MetaFilter FAQ

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 US$5; it's a one-time fee 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 make comments on various MetaFilter threads. Please note that there is a waiting period to create a post to the front page of MetaFilter, however you can create an Ask MetaFilter post immediately.

We enforce a strict rule against posting your own work or work you've contributed to or are posting about in a promotional capacity, except on MetaFilter Projects or MetaFilter Music. Posting a link to a site you're connected to, or posting for promotional purposes (except on Projects or Music), will result in a ban with no refund.

If the signup fee is a financial or logistical hardship, you can drop the moderation team a line via the Contact Us form to ask about a complimentary signup.
(tags: MetaFilter Fanfare AskMetafilter newusers membership askme music projects irl jobs ) February 15, 2006 - permalink - back to questions

You can comment immediately. To make a front page post to MetaFilter, you need to be a member for at least a week and you need to make a comment to the site. Even long-time members have waiting periods between posts. You can make an AskMetafilter post immediately.
(tags: fpp posting newmembers askme askmetafilter metafilter ) April 20, 2006 - permalink - back to questions

The anonymous posting form can be reached from a the regular "New Question" page of AskMetafilter. When you use this form, your question goes into a queue that is only read by the moderators. It will have to be approved, so it won't be posted immediately. Generally questions are approved (or not) within 48 hours. Not all anon questions will be posted, but most will. If you are wondering about a question you submitted a few days ago, you can contact the moderators to ask about it.

Your posting is not linked to your username in the MetaFilter database; anonymous questions are posted through the Anonymous user account. However, the admins can ascertain who posted the question if they need to. Anonymous questions are for basic privacy from the Mefi userbase, not for hiding from Interpol. You can read more about how the AnonyMe mechanism works in this thread.

Questions about illegal activities are unlikely to be approved. Questions whose only answers are "see a doctor" or "see a lawyer" are unlikely to be approved. Questions about ordinary subject matter that doesn't seem to fit the needs of being anonymous may not be approved. Please do not ask questions about suicide or revenge. (If you are feeling suicidal, please seek in-person help. The ThereIsHelp page has a list of resources/hotlines.) We can not promise to keep your information confidential if we think you might harm yourself or others.

There is no mechanism for commenting anonymously, but the admins will post a follow-up comment to your anonymous question for you -- use the contact form linked at the bottom right of each page to reach the admins. Other MeFi users are often willing to do this too. Sometimes people set up disposable email accounts so they can be contacted about an anonymous posting. This feature is not intended to provide absolute anonymity, please do not use it if that is what you require.

If you need to ask a question that's not associated with your main account, and you want to be able to follow-up by yourself, you are permitted to buy an extra "sockpuppet" account. Here are the guidelines about second accounts. We ask that people use the anonymous feature sparingly, not more than once or twice a year. If you feel you want to ask a number of questions separately from your main account, getting a second account may be a better solution.
(tags: anonymous askme anonyme askmetafilter privacy ) March 6, 2006 - permalink - back to questions

Usually anonymous questions are posted within 48 hours. You can check the feed of Anon questions here. Some types of questions may not be approved such as: questions related to suicide, revenge, self-harm; questions that are illegal, repetitive, trollish, ranty, unanswerable or too obvious; questions where the answer is "ask a lawyer/doctor/tax pro"; questions that contain a lot of personally-identifiable detail; or questions that don't appear to require anonymity. Whether an anonymous question is posted or not, there's no notification -- so if you have a question about the status of your anonymous question, please get in touch with the mod team via the contact form.
(tags: anonymous askme anonyme askmetafilter ) April 20, 2006 - permalink - back to questions

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: askme chatfilter askmetafilter deletion moderation ) May 3, 2006 - permalink - back to questions

The words "more inside" only appear on the front page of AskMe, they don't appear when people read Mefi or AskMe via RSS, or on the actual page of the question. As a result when you end your question with something like "as always there's..." (expecting that "more inside" will complete the sentence) it makes no sense to people reading via RSS or looking at the actual question page. Editing cute "more inside" jokes is one of the only edits we make to a post that is not at the poster's request.
(tags: moreinside askme editing askmetafilter metafilter ) October 18, 2007 - permalink - back to questions

We do have a way to anonymize old posts, however it is not something we do lightly. We will anonymize old questions rarely, if it's important. Contact a mod if you want this done. Please do not ask questions under your real name that you plan to anonymize later.
(tags: askme anonymous anonyme askmetafilter privacy ) March 28, 2008 - permalink - back to questions

The tags 'resolved' and 'stumped' have a special meaning and are treated differently at Ask MetaFilter. A question with either of these tags shows up in different places on the site to help others find them. A question tagged with 'resolved' appears in the list of Resolved Questions on the Answered Questions page. Questions tagged with 'stumped' appear in the Stumped Questions list on the Unanswered Questions page. This gives people interested in seeing complete answers or helping with particularly hard questions an easy way to find them.

Because these tags move the questions into different areas of the site, questions can only be tagged 'resolved' or 'stumped' once. This prevents the question from appearing at the top of these lists more than once.

If you need to remove a 'resolved' or 'stumped' tag from a post, please contact one of the mods.
(tags: stumped resolved tags askme answered unanswered askmetafilter ) July 2, 2008 - permalink - back to questions

Because the site strips a lot of extraneous HTML from questions, it can be difficult to post things that need special formatting or include special characters. If you want to include code snippets or other text with your question, you can use a tool like pastebin that allows you to link to properly formatted code that you can mark up with syntax highlighting.
(tags: code html askme syntax markup askmetafilter ) June 16, 2009 - permalink - back to questions

Often the key to getting good answers in Ask MetaFilter is spending some time crafting a good question. Here are some tips

1. Be concise. While it can be tempting to include every detail of a conflict or a dilemma, try to stick to details that are necessary for people to understand and answer your question. Try to differentiate between what is just venting and upset feelings and what is important to the answerer about your problem.
2. Be specific. Some questions literally can not be answered if we don't know the details. Relevant details make for more helpful responses.
3. Break information into memorable chunks. Put important details together. Feel free to use bullet points. Even if you started with your question, if your question is long, repeat the thing you'd like help with at the end.
4. Proofread, spellcheck and preview. While mods can go in and make edits, they may not be able to do it immediately. Make sure you've spelled things correctly, make sure your links work, make sure your question isn't just a big wall of text with no paragraph breaks.
5. Stay calm. You will get a better response to your question if you do not seem angry, irritable, ranting or otherwise unreliable as a narrator. If you can't ask your question with some level of objectivity, it might be better to wait until you can.

Try to read your question as if you didn't know you. Is there enough information? Is there too much information? Is the story easy to follow? If it's on a sensitive topic have you included another method of contact [MeMail or a throwaway email address]? If it turns out you've left something out, please feel free to email the mods via the contact form and we'll be happy to update your question or you can leave a comment in the thread.
(tags: askme questions askmetafilter goodpost ) October 21, 2011 - permalink - back to questions

Ask MetaFilter is sometimes used for people who want feedback on something they have worked on whether it's an dating profile, a resume, a piece of fiction/poetry or a website. While AskMe is not for general critiquing sessions, it is for solving problems. Problem-solving based questions are okay. Here are some guidelines on how to make a post asking for a critique that is within the site guidelines

- Content must be publicly viewable and stay that way. Making an dating profile only temporarily public, for example, breaks the question for future readers.
- Askers must have specific questions about the content not just "Tell me what you think." What is the outcome you are looking for? What have you already tried? What is not working that you need help with?
- Questions must not be looking to self-promote. Resume critiques must be clearly not also job-hunting. Website reviews must also be clearly not click-bait. See here for more about self-linking.

If you're unsure, please feel free to ask the mods via the contact form.
(tags: dating resume askme critique crit askmetafilter ) July 2, 2012 - permalink - back to questions

If your question has closed and you'd still like to submit a final answer, you can scroll to the bottom where there is a link saying "Add a final update." If you are the original poster this will open a box where you can add your update. If for some reason this isn't working, please feel free to contact us and we can help.
(tags: askme updates ) September 4, 2017 - permalink - back to questions

It's MeFi shorthand for a moment of respectful silence and is usually used in obituary threads.
(tags: obit obituary period dot metafilter askmetafilter metatalk askme fanfare ) February 23, 2006 - permalink - back to questions

After you have posted a thread (a post in MetaFilter, a question in AskMetafilter, etc), you have to wait this long before posting a second thread in that same area of the site. There is no similar limit for comments.

MetaFilter - 12 hours
AskMetafilter - no limit
FanFare - no limit
Projects - no limit
Music - 24 hours
Jobs - 24 hours between posting job Openings; you can only post one Availability total
Podcast - only admins post the podcast
IRL - no time limit, but you can have no more than 10 active IRL threads at a time
MetaTalk - one week

Note that these waiting periods are per-person, not per-account, so if you have two accounts you still can only post at these intervals. Using two accounts to get around the posting limits is against the rules and may result in your post being deleted and your second account closed.
(tags: timeframe meta askme mefi projects fpp askmetafilter metafilter metatalk posting jobs music irl fanfare ) March 6, 2006 - permalink - back to questions

There are two ways to make a link: type it in, or use the automated buttons.

To type it in: If you know how to use HTML, you can use an abbreviated list of HTML tags in your posts, including a, b, blockquote, center, em, i, li, ol, pre, small, strike, strong, sub, sup, and ul. You can just type them into the compose/comment box.

To add italics, for example, you would type: <em>italicized phrase</em>
which shows as: italicized phrase

To add a link to example.com you would type: <a href="http://example.com">here is a link to example.com</a>
which shows as: here is a link to example.com

UBB code does not work in MetaFilter. Not all HTML is allowed. If you stick to simple text formatting (b, strong, i, em, a) and lists (ul/li/ol) you'll be ok. Things like tables, embedded video code, javascript, images, and inline styles will be stripped out. 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 that look like they're being posted by others.

Using the buttons: 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. To make a link using the button, you highlight the word or phrase you want to be the link text (like the phrase "here is a link to example.com" above), click the link button, and type or paste the URL into the box that appears.

Here's a short video showing how to use the buttons to insert HTML.
(tags: html compose links link linking metafilter askmetafilter metatalk askme faq2020 ) March 6, 2006 - permalink - back to questions

Sometimes. Most threads will 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. They are also closed to new comments.

IRL threads and some Ask Metafilter threads, once deleted, are no longer accessible at all. If you have questions about a thread you think was deleted on these subsites, please Contact Us and we can clarify. Also, threads on other subsites are sometimes completely removed due to privacy reasons.

If your post was deleted, check your Mefi Mail. If you received a Mefi Mail automatic reminder message when your post went up, that message will have the URL of your post. Go to that URL and you will be able to see the post and a brief note about why it was deleted.

If you have questions about a deleted or missing post, please use the Contact Us form to ask a moderator directly.
(tags: deleted deletedposts metafilter askmetafilter metatalk askme ) March 6, 2006 - permalink - back to questions

No. Deleted comments are unviewable, though they still exist in the database. cortex explains the nuances of what does or doesn't exist where in the realm of deleted stuff in this comment.
(tags: deletedcomments comments deleted metafilter askmetafilter metatalk askme ) March 6, 2006 - permalink - back to questions

"Self-links" are links to your own site, or your own work, or a site that you host or contribute to substantially, or to a site of someone who is a client or business partner, or a site/event/cause you're promoting either professionally or as any kind of quid pro quo.

It is never okay to include a self-link in a front page post you make on Metafilter's community blog. People who self-link in the post text of front page posts on MetaFilter will have their posts removed and their account banned. It is never okay to use MetaFilter as a promotional tool. Transparency and honesty are important to the community and we rely on users to abide by the guidelines and participate honestly.

On Ask MetaFilter, questions that seem to be thinly veiled promotion or self-promotion will be removed. Questions that seem to be being asked with the intent to promote a poster's product or service, or client/friend's product or service, will be removed and the participating accounts banned. If you are unsure about a specific example, please contact us.

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 and is necessary for people to provide an answer, 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?" (Even then, an extra-safe move is to link your site on your profile page and tell people they can see it by going through your profile.) Other self-links will be removed. AskMe posts that look like link-heavy MeFi posts or other promotional posts with a question tacked to the end of it are not okay.

In comments, in well-defined circumstances, self-links can be okay. Including a link to your own site in a Metafilter comment is okay provided that it has some relevance to the topic being discussed, and you clearly disclose your affiliation to the site or site-owner, and this type of comment is not your only form of site participation. Random off-topic insertions of self-links into other posts are discouraged and such links may be removed and result in a ban. Similarly, linking to your own content in AskMe answers is okay to do occasionally and with disclosure. People who seem to be self-linking continually, or seemingly with spammy intent may have their content removed and their account banned.

It is perfectly okay--even encouraged--to put a link to your own site in your profile, to post your own music to Music, post your web projects to Projects, and to post a job for your organization or post your own job availability in Jobs.

We've lifted the long-time prohibition on friend-linking, i.e. making MetaFilter posts about work that's not your own but which is by someone you have a friendship with or personal connection to. Any such posts still need to be fundamentally good MetaFilter posts in their own right, and to not be posted with promotional or "this will help my friend out" intent. In short, it needs to be something that you unambiguously would have chosen to post even if you didn't know that person at all. See this MetaTalk thread for more detail.
(tags: askme askmetafilter music projects self-link selflink links metafilter ) May 10, 2006 - permalink - back to questions

Every comment has a permalink associated with it. If you're on a desktop or laptop, click on the timestamp on a comment, the URL that shows in your browser's address bar is the permanent link to that comment.

On mobile, the timestamp is still the permalink, but the URL may or may not appear, depending on what OS you're using.
(tags: permalink comments metafilter askme metatalk ) May 19, 2006 - permalink - back to questions

The break and the "more inside" text are created for you automatically after you fill in the posting page form. There are several boxes to fill in when posting. On Mefi, the title and the box called "Description" will form the part above the fold (before the "more inside") which appears on the main page; the "Extended description" forms the part below the fold (after the "more inside") which appears after a person has clicked on your post.

On AskMe, the question title and the box called "your question" will be the part that appears on the main page; keep this part brief. The next box called "extended explanation" will be the [more inside] part of your question and can be longer. Again, the words "more inside" will automatically be added to the end of your question.

In both cases, if you don't put anything in the extended description/extended explanation box, then the words [more inside] will not be added.
(tags: askme askmetafilter moreinside metafilter posting ) July 21, 2006 - permalink - back to questions

You can't delete or edit your own post once you've submitted it. If you want to fix an error or have your post removed, you have to have a moderator do it, please ask us via the Contact Us Form.

Please do not post a question to Ask Metafilter assuming you can have it removed once it has been answered. There is an Anonymous option if you want to ask a question not linked to your own profile. You can find that option on the numbered list of the AskMetafilter posting page.
(tags: askme askmetafilter metafilter delete metatalk ) August 22, 2006 - permalink - back to questions

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 &lt; into < however, so before you post, you have to re-type things like angle brackets into their &lt; format. We are aware that this is a less-than-perfect solution.
(tags: html livepreview comments metafilter askme metatalk ) October 17, 2006 - permalink - back to questions

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. There is also a green check mark next to the question on the main AskMe page.
(tags: askme bestanswer checkmark greentick askmetafilter ) November 10, 2006 - permalink - back to questions

User profile pages on MetaFilter are not indexed by Google. This means if someone's profile says that they live in a certain city or gives their real name, that information is not considered "public" on the site. Bringing a user's personal details into an unrelated thread to hector or harass them (especially details from other websites that they participate in) is generally considered not okay. Use care when deciding to bring someone's personal information into a thread, and try to err on the side of mentioning without linking. Some profile page information is visible to humans on the wider internet, it's just not indexed by search engines. See here for details.

Bringing WHOIS and other personal information into a thread [i.e. "Here's this guy's phone number!"] is also not okay. We know it's still one click away, but bringing it into a thread can cause trouble for the site. When in doubt, please feel free to ask a mod.
(tags: profile etiquette privacy metafilter askmetafilter metatalk askme ) August 20, 2009 - permalink - back to questions

Once you've selected a comment or comments as a best answer by clicking on the "Mark as best answer" link next to a comment, your AskMe question will show up with a green check mark on the main page. It's fine to choose best answers whenever you want, but some people may see your question as "answered"if you choose best answers early.
(tags: answers bestanswers askme askmetafilter ) December 29, 2009 - permalink - back to questions

Once you post a comment you'll have five minutes to fix any typos. Click the 'Edit' link in the comment byline to edit your comment. After five minutes, the Edit link no longer appears next to the comment. At that point, you can use the Contact Us form to ask a moderator to make the changes for you.

Please keep in mind that this feature exists to fix typos only. Please do not use the "Edited to add" notation that is used on some other websites. If you need to make changes to the meaning of your comment (including fixing a factually incorrect statement, or just adding another thought), please just post another comment to clarify.

If you want to delete a comment after you make it, do not use the edit feature. Flag it or use the Contact Us form to reach the mods, who can delete it for you.

Moderators can see the previous versions of comments and will be able to check if a user is making content changes or otherwise misusing the edit function.
(tags: comments editing editwindow metafilter askmetafilter askme metatalk ) October 1, 2012 - permalink - back to questions

There is no anonymous comment function. If you want to add something to a thread but want it to remain unconnected to your account, you can use the Contact Us form to reach the moderators, and one of them can add it for you. (If instead you want to ask an anonymous question on Ask Metafilter, the procedure is here.)
(tags: anonymous comments mods privacy metafilter askmetafilter askme ) December 11, 2012 - permalink - back to questions

You can flag problems for moderators to look at, or use the contact form if the problem isn't self-explanatory.
(tags: posts comments flagging guidelines formatting link askme ) December 19, 2012 - permalink - back to questions

AskMetafilter does not host images, so there is no way to upload a picture directly to AskMe. Instead, you must upload your picture to another site and then link to it from AskMe. You can post the image on your own website, or use one of the many free image hosting services that will allow you to upload an image - such as Flickr, imgur, etc. Once you upload your image, copy its URL and link to it from your AskMe question.
(tags: AskMe AskMetafilter picture photo image link ) February 15, 2013 - permalink - back to questions

Similar to the single dot, the asterisk also signifies a moment of silence for an individual's passing, but notes that the person had problematic elements in their history. It is usually used in obituary threads and was first proposed within one.
(tags: obit obituary asterisk metafilter askmetafilter metatalk askme fanfare history ) June 13, 2023 - permalink - back to questions

Please don't. There's no length limit here, and it's better if people can see what they're clicking on. Mods will expand short URLs when they see them. There is a difference, however, between site-specific URL shorteners like youtu.be and nytim.es and link shortening sites such as is.gs and j.mp, where the former is okay if not preferred while the latter is something we'd prefer people avoid. People who use link shorteners as a way of sketchily hiding affiliate codes may risk having their account banned.
(tags: links linkshorteners shortlink metafilter askmetafilter askme ) July 25, 2011 - permalink - back to questions

My MeFi (a tab on the Metafilter front page), and My Ask (a tab on the AskMetafilter page), are customizable views of the sites. For both, you can choose tags or categories you are interested in, and then the My MeFi or My Ask tab will show you only the posts or questions related to the subjects you chose. You can also exclude posts or questions according to tags/categories you choose, and My MeFi or My Ask will show you a view of the site with those posts or questions removed.

To get started, go to either tab, and it will have a link to your Preferences page where you can set up which tags and categories you're interested in. For example, you could set up a MeFi page that only shows you posts about art and food, or a version of AskMe that includes everything but relationship questions. You can always change your preferences later, too.

Fair warning: tagging is not automated. Filtering by tags depends to some extent on how consistent posters are in tagging their posts.
(tags: askme mymefi myask customviews metafilter askmetafilter ) December 10, 2012 - permalink - back to questions

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 or broken HTML
- putting a NSFW or other content warning indicator in
- moving part of a long post to a "more inside" location
- AskMe posts where the only question is in the title
- adding tags
- removing personal information [ex: whois records, email addresses] that is against the guidelines
- removing a gratuitous self-link in an otherwise okay post or comment

11/25/2024 update: When editing a comment for the above reasons, a moderator will leave note.
(tags: editing comments posts metafilter askmetafilter askme ) May 3, 2006 - permalink - back to questions

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. If you posted a question that disappeared, check your Mefi Mail for an automated New Post message that includes the URL of the question. Go to that URL and you'll be able to see why the question was deleted.

Ask MetaFilter questions should have a purpose or a problem to be solved. 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, Op/Ed framing, rants posing as questions, questions asking how to do things that are illegal or borderline illegal, questions about suicide, questions about how to get revenge, questions asking for detailed personal/private information, reader poll/survey-type questions, requests for favors or soliciting interviewees, "why does X suck/not suck?" questions, and nonsense questions. Please do not Ask MetaFilter to do your homework for you. If you are feeling suicidal, please seek in-person help. MetaFilter has compiled a list of resources to assist you.

Ask MetaFilter comments should address the main question being asked. Common reasons for comment removal are wisecracks, derailing/ranting/axegrinding, picking a fight with or heavy chastising of the question asker, debating/chatting/arguing with other commenters, single word posts (yes, no, DTMFA &c.) and other non-answers that should probably be brought to MetaTalk. While it's okay to ask follow-up questions to the original asker, piggybacking questions [asking your own related question within someone else's AskMe] will often be removed.
(tags: askme askmetafilter comments posts deletion moderation ) September 10, 2006 - permalink - back to questions

Threadsitting is when a user assumes a proprietary approach to a thread and becomes the person through which all thread discussion happens. This can be when one person has an oppositional stance on a topic and demands the other participants satisfy their repeated questioning. It can also occur when an AskMe querent responds to all comments in their thread or asks a number of follow-up questions. Making a thread "all about you" in a variety of ways is discouraged and sometimes mods will step in to please ask people to not threadsit so that everyone can join in the discussion. In general, we require that AskMe updates from the asker be a) relatively few and b) focused on clarifying the original question as necessary, rather than discussing the answers as they come up.

Threadshitting is either early snark, noise, "who cares" or joke comments in a newish MeFi thread or someone repeatedly making off-topic or noise comments in a thread often as a way of derailing discussion. Early threadshitting comments are frequently deleted.
(tags: askme threadshitting threadsitting metafilter askmetafilter ) October 26, 2011 - permalink - back to questions

It is probably a comment by a moderator. See here for details.
(tags: moderator mods etiquette comments metafilter askmetafilter askme fanfare ) December 15, 2012 - permalink - back to questions