Antidisestablishmentarianism

January 2, 2005 8:05 PM

MetaFilter... can you spell it? An exercise in co-operative play.
posted by five fresh fish (71 comments total)

Damn, you people are fast! Now spell "Quonsar"!
posted by five fresh fish at 8:10 PM on January 2, 2005

oops
posted by arse_hat at 8:14 PM on January 2, 2005

Meh. It was worth it, just to see "Metafilter" stay on the screen for more than a second.

I think we should try to do something massively cooperative, like arrange the letters alphabetically. It'd be tough to do without a dozen or so people all on the same wavelength.

I'm fascinated by the emergent behaviours. There are times when the letters are sheer chaos, but there are times when people massively cooperate, stacking the letters into one great big pile; creating single words that remain stable because every time a letter is moved, it's put back; or creating geometric patterns. Very, very cool.
posted by five fresh fish at 8:17 PM on January 2, 2005

Could we do the goatse link?
posted by arse_hat at 8:21 PM on January 2, 2005

I win.
posted by chundo at 8:22 PM on January 2, 2005

(spelling quonsar, I mean)
posted by chundo at 8:22 PM on January 2, 2005

What, spell "goatse.cx" on the fridge?

Me, I'm going to hang out in one corner obsessively keeping that corner clean of nearby letters. Muuuuwhahaha.
posted by five fresh fish at 8:24 PM on January 2, 2005

this is hilarious. i love it how people are just there to diminish other people's work.
posted by meowchow at 8:27 PM on January 2, 2005

I like the people that sort by color.
posted by nile_red at 8:32 PM on January 2, 2005

I'm stunned by the people who feel a need to be disgraceful. There is, of course, always some asshat who thinks it's truly showing us all something when he spells out "fuck," but what about the diminished-IQ fellow who spelled "I hate blacks." WTF? Why, oh why, would one feel a need to express something that repugnant?
posted by five fresh fish at 8:33 PM on January 2, 2005

I'm torn between helping the people collecting letters into piles of uniform colors, and those trying to scatter those piles...
posted by chundo at 8:34 PM on January 2, 2005

Who all was in on that glorious color-sorting moment with me?
posted by sourwookie at 8:34 PM on January 2, 2005

the massive effort to spell "dude, where's my car" was beautiful.
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 8:35 PM on January 2, 2005

fff -

On the other hand, it was pretty amusing to see that once people noticed what he was writing, it was instantly destroyed by everyone else.
posted by chundo at 8:35 PM on January 2, 2005

i was helping you sort colors sourwookie
posted by onkelchrispy at 8:36 PM on January 2, 2005

the massive effort to spell "dude, where's my car"

Ha ha - I helped with that!
posted by ao4047 at 8:36 PM on January 2, 2005

A lot of people were trying to spell "Dude wheres my car" but I was the one with the U having sex with the I's.
posted by Dean Keaton at 8:38 PM on January 2, 2005

I helped sort colours, remove the racist, spell Metafilter, spell "Dude wheres my car", and keep the lower right corner clear of letters/collecting pink letters.

I think one of the neater tricks is to try to see what people are doing, help them do it, and try to do so without destroying other collective efforts. Theoretically, we could have several efforts that don't trample each other yet yield great results.
posted by five fresh fish at 8:39 PM on January 2, 2005

at this moment in time somebody is trying to spell "motzah", somebody else is going for "pussy", and everyone else is trying to compile to alphabet in order. this is a beautiful toy.
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 8:42 PM on January 2, 2005

Screw the first fridge, I'm going to the fourth fridge. I hear they're nicer over there.
posted by chundo at 8:46 PM on January 2, 2005

It would be fun if the letters had momentum, so that we could "throw" them into place.

Also, I notice that if you grab a letter, it's yours until you release it. Which means it would only take a handful of us to create a persistent "Metafilter"...
posted by five fresh fish at 8:48 PM on January 2, 2005

I'll get the "R"!
posted by chundo at 8:50 PM on January 2, 2005

I'm on "E"

(the second one)
posted by sourwookie at 8:52 PM on January 2, 2005

It's a nice microcosm for society. A few people trying to do something constructive and a hundred just living to mess things up.
posted by zixyer at 8:55 PM on January 2, 2005

I wonder if this is how riots and civil wars start: mob mentality, not really knowing what the rules are and what the goal is, but doing it anyway because everyone else is.

I gotta split, alas. But what a beautiful waste of a half-hour or so.

That was perhaps the best use of the Internet I've encountered in the past fifteen years.

I suggest that when you send this link to friends, you encourage them to spell "World Peace" in the upper left corner.
posted by five fresh fish at 8:56 PM on January 2, 2005

If any of you just helped me make the giant heart - I love you. Someone was trying to spell metafilter in the middle of it in the early stages. This is great.
posted by Buzz at 9:43 PM on January 2, 2005

You can keep a letter in place by left click and holding.
posted by e40 at 9:49 PM on January 2, 2005

I liked the peace sign to smiley to heart transformation, also, this is so much easier on a tablet pc.
posted by nile_red at 10:06 PM on January 2, 2005

this is brilliant. It is making me laugh out loud for no particular reason except that it's so good.
posted by mdn at 10:10 PM on January 2, 2005

Ok, this is great fun. I kept trying to spell anything at all, but people were having none of that. After that I figured dragging everything to the upper right seemed like a much more attainable goal.
posted by Stunt at 10:18 PM on January 2, 2005

Thought 1: this is going to make me hate humanity even more.

Thought 2: I can say that now that I have helped spell out "WHO WOULD JESUS BLOW", my life is now complete.
posted by beth at 10:20 PM on January 2, 2005

Very fun!
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 10:25 PM on January 2, 2005 [1 favorite]

I was trying to get Metafilter inside a giant heart. Love seemed slightly more attainable, but people would have nothing of it.

At one point, though, somebody helped me spell Ask Metafilter. That was tricky.
posted by rfordh at 10:26 PM on January 2, 2005

managed to spell cooperate... didn't last long :-)
posted by C.Batt at 10:42 PM on January 2, 2005

Awesome. We just got "METAFILTER DOT COM" inside a giant heart.

The best is punning with random strangers:
A GAY MUPPET
A GAY PUPPET
A GAY PUPPY
A GAY GUPPY

DUDE WHERES MY CAR
JUDE WHERES MY CAR
JUDY WHERES MY BRA
JUDY EATS MY BRA
RUDY EATS MY BRA
BRADY SETS ME AFIRE
posted by rafter at 10:42 PM on January 2, 2005

Hmmm... I just posted this link a couple of hours ago in this other thread. Is that where you got it from, fff, or is coincidence on the march?
posted by painquale at 11:28 PM on January 2, 2005

Ha! Got it to spell Harvard Sucks for a moment...

Also got it to spell WalMart Rules! There was soon a "sucks" after it, however...
posted by thedevildancedlightly at 11:30 PM on January 2, 2005

PS - Brilliant idea!!!!
posted by thedevildancedlightly at 11:31 PM on January 2, 2005

Was anyone there for the awesome female symbol that dominated for about 30 seconds? How and why did we do that?
posted by cindileper at 12:08 AM on January 3, 2005

cindileper - I turned a female sign into a male sign, which then morphed into a peace sign, if that's the one you mean? Sorry (?) for messing up the female sign, just seemed appropriate to have equal time. ;)
posted by thedevildancedlightly at 12:25 AM on January 3, 2005

I think I started the cross under the circle, cindi. Tried to help the male one after, but it didn't really take.
posted by Phatty Lumpkin at 12:26 AM on January 3, 2005

Men and women come together! Finally, in the year 22008! Happy Future! Victory is ours.
posted by cindileper at 1:11 AM on January 3, 2005

woohoo
posted by seanyboy at 2:00 AM on January 3, 2005

Wow, this is surprisingly entertaining, thanks!
posted by fvw at 4:04 AM on January 3, 2005

"disconnected... more than 50 users logged on"
posted by moonbird at 4:06 AM on January 3, 2005

7.30am monday morning and too many users are on so I am disconnected like moonbird :(
posted by gren at 4:31 AM on January 3, 2005

metafilter : just there to diminish other people's work.
posted by crunchland at 4:33 AM on January 3, 2005

This is like herding cats. Brilliant fun!
posted by ChrisTN at 7:38 AM on January 3, 2005

I liked the peace sign to smiley to heart transformation, also, this is so much easier on a tablet pc.

Arrrgh! I missed out on that! [suicides]

painquale: Yup.

I think the internets can be shut down now. They've served their purpose.
posted by five fresh fish at 8:29 AM on January 3, 2005

I got "cuthulhu ftagn", but I think it was more that no one there got the reference, and thought that it was nonsense. if they only knew....
posted by exlotuseater at 8:31 AM on January 3, 2005

This fucking rules
posted by shawnj at 8:54 AM on January 3, 2005

Arrrgh! I missed out on that! [suicides]

Before you go... you can make the giant heart thing happen with about 10-15 minutes of persistent effort. The trick is keeping the inside of the heart empty and using the letters you clear out to build the outline of the heart, until other people start to recognize the shape. Then it snowballs, and it sometimes takes on a life of its own. That makes me very happy. Maybe people don't suck as much as I think they do. Or maybe they do, and I've just fallen prey to an attack of New Year optimism.
posted by Buzz at 9:14 AM on January 3, 2005

m           g lo b al        ear t
    ak e                  h        

that was amazing, indeed.
posted by exlotuseater at 10:02 AM on January 3, 2005

Don't try to propose on it, though.
posted by u.n. owen at 10:12 AM on January 3, 2005

I know I said "I do."
posted by Tikirific at 10:15 AM on January 3, 2005

That was great - I got people to organize by alphabet... for about 30 seconds. :)
posted by cr_joe at 10:22 AM on January 3, 2005

A few observations:

1) there are always people who are interested in stealing your vowels.

2) if you let someone steal your vowel without sticking up for your word and stealing it back, your other vowels will be stolen, and then your consonants will be ravaged.

3) people will do their own thing in the absence of any group purpose or group communication; but will drift toward group effort when its understood, as the giant heart thing above..
posted by brucec at 10:23 AM on January 3, 2005

This is great! There goes the giant heart, though...
posted by rmannion at 11:53 AM on January 3, 2005

Why, oh why, would one feel a need to express something that repugnant?

I'll give you the credit of assuming this is a rhetorical question. Why indeed would anyone say anything on any topic that has not been approved beforehand by the Central Committee?
posted by davy at 7:08 PM on January 3, 2005

You're a real piece of work, davy.

Perhaps you're the one who wrote that message; if so, I strongly recommend that you keep your racist emotions well under wraps: while you're free to hate blacks all you want, expressing that hatred ought to earn you a pop in the nose, preferably by someone who isn't black, just to clue you in that such stupid public behaviour will not be tolerated.

Why the violence? Because, IMO, people who are so clueless as to voice their racism aren't likely to respond to mere words.
posted by five fresh fish at 8:45 PM on January 3, 2005

But how long would it take to spell out all the works of Shakespeare?
posted by zorro astor at 4:48 AM on January 4, 2005

Well, it's only 50 monkeys at a time, so...
posted by five fresh fish at 9:01 AM on January 4, 2005

- It didn't take Harper's long to follow up on this thread...
posted by growabrain at 12:25 AM on January 5, 2005

Seanyboy:


posted by fourstar at 9:46 AM on January 5, 2005

FFF, you're jumping to inaccurate conclusions: I did not write that message, nor do I agree with it. Do you think the ACLU necessarily endorses all the (often mutually exclusive) viewpoints they say have a right to be heard? But then all us Free Speech types are traitors and Osama Symps anyway, right?

Besides, I'm pretty sure the conclusion you jumped to, and the violence that engenders in you, stems from your own bigotry against white people in the Sourtheastern U.S. I suggest you get your consciousness raised and/or your Depakote increased. Dickwad.
posted by davy at 10:48 AM on January 7, 2005

davy, he didn't say "why is that allowed", he said "why would anyone want to do that?" There's no free speech issue here.
posted by mdn at 8:04 AM on January 8, 2005

Actually, the violence it engenders in me stems from my own extremely-strong dislike for bigots. If they can not find the self-control to keep their bigotry to themselves, let external forces sway them to silence.

And speaking of jumping to inaccurate conclusions, learn to read and think. Geesh.
posted by five fresh fish at 10:20 AM on January 8, 2005

What FFF said was this:

"You're a real piece of work, davy.

Perhaps you're the one who wrote that message; if so, I strongly recommend that you keep your racist emotions well under wraps: while you're free to hate blacks all you want, expressing that hatred ought to earn you a pop in the nose, preferably by someone who isn't black, just to clue you in that such stupid public behaviour will not be tolerated."

Why the violence? Because, IMO, people who are so clueless as to voice their racism aren't likely to respond to mere words."
posted by five fresh fish at 8:45 PM PST on January 3

In other words, he thinks I said something he disapproves of and should be "pop[ped] in the nose" for it; furthermore he thinks anybody who "voice[s] their racism" should be violently violated.

He then said later:

"Actually, the violence it engenders in me stems from my own extremely-strong dislike for bigots. If they can not find the self-control to keep their bigotry to themselves, let external forces sway them to silence."

Again: FFF thinks people who say somethings he dislikes should be physically hurt, preferably by him. He said so plainly again and again.

So mdn, how in the fuck do you see "no free speech issue here"?

As for you FFF, you've convinced me you're a narrow-minded violent dickwad who belongs sedated in a padded cell alone.
posted by davy at 2:36 PM on January 8, 2005

That's okay, davy. You think whatever you like.

But if it's a racist or bigoted thought, keep it to yourself.
posted by five fresh fish at 4:25 PM on January 8, 2005

if it's a racist or bigoted thought, keep it to yourself.

Or you'll hurt me (or tell others I should be hurt; Hitler didn't kill any Jews himself) for being "offensive." I see.

At least have the intellectual honor to admit that that violates my right to free speech.

Oh and by the way, it's a good thing my parents got married in Maryland in 1957; in Virginia it would have been illegal because while Mom is white, my father was a Negro by their laws. (He had more Native American than African ancestry and he looked Greek to people, but one drop is all it takes, you know.) Till we could afford to move out we lived in a white neighborhood where blacks were beaten up if they walked through at night -- or their houses burned if they moved in, so he took us to a multiracial church in a black neighborhood. And when the Kluxers would show up to picket "race-mixing" businesses, e.g., Dad would lead us across the street and tell us what was wrong about what they were saying. So I actually share FFF's distaste for racist comments.

HOWEVER, I do not think anybody who merely talks that shit should be physically harmed; they have as much right to express their (I think evil) opinions as (to pick a name at random) languagehat would to say "two plus two is four." The ACLU apparently agrees with me, to their credit. And that in a nutshell is what Liberty means.

As for me, I admit it, I enjoy picking on liberal fascists who think they have a right to tell someone else what not to say "or else." To me that has more to do with a desire to bully and to hurt somebody than any principled anti-racism; that someone expresses a racist opinion merely gives their shit a "socially acceptable" odor.
posted by davy at 5:48 PM on January 8, 2005

Oh, you are such a tiresome little toad.

This started with you objecting to my question "Why would one feel a need to express something that repugnant?" as if my dislike for racist spew were somehow a cry for government control over free speech.

That was an unwarranted leap of illogic.

I feel that public expression of racism is socially unacceptable. Indeed, it is so socially unacceptable that unlike nose-picking, to which one should merely turn one's head so as to not view the miscreant's behaviour, a stronger response is required.

As you had made an unwarranted leap of illogic, and done so in a snotty way, my response was deliberately hyperbolic: I suggested that someone who expresses racist opinion deserves a pop in the nose, and did so in a way that suggested you might be the racist prick who decided to despoil the Just Letters toy.

You responded once again with a stunning leap of illogic: another silly reference to free speech and a throwaway bit of trite trolling. Next, an ill-targeted rant at mdn and an ironic bit of "free speech" denial of your own, claiming I should be locked-up. How rich!

I hope I'm using small words and simple sentences that you can understand. You do see your own trolling and hypocrisy, right?

Anyway, here's the bottom line, in response to your latest rant:

At least have the intellectual honor to admit that that violates my right to free speech.

Free speech is a government issue, not an inter-personal one. As far as my beliefs go, though: yes, I'll state that I am perfectly comfortable with encouraging racists and bigots to keep their opinions to themselves.

In most cases it suffices to express one's disapproval of their behaviour verbally. In some cases, stronger action is required. Were a racist in a bar to start picking fights with the blacks in the bar, trying to bully them into leaving, I certainly do hope some large white dude would put an end to it by flattening him. Were a racist to start inciting a return to black lynchings, I certainly do hope that he will end up jailed for hate-speech.

I live in Canada. We do things differently up here. You don't get to say anything you want with no concern for consequences. If you're a teacher and try to brainwash your class into holocaust denial, you're likely to face jail. If you place an advertisement that incites people to follow certain hateful biblical passages, you're going to end up in court.

We try to have a decent society up here. One where people feel safe. One where people behave politely in public.

Finally, you seem to labour under a rather amusing delusion: that you are "picking on" people on MetaFilter. Sorry, buddy, but you're not: as the recent MetaTalk thread should have indicated to you, you're considered nothing but a rather sorry sort of troll that is not being taken seriously.

I do so hope that you have learned something from this exchange. I grow weary of it, though, and will now go interact with far more interesting people. The floor is your's. Enjoy.
posted by five fresh fish at 7:37 PM on January 8, 2005