MetaFilter is moving to a community-run model
would love to turn my recurring donation back on for metafilter but that's not going to happen until this does ^
posted by phunniemee at 4:03 PM on November 7, 2024 [10 favorites]

I'll leave mine running.

I have serious doubts about MetaFilter surviving. :(

First time in my life I felt glad I'm old.

Hopefully I'll feel different.
posted by aleph at 4:13 PM on November 7, 2024 [4 favorites]

I had a great deal of unexpected expense that forced me to turn it off a while back but that will end next month, so I¡¯ll turn it back on in the new year. This is a great place whether I lurk or post, and I have been uplifted/amused/enlightened like nowhere else.

It¡¯ll be interesting to see where it goes in the next few years. As a former K5 alum, I¡¯m amazed it still exists at all. Thanks for doing the work to keep it alive!
posted by cybrcamper at 4:56 PM on November 7, 2024 [5 favorites]

I too have been unable to contribute lately for complicated reasons, and now have again signed up. Thanks for the reminder.

Mods ignore my contact request. I figured out the problem. (Waves at Taz)
posted by PareidoliaticBoy at 5:48 PM on November 7, 2024 [3 favorites]

I have made this my homepage and so I contribute. Thanks for your efforts.
posted by panhopticon at 6:37 PM on November 7, 2024 [3 favorites]

Fresh off the latest meeting about incorporation, and I want to say: thank you to the moderators and Jessamyn who keep the site going and thank you to the volunteers past and present putting in work to build new possibilities for the site, including making it easier for more people to volunteer and contribute in different ways.

I'm also truly proud of the decision made early on by the volunteers to do things together, even if that meant slowing down. I'm the kind of person who sees a problem and goes into fix-it mode as fast as possible. Practicing on a hugely meaningful project like Metafilter to listen and consider all of our viewpoints and work through to a communal path was hard. It was sometimes frustratingly slow! But by the second half of our timeline, I can see now that we get important things done faster and faster and how strong the foundation we've built is (heh, bad pun) because we've got trust and a collaborative thoughtful process.

I'd also like to recognise the people who took a deep breath before writing a reply in a high-termperature thread, the people who edited down the snark in their comments or thought - I'll change to the thread about kitten videos instead. It is hard to be civil and think about other people when they're text on a screen - and it's harder when so much media encourages profit by provoking yelling.

Metafilter is an internet third space that isn't trying to profit actively from yelling. And sometimes we gotta yell in some threads - but most of the time we talk, and I so so appreciate having a third space where people can talk without an algorithm aimed at our lizard brains.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 6:39 PM on November 7, 2024 [53 favorites]

I like it here and will continue to donate my small contribution. Thank you for everyone doing the work to keep it going.
posted by ajarbaday at 6:40 PM on November 7, 2024 [3 favorites]

So glad this place exists. I know I'm going to be reconfiguring my online time and I want to spend more of it here.
posted by gentlyepigrams at 7:16 PM on November 7, 2024 [6 favorites]

Any chance of a MetaFilter merch drop fundraiser? I'm envisioning a t-shirt with a plate of beans on it, with no explanation.
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 7:27 PM on November 7, 2024 [9 favorites]

This is an odd place, but in a good way. It¡¯s 2024 and we don¡¯t do images, but it works ok. We don¡¯t have a lot of other modern site features (yet) but still it works ok. Usually :)
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:29 PM on November 7, 2024 [5 favorites]

It may not be perfect, but we have community and we make an effort to respect each other. Take care!
posted by snofoam at 7:34 PM on November 7, 2024 [6 favorites]

Metafilter came out of the gate in '99 swinging... inventing or adopting what would become foundational approaches to the open web. Now we seem to have taken a more Amish approach to technology. That suits me fine, in this long dark timeline. It's good to have a clean, well lighted place to call home.
posted by gwint at 7:52 PM on November 7, 2024 [12 favorites]

MetaFilter is an oasis for the mind and the soul in these dark times. I really appreciate everyone who helps keep it running.
posted by mrjohnmuller at 2:49 AM on November 8, 2024 [1 favorite]

This is a good place. I have learned so much here. (Like, it's where I first encountered the term "cis.") I have found new fiction, new music, new perspectives, and new ways of looking at the world. I have learned about things I would not have seen otherwise.

I was going to highlight a few of my favorite posts by way of example. .. but there are far too many! Most recently, the video of Rear Admiral Grace Hopper, and a lovely essay about night-blooming tobacco and memory. For the most part, commenters are kind and informative, and cognizant of the fact that there is a real human behind every user name.

It is worth supporting.

Of course it is not a perfect place. But more than any other online community I have seen, it tries to maintain a tenor of good will, with posts that offer good information, and good discourse. I am happy to support it.
posted by evilmomlady at 4:14 AM on November 8, 2024 [8 favorites]

For anyone swinging by MetaFilter for the first time, especially if you've been shocked by the 2024 U.S. presidential election results, here are some things that I think are useful to know about this community:

* MetaFilter is a tremendous, increasingly rare resource. It's open to the web, more or less. It's not owned by a billionaire. It's a space for discussion where, generally, if someone spouts off racist or sexist nonsense they are reprimanded or temporarily or permanently banned. It's a space where, if someone's talking too much, moderators will often come in and say (or say to you privately) "hey, pipe down and let other people speak."

* It's heavily U.S.-centric, but we have significant numbers of members from all over the world. You can, without worrying about bots, paid propagandists, etc. hear varied perspectives about everything. If an American is going on at length about what taxation in Kenya means for Dallas, TX, they will often by lightly chastised by a fellow community member, or sometimes a mod, or have a comment deleted if it's threatening to move the conversation away from its stated focus.

* You know those posts on social media about "organizing" and "finding groups" and "educating yourself" about things you're maybe hearing about for the first time? MetaFilter is full of left-leaning folks who regularly do the work, and where you can talk with people who will take you seriously about any political idea you have. Want to legislate billionaires out of existence? Passive ways to resist fascism? How to adopt a car-free lifestyle and stick it to the oil companies? Want to discuss reparations for U.S. chattel slavery? This is one place to talk about a range of subjects.

* This website is 25 years old. You can, if you wish, read discussions as they happened here in real time about most any major event of the last quarter-century, from the 2024 election to the 9/11 attacks. Because this is a text-only website that doesn't rely on algorithms, you can use the search bar at the top or Google (just add "site:metafilter.com") to find anything, from discussions of MCU movies to questions about how to decide whether a six-day-old sausage is safe to eat.

* Argument here can be very vigorous. Occasionally people will make baseless claims or dumb arguments, but more often people will express opinions that are backed up by reason or evidence. If you're tired of drive-by shitposting, you might just like the cut of MetaFilter's jib. People do shitpost here, but I personally am more likely to encounter people who are willing to argue a point longer than I have time or patience for, and to argue well.

* Like many groups, MetaFilter has had major breakdowns and changes over the years, including people leaving or being kicked out who went on to form new communities, from free-floating association with current & ex-"MeFites" on other platforms to actual communities (some vigorous) that exist to replicate or critique MetaFilter. When you see people saying stuff that you think is really offensive, you can choose to respond in-thread, or you can click the [?] icon at the end of the comment to "flag it" for a mod's attention. That's not a guarantee that something you don't like will be deleted, but it's better than a social media site where a response, if you get one, can take endless days.
posted by cupcakeninja at 4:33 AM on November 8, 2024 [27 favorites]

What does "community-run" mean?
posted by Nancy Lebovitz at 6:01 AM on November 8, 2024 [2 favorites]

I'm unemployed and couldn't contribute extra last funding drive, but I keep up my modest monthly support. This is my internet homepage and I'm grateful for all of you.
posted by joannemerriam at 6:19 AM on November 8, 2024 [4 favorites]

Hey, thanks for this post. I've now been on MeFi for a majority of my life, so a recurring contribution feels fair.
posted by shesdeadimalive at 8:04 AM on November 8, 2024 [1 favorite]

What does "community-run" mean?

It means that MetaFilter has been being run as a business, currently formally owned by Jessamyn. Jessamyn took over from cortex on a kind of emergency basis when he experienced the end of his ability to manage the site. The business is going to transition to being run as a non-profit organization, led by an elected board (this is the latest post about that - I haven't put this in legal terms).

Overall, MetaFilter is shrinking in terms of people coming to and using the site (those are statistical realities.) A couple of years ago it almost ran out of money but a bunch of mighty volunteers saved the day with fundraising, and since then it has been I would say - without ire - coasting in order to restructure.

In the future the money coming into the site will be overseen through the board's fiscal management, rather than via Jessamyn and loup who is (I think I have this right) the moderator with the most hours and who does the books and oversees billing and payroll and things.

A lot of how things go from there is unclear, to me anyway, but I think it's a point of great opportunity as well as many challenges. I am not on the board nor am I staff. :)
posted by warriorqueen at 8:10 AM on November 8, 2024 [12 favorites]

I've stated my appreciation for what this place has meant to me previously, so at this point I just want to say thank you warriorqueen for this post, and thank you to the folks who are keeping MetaFilter running.
posted by mollweide at 8:17 AM on November 8, 2024 [3 favorites]

Was a lurker forever, until joining a few years ago (still rocking the classic theme). Since joining, I've been an anonymous AskMeFi poster, occasional MeFi response provider, and now an ongoing monthly donater. I can't afford to give a lot, but this site means a great deal to me.

MeFi isn't perfect, but I respect the voices and perspectives of the folks who take the time to post and respond. I'm older but continually learning, and MeFi provides what I consider a unique place where people try to argue/discuss fairly. Many share a lot of themselves and more give back with guidance, suggestions, stories, and advice.

I'm grateful to have this place and will enjoy it as long as I can.
posted by bacalao_y_betun at 10:11 AM on November 8, 2024 [2 favorites]

Good point. I have been away from mefi quite a bit. And I did check in to the election thread.
I wanted to not be alone in my feelings of horror of what was happening. And I do miss the old community weblog internet.
So I just chipped in.

I do think we'll need find each other in the coming years; the people who believe in democracy, equality before the law, collaboration.
posted by jouke at 10:27 AM on November 8, 2024 [5 favorites]

I've been here for over fifteen years now, sometimes absent for a while but never that long. My overall take on the now is that Metafilter is finding its resilience. Not as big a community as it has been, but it's still a thing. And more to the point, we're not sitting around waiting for entropy to do its thing. A somewhat chaotic (yet nevertheless collective) decision seems to have been made to evolve things toward a community-run model and this kind of thing takes time and struggle.

I trust that we're up to it.
posted by philip-random at 12:49 PM on November 8, 2024 [3 favorites]

I've been here since about 2004, and have a strong feeling of if not here, where else? I generally lurk, occasionally comment, read daily.

There is no community-based alternative without the toxic elements the fantastic mods here eliminate.
posted by chmmr at 3:57 PM on November 8, 2024 [4 favorites]

Always been a lurker. But happy to know there some sane people here.
posted by pd at 4:51 PM on November 8, 2024 [2 favorites]

I have been lurking for 20 years and while I always loved the site, I never thought I needed to be a member. But, hey, I'm going to try this out and I've decided to start a small re-occurring donation. Metafilter is a special place and I like it here.
posted by LittleLadybug at 10:15 PM on November 12, 2024 [6 favorites]

Welcome LittleLadybug! Thanks for de-lurking!
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 6:44 AM on November 13, 2024

Yes indeed, thank you LittleLadybug!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 4:30 PM on November 14, 2024