some guidelines for tagging my posts?
Try to add tags that will help people find your post later and avoid double-posting the same thing. Things to include in tags include proper names of people or places (all one word), umbrella tags like art or music or politics, helpful terms such as operating systems or brand names and, of course, the loose subject of your post like obituary or vacation. Try to include a few good tags for your post but don't go overboard adding a zillion of them. People can combine tags for searching, so you don't need to include all possible combinations of your terms. Admins may add or remove tags. (tags: tags,askme,mefi ) October 29, 2006 - back to questions
Why doesn't the timestamp in live preview match the time in my actual timezone?
The live preview doesn't match the post time because when live preview was implemented it was too much of a hassle to make it work. Your comment will be posted with your the correct timestamp for your timezone. If your timezone is set incorrectly, you can change this in your profile. (tags: timezonetimestampprofilepreview ) March 14, 2007 - back to questions
What are Favorites?
Favorites are an internal bookmark system for MetaFilter -- a way to save a good thread or comment to a central place that you can come back to later to catch up or read again. To save a post to your favorites, you simply hit the [+] link. It should show up on your favorites page, which is linked in the header menu and on your own user page. You can remove your favorites from the Favorites page. Your favorites are public, so other readers will know what'd you've saved for later. If you want to keep things private, use your browser's bookmark functionality instead. If a comment has been chosen as a favorite, it will have a number in brackets next to the [+] link indicating how many people chose it as a favorite. You can mark your own comments as favorites. (tags: MetaFilterfavoritesfeatures ) May 10, 2006 - back to questions
Why is there a referral code on the Amazon link in that post?
What are meetups? How do I know if there's one in my area?
Meetups are when people who know each other from MetaFilter get together in real life. The meetings are usually pretty informal, and happen all over the world. Often these meetings are heavily photographed. There is a special MetaTalk category for meetups and they're listed in the sidebar on MetaTalk.
Meetup threads stay open for six months so that people can use the same Meetup thread for posting links to photos of the meetup or follow-up comments. There is a feature in Meetup threads that allows users to link to photos of meetups. When this option is used a little icon of a photograph shows up next to the meetup location in the MeTa sidebar. (tags: meetupsphotosmetatalkmeta ) April 20, 2006 - back to questions
What are contacts?
Adding someone as a contact is a simple way to keep track of their contributions on the site. You can have up to 500 contacts. To add a contact, click on the "Add user as a contact" link on their profile page. You can choose what your relationship is with this user, or leave that part blank. If your contacts add contacts that information is visible in the Contact Activity sidebar on the main page. There is no obligation to be reciprocal if someone has added you as a contact. If you have made someone a mutual contact -- you have linked them and they have linked you -- you will be able to tag each other's posts in AskMe and MeFi.
When you add a user as a contact, this information will be visible on your own user page as well as your usercontacts page. Your usercontacts page contains a list of who you have made a contact, who has made you a contact, and posts made by your contacts to MetaFilter, AskMetafilter and MetaTalk. (tags: contactsusercontactstagstagging ) April 20, 2006 - back to questions
The Recent Activity feature allows you to keep track of new comments in threads you have either commented in or posted. Recent Activity shows the last ten comments for threads in which you have participated within the past month, in the order of their latest activity. If your comment is one of the last ten, it will be highlighted so you can tell it apart from other comments. (tags: recentactivity ) April 21, 2006 - back to questions
How do tags work on MetaFilter?
Tags are a way of adding keywords to your posts in AskMe and MeFi as a way of making it easier to find and organize posts. Tags can be added by the original poster either at the time of posting or later. Tags can also be added or removed by the site admins. Mutual contacts can add tags to each others' posts. Tags do not cross over from one part of the site to the other. You can view pages tagged with specific words either by clicking on a tag, or going to a tag URL, for example:
The 150 most popular tags are linked on these pages (MeFi, Ask MeFi). The larger a word appears on that page, the more times it has been used to tag a thread.
Tags also have individual RSS feeds, linked from the tag page. Tags are not case sensitive. Plural tags do not combine with their singular counterparts. Notable tags in MeFi include
MetaTalk does not have tags. AskMe also has categories which can be used with tags for more specific searching.
Note: when a post is removed, the tags for that post are not removed from the index. This can sometimes cause discrepancies between the number of posts that are claimed to exist having a certain tag, and those that actually show up in a list of posts with that tag (example) You can also not use most special characters in tags such as ; / ? : + , * . # (tags: tagskeywordsrssfeeds ) March 6, 2006 - back to questions
tag feeds: http://www.metafilter.com/tags/peace/rss
user feeds: http://www.metafilter.com/user/1/postsrss [for all posts by user #1]
sidebar blog feed: http://www.metafilter.com/sideblog/atom.xml
thread feeds: http://www.metafilter.com/12345/rss [works for all threads across the site] (tags: feedsrssxmltagsusers ) March 6, 2006 - back to questions
What's up with banning? What does one see when they've been banned from MeFi?
Users who have been banned will not be able to log in to MetaFilter or access MeFiMail or their Recent Comments page. If they are already logged in, they will be unable to comment or post. There will be a small "this account has been disabled" notice on the user page of banned users.
If a user is already logged in, they will not be able to post or comment on the site. Banning is usually temporary, but sometimes permanent. Giving someone a "timeout" means their account has been banned for a short time.
Banworthy offenses include self-linking on MeFi, spamming the site with promotional links, abusing the site with excessive trolling comments or nonsense, excessive jokiness or snarkiness in AskMe, or over-the-top harassment or "outing" personal information of other users. Short term bans or timeouts automatically expire after a given amount of time. (tags: banningbanninationtimeoutbanhammer ) March 6, 2006 - back to questions
What if I see a post that is a double post, or otherwise breaks the rules?
Members have the ability to flag posts and comments for a variety of reasons by clicking the [!] link by the post or comment. The current options for how to flag something are: double post, noise, derail, offensive content, breaking the guidelines, other or fantastic post.
Flagging a post sends a message to a queue read by mathowie, jessamyn and cortex and helps to alert them to problem posts and comments early, as well as indicate the level of severity of a problem post. The categorization of the post is not mission-critical since all flags go into one queue. Flags are not cumulative; there is no need to flag a comment or post more than once. Flags also point out troublespots, there is no need to flag 20 comments in a thread, choose a few and leave it at that. Flags are generally used for current comments and threads, flagging old posts and comments doesn't usually result in any action.
The fantastic post flag alerts the admins to particularly good posts or comments. Sometimes these are highlighted on the MetaFilter sidebar. You can also view posts and comments that have been flagged as fantastic on this page. (tags: flagflaggingfantastic ) March 6, 2006 - back to questions
I need to get in touch with a site admin in a hurry. How do I do this?
Here is the a link to the Contact Form. MetaTalk, IM and email are all good ways to get through to the site admins in a hurry. Finding one of them on chat is the quickest way to get most problems resolved. Do not use MeFi Mail to get in touch with an admin in a hurry.
AIM: mathowie, iamthebestartist
gtalk: mathowie, jessamyn, nnncortex
yahoo: jessamyn_west
MSN: jessamyn_west (tags: adminsimmetatalkcontact ) March 6, 2006 - back to questions
Who is in charge here? Are there admins and moderators like other sites?
MetaFilter was created by Matt Haughey (mathowie). He was the sole admin of the site until 2005 when Jessamyn West (jessamyn) started helping keep Ask MetaFilter on track. In March 2007 Josh Millard (cortex) started helping out around the place. Now they all watch the flagged posts pile up, delete questionable posts, occasionally post to the sideblog, and settle any disputes that might arise. You can email mathowie and jessamyn and cortex at the contact form. (tags: MetaFilteradminsmoderation ) March 20, 2006 - back to questions
Why was my MetaFilter post deleted?
When a thread is deleted, it is closed to new comments and is removed from the front page but can still be visible at the permanent URL for the thread. There is a brief "reason for deletion" given when a MetaFilter thread is removed. The most common reasons are
- double-post - the exact link or one linking to nearly the same content has already been posted
- self-link - you posted something to MetaFilter that is on your own site or that you contributed heavily towards
- newsfilter - you posted a link to a news article without creating a post that would lead to good discussion
- axegrindfilter - you posted on a hot-button topic that you frequently post about and/or used heavy-handed editorializing language.
- broken link - you posted a link to something that is no longer available on the web
Please note: Your FPP is no indication of your value as a human being. (Unless you are self-linking, spamming, or deliberately causing a problem. Then, you suck.) (tags: metafilterdeletiondoublepostthread ) April 20, 2006 - back to questions
Are posts or comments edited?
Post or comments are not edited for content. Sometimes a post or comment will be edited for these reasons
- at the request of the poster, for minor reasons
- fixing a broken link
- fixing a typo in a front page post
- putting a NSFW indicator in
- moving part of a long post to a "more inside" location
- adding tags
- removing personal information from a post [ex: whois records, email addresses] that is against the guidelines
- removing a gratuitous self-link in an otherwise okay post or comment (tags: editingcommentsposts ) May 3, 2006 - back to questions
Why was my Ask MetaFilter post/comment removed?
Ask MetaFilter has more strict guidelines than MetaFilter. If an Ask MetaFilter thread is removed, there will be a reason for deletion at the old URL for the question. Ask MetaFilter questions should have a purpose or a problem to be solved. Since members get one AskMe post per week, please do not try to jam multiple questions into a single question, a few related questions in one post are fine.
Common reasons for thread removal are chatfilter questions, open-ended hypothetical questions, rants posing as questions, questions asking how to do things that are illegal or borderline illegal, questions asking for detailed personal/private information, "why does X suck/not suck?" questions, and nonsense questions.
Ask MetaFilter comments should address the question being asked. Common reasons for comment removal are gratuitous wisecracks, derailing/ranting/axegrinding, picking a fight with or heavy chastising of the question asker, single word posts (yes, no, maybe &c.) and other non-answers that should probably be brought to MetaTalk. (tags: askmeaskmetafiltercommentsposts ) September 10, 2006 - back to questions
While reading metafilter at work/school, rather than seeing You're logged in as:USERNAME/logout I see some random person's username. What's up?
This can happen if you work at a big company or are using a big cache server (either university, cable company, or Google). It means the front page was saved by another member also on that system in the last x minutes and you're getting that person's copy instead of a fresh one from the server. You can not post/comment as anyone else, since your user information is pulled from your cookie information. (tags: loginusername ) January 7, 2007 - back to questions
Are flags anonymous?
Flags are not anonymous. Admins know which users are responsible for which flags. (tags: flagsflagging ) April 9, 2007 - back to questions
