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

Jobs is a subsite where MeFites can post Jobs they are looking to fill (up to one per day) or post their availability to do certain kinds of jobs. Jobs can be permanent or temporary, paid or volunteer, but please make it clear in the posting what sort of job it is. Posted jobs should be one that a MeFite at least knows something about (you work there, you own the business, you are the hiring agent) and not just cool jobs you find online. If your job is in a physical place and you enter its location, it will appear on the map at the top of the page.

This subsection was launched in August of 2006.
(tags: jobs gigs ) April 12, 2013 - 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

It is entirely optional to give your geographic coordinates in your profile. If you give a longitude and latitude, you will be able to use certain features that are geolocation-based. These features include: seeing which other members live near you (you can specify a distance for "near"); getting a message if there is an In Real Life (IRL) meetup scheduled near you; seeing how far away from you each job posting is in Jobs. You can choose whether other members will also be able to see your location by selecting 'Available to Members' or 'Private' in the Geographic Coordinates section of your site preferences.
(tags: location latitude longitude geographic coordinates profile privacy irl jobs ) December 12, 2012 - permalink - back to questions