More META than META!
January 9, 2010 2:48 PM Subscribe
When you describe AskMeFi to others, how do/would you characterize/qualify/paint the responses in a macroscopic way?
I was trying to explain the concept of AskMeFi to someone the other day and I found myself unable to articulate the subtleties of what goes on here.
There are plenty of other places in the intertubes where people can try to have their random questions answered. Those are free, non-topical, unmoderated, and seemingly swarmed by barely-literate teeny-boppers who answer questions that they do not have any business answering. AskMeFi is clearly not that.
However, the Hive does have a certain flavor to it; a je ne sais quoi that despite my best possible efforts, I was not able to put my finger on.
I got as far as this (though the conversation did not take place in a bulleted format):
-There are people from everywhere, if you are asking about a place, someone from that place or very familiar with that place will almost certainly answer, no matter how small it may be.
-The Hive is almost universally nice and helpful
-The Hive is not your doctor or your lawyer! (but they have experienced whatever strange gynecological issue you are dealing with, and they will gladly tell you about it)
-The Hive contains an over-representation (imo) of kooky cat ladies (this is not a bad thing, please don't blast me for that, cat ladies need a place to have their questions answered too, and cat ladies are almost universally well-read, which leads to)
-The Hive has read every book, magazine, article, or blog you have ever read, and has seen every show, video, or movie you have ever seen. Not only have they seen it, they remember it, can link to it almost instantaneously, and remember every character's name.
-The Hive is displeased when anyone makes insensitive comments about any group (double displeasure if the comment is about women, overweight people, minorities, anyone that might be sensitive, or anyone who is not totally mainstream (this doubling stacks up like in Scrabble, if you say something that can be construed as being insensitive to more than one of these groups, may god have mercy on your soul)) (disclaimer: I am not saying this is a bad thing, nor am I saying anything insensitive. I am just saying how insensitive things are handled, because it really is a big factor in how the community works. Being sensitive about the way that insensitive comments are handled is silly! Please do not blast me for this!)
-The Hive is contains an over-representation of linux sysadmins, if you have messed up server settings, or a jacked up kernel, they will save you.
-The Hive leans left, very left, but they still know about guns (they might be vegan, carbon-aware, feminist guns, but they definitely know about them)
-The Hive thinks you should go to therapy. Therapy can solve anything from anxiety to ingrown toenails to Excel-formulas.
I didn't really get any farther before the person I was talking to was like "what the f*** are you talking about?"
So I ask:
-When you describe AskMeFi to outsiders, how do you (color/qualify/characterize) the (type/content/leanings) of the (information/story-telling/knowledge) that is (exchanged/shared/provided) here?
-How can I communicate the essence of the Hive more accurately/effectively/comically?
I was trying to explain the concept of AskMeFi to someone the other day and I found myself unable to articulate the subtleties of what goes on here.
There are plenty of other places in the intertubes where people can try to have their random questions answered. Those are free, non-topical, unmoderated, and seemingly swarmed by barely-literate teeny-boppers who answer questions that they do not have any business answering. AskMeFi is clearly not that.
However, the Hive does have a certain flavor to it; a je ne sais quoi that despite my best possible efforts, I was not able to put my finger on.
I got as far as this (though the conversation did not take place in a bulleted format):
-There are people from everywhere, if you are asking about a place, someone from that place or very familiar with that place will almost certainly answer, no matter how small it may be.
-The Hive is almost universally nice and helpful
-The Hive is not your doctor or your lawyer! (but they have experienced whatever strange gynecological issue you are dealing with, and they will gladly tell you about it)
-The Hive contains an over-representation (imo) of kooky cat ladies (this is not a bad thing, please don't blast me for that, cat ladies need a place to have their questions answered too, and cat ladies are almost universally well-read, which leads to)
-The Hive has read every book, magazine, article, or blog you have ever read, and has seen every show, video, or movie you have ever seen. Not only have they seen it, they remember it, can link to it almost instantaneously, and remember every character's name.
-The Hive is displeased when anyone makes insensitive comments about any group (double displeasure if the comment is about women, overweight people, minorities, anyone that might be sensitive, or anyone who is not totally mainstream (this doubling stacks up like in Scrabble, if you say something that can be construed as being insensitive to more than one of these groups, may god have mercy on your soul)) (disclaimer: I am not saying this is a bad thing, nor am I saying anything insensitive. I am just saying how insensitive things are handled, because it really is a big factor in how the community works. Being sensitive about the way that insensitive comments are handled is silly! Please do not blast me for this!)
-The Hive is contains an over-representation of linux sysadmins, if you have messed up server settings, or a jacked up kernel, they will save you.
-The Hive leans left, very left, but they still know about guns (they might be vegan, carbon-aware, feminist guns, but they definitely know about them)
-The Hive thinks you should go to therapy. Therapy can solve anything from anxiety to ingrown toenails to Excel-formulas.
I didn't really get any farther before the person I was talking to was like "what the f*** are you talking about?"
So I ask:
-When you describe AskMeFi to outsiders, how do you (color/qualify/characterize) the (type/content/leanings) of the (information/story-telling/knowledge) that is (exchanged/shared/provided) here?
-How can I communicate the essence of the Hive more accurately/effectively/comically?
This post was deleted for the following reason: Stuff about the site should go Metatalk, not askme. -- cortex
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