Am I missing something here?

May 18, 2007 6:54 PM

How do I best use Metafilter?

There seems to be something cool going on here, I just am unable to get a handle on it. Monkeyfilter, AskMefi, MeFi Music, and all the others. Plus, what I am missing. Unknown stuff seems to continually spring up.

But what's the tie-in? How do I interface? How do I know when someone has responded to a comment I have made.

I bought the t-shirt. I have been lurking for years, and now I am using. But other than being self entertained, where is the entry point for the community?

Where is my "main page?"

posted by humannaire to technology (9 comments total)

Wait...there is a MeFi Jobs, too?!
posted by humannaire at 6:55 PM on May 18, 2007

The club entrance? I'm not sure we're supposed to talk about that.

On a serious note, I think it's probably most useful as a local social networking tool for like minds, as the alternative is MySpace (yuck). That's where the power of your profile really comes in. Plus you can see what people around you have posted and if you have similar interests. Not that it works for me... I get the dreaded line "There are no other MetaFilter members nearby, sorry."

But really about all I do is fart around several times a day on ask.mefi and www.mefi. I have my career here staked on just farting around reading posts.
posted by rolypolyman at 7:04 PM on May 18, 2007

Unknown stuff seems to continually spring up.

That's how it works here.
posted by b1tr0t at 7:06 PM on May 18, 2007

For once and for all, there is no cabal.

Or was that k5?
posted by tiamat at 7:10 PM on May 18, 2007

MetaTalk is normally the place for questions about Metafilter itself - see the right side of the top bar.

How do I know when someone has responded to a comment I have made.

You have a page called "My Comments" that tracks recent comments in threads you have commented in -- see the second-from-the-top bar.
posted by LobsterMitten at 7:12 PM on May 18, 2007

Also useful: the FAQ and the wiki.
posted by LobsterMitten at 7:14 PM on May 18, 2007

How do I know when someone has responded to a comment I have made.

The only way to be absolutely sure you never miss anything is to refresh every 30 seconds, and never leave your computer...

Seriously, though, your "My Posts" page and your "My Comments" page (links can be found up at the top) are the best way to quickly find responses to your own posts and comments. And clicking on your own name goes to your profile page, which has recently been revamped with a "View All Activity" link (it's very useful).
posted by amyms at 7:16 PM on May 18, 2007

You will be told to take this to Meta. (although your phrasing places your question in a delicious grey area)

My take:

MetaFilter: This is where I get my news (the big stuff), keep up on internet memes and find cool links to send to my friends. I have begun to write and deleted far more comments than I have posted. I don't anticipate ever making an FPP of my own.

AskMe: Never-ending source of trivial knowledge. Practice my google-fu through researching questions that are already answered by the time I've figured it out. Utterly fascinating.

MetaTalk: Pure entertainment. Pithy remarks and one-liners abound. Strangely addictive.

Music: Posted one song, waiting for an upcoming MeFi songwriting challenge to kick things up a bit.

Projects: Rarely look at, but usually find something cool when I do. Projects seems to exist largely to provide an outlet for self-linkers. Projects are often posted to MeFi proper by other members.

Jobs: Click occasionally when it's late and I'm bored.

Podcast: Listen to it in bed. It's awesome.
posted by davey_darling at 7:18 PM on May 18, 2007

Metafilter: There seems to be something cool going on here, I just am unable to get a handle on it.
posted by chinston at 7:26 PM on May 18, 2007 [4 favorites]