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Jessamyn West, Technology Lady (2015)

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Re: Jessamyn West, Technology Lady (2015)

#102
post #19
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While MeFi has its own blind spots, it is definitely one of the nicest communities online because of: (1) $5 fee to sign up. (2) It doesn't believe in absolute "free speech" like Reddit or HN. The moderators will tell you to cut it out.

Good grief! I'm not sure where you got that, but https://hn.algolia.com/?sort=byDate&prefix&page=0&dateRange=... and https://hn.algolia.com/?sort=byDate&prefix=false&page=0&date... and https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and https://news.ycombinator.com/newswelcome.html .

Out of curiosity, how did you develop your moderation style?

Re: Jessamyn West, Technology Lady (2015)

#103
post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Makes me wonder how much cross-pollination there is between HN and MeFi.

I feel MeFi is a bit allergic to the politics of HN. For example, the recent Google discussion would have gone over very differently there. (I say this without passing judgement, since I tend to ping-pong back and forth between both sites.)

There is, right now, a fairy large (for MeFi - something like 1000+ comments at this point IIRC) discussion on that topic on MeFi. I think the moderators have been hard at it given the contentious nature of the topic.

Re: Jessamyn West, Technology Lady (2015)

#105
post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

metafilter used to have left slant but a degree of diversity. i specifically recall ironhands(? or similar) as a respected conservative commenter. those days are long, long gone. having the wrong opinion gets you run out.

IronMouth I think? I don't mod there anymore and haven't in a while but I still see some of the respected conservative commenters there but fewer than in the past.

IIRC, wasn't he a Democrat and a labor lawyer? More of a centrist Democrat than a conservative?

Re: Jessamyn West, Technology Lady (2015)

#106
post #92
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While MeFi has its own blind spots, it is definitely one of the nicest communities online because of: (1) $5 fee to sign up. (2) It doesn't believe in absolute "free speech" like Reddit or HN. The moderators will tell you to cut it out.

Maybe I should give it another try. My short experience was very negative, to say the least.

What kind may I ask? If you had a negative experience, my guess if you go back your experience will be that of anxiously trying to avoid another one.

Re: Jessamyn West, Technology Lady (2015)

#107
post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So true! Controversial topics and confrontation are avoided at all costs. So from one side metafilter it is very civil and quiet, but from the other side is quite uninspired and dull. Metafilter is like the American suburbs of the internet. Nice and tidy, but boring.

> Metafilter is like the American suburbs of the internet. Nice and tidy, but boring. And full of anxiety and dysfunction masquerading as something else.

ahahah, so so true!

Re: Jessamyn West, Technology Lady (2015)

#108
post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There has been no decline in quality and blaming cortex is utter bullshit. My guess is that the haters never liked mefi in the first place and are abusing the change in management to attack the site.

Blaming Cortex is nonsense. But there are people commenting who say they have visited the site for a decade and got bored of it when it became an echo chamber. Perhaps all sites like it decline. Slashdot, Kuro5hin and many others are a sad shadow of what they used to be. Maybe HN in 5-10 years will be pretty sad too.

> there are people commenting who say they have visited the site for a decade and got bored of it

I think that people's memories are flawed enough that the "it used to be so great" arguments are all pretty suspect. I tend to think that it's more like "I used to not be familiar enough to realize x" combined with "I feel like I've seen these arguments before". I have the same feelings about HN plenty of the time.

Re: Jessamyn West, Technology Lady (2015)

#109
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a rule of thumb, people who aren't so thrilled tend to stop showing up.

Count me as part of the strange group that is dismayed at the quality but for some reason I can't fully explain, keeps showing up. I've had an account since late 2000 (yes, 17 years). I still read Metafilter pretty much every day, but I have gotten to where I will not comment, because I recognize that I do not think the "right" way. I've made perhaps two comments in the last 6 years. I frequently will type up a comme…

FYI, the political threads during the American election tended to be very fast moving and there was a new thread every day - so there was plenty of discussion of her resignation, but it was mostly done before the thread you were in.

Re: Jessamyn West, Technology Lady (2015)

#110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unfortunately you are several years too late. The site and community used to be amazing when Matt and Jessamyn ran the show, but went it started going downhill after Josh Millard took over and is now a shadow of its former self.

Nonsense. Cortex (Josh) and mods have been working hard and it shows in that quality is what it's always been.

I also didn't realize Cortex now owns Metafilter.
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