MetaFilter FAQ

Sure. Let us know what comments need attention via the Contact Form. We will work with you to either edit or remove past comments that have information that you consider problematic.
(tags: comments deletions edits privacy ) July 17, 2020 - permalink - back to questions

They are all viewable from your profile. Go to the My Profile link at the top of the page, or click your username anywhere it appears on the site. Your contributions are broken down by subsite, and by post/question and comment.

For an older alternative view of all your comments/answers, you can go to these URLs, replacing number 1 with your user number:
Mefi comments
AskMe answers

To see someone else's activity, go to their profile page, or substitute their user number in the above URLs.
(tags: profile posts comments activity customviews ) June 11, 2007 - 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

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

After a certain amount of time, threads are automatically closed to new comments. The length of time varies on different parts of the site.

MetaFilter - close after one month
Ask MetaFilter - close after one year
FanFare - always open
Projects - always open
Music - always open
Jobs - there are no comments on Jobs
Podcast - never
IRL - close after 6 months
MetaTalk - close after one month

On MetaTalk and IRL only, a thread can be closed by an admin but not deleted - such threads remain visible on the main MetaTalk or IRL page. (See here for more on why this happens.) Note that this fuctionality does not exist on the other subsites, so for example it is not possible for an admin or a user to "close" an AskMe thread without deleting it.
(tags: threads comments closed ) August 2, 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

MetaFilter is a moderated site. There are some types of comments that are either toxic to discussion or disallowed on the site entirely that may get removed by moderators. Some reasons comments may be removed are described here, and in more detail in the Metafilter Community Guidelines and its supplementary page about Microaggressions and making space for everyone.

- Racist or otherwise hateful comments. This includes misgendering and slurs. It also includes ironic racism/sexism/homophobia/transphobia; people who sarcastically put on a racist voice to make a point about racism, or who make hateful comments ironically (assuming everyone should know they're joking) cause derails and make discussion difficult.
- Spamming. Adding off-topic, context-free, or SEO-laden comments with undisclosed links to your own or others' sites.
- Threats against oneself or others. If you're feeling suicidal or self-harming, please reach out to someone to talk one on one; Mefites have compiled a list of hotlines. Violent fantasies or "someone should assassinate that guy" type comments create problems for the site.
- Making a thread all about another user; attacks on or interrogation of other users, "fuck you"s or namecalling. This includes doxxing or outing of personal information from profile pages or other sites or comment trawling a user's comments or bringing them into a thread they are not otherwise involved in.
- Making a thread all about you. MetaFilter is a large community and discussion threads are for everyone. Please don't make a thread all about your own opinions and ideas at the expense of other people trying to have a discussion.
- Trolling (saying something you don't mean just to rile people up or start a fight) is not okay here. If your behavior is indistinguishable from trolling, your comment may be treated accordingly.
- Dismissive or "Who cares" comments, especially if early in a thread - these add nothing to the discussion. Just skip the thread and find one you're more interested in.
- Comments about moderation. It's fine to ask questions or disagree with moderation, but those discussions happen in MetaTalk (for a public discussion) or sent through the contact form (to discuss privately with the mods), they do not belong in threads on other parts of the site. This includes metadiscussion of flagging, comment deletions, and whether a post should be deleted or not.

Occasionally a comment will be removed which then leaves several comments responding to it just hanging there, responding to nothing. Historically, the responses would usually be removed to avoid confusion for readers and to curtail derails. More recently, due to community feedback the moderators have shifted toward more often leaving such responses in place even if the original comment is deleted, generally with an explanatory note.

Mods use their own discretion and the input of flags or other contacts from members to help guide those decisions. If you have a question about a comment removal, please use the contact form to ask about it. The MetaFilter comment deletion rate is about 1%. Most people never have a comment deleted.
(tags: deleted comments deletion MeFi metafilter moderation 2020update ) March 5, 2012 - 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

Using ChatGPT or other Generative AI tools to write posts or comments on MeFi without explicitly saying you are doing so is discouraged. Tossing in ChatGPT's, or other Large Language Models (LLMs) output in discussions is not OK.

MetaFilter is, at its core, about knowledge and wisdom shared by its members.
(tags: chatgpt ai comments ) June 20, 2023 - permalink - back to questions

Yes. This is what Recent Activity does. See here for details.
(tags: recentactivity customviews comments ) December 12, 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

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