sort of? i kind of stop reading everything in the blue except for occasional glances at the front page without clicking any of the links.

the past couple days i've been at a job where they literally have nothing for me to do all day, so i've been participating again until there's something for me to do here, but other than that, I've kind of stopped.

the reason is cause i'm not myself when i'm on mefi. for some reason i keep reading the threads that are filled with the kind of self righteousness that, on the internet at least, gets me way too worked up. like, i stop responding to it the way i would if I met the person in a bar or otherwise in real life. usually i find that kind of "anyone who disagrees with me is clearly stupid and evil" nonsense laughable, but on mefi i just get incredibly pissed off about it and then get in these insult matches over shit that's just not worth it.

so when the sense of humor goes, that's when i know it's time to pack it in. so i mostly have. now if only there were some OTHER way to kill time at work...

I barely glance at the blue anymore, because I find that most of the posts are going to be slogged down by people upset over posting procedure. That being said, I have discovered some awesome things through a few really great FPPs, but for the most part, I have to be pretty bored to trawl through the blue for an extended period of time.

And when I'm in the mood for a full-on bitch-slapping brouhaha, I go to the gray.

I actually just joined metafilter like three days ago. I dont plan on participating much, I just figured it was worth $5 to see when there were new comments.

I was kind of backwards in that I was a member here first. I like it here.

I haven't been to the blue regularly for at least 6 months. I'm either scanning the green or playing here. The bunnies are far superior to the trolls that seem to have infested the blue. I *heart* teh bunnies

Yeah, what LunaticFringe said.

November 18, 2004

I love the blue. New work filters now forbid my viewing it during the day. I get more work done, of course.

There are a lot of interesting viewpoints. Many very clever folks. It is surprising how well written so many of the mefites are.

Another vote for the green. Between archives and getting to post my own, it's fascinating what kinds of useful, practical things I can learn. (And I try to contribute when I can, of course.)

I go in phases, and I always skip a lot of posts. The green's ok, sometimes, although I get bored of it a lot quicker than the blue.

I don't know why, but today I participated in the Big Blue more than I have in months, from the silliness of ridiculing the person who did the "my mother said" FPP, offering to legally change "Witty's" name and dragging Anne Murray into the Canadian PM Eats Babies thread to the seriousness of trying to offer perspective in the Postroad's Sedition thread, giving too much info about the day my mother died in the Saddest Thing thread AND doing a NEWSFILTER post about whatsisname the convicted terrorist. Maybe I'm just trying to avoid doing more important things. Like my blog.

I love the green, but I like the blue, too. The key, for me, is only to read the threads that actually deeply interest me. That way, even if I get into a brawl, it's a fun one.

Sure, the blue can be exasperating. But I like the rough and tumble, the teeming hordes, the madding crowds, the wretched refuse.

And, really, I'm continually amazed by the smartness of the smart people. Many of them are laying low lately, but they'll be back when it quiets down.

Headline skimmer on the blue. rare gray. green comes in second.

I find it hard to fit the Blue in these days, although I glance at it from time to time. I read MeTa every day, though, because the community thing interests me more than the links themselves. The biggest problem i have with MeFi is the time zones - it is hard to get into a discussion with someone who is always asleep when you are awake, so I end up all out of sync.

It's a shame, because I love the brutal honesty that the more-or-less anonymity lets people exhibit. I too am amazed at the smarts of some of the people there and, if I ever feel the need to be humbled, I know where to go.

MeCha is home now, though. For better or worse.

And, really, I'm continually amazed by the smartness of the smart people.

Me too! Sometimes I'll read a comment here or on Mefi or especially on AskMe and I just think to myself, "How do people know these things?! And why don't I know any of these things?"

I check here and Metafilter daily, or as often as possible, and still love all of it. I have been giggling over the "Everyone needs a hug" MeTa post for a good ten minutes now.

I stopped reading the comments, since it's usually the same old rehashing of pointless debates (abortion, Iraq war, religion) and slobbering over the same shitty products (Steve Job's bowel movements and other Apple press releases). AskMeFi is still pretty nice, but MeCha is home.

First read the green. Then the grey. Then check out any threads that are being discussed there. Then skim the blue. Then read comments to anything that looks interesting. Then click the actual links.

So yeah, but never for anything where anyone argues/debates, unless I'm going out of my way to get a snapshot of different sides of an issue, or of how the "metafilter crowd" react to something.

yeah = "yeah I still read the comments on the blue"

Right now, I'm kinda having fun getting bashed in my Moussaoui thread. Does that make me a MetaMasochist?

Nah, wendell, I do the same thing, mainly because someone has to tell the assholes who dominate the pace that they're assholes and it's great fun watching them work themselves into a tizzy trying to justify their assholeness, but truth be told most of the more pleasant people with senses of humor have moved onto greener pastures, namely here.

I still read the blue because I still learn things there, both from the links and comments. That's not to say I take the information there at face value, but it usually leads me down the path to find accurate facts and I'm always interested in learning a new way to look at something.

I don't learn much here, at least not in a concrete sense. The idea of "moving on" to MetaChat from the blue seems odd - they're not substitutes for one another. My split of time between the two reflects my desire for socializing versus debate/intellectual curiosity/information gathering.

Anyway, I tend to read more green than blue.

there are some posters/commenters I keep track of back in the blue, but I mostly go over the page like a newslink where I will click on interesting (to me) stuff. There is some sort of "I know it all" attitude which has discouraged me from posting even, let alone commenting. I still think the blue is one of the few bestest things out there. I try to contribute to the green whenever I can.

oh! but red is the new blue. Did you notice? After matildaben's post a while ago about Miko's project, I got hooked!

I visit Metachat, MeTa and AskMe every day, usually twice; Metachat thrice most days. I visit Metafilter proper two or three times a week but find myself opening fewer threads than I used to.

Wedge, that day was my birthday! My 22nd, to be exact.

Note to wendell: this is not a standup gig.

See, that right there is something that would have me reading the comments more. All FPPs to be in the style of stand-up comedy, and all comments to be in the style of heckling and put-downs.

I don't know when the rule about no editorialising came in (and I'd hardly describe what wendell did as editorialising anyway), but rabid insistence on it is worse than any partisan bickering in newsfilter threads. The endless squabbling over rules (as though they were written on tablets somewhere) is what spoils the comments for me. Take it to the grey or shut up.

All three can be fun still. The green has been going downhill; some days it seems as though people are asking questions just because they've finally thought of something that hasn't already been asked, rather than because they've got a real need to know. Other days there are great questions and brilliant answers. The deleted threads are often the best.

The blue is very hit and miss. Most of the newsfilter and religion threads I don't read the comments on, and I used to love newsfilter. The poster I used to blame for derails doesn't seem to post hardly at all these days, but there are always others and always (it seems to me) from the right. But a good newsfilter post is worth reading for the comments as much as (sometimes more than) the links.

The grey is my favourite soap opera. It's weird though in that it's like watching a soap opera which is constantly interupted by technical tests and PSAs. Fun though.

I always forget that projects exists, so it can be serendipitous, but it doesn't have comments anyway.

i think there's been especially great stuff up lately (i always think it's pretty good tho), and i haven't been to projects or askme in ages.

shmegegge, you did good in that meta thread about flagging.

a good newsfilter post is worth reading for the comments as much as (sometimes more than) the links.

totally : >

ha. thanks, amberglow. i'm focusing on not getting irate and pissy so much, nowadays.