Parents’ Opinion Study
February 22, 2007 10:46 PM Subscribe
What would you choose for your child to play with? Quality wooden toy or electronic music/light emitting toy? Developmental board game or online puzzle game? Classic hand puppets or Barbie doll?
We are conducting a study of the large group of parents; therefore each opinion is very valuable information.
Thank you, www.1888Toys.com team
This post was deleted for the following reason: SPAM
Oh my.
posted by nervestaple at 11:05 PM on February 22, 2007
posted by nervestaple at 11:05 PM on February 22, 2007
Do we have a metabookie to take bets on what responses we'll see when and from whom?
posted by dilettante at 11:21 PM on February 22, 2007
posted by dilettante at 11:21 PM on February 22, 2007
My child's favorite toy is a classic wooden banhammer.
posted by maryh at 11:28 PM on February 22, 2007 [14 favorites]
posted by maryh at 11:28 PM on February 22, 2007 [14 favorites]
But how can I answer with no links to the barbie, online puzzle game and/or electronic music/light emitting toy? *scritch, scritch*
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 11:36 PM on February 22, 2007
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 11:36 PM on February 22, 2007
OH NO NOT THE BEES!! YEAARRRGHHH!
posted by sergeant sandwich at 11:52 PM on February 22, 2007
posted by sergeant sandwich at 11:52 PM on February 22, 2007
I like the self-bake clam oven.
posted by mildred-pitt at 11:55 PM on February 22, 2007
posted by mildred-pitt at 11:55 PM on February 22, 2007
I like my children to play with an annotated copy of the Treaty of Westphalia. I could show it to you right here, if you like.
posted by Meatbomb at 12:05 AM on February 23, 2007 [1 favorite]
posted by Meatbomb at 12:05 AM on February 23, 2007 [1 favorite]
I take that back - the self-bake feature seems kinda cheap. I think the toll-free toy shop with expandable automatic dolly washer is way cooler.
posted by mildred-pitt at 12:25 AM on February 23, 2007
posted by mildred-pitt at 12:25 AM on February 23, 2007
BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD
This is why we need another mod in a different time zone.
posted by adamvasco at 12:56 AM on February 23, 2007
This is why we need another mod in a different time zone.
posted by adamvasco at 12:56 AM on February 23, 2007
I WILL EAT YOUR SOUL AND POOP OUT TOYS FOR TOTS!
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 1:02 AM on February 23, 2007 [2 favorites]
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 1:02 AM on February 23, 2007 [2 favorites]
I made my own developmental board game by turning a child into a classic hand puppet. All it took was a quality wooden toy in the right place.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 1:08 AM on February 23, 2007 [1 favorite]
posted by obiwanwasabi at 1:08 AM on February 23, 2007 [1 favorite]
Is this what people mean when they exclaim "think of the children?"
posted by maxwelton at 1:37 AM on February 23, 2007
posted by maxwelton at 1:37 AM on February 23, 2007
Googlebombs don't work anymore, folks.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 2:19 AM on February 23, 2007
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 2:19 AM on February 23, 2007
The toys from this site are fantastic, safe, and fun for all ages!
posted by chrismear at 2:22 AM on February 23, 2007
posted by chrismear at 2:22 AM on February 23, 2007
Damn. Googlebombs are the closest thing there is to being able to punch someone over the internet.
posted by Jimbob at 2:25 AM on February 23, 2007
posted by Jimbob at 2:25 AM on February 23, 2007
Cool, chat thread.
Three Point Status Update:
1) I have some software for a friend and he isn't answering his phone, so poo on him.
2) Being unemployed sure is dull, can't wait till Better Half decides what city he wants to go to.
3) I'm going to the Trident Missile Suck/Please don't bomb Iran demo in Glasgow tomorrow.
posted by By The Grace of God at 2:37 AM on February 23, 2007
Three Point Status Update:
1) I have some software for a friend and he isn't answering his phone, so poo on him.
2) Being unemployed sure is dull, can't wait till Better Half decides what city he wants to go to.
3) I'm going to the Trident Missile Suck/Please don't bomb Iran demo in Glasgow tomorrow.
posted by By The Grace of God at 2:37 AM on February 23, 2007
Best answer: WE GOT YOUR POINT… YOU CAN ALL RELAX…
We did not try to spam you; it is a real study to benefit parents and specially children.
Many parents are not aware of the damage video games and electronic toys do to their children. Our mission is not only sell great educational products, but to provide parents who love and care for their children with right options; therefore we have numerous happy customers.
Sorry to bother you… Please go back to discuss barber recommendation in San Jose… We believe it is a wrong community for real value advise, question or opinion.
posted by fimarin at 2:53 AM on February 23, 2007
We did not try to spam you; it is a real study to benefit parents and specially children.
Many parents are not aware of the damage video games and electronic toys do to their children. Our mission is not only sell great educational products, but to provide parents who love and care for their children with right options; therefore we have numerous happy customers.
Sorry to bother you… Please go back to discuss barber recommendation in San Jose… We believe it is a wrong community for real value advise, question or opinion.
posted by fimarin at 2:53 AM on February 23, 2007
Oh, ouch. That totally hit it, right where it hurts. Might work better if you spelled advice correctly, but hey, whatever floats your boat. I'm going to go cry in a corner now, you just wait.
posted by Phire at 2:56 AM on February 23, 2007
posted by Phire at 2:56 AM on February 23, 2007
Please go back to discuss barber recommendation in San Jose…
I'm going to have to go with the 'fuck you' option, you spamming sack of shit. Once the site admins wake up, this thread will be deleted and your account will be banned. We're just marking time here.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 2:57 AM on February 23, 2007
I'm going to have to go with the 'fuck you' option, you spamming sack of shit. Once the site admins wake up, this thread will be deleted and your account will be banned. We're just marking time here.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 2:57 AM on February 23, 2007
well, you're going to be banned, soon, fimarin, and you'll have wasted five bucks.
First of all, studies are focussed, variables are clear and the method is consistent. This is not a study, it's spam.
Even if it were a study, it's just as bullshit biased as those phone surveys from political candidates that weight the questions. You link one toy and not the other and your language is extremely biased.
Finally, if you want YOUR children not to starve to death from your own inability to provide for them, you might consider re-vamping your marketing not to be so malevolent and false, and you might consider peddling your anti-tech snake oil somewhere other than THE INTERNET!
p.p.s. Using prose for marketing, even when it's not as nasty and disingenuous as yours, requires copy and grammar editing. I suspect English is not your first language. When I write news articles in a second language (Spanish) I copy edit them and have a native speaker go over them to catch the (numerous) grammatical errors. You might wish to do the same.
posted by By The Grace of God at 2:59 AM on February 23, 2007 [4 favorites]
First of all, studies are focussed, variables are clear and the method is consistent. This is not a study, it's spam.
Even if it were a study, it's just as bullshit biased as those phone surveys from political candidates that weight the questions. You link one toy and not the other and your language is extremely biased.
Finally, if you want YOUR children not to starve to death from your own inability to provide for them, you might consider re-vamping your marketing not to be so malevolent and false, and you might consider peddling your anti-tech snake oil somewhere other than THE INTERNET!
p.p.s. Using prose for marketing, even when it's not as nasty and disingenuous as yours, requires copy and grammar editing. I suspect English is not your first language. When I write news articles in a second language (Spanish) I copy edit them and have a native speaker go over them to catch the (numerous) grammatical errors. You might wish to do the same.
posted by By The Grace of God at 2:59 AM on February 23, 2007 [4 favorites]
All right, I'm going to take back the vitriol, because I feel bad, and because having just looked at the user's profile, if it's for real, it seems like we have a situation here where it's someone who doesn't understand Metafilter or the internet very well.
Still, this is not welcome here, fimarin, and you've broken the single rule around here that you should have known about and was made clear to you when you signed up. But I do apologize for calling you names.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 3:08 AM on February 23, 2007
Still, this is not welcome here, fimarin, and you've broken the single rule around here that you should have known about and was made clear to you when you signed up. But I do apologize for calling you names.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 3:08 AM on February 23, 2007
So, this study of yours; I assume if we all tell you how much we love our children to play with violent flashy videogames, you'll go and start selling them?
Great!
posted by Jimbob at 3:18 AM on February 23, 2007 [2 favorites]
Great!
posted by Jimbob at 3:18 AM on February 23, 2007 [2 favorites]
I felt it only added to the overall classy feel to mark your own answer as best there fimarin.
I also find the whole new corporate 'our mission'-speak fairly risible. I suppose I'm just nostalgic for the idea of building the better mousetrap and letting them beat the path to your door.
posted by Abiezer at 3:26 AM on February 23, 2007
I also find the whole new corporate 'our mission'-speak fairly risible. I suppose I'm just nostalgic for the idea of building the better mousetrap and letting them beat the path to your door.
posted by Abiezer at 3:26 AM on February 23, 2007
Risible is one of my favourite words, Abiezer. Goes naturally with "hack", best said in Galloway's Scottish accent.
RRRRISIBLE HACK!
posted by By The Grace of God at 3:30 AM on February 23, 2007
RRRRISIBLE HACK!
posted by By The Grace of God at 3:30 AM on February 23, 2007
We did not try to spam you; it is a real study to benefit parents and specially children
THIS AIN'T NO GAME GIRL
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 3:33 AM on February 23, 2007
THIS AIN'T NO GAME GIRL
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 3:33 AM on February 23, 2007
filmarin I call bullshit on your statement upthread. You have also shilled your shit twice this morning here and here.
Absolutely nothing that happens here to you is bad enough.
Stav you shouldn't apologise to this wanker; this (ex) user is a complete and utter moran [sic].
posted by adamvasco at 3:36 AM on February 23, 2007
Absolutely nothing that happens here to you is bad enough.
Stav you shouldn't apologise to this wanker; this (ex) user is a complete and utter moran [sic].
posted by adamvasco at 3:36 AM on February 23, 2007
Best answer: It would be much appreciated if we just stop this conversation… Thank you all for your comments.
posted by fimarin at 3:40 AM on February 23, 2007
posted by fimarin at 3:40 AM on February 23, 2007
My kids prefer wooden toys.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 3:43 AM on February 23, 2007
posted by JohnnyGunn at 3:43 AM on February 23, 2007
Marina, I'd email you but I can't find an address. You seem upset by our reaction - but it's admins' thread to close, not yours. We tend to get a little silly in a thread that's destined to be closed; you can just stop reading it, and it'll be deleted soon.
I genuinely regret causing hurt feelings to someone who's expresses that they have no malicious intent - but.. you made a mistake. This is not any way to build a business, and going to a well-connected site like this and abusing the guidelines will get you reported to all sorts of spam registers, etc. It will damage your business, and because you have innocent children I don't want this to happen.
You and your husband should really, really consider different marketing techniques, or if you're marketing this way in desperation because you're not making enough money, you should consider a different business. You don't seem to know enough about Internet marketing to do it effectively if you think that a forum like this one will take such 'questions' in stride.
posted by By The Grace of God at 3:52 AM on February 23, 2007
I genuinely regret causing hurt feelings to someone who's expresses that they have no malicious intent - but.. you made a mistake. This is not any way to build a business, and going to a well-connected site like this and abusing the guidelines will get you reported to all sorts of spam registers, etc. It will damage your business, and because you have innocent children I don't want this to happen.
You and your husband should really, really consider different marketing techniques, or if you're marketing this way in desperation because you're not making enough money, you should consider a different business. You don't seem to know enough about Internet marketing to do it effectively if you think that a forum like this one will take such 'questions' in stride.
posted by By The Grace of God at 3:52 AM on February 23, 2007
Nicely said, By The Grace of God. I really do feel bad for being insulting before: I still think fimarin's account should be banned and this thread deleted, but I don't think she needs any more ridiculing or abuse.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 3:59 AM on February 23, 2007
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 3:59 AM on February 23, 2007
I have a fair few political differences with the Gorgeous One, By the Grace of God, but he does have a fine line in old-school oratory. I sometimes wonder if the preponderance of successful Scots politicians in the UK is in part due to the accent being appealing. Didn't some bank survey find that it was the best place to site call centres because your average Brit finds something more plausible if said with a Scots accent?
And well done on your kind and decent answers to our erring questioner here.
posted by Abiezer at 3:59 AM on February 23, 2007
And well done on your kind and decent answers to our erring questioner here.
posted by Abiezer at 3:59 AM on February 23, 2007
Oh, man... and she's favorited her own comments twice now! Yeah, I'm thinking anti-technology Luddites and the Internet just don't mix. I wonder why?
Mock on, my friends. Mock on.
posted by Faint of Butt at 4:02 AM on February 23, 2007
Mock on, my friends. Mock on.
posted by Faint of Butt at 4:02 AM on February 23, 2007
If you removed the latter part of your question (We are conducting a study of the large group of parents; therefore each opinion is very valuable information. Thank you, www.1888Toys.com team), you would have received some interesting responses here, although they would hardly have constituted a useful survey from a statistical point of view.
The question itself is pretty interesting... maybe someone should post it as a real one :).
posted by hAndrew at 4:07 AM on February 23, 2007
The question itself is pretty interesting... maybe someone should post it as a real one :).
posted by hAndrew at 4:07 AM on February 23, 2007
Abiezer, I think it's the accents and the fact that people here like a good thumper of tub. The SNP has some excellent speechifyers, such as Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon, and there's of course Tommy Sheridan from Solidarity and the fiery Rosie Kane from the SSP.
On the other hand, there are as many droning Scots technocrats as there are English ones. :)
posted by By The Grace of God at 4:09 AM on February 23, 2007
On the other hand, there are as many droning Scots technocrats as there are English ones. :)
posted by By The Grace of God at 4:09 AM on February 23, 2007
I was very disappointed with the whole recent Tommy Sheridan thing, ended up as a most uncomradely farce (not all from his side), and I liked him a lot in his early days. A warning to us all on the dangers of clambering up the greasy pole.
posted by Abiezer at 4:19 AM on February 23, 2007
posted by Abiezer at 4:19 AM on February 23, 2007
Best answer: I am not closing the thread I am just asking you to find something else to talk… I do not favorite my comments I am just trying to stand out from all of your highly humiliating comments…
We do not market our site here for the selling purposes; we are REALY into helping parents to have different options than Elmo or Leapfrog.
Do any of you have children? Do you care about this topic at all? Or I just place it in the wrong time when there is no new topic for you to discuss and why not to jump to that one?
Thank you for your suggestion to change the business, but fortunately we are proud of what we do and are very successful in doing that.
Yes, English is my 5th language which I almost fluently (not like all of you) speak.
Again, thank you all for your comments.
posted by fimarin at 4:20 AM on February 23, 2007
We do not market our site here for the selling purposes; we are REALY into helping parents to have different options than Elmo or Leapfrog.
Do any of you have children? Do you care about this topic at all? Or I just place it in the wrong time when there is no new topic for you to discuss and why not to jump to that one?
Thank you for your suggestion to change the business, but fortunately we are proud of what we do and are very successful in doing that.
Yes, English is my 5th language which I almost fluently (not like all of you) speak.
Again, thank you all for your comments.
posted by fimarin at 4:20 AM on February 23, 2007
Video games and "electric" toys are much less dangerous than wooden, educational toys. With the latter, you get bored faster and end up smacking your little sister upside the head with their solid wood construction!
posted by robocop is bleeding at 4:28 AM on February 23, 2007 [3 favorites]
posted by robocop is bleeding at 4:28 AM on February 23, 2007 [3 favorites]
fimarin. There are just two points for you to take away from this, before you're banned.
1. Ask.metafilter is for solving people's problems. That's why, as you put it, people ask where to find a barber. It's a personal problem a person is facing; and people here can provide answers for them. Your question is nothing like that - you're just conducting a marketing survey for your business. People phone me most nights at dinner time to conduct marketing surveys for their businesses. I hang up on them.
2. The golden, golden rule here is that you don't link to your own stuff. It immediately lets everyone know that you're here for profit, not to be part of the community. Your other comments in other posts confirm this - you're not here to contribute, you're here for selfish reasons. It's rude, obnoxious, and as others have said, it will not work well for you or your site in the long term.
posted by Jimbob at 4:30 AM on February 23, 2007
1. Ask.metafilter is for solving people's problems. That's why, as you put it, people ask where to find a barber. It's a personal problem a person is facing; and people here can provide answers for them. Your question is nothing like that - you're just conducting a marketing survey for your business. People phone me most nights at dinner time to conduct marketing surveys for their businesses. I hang up on them.
2. The golden, golden rule here is that you don't link to your own stuff. It immediately lets everyone know that you're here for profit, not to be part of the community. Your other comments in other posts confirm this - you're not here to contribute, you're here for selfish reasons. It's rude, obnoxious, and as others have said, it will not work well for you or your site in the long term.
posted by Jimbob at 4:30 AM on February 23, 2007
This is more fun than any of their toys.
posted by medium format at 4:31 AM on February 23, 2007 [1 favorite]
posted by medium format at 4:31 AM on February 23, 2007 [1 favorite]
Abiezer, please drop me an email, I've got a good lot of interesting information on that mess :) and I don't want to bore everyone else with my sectariana :). We lefties in Scotland are all very disappointed with what's been going on the past year.
fimarin, many of us have children. Many of us care about this topic.
You *should* feel humiliated, you made a mistake. It's not a nice happy world where everybody gets to feel good all the time. We're not trying to destroy your personhood or your business, we're just asking you to please listen to us.
There IS no right time to spam Ask Metafilter or any other site. If you're so successful, you should market with the networks you've already established. There are lots of ways to indirectly promote your work on MetaFilter - via FPP, questions, etc - by making a good post related to your topic of interest that does not link your website. There are fascinating studies about kids' TV linked to autism just recently, for instance. With a bit of patience and thought you can link there.
And if you're campaigning, not marketing, that makes it even WORSE. You're taking good will away from campaigners who follow community norms.
Marking your own comments best answer doesn't make them easier to see, it loses you even more good will. It also messes up the search - many people only read questions that have a best answer marked.
Oh, and I HATE it when people say "thank you" or "please" or "feel free" when they don't mean it, when they are being defensive. It's incredibly mealy mouthed and passive aggressive, and weakens the original meaning of good manners.
posted by By The Grace of God at 4:33 AM on February 23, 2007 [1 favorite]
fimarin, many of us have children. Many of us care about this topic.
You *should* feel humiliated, you made a mistake. It's not a nice happy world where everybody gets to feel good all the time. We're not trying to destroy your personhood or your business, we're just asking you to please listen to us.
There IS no right time to spam Ask Metafilter or any other site. If you're so successful, you should market with the networks you've already established. There are lots of ways to indirectly promote your work on MetaFilter - via FPP, questions, etc - by making a good post related to your topic of interest that does not link your website. There are fascinating studies about kids' TV linked to autism just recently, for instance. With a bit of patience and thought you can link there.
And if you're campaigning, not marketing, that makes it even WORSE. You're taking good will away from campaigners who follow community norms.
Marking your own comments best answer doesn't make them easier to see, it loses you even more good will. It also messes up the search - many people only read questions that have a best answer marked.
Oh, and I HATE it when people say "thank you" or "please" or "feel free" when they don't mean it, when they are being defensive. It's incredibly mealy mouthed and passive aggressive, and weakens the original meaning of good manners.
posted by By The Grace of God at 4:33 AM on February 23, 2007 [1 favorite]
I do not favorite my comments
You're right; I apologize. I said "favorite" when I meant "mark as best answer." Either way, you're still doing it wrong.
Sorry to bother you… Please go back to discuss barber recommendation in San Jose… We believe it is a wrong community for real value advise, question or opinion.
...
Yes, English is my 5th language which I almost fluently (not like all of you) speak.
And the insults aren't going to make us like you more.
posted by Faint of Butt at 4:35 AM on February 23, 2007
You're right; I apologize. I said "favorite" when I meant "mark as best answer." Either way, you're still doing it wrong.
Sorry to bother you… Please go back to discuss barber recommendation in San Jose… We believe it is a wrong community for real value advise, question or opinion.
...
Yes, English is my 5th language which I almost fluently (not like all of you) speak.
And the insults aren't going to make us like you more.
posted by Faint of Butt at 4:35 AM on February 23, 2007
Email's in my profile BtGoG. Sectarian squabbling is a bit like car wrecks - wish it didn't happen but you have to look.
I do hope firmarin is taking your advice.
posted by Abiezer at 4:38 AM on February 23, 2007
I do hope firmarin is taking your advice.
posted by Abiezer at 4:38 AM on February 23, 2007
You're just not getting it, are you?
As I wrote to you in my email: Ask Metafilter is not an advertising billboard, and it's counterproductive to treat it like one.
You won't get good publicity by doing so. You will annoy people.
You may well have the most wonderful and worthwhile business in the world; I don't know. What I do know is this:
(a) there is One Golden Rule on Metafilter, and that is that linking to sites you control is banned;
(b) you are aware of this rule, or should have been, had you read through what you were agreeing to when you signed up for a Metafilter account;
(c) your question reads like advertising, and links to a site you control.
You have broken the main rule of this community, and it should not be a surprise to you that doing so has caused this community to react to you with scorn.
I know many people who run wonderful, worthwhile businesses. I would not advise any of them to attempt to get free advertising on this forum. That's not what it's for.
Free Clue #2: don't send unsolicited advertising via email, either.
posted by flabdablet at 4:43 AM on February 23, 2007
As I wrote to you in my email: Ask Metafilter is not an advertising billboard, and it's counterproductive to treat it like one.
You won't get good publicity by doing so. You will annoy people.
You may well have the most wonderful and worthwhile business in the world; I don't know. What I do know is this:
(a) there is One Golden Rule on Metafilter, and that is that linking to sites you control is banned;
(b) you are aware of this rule, or should have been, had you read through what you were agreeing to when you signed up for a Metafilter account;
(c) your question reads like advertising, and links to a site you control.
You have broken the main rule of this community, and it should not be a surprise to you that doing so has caused this community to react to you with scorn.
I know many people who run wonderful, worthwhile businesses. I would not advise any of them to attempt to get free advertising on this forum. That's not what it's for.
Free Clue #2: don't send unsolicited advertising via email, either.
posted by flabdablet at 4:43 AM on February 23, 2007
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by roll truck roll at 11:05 PM on February 22, 2007 [1 favorite]