"35 years ago a Christian rock band encoded a Commodore 64 program on a vinyl album, and this YouTuber managed to retrieve and run it." Robin Harbron runs the 8 Bit Show and Tell YouTube channel and has a lot of Commodore 64 (and 128) videos. This one is his latest.
posted to MetaFilter by jessamyn at 4:15 PM on October 24, 2019 (23 comments)

I'll be teaching a course in Web Design to high schoolers this autumn. Most courses I've seen are all about HTML and CSS, maybe some light javascript. However, in this age of Wordpress and Google Sites, and Wix, and Weebly, and Squarespace, how relevant are HTML and CSS? Can anyone recommend a book, course, or curriculum that's centered around Wordpress, AWS, Google Sites, or some other currently in vogue platform?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by cyclicker at 9:59 AM on August 30, 2019 (10 comments)

I started blogging in the late 90s and posted regularly for many years. But then a few years ago I decided it was too much work and moved that daily activity over to Google+. Which obviously wouldn't go anywhere ever. Poop. So now it's gone and I'm restarting my blog. I looked around for some OG bloggers from the 90s and early 2000s. And found..... only Kottke???
posted to Ask MetaFilter by y6y6y6 at 9:37 AM on August 27, 2019 (91 comments)

How to run a small social network site for your friends by Darius Kazemi, 2018-2019 Mozilla Fellow
This document exists to lay out some general principles of running a small social network site that have worked for me. These principles are related to community building more than they are related to specific technologies. This is because the big problems with social network sites are not technical: the problems are social problems related to things like policy, values, and power.
posted to MetaFilter by CrystalDave at 11:47 AM on July 8, 2019 (23 comments)

Destroyer of worlds [Tortoise Media] How a childhood of anger led the founder of 8chan to create one of the darkest corners of the internet.

“The anger and hate that spews from 8chan is not a conscious extension of the anger and hate of its creator – though he had plenty – but an inevitable byproduct of the dark structure he built. The story of 8chan’s founder, Fredrick Brennan, is a perfect expression of this: born with a profound disability and shuttled in and out of foster care, his creation of the site was born not out of cold calculation or political ambition, but from a need to find community in loneliness. 8chan is a monster, but its creator had no idea what it would become. He was just a kid.”

posted to MetaFilter by Fizz at 3:46 PM on July 5, 2019 (49 comments)

Twitter Officially Has Separate Rules for Politicians [Vice]

“In the past, we’ve allowed certain Tweets that violated our rules to remain on Twitter because they were in the public’s interest, but it wasn’t clear when and how we made those determinations. To fix that, we’re introducing a new notice that will provide additional clarity in these situations, and sharing more on when and why we’ll use it.” the company said in a blog post.

posted to MetaFilter by Fizz at 9:15 AM on June 29, 2019 (54 comments)

I love the band Metric. Who else sounds like them?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by trillian at 2:24 PM on June 21, 2019 (23 comments)

Ravelry, the eight-million-strong social network for knitters previously, has announced that it will ban its users from voicing support for the Trump administration on the grounds that doing so “is undeniably support for white supremacy”.
The language of the new policy has been adapted from a similar announcement by RPG.net last November.
Further coverage from: USA Today, The Guardian, Business Insider, The Hill, BuzzFeed, Inquisitr, The A.V. Club, and The Mary Sue.
(For a sense of scale: as of February, Twitter has 126 million daily users, Snap has 186 million, and Facebook has 1.56 billion.)
posted to MetaFilter by Going To Maine at 8:20 PM on June 23, 2019 (153 comments)

A simple how-to video for performing a factory reset on C by GE light bulbs (slYT). I mean, it really can't get simpler than this.
posted to MetaFilter by Cash4Lead at 6:13 AM on June 20, 2019 (81 comments)

Will Native Americans be counted?
posted to MetaFilter by poffin boffin at 5:50 AM on June 17, 2019 (3 comments)

Maciej Cegłowski on Facebook, Google, and the absence of "ambient privacy": "This requires us to talk about a different kind of privacy, one that we haven’t needed to give a name to before. For the purposes of this essay, I’ll call it ‘ambient privacy’—the understanding that there is value in having our everyday interactions with one another remain outside the reach of monitoring, and that the small details of our daily lives should pass by unremembered. What we do at home, work, church, school, or in our leisure time does not belong in a permanent record. Not every conversation needs to be a deposition."
posted to MetaFilter by gwint at 5:47 PM on June 13, 2019 (46 comments)

Daniel Danger has a plan. sltwitter, h/t to jpoulos
posted to MetaFilter by yhbc at 10:54 AM on June 10, 2019 (142 comments)

Radiohead is no stranger to leaks -- frontman Thom Yorke praised Napster for "encourag[ing] enthusiasm for music in a way that the music industry has long forgotten to do" when their hotly anticipated album Kid A was uploaded to the service in its entirety (though the band was decidedly less thrilled when the same happened to an unfinished version of 2003's Hail to the Thief). Even pranksters have gotten in on the action. But now, after an abortive attempt at selling the stash, one leaker has given longtime fans the biggest prize yet: over 17 hours of early and unreleased material from the OK Computer era, including new full-band versions of "Lift" and "True Love Waits", an extended "Paranoid Android", alternative lyrics, rehearsals, jam sessions, found sound, and so much more. While legal eagles play whack-a-mole with download links, follow discussion of this landmark release on /r/radiohead and Discord, or get a taste of the material by browsing the scraps of it that were included in 2017 reissue OKNOTOK (including this utterly gorgeous rendition of "Motion Picture Soundtrack").
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 4:42 AM on June 5, 2019 (80 comments)

Please tell me about the program you followed to reach a goal, that actually worked for you.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Agent X9 at 3:10 PM on April 10, 2019 (16 comments)

How the media should respond to Trump’s lies: a linguist explains how Trump uses lies to divert attention from the “big truths.” "George Lakoff, a professor of linguistics and cognitive science at UC Berkeley ... recently published an article laying out the media’s dilemma. Trump’s 'big lie' strategy, he argues, is to 'exploit journalistic convention by providing rapid-fire news events for reporters to chase.' According to Lakoff, the president uses lies to divert attention from the 'big truths,' or the things he doesn’t want the media to cover. This allows Trump to create the controversies he wants and capitalize on the outrage and confusion they generate, while simultaneously stoking his base and forcing the press into the role of 'opposition party.'" [ViA]
posted to MetaFilter by homunculus at 5:45 PM on November 24, 2018 (70 comments)

Quartz has compiled a list of 600 free online courses offered by 190 universities around the world.
posted to MetaFilter by jenkinsEar at 5:45 PM on October 25, 2018 (10 comments)

Prisons are switching to ebooks but that’s not a good thing. The "Pennsylvania Department of Corrections announced that inmates would no longer be able to receive physical books from outside organizations or inmate’s families. Instead, the state’s prison system would be switching to ebooks. These will be available on tablets sold by prison telecommunications giant GTL."
posted to MetaFilter by readinghippo at 9:56 PM on October 14, 2018 (61 comments)

If Social Media is a part of your life but you're also sickened by nazis you've probably considered Mastodon as an alternative. But rather than a straight-up Twitter clone based on the open standards Mastodon has some real and significant differences that may be confusing at first. Fortunately this video should help get you up to speed: Intro to Mastodon 101
posted to MetaFilter by Artw at 8:28 AM on August 26, 2018 (124 comments)

Alex Jones, the First Amendment, and the Digital Public Square - "How should we challenge hate-mongering in the age of social media?"
posted to MetaFilter by kliuless at 7:43 PM on August 19, 2018 (88 comments)

What are higher education deserts? The Chronicle of Higher Education explores where and which Americans are the farthest away from colleges and universities.

The Urban Institute offered a somewhat different approach, combining geography and broadband.

The American Council on Education focused on geography, but used a different model to yield different results.
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 6:06 AM on July 18, 2018 (12 comments)

Cat-Scan.com is one of the strangest sites I've seen in some time. I have no idea how these people got their cats wedged into their scanners, or why.
posted to MetaFilter by Phire at 9:47 AM on July 14, 2018 (150 comments)

Thinking about the last season of Twin Peaks, I was wondering what the distinctive font is that is used for street addresses, like the 3 and the 6 here. There are street numbers in a similar style on houses in California and other places, and I wonder where this started.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by johngoren at 6:40 AM on April 30, 2018 (16 comments)

Dan Hon has a Twitter thread going of neural network-generated Ask Metafilter questions.
posted to MetaTalk by divabat at 6:55 AM on July 30, 2017 (41 comments)

What are some non-perishable lightweight bars that 1) have less sugar and more protein and 2) are still made with relatively good ingredients and 3) that have the texture of food, rather than fondant?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by atetrachordofthree at 7:11 PM on June 2, 2017 (34 comments)

I've been working as a 'graphic designer' in a very niche segment for almost 15 years, without actually needing to know basic graphic design principals. Now I'm job hunting and realize I need to do a crash course on all the basic theory (grid layout, whitespace, color theory, typography...etc..). I have a lot of skill with the tools (Adobe CS) but not the theory behind the practice. What books, websites, videos etc should I be reading?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by gofargogo at 9:25 AM on June 7, 2017 (8 comments)

In 2014, MeFite-beloved image sharing site MLKSHK (pronounced "Milk Shake") announced it was shutting down. But have no fear! A dedicated group of volunteer users has worked hard to put together a replacement site based on the original -- and it launched today! Introducing MLTSHP (pronounced "Malt Shop")! See Popular Posts for public-facing content.
posted to MetaFilter by zarq at 3:26 PM on May 16, 2017 (51 comments)

Heya, folks, it's time (and then some!) for a State of MetaFilter post. I want to give everybody an update on how the site is doing financially, and catch y'all up on the major goings-on in both the business and community aspects of MetaFilter in the time since the last State of MeFi post.

The very short version: it's been a weird couple years out there in the world; we've hired a couple staff and wished pb well; and things are financially pretty stable, thanks in significant part to the ongoing generosity of the MetaFilter community whose contributions continue to represent a vital chunk of the site's operating revenue. But come on inside for a much less short version!
posted to MetaTalk by cortex at 8:26 AM on March 22, 2017 (143 comments)

For over two centuries, American slaveholders, the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, Nazi Germany, and today’s white supremacist self-styled “alt-right” have all promoted a twisted idea of the Middle Ages that props up their white-supremacist fantasies. And unfortunately, their view of the Middle Ages has trickled into the groundwater of the broader popular historical consciousness.

But the truth is, these Middle Ages are not the Middle Ages: in response to fascist abuse of Medieval history, The Public Medievalist has published a series of essays explaining the real Middle Ages and their ideas about race.
posted to MetaFilter by MartinWisse at 4:39 AM on March 15, 2017 (48 comments)

As of a few days ago, the IP addresses for blogging service LiveJournal have moved to 81.19.74.*, a block that lookup services locate in Moscow, Russia. Now users -- especially those who do not trust the Russian government -- are leaving the platform and advising others to leave.
posted to MetaFilter by brainwane at 10:48 AM on December 30, 2016 (84 comments)

In the interest of preparing for both the inevitable (fighting terrible policies at the national level) and the worst (full-on totalitarianism, war, etc.), I am seeking books and articles about practical tactics for survival and resistance.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by cnidaria at 2:46 PM on December 18, 2016 (9 comments)

"What I want to call attention to is this: for almost eight hundred years, English used the same word for 'a fantastical tale of true love' and for 'a fantastical tale of magic and adventure', and that word was romance."
posted to MetaFilter by Caduceus at 4:41 PM on December 14, 2016 (15 comments)

How news sites’ online comments helped build our hateful electorate.
On the heels of a presidential election that has been called unprecedented in terms of its incivility, the nonpartisan National Institute for Civil Discourse has an important message for the president-elect and Congress.
2014 PEW Research & Statistics
posted to MetaFilter by adamvasco at 3:22 AM on December 16, 2016 (58 comments)

Wherein the soothing nostalgia of vaporwave is combined with the hallucinatory, corrupted-VHS ennui of Marge and the gang.
posted to MetaFilter by Existential Dread at 10:24 PM on December 2, 2016 (18 comments)

Buttons like this from the Boston Globe. I have several guesses as to why they're there, but none are satisfying and I have no particular confirming evidence.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Nelson at 9:37 AM on November 30, 2016 (8 comments)

After Trump's victory, I feel the need to study, reflect, examine my assumptions about the world, and seek insight and solace. I'm looking for books that will help.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by tempythethird at 4:20 PM on November 20, 2016 (33 comments)

I was astonished to find out this morning that my wife faces the showerhead when taking a shower. I face away from the showerhead and assumed everyone did the same. She says that most people face the showerhead and I'm the unusual one.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by insectosaurus at 6:01 AM on November 23, 2016 (266 comments)

Hyperpartisan Facebook Pages Are Publishing False And Misleading Information At An Alarming Rate. The rapid growth of these pages combines with BuzzFeed News’ findings to suggest a troubling conclusion: The best way to attract and grow an audience for political content on the world’s biggest social network is to eschew factual reporting and instead play to partisan biases using false or misleading information that simply tells people what they want to hear. This approach has precursors in partisan print and television media, but has gained a new scale of distribution on Facebook...
posted to MetaFilter by triggerfinger at 8:53 PM on November 14, 2016 (117 comments)

How to encrypt your entire life in less than an hour "In this article, I will show you how you can protect yourself by leveraging state-of-the-art encryption. In a single sitting, you can make great strides toward securing your privacy."
posted to MetaFilter by XtinaS at 12:17 PM on November 12, 2016 (47 comments)

Twitter is discontinuing Vine and shuttering its mobile app. They say users' content will remain accessible, but just in case, maybe start collecting some of the best vines now.
posted to MetaFilter by rewil at 10:03 AM on October 27, 2016 (222 comments)

Many sites including Twitter, Shopify and Spotify suffering outage. USA Today and Fortune Magazine offer additional details. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said the Department of Homeland Security was “monitoring the situation" but that “at this point [we] don’t have any information about who may be responsible for this malicious activity.”
posted to MetaFilter by Hermione Granger at 10:08 AM on October 21, 2016 (255 comments)

Musician and Youtube user Luminist is remaking music from the original Metroid using some full-on synths, and it sounds amazing. Title Theme; Brinstar; Kraid's Lair; Samus Fanfare; Item Room.
posted to MetaFilter by cortex at 7:49 AM on October 12, 2016 (23 comments)

As urged by creators and luminaries of the Web at the recent Decentralized Web summit, Drupal founder Dries Buytaert asks the question, Wordpress founder (MeFi's own™) Matt Mullenweg agrees, and Twitter&Medium founder (MeFi's own™) Ev Williams mulls extensively.
posted to MetaFilter by progosk at 5:54 AM on June 18, 2016 (72 comments)

"This is all hilarious, of course — a 14-year-old girl utterly fanatical about the Founding Fathers — that is until you realize that it isn’t going away." Joe Posnanski of NBC Sports on taking his 14 year old daughter, Elizabeth, to see Hamilton.
posted to MetaFilter by roomthreeseventeen at 8:25 AM on May 30, 2016 (61 comments)

Jason Shulman takes single long-exposure photographs of entire films.
posted to MetaFilter by cortex at 8:00 AM on May 11, 2016 (38 comments)

In Duncan Jones (nee Zowie Bowie, son of David)'s debut feature, astronaut Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell in a celebrated showcase performance) has a quintessentially personal encounter toward the end of his three-year stint on the Moon, alongside his computer companion GERTY. Despite not storming the box office, Moon (trailer) drew comparisons to movies like Solaris, Alien, and 2001, found critical praise (though not universally), won several awards, and still maintains a healthy following seven years later. (Some links contain spoilers)
posted to FanFare by churl at 12:03 PM on March 12, 2016 (16 comments)

I've been reading the excellent Emotional Labor Condensed Thread, and it's shaping the way I think about life. What are other recommendations for great reads that change the way you think about day-to-day life? Other examples I've enjoyed include: Ask vs. Guess Culture, Love Languages... Give me more! Format doesn't matter.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by ellerhodes at 12:49 PM on March 6, 2016 (34 comments)

Back by moderately popular demand, it's the MetaFilterMusic podcast! Check out episode 2 on Soundcloud!
posted to MetaTalk by greenish at 2:29 AM on March 6, 2016 (27 comments)

osx not booting up and I'm unable to make it to an apple store...
posted to Ask MetaFilter by krautland at 10:18 PM on December 25, 2007 (20 comments)

One mile west of Tillamook Head, a rock rises from the ocean. Shaped like a sea monster, it is where old Nor’easters go to die. Where Indians believed under ocean tunnels inhabited by spirits came to the surface. Where sheer cliffs drop straight into the sea to depths of 96 to 240 feet. Where clinging to the top, fighting off the gripping hands of the sea, stands a lighthouse – a symbol of the precarious line between human endeavor and the forces of nature.
posted to MetaFilter by gottabefunky at 12:49 PM on February 22, 2016 (26 comments)

"That feeling when you hit a million followers, make more money than your mom, push a diet pill scheme, lose your blog, and turn 16."
posted to MetaFilter by roomthreeseventeen at 7:35 AM on February 17, 2016 (57 comments)