What other sites are like MetaFilter?

April 7, 2004 3:37 PM

Can someone recommend a decent Metafilter-esque site? [mi]

I'm getting really sick of the agenda-pushing posts on the Blue, and since they show no sign of relenting, I'm looking for other sites that link to the best of the Web, rather than discuss breaking news. I'm already familiar w/ Slashdot, Plastic(k), Fark, Boing Boing, and Monkeyfilter. Any other good ones out there? Preferably free of groupthink and personality cults?

posted by keswick to computers & internet (33 comments total)

Preferably free of groupthink and personality cults?

I don't know of any that are looking for condescending pricks.
posted by Mayor Curley at 3:41 PM on April 7, 2004

b3ta?
posted by falconred at 3:43 PM on April 7, 2004

maybe memepool? obviously it's not as good as mefi though. at any rate, I hope you find one very quickly.
posted by mcsweetie at 3:50 PM on April 7, 2004

I assume you are looking for a general topic blog rather than something oriented to specific things [FilmFilter, Kuro5hin, etc.]?
posted by sciurus at 3:51 PM on April 7, 2004

Yeah, a general site. I get my news on a *gasp* news site, my home theater info on a site dedicated to that, etc. I'm looking for site that just kind of links to the best of the web, with as little news as possible. Discussion optional.
posted by keswick at 4:01 PM on April 7, 2004

I'm getting really sick of the agenda-pushing posts on the Blue

And since no one would listen on the Grey, you brought it to the Green?
Perhaps you could adjust the members of freerepublic to your liking.
(look they have a culture section)
posted by milovoo at 4:14 PM on April 7, 2004

it's a valid solicitation for opinions, not some passive-agressive whining.
(incidentally, i like how since i don't subscribe to your dogma, i must be a freeper. i bet my beliefs are probably more liberal (in the original sense of the word) than yours.)
posted by keswick at 4:30 PM on April 7, 2004

Browsing the most popular links on del.icio.us usually turns up some good stuff for me.
posted by Aaorn at 4:31 PM on April 7, 2004

If you just want interesting links watch the delicious feeds and subscribe to a bunch of bloggers that have sidebar link lists (dozens, if not hundreds do by now).

Some of my favorites lead to almost anything on earth on a given day.
posted by mathowie at 4:36 PM on April 7, 2004

(incidentally, i like how since i don't subscribe to your dogma, i must be a freeper.
i bet my beliefs are probably more liberal (in the original sense of the word) than yours.)

Actually, no (nice assumption though) I was just suggesting somewhere away from here (and surprisingly enough I don't care about your beliefs). Substitute democraticunderground if it speeds your journey, but they don't have a culture section. My response was at least as valid as your question.
posted by milovoo at 4:42 PM on April 7, 2004

there is no agenda free web. libertyfilter.org? dietblog? all have subjects.

a random aggregator may do it, or you can build your own at kinja.

bloggy and webbie and trendy awards sites nominee lists are good, and i'm not sure if Cool Sites is still going...but that was about design, not content.

better yet, get off line. read. somedays online i browse through a dozen sites and then realize that i've been online long enough that i'm never going to find that one bit of information that makes the thousands of hours i've wasted surfing worthwhile.

and i used to realize the same thing back when it was all text documents and i was using Lynx. I'm still searching for the holy grail of information.

what i've just started doing is collecting my own links. i have a little free blog that isn't a pulpit, just a place that no one knows about wher i can collect links. try it. sort of a roll your own sort of thing.

also, word up NorCal. i'm not as nor, but i'm cal.
posted by th3ph17 at 4:50 PM on April 7, 2004

it's a valid solicitation for opinions, not some passive-agressive whining.

I called you a prick. That's hardly passive-aggressive. Passive-aggressive is insulting something in the guise of looking for alternatives. So you're a hypocrite as well as a complete prick.
posted by Mayor Curley at 4:51 PM on April 7, 2004

This is the cattiest Ask Metafilter thread I've ever seen.
posted by inksyndicate at 4:56 PM on April 7, 2004

i wasn't talking to you, curley, so don't flatter yourself, bitch.
for the record, i was refering to milovoo's questioning of the validity of this post.
posted by keswick at 4:56 PM on April 7, 2004

Anyone know of any British or Australian equivalents to Fark/Metafilter/etc.?
posted by inksyndicate at 5:03 PM on April 7, 2004

I second the motion of del.icio.us / RSS link feeds. Hell, if you really don't want to read people's groupthink-agenda-meeting opinions, go to a site with just the links and no discussion.
posted by Jimbob at 5:05 PM on April 7, 2004

Anyone know of any British or Australian equivalents to Fark/Metafilter/etc.?

I'm not sure that it's correct to assume that Mefi is "American" - international viewpoints are strongly welcomed. To the extent that it is an American site, that's only because the international users aren't posting enough links to the contrary.
posted by PrinceValium at 5:05 PM on April 7, 2004

that's only because the international users aren't posting enough links to the contrary.

Four posts a day on the upcoming Australian federal election and how much of a prick John Howard is...coming right up!
posted by Jimbob at 5:11 PM on April 7, 2004

LinkFilter. Loads of links.
posted by stbalbach at 5:15 PM on April 7, 2004

...Preferably free of groupthink and personality cults?

Perhaps pre-insulting the audience that you expect to answer the question is not the best approach to getting a good answer. You object to posts in the Blue with an agenda and then you post a complaining question to ask.me to demonstrate your dissatisfaction. I think it's a disingenuous post, but maybe you will find somewhere you prefer. Good luck.
posted by milovoo at 5:22 PM on April 7, 2004

inksyndicate: MeFi is British. We just gave it up to the new imperialists ;-)
posted by i_cola at 5:28 PM on April 7, 2004

I'm not sure that it's correct to assume that Mefi is "American" - international viewpoints are strongly welcomed.
That depends on your point of view - from the viewpoint of an non-American, MeFi is distinctly US-centric in attitude. This is not a criticism, rather an observation and something that is inevitable given that the majority of members seem to be US-based. International viewpoints are certainly welcomed, but most people who post threads or comments tend to assume that everyone falls prey to and understands the US legal/tax/school system.
posted by dg at 5:49 PM on April 7, 2004

Discussion optional.

If it's optional elsewhere, why not make it optional here? (ie., take a pass on the discussions - just click on the links.)
posted by dash_slot- at 6:24 PM on April 7, 2004

MeTa.
posted by milovoo at 6:45 PM on April 7, 2004

Crooked Timber and its blogroll seem interesting.
posted by Gyan at 7:34 PM on April 7, 2004

This is still amusing me after a few days
posted by Fupped Duck at 8:29 PM on April 7, 2004

The scary thing about Fupped Duck's link, immediately above, is how nearly-identical the world's newspapers are. Not that they cover the same news, but that they all use the same news. There's no independence.
posted by five fresh fish at 9:12 PM on April 7, 2004

Didn't someone once say that groupthink is pretty much inevitable, when the group is larger than two?
posted by Yelling At Nothing at 1:08 AM on April 8, 2004

Perhaps you could adjust the members of freerepublic to your liking.

So, anyone who dosen't wanna discuss political minutia or fall in line with your worldview must be a freeper fascist.

Nice to know how you think, milovoo, Freud called it projection.
posted by jonmc at 6:37 AM on April 8, 2004

milovoo: Perhaps you could adjust the members of freerepublic to your liking.

keswick: So, anyone who dosen't wanna discuss political minutia or fall in line with your worldview must be a freeper fascist.

jonmc: Nice to know how you think, milovoo, Freud called it projection.

Huh? Are you talking about the response to my response?
Read the whole thread, does it still make sense?

I said that the poster might have better luck convincing the
members of another site to act in a way they found satisfying.
I basically picked freep out of a hat, then the poster thought
that was implying some conservative bias so I offered an alternative.
(although, like I said above, DU does not have a culture section)

So, how does your psych 101 observation relate?
Perhaps you should stick to simpler insults.
posted by milovoo at 7:49 AM on April 8, 2004

I'm not going to agree or disagree with keswick's contention about MetaFilter. However, I go to websites like MetaFilter to visit interesting places, places I might never have found otherwise. So usually I hit [name deleted], Fark, MetaFilter,Slashdot, SportsFilter. And if I have time then Geekpress, Linkfilter, and zFilter. Sometimes if I'm really bored, I'll hit Boing Boing.
posted by patrickje at 9:07 AM on April 8, 2004

it's a valid solicitation for opinions, not some passive-agressive whining

Thanks for clarifying :P
posted by abcde at 3:13 PM on April 8, 2004

it's a valid solicitation for opinions, not some passive-agressive whining

Yes, it is.

In an attempt to help you go away, why don't you try Mangle's random link generator. And remember, don't go away mad, just go away.
posted by haqspan at 12:41 PM on April 9, 2004