Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with Internet

All header and no content

Lokheed — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 14:09:50 -0800

Why won't metafilter load for my wife, but it does for me? Me: running WindowsXP and using Firefox 3.5.6
Her: running Windoes & and using Firefox 3.5.6

Home network is a cable modem going to a wireless G router.

When I go to the metafilter sites, everything loads fine. When she does to any of the metafilter sites, the header area loads up and then none of the posts show. The same thing happens with Internet Explorer. Most other websites load fine, although she sees similar issues with TelevisionWithoutPity where the header loads and then no content.

I tried turning off the windows firewall, and that had no effect.

Any ideas?

8-year-old on Xbox Live...friend or folly?

teg4rvn — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 10:19:10 -0800

Is xbox live appropriate for an 8-year-old? Non-gamer here with Xbox360 gamer 8-year-old. I understand you can play against others with an xbox live account (my son's cousins 3000 miles away etc..) His thing is sports simulations (FIFA 10, Madden...actually everything) and I think it would enrich his experience to play with real people...more than he does right now. Are there any pros/cons/pitfalls I should be aware of? Remember, he's 8. Appropriate?

Chat in Relationships?

Anonymous — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 18:56:49 -0800

How do you deal with instant messaging early in a relationship? I've just started dating a woman that I've known for a about a year. We both use GChat and tend to be logged in fairly frequently.

Given that it's early in the relationship, it seems overbearing to be communicating every day. Email is just as instant (in our age of BlackBerries at least), but a chat program has a "presence" that makes it seem weird to be logged on all the time without saying anything.

So far I've dealt with this in part by not being logged in so much, but also this change in behavior (and she knows how much I was logged in before) seems odd. How have you dealt with this?

Other details that might matter: it's long distance, so we don't see each other that frequently, so far it's been visit once a month, talk on the phone a little more frequently than once a week, e-mail and chat more in between.

Golf! On the internet! Now!

ignignokt — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 15:25:41 -0800

Help My Parents With Their Inexplicable Obsession Filter: Is there a way to watch the Golf Channel online for free or cheap? My parents pay for cable TV just so they can have the Golf Channel. (Yeah, I don't get why they love golf so much, either.) My dad wants to use this Internet thing to get around that. Is there a way? So far, I see that certain golf events are streamed on ESPN, but what they're looking for is to be able to just turn something on at any time and see more or less original golf content.

An alternate source of streaming golf video content will probably work, too - it doesn't have to be the Golf Channel.

Grant scam satisfaction

hulahulagirl — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 18:19:45 -0800

How should I attempt to get satisfaction (ideally, a refund) from a scammy "grant" company? My mom was searching for grant information and was contacted by a company called United Economic Agency. She was told that for $375, they would hook her up with a grant ("pretty much guaranteed"), so she let them withdraw the $375 from her account with the promise that if she didn't get a grant, all but $50 would be refunded.

I know, it smells like scam right off the bat. But she was hopeful and did talk to some people on the phone and they had a website, so she trusted them. She's obviously naïve about things like this.

Now it's several months later and I am checking the BBB's website and surprise, surprise they have a score of F. Apparently the physical address on file for the business doesn't even exist and BBB has tried to resolve some complaints, but has not had a lot of luck.

I've seen consumer help articles in AARP or Costco's magazine or somewhere where someone goes after places that rip you off, but I don't know how/if I should start that process. If the BBB can't get any satisfaction, what are the chances someone else can? Do we just chalk this up to a lesson learned?

My mom has put her entire 401(k) into our business (a restaurant) and this $375 she's out for this scam is just like shit icing on the shit cake. What steps do we need to take to at least make sure they don't get any more money from her since she's already given them her bank info, short of closing the account which would be a hassle but ultimately worth it, I guess?

Help key West build a better City website...please!

Mike Mongo — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 12:55:33 -0800

Do you live somewhere interesting that has a great city government website? [Previously].

It's been a year and and half since this question was similarly posed, and here is my interest: I am partners at a high-gloss web-media design company, and subsequent to my run for mayor of Key West this year much of my time is dedicated to city government and related. Much of the related is web-related.

What I am looking for are examples of city government websites for cities similarly as unique and interesting as Key West, city government sites which present information and resources in ways that combine looking good with accessibility.

Here in Key West, as a semi-trendy travel destination, the island is already well-represented by travel sites and sites focused on "things to do". This is the City of Key West's present website. Our site was constructed by a design operation specializing in government websites, egovstrategies. While it is supposedly adequate, it is less than especially terrific, and far from engaging. After all. this is Key West!

What I am looking for is is a city government website which depicts quality accessible government in a smart and engaging manner. With all this in mind, I call upon the sensible (and aethetically sophisticated) input far-reaching and all-seeing Hivemind: Examples of great websites for other interesting cities?

Marketing Gurus, please help!

skewedoracle — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 11:23:40 -0800

How would you promote a web site for a charity fundraiser? I am involved with a small group promoting a charity fundraiser website that is running from now until April 30th. We have a very limited budget. The charity is a good one that is fairly well known among the gamer set. We are looking for good ways to involve online communities and groups that have a lot of people that check them out. Thoughts on how to do this? I don't want to self link, so if you want specific details please feel free to memail me.

keeping my life off of Facebook while refusing to be a part of it?

Anonymous — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 19:38:27 -0800

As a Facebook refuser (I've never signed up, never will) is there a best way to monitor any photos or writings that may be linked to my (quite rare) real name? I have a very unique last name, and my combination of $firstname $lastname is shared by fewer than a dozen people in the US, and I'm the only one in my State with this combination.

I don't have any mortal enemies or more/worse skeletons in the closet than the average person my age, but I like to control what is tied to my name, and I'd be pretty pissed off if there was something floating in facebook that I was unaware of that I don't want anyone with a keyboard seeing. At least with Flickr I can search public photos and tags.

I'm not losing any sleep over this, but *other than* signing up for an account, is there anything else I can do? I have a few friends that I guess I could ask to look for me, but does that seem weird? Can photos on FaceBook only be tagged with names that are linked to other FB accounts?

An easier modem power-cycle?

cgs — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:27:05 -0800

I want to add a power switch to my modem + router so I can easily restart them. Advice? When my connection poops out, I do the following:
1. unplug my cable modem + router
2. wait a bit
3. plug back in the modem
4. pause, then power up router.

And I do all this by squatting down, moving some crap around on my shelf, reaching behind each and pulling out its power source. I'd like to buy something or splice something so that I can flip an easily-reached switch, then flip it back on and it does it all.

Questions:
1. do I need to wait (in step 2)? I've heard I need to wait for the ip address to reset.
2. do I need to pause in step 4? I thought I should wait for the modem to do its thing before turning on the router.

If #2 is "no", then I guess I could just get a powerstrip w/ a switch on it. Any better ideas?

Thanks for your help-
cgs

Virtual Afghanistan?

defenestration — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 13:55:37 -0800

In Thomas Friedman's weak OP-ED entitled www.jihad.com, he writes: “Let’s not fool ourselves. Whatever threat the real Afghanistan poses to U.S. national security, the “Virtual Afghanistan” now poses just as big a threat. The Virtual Afghanistan is the network of hundreds of jihadist Web sites that inspire, train, educate and recruit young Muslims to engage in jihad against America and the West.” If this is true, could someone provide examples? I mean, I'm sure they're using the internet to recruit people, but this makes it sound far more sophisticated than I would have assumed.

Getting off the cable-internet habit.

codacorolla — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 09:56:27 -0800

I'm thinking about canceling my Comcast internet and TV service. To fulfill my internet needs I would switch from my current last-gen handset to a smart phone with a data plan. What should I consider before I make this move? There are a few reasons that I want to make this move:

1) I hate Comcast (I've posted about it in AskMeFi before, conincidentally) because of their business practices and customer service.

2) An extra $120 dollars a month (minus the cost of the data plan) would be pretty great for my finances, and allow me to save more money for grad school.

3) I've recently found myself wasting tons of time just randomly clicking back and forth between different sites online - at the expense of doing more productive things. I'd like to see how my life changes without that temptation there.

I work around computers all day, and can access my email and various social sites without affecting my job performance - so that's one source of internet access. I figure that a smart phone gets me into my email account and facebook at home.

I'm interested in hearing about anyone else who has made this switch, and anything I should consider before I try it. I'd also be interested in opinions on the best data plan (I'd be spending most of my time in the mid-Atlantic region).

Also, would it be possible to turn my phone into a 3G (or 4G) modem to use with my netbook and tower?

I have a feeling that if I do switch, and then decide to go back, Comcast will be charging me some ridiculous 'unhooking' and 'rehooking' fee for my efforts.

The case of the haunted xbox.

cirrostratus — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 09:48:39 -0800

My internet connection is haunted! I lose connectivity the second I turn on my xbox, even when the network cable is unplugged. How can that be? The situation: we have Mediacom service in my apartment that provides a connection for two computers and xbox live on two xboxes via a netgear router. This works fine most of the time until the second I turn on the second xbox and the internet goes out every time. When this happens and the mediacom modem starts blinking just the internet light until we reset it. Eventually the internet seems to come back after reseting the modem and it seems to come back faster if there are less than four things hooked up to the router.

Here's the weird part: the connection breaks even if we have the xbox's network cable unplugged.

How can an xbox that isn't even hooked up to the router effect our connection?

More importantly, how can I prevent this from happening in the future so I can get down to business and kill some zombies in Left 4 Dead?

Maintaining my ability to one day run for City Council

Anonymous — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 16:45:45 -0800

Can some of you amazing Internet security people explain to me how cautious I need to be about what I do online? Is there a way to explore ideas online that are ideas you'd normally keep private? Or -- do I perhaps not need to worry about this, given the way opposition research and government confirmations actually work? I'm at a phase of life where I'm really wanting to figure out my sexual side a bit more, and I wouldn't mind figuring that out -- like anything else -- by reading things online, asking (anonymous) questions on Metafilter, finding specialty chat boards, and so forth.

But, you always hear people advise that you behave on the Internet as though it will one day end up completely public. I don't want this to sink my confirmation in 2024 or end up in my grandmother's inbox. I occasionally do volunteer for minor roles in political campaigns, and if I move to higher-level campaigns in 20 years, I don't want this thrown at me. I don't expect anyone is trying to "watch" me now, just that there's a tiny chance that one day, I'll end up in a sufficiently public or controversial position that someone might try to dig up a little dirt.

Is there a way to explore some of these ideas online without something becoming public? I feel paranoid about even reading HTML on my iPhone or my home computer. Is that worth worrying about? I'm clueless here. Is there anything I can safely do? General guidelines on what I should do and shouldn't do would be appreciated. The Metatalk threads make it pretty clear that anonymous Metafilter questions are pretty risky, yes? (What is a "server log"?) What about creating a totally fake identity connected to an unidentifiable email at some other chat board site -- are some even more anonymous? I'm assuming someone with limitless resources could find out anything, but are there different degrees of safety? Thank you.

I hope this does not come off like a MetaTalk question. I think the MetaTalk issues have already been discussed in the linked thread. The question I'm asking is "what can I do," not "what should Metafilter be doing?" Thanks again. Also, I realize this is a long-shot worry, but I'm inherently cautious.

How do I make the most of the Internet?

logicalsequence — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 06:05:42 -0800

How do I make the most of the Internet? I find myself reading the same (primarily boring) websites on the Internet and want to make more use of my online time. What can I do to connect with others more effectively, to discover new ideas more easily, to partake in my hobbies more effectively, to become more innovative/creative or to contribute to society more?

All I seem to be using the Internet for at the minute is for checking Facebook and a couple of forums and blogs relating to my hobbies.

Please feel free to suggest ideas or specific websites.

Thanks.

Why do online news sites post articles over multiple pages?

jonesor — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 03:59:59 -0800

Why do online magazines/news sites post articles over multiple pages? You find an interesting headline, you click through to read it and are allowed to read a couple of paragraphs, before being invited to click through to page 2 of 5.

A quick survey of my friends found that nobody likes this. They regard it as irritating and entirely unnecessary.

Why is it done? To increase the number of clicks? To ensure that you view more advertisements?

home page introductory videos

Bacillus — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 23:35:16 -0800

Do you know of any sites with home page videos introducing new concepts such as the P2 for Wordpress theme? I'm introducing a new concept to the Internet through my website which would be too difficult for people to understand with a plain text and image home page, I believe they would leave very quickly without a video presentation. I'm looking for some good examples which are informative and capture attention.

Can simply be introductory video with examples, even ones with a standing person giving an oral presentation although this is not what I will be using. I will be using something more along the lines of the P2 theme introductory video.

Best of the Web of Sound 09

Potomac Avenue — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 07:46:58 -0800

What are some amazing virally-disseminated music songs from the internet from 2009? Every year I put together a blog post of "the list of the best/weirdest/catchiest internet-disseminated and -popularized songs from this year. They don't necessarily have to have been recorded this year, nor do they have to have an amusing video or animation associated with them, though that certainly is a major bonus.

The more obscure and memey the better: I'm not looking for just the most popular, though I can guarantee Kutiman's Thru-U is probably #1.

Thanks in advancement!

How can my friend get through his dad's Orwellian firewall?

bewarethewumpus — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 20:54:22 -0800

My friend's dad has decided he's not worthy of an internet connection. How can my friend get through his dad's Orwellian firewall? Ok, so here's the situation. I have a friend who is a student living with his parents. He doesn't get along with his parents particularly well, and things have come to a head recently. They think that he is spending too much time on his computer, locked away in his room, and not spending enough time with the family. Because of this, they have decided to take an Orwellian view of the Internet they provide him. As of right now, he is not able to get through the firewall through any method but Steam (a fine program, steam chat really has come through for us here.) His browsers will not find anything, and all his 'net games are non functional.

A couple of things to consider; first, he has very few friends, and most of them he only sees online (yes, he plays WoW.) So while he does get out of the house when he can, the majority of his socialization is done online. Second, his grades have not suffered as a result of playing WoW. Third, when his family is together, it seems that all they do is sit around and watch the boob tube, which really isn't his cup of tea.

So, here's the question: How can he get around this overly restrictive firewall? I'm afraid I'm not intimately familiar with the local network infrastructure, and he doesn't have admin rights, obviously. Is there a good solid catch all application that can at least get his browser through? (it would of course be preferable to get all his apps to work again.)

Couple of tidbits. He is running Vista, he is able to connect to the LAN (but nothing outside it) via the wireless network (his dad won't let him have a physical connection), and the way he'll have to pull any applications from the net is by finding a wifi hotspot, so nothing too huge ;).

Does it make sense to learn the drums online?

seatofmypants — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:53:28 -0800

How do online drum lessons compare to taking lessons in person? Does it make sense money-wise if both cost about the same? I have some musical background and have been playing around with the drums since I was a teenager without any serious instruction or commitment.

I would like to start taking lessons and, in looking online, found a teacher in Canada who's style I really like. I live in NY.

This teacher gives lessons online for $50 a pop.

The way it works: He sends you an hour long video with instruction plus PDF's of written music. You do your homework and practice and then video yourself playing and send him the video. He comments and critiques. Rinse and repeat.

I can take lessons with someone local but he's not as qualified as the Canadian. Plus, as mentioned, I really like the Canadian teacher's style. The price difference is minor.

On the other hand, there is a certain urgency and push that a teacher can give that I don't thin can be transmitted online.

Anyone have any illuminating comments on this. If you have experience with learning another instrument online that would also be helpful.

Thanks much people. Happy holidays!

Gimme 20 more!

brokeaspoke — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:40:17 -0800

Looking for a website to help me, a late thirties male, who wants to get in shape. Not obese by any stretch of the imagination, but not as slim and trim as he and his doctor feels he should be. BMI of about 26. I know the general range I tend to feel best at and in that range I do tend to fall into the healthy BMI range. I’m more concerned with feeling good than with being at the exact right weight to get to the right BMI for my height and age. I want to lose a little weight, trim up, look better, abs of steel, ass to match, etc. A silly pushups contest here in the office has spurred me on to wanting more. We’re halfway through an eight week contest, I’m in third place and I can do more consecutive pushups than I have ever been able to do at any previous stage of my life.

I want a website at which I can track all of my exercise and fitness related numbers. I looked at WeEndure. I like it a lot, but find it limited (can’t track my pushups, weights or even my body weight for that matter.) Livestrong seems too “mainstream” (or is there something I don’t know from looking the site over?) So, what I want is a MetaFitness; Something fun, flexible, challenging, snarky at the right moments, possibly downright rude at times. What are you MeFites using? The ability to easily use it with iPhone or even another smartphone in the future would be a very nice feature.

So, what have you?

How to split business ownership fairly?

Anonymous — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 07:11:30 -0800

How should my business partner and I split the ownership and income of our start up? A parter (let's call him Bob) and I (let's call me Alice) started a business with no formal agreement regarding ownership. Currently, the business has minimal income and users. We expect this to change very soon.

Alice: Alice created the project in August '08. Alice has spent $1200 out of pocket on expenses.
Bob: Bob joined the project in June '09. Bob has spent $700 out of pocket on expenses, but is fine with spending the next $500 to equal this out.

Bob and Alice have each spent an equal amount of time working on the project each month that they have been working on it. So, Alice has been working on the project for 16 months and Bob has been working on it for 6 months.

What we want to know:

How should we split ownership?
How should we split income? We're interested in splitting the income evenly until we're each making a decent/living wage.

Alice and Bob have a completely amiable relationship. We're both interested in doing what's fair.

Where's the fire?

avocet — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 13:00:43 -0800

Seeking fire department incident response websites from anywhere in the world – updated on the fly (e.g. Toronto) or whenever they get the chance (Shropshire), it doesn't matter. Does your area's fire service do this?

Email lost in space?

MaudB — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 09:28:19 -0800

Where does email go when it's sent and then lost in the ether? I recently read -- or think I remember reading -- an article wherein the author explored where lost email goes - not lost in your email software, but lost in space once it's been sent. Now a friend wants to see the article and I can't find it anywhere and can't seem to Google it, either. Does this ring a bell with anyone?

Where is the juristiction of the internet?

MrMerlot — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:56:43 -0800

Does anyone know internet law? Can a website owner in one country be sued in another if libel laws are different? Or does it depend on where the server is actually held?

Is Comcast running a racket on charging for additional IP addresses?

nomadicink — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 08:42:50 -0800

I currently have Comcast High Speed internet. I have two additional IP addresses assigned to my account, which they charge me monthly for. Is this necessary, i.e., if I had the that option taken off my bill would only one of my home computers be able to connect to the internet, vs the four that currently do with the Comcast option for only two additional licenses (which means only three total should be able to connect)? If it matters, the cable modem is connected to a wireless router (Apple Express) and all the home computers are Macintoshes.