Feeds

17971 items (17971 unread) in 163 feeds

Popular Posts Across MetaFilter (13 unread)

  • Permalink for 'MetaTalk: Queries from the hive mind'

    MetaTalk: Queries from the hive mind

    Posted: August 11th, 2009, 4:33pm PDT by Rhaomi
    I was experimenting with Google's search suggestions feature when I noticed that it gave some interesting results for "metafilter + [letter]". Since it returns the most popular search terms starting with that phrase, what you get for each letter is an A-Z listing of the most sought-after topics related to Metafilter. So without further ado, I give you... Metafilter A to Z.

    (each search term links to my best guess of the most appropriate page for the query)-A-metafilter ask - humble AskMe, of course.metafilter april fools - a reference to Mefi's annual April Fools joke, nicely summarized at the Mefi wiki.metafilter ayn rand - Mefi's antipathy for the creator of Objectivism is probably best summed up by this 2005 thread commemorating the 100th year since her birth, though there are many other examples.-B-metafilter blog - Perhaps some dedicated AskMe junkies were curious about this "community blog" they keep hearing about?metafilter bradbury all summer in a day - an oddly popular subject for "find this book/movie" AskMe'smetafilter bale - referring to the 249-comment post to the Blue about Bale's on-set freakout.metafilter battlestar - the interminable discussion of the BSG finale.metafilter book - the top result is the much-loved "What book is the best introduction to your field?" AskMe (1098 favorites!), but a lot of other good book posts are summed up on the ReadMe article from the Mefi wiki.-C-metafilter comic sans - Mefites diss Comic Sans; Matt gets revenge.metafilter contribution index - jaden's excellent tool for statistical analysis of any user's posting history.metafilter cat scan - "metafilter cat scan" is one of the strangest search terms I've seen in some time. I have no idea how these people got this wedged into Google Suggest, or why.metafilter clone - many sites have branched off from Mefi or use a similar layout -- the wiki provides a nice round-up.metafilter.com - the best of the web, I hearmetafilter conficker - a thread about the "boss" of internet worms, which seemed to fizzle anti-climactically a few months ago.metafilter cortex - Metafilter's beloved moderator/bard.-D-metafilter deleted - a blog that keeps track of all deleted threads on Metafilter.metafilter down - a blog that keeps track of all deleted Metafilters on the internet (a thankfully rare event).metafilter david lee roth - "David Lee Roth's vocal track from Runnin' With the Devil, without benefit of, you know, music."-E-no results! (And for the most common letter in the English language? How about that.)-F-metafilter flash - Mefites love themselves some Flashmetafilter flash friday - ...especially on Friday.metafilter faq - read it, learn it, live it.-G-metafilter greasemonkey - Greasemonkey is a Firefox extension that allows on-the-fly customizations to webpages. There are several dozen designed to provide bonus functionality for Metafilter, like avatars and visible deleted threads.metafilter games - We love games! Especially free games.-H-metafilter hacked - Hackers? In my Metafilter?-I-metafilter irc - There's no official channel, but #mefi on slashnet is the unofficial equivalent.metafilter iphone - a super-sleek Mefi interface designed for the iPhonemetafilter infodump - cortex's downloadable collection of site-wide statistics. Current as of July 30th!metafilter is down - ...face down, that is, for a relaxing massage!metafilter interactive fiction - A design contest for best interactive fiction game. All titles are playable on the contest site!-J-metafilter jobs - A popular topic in these uncertain times. Or maybe people are just gunning for adminship?-K-metafilter kutiman - a post discussing Kutiman's fantastic YouTube remix project.-L-metafilter livejournal - Blogs blogging blogs.metafilter lofi - a professional white background for the discerning Mefite.-M-metafilter music - Less talk, more rock.metafilter mobile - the iPhone version does double-duty for all mobile devices.metafilter meetups - Metatalk's the unofficial home for them now, but word is a dedicated subsite is in the works.metafilter mutant - the first non-mod user to show up, Mutant is Mefi's resident financial guru.metafilter markov - cortex's language toy generated random sentences based on a user's posting history. It's sadly out of commission due to security holes exposed in this year's hacking incident.metafilter mixtape - MixMe!-N-metafilter network llc - metafilter.net may be sparser, but it sure has a cool logo.metafilter nicwolff - another popular longtime Metafilter member.-O-metafilter omegle - "Like a slot machine, only with people."-P-metafilter podcast - Mefi's own semi-monthly site round-up.metafilter projects - Projects from the community.-Q-no results!-R-metafilter rss - The Blue is the most popular subscription, but there are feeds available for all subsites and threads, too.metafilter running with the songsmith - mrzarquon's wonderful, horrible procedural music/David Lee Roth jam burned up the web a few months ago.-S-metafilter status - The status blog, again.metafilter songsmith - The original thread on Songsmith that inspired the above song.metafilter space game - Space and games, two great tastes that taste great together.metafilter star trek - There've been a lot of Star Trek posts, but this YouTube mashup one is probably the most-loved.metafilter shirt - Cover your shame!-T-metafilter twitter - Sidebar Twitter stream.metafilter tf2 - A popular staple of Mefightclub.metafilter tater - Hardcore.metafilter travel - The neglected subsite now redirects to the main page...-U-metafilter userfriendly - One of Mefi's more memorable flare-ups, in which a webcomic artist pilfered users' one-liners and used them as the punchlines for his strips.metafilter updates - followupfilter?metafilter uptime - Moar status blog.-V-metafilter video - I figured this referred to video posts in general, but this is *so* much better.metafilter vs youtube comments - As if anyone ever needed any help feeling superior to Youtube commenters.-W-metafilter wiki - The Mefi Wiki! A repository of all site knowledge. I honestly found browsing it more useful than the FAQ when it came to understanding site culture.metafilter wikipedia - Eh, it's adequate.metafilter watchmen - Metafilter's comic fans attempt the daunting task of dissecting the merits of a movie from its first trailer.-X-no results!-Y-metafilter youtube comments - The MetaTalk thread!metafilter youtube - I'm surprised there aren't more vids, actually.-Z-no results!
  • Permalink for 'MeFi: D-don't you l-like my new look?'

    MeFi: D-don't you l-like my new look?

    Posted: August 10th, 2009, 11:01pm PDT by Askiba
    "That was one of the most memorable scenes for me. Namely because his expression made it look like he wasn’t terrified of the fact he was hanging, but what was watching him hang." System Shock 2, the highly influential sci-fi horror game, was released 10 years ago today.

    It's been 10 years, and the game's effects can still be seen. System Shock 2 was one of the few games that created a (good) hybrid of both first person shooter and role playing game, with heavy emphasis on each. It is also one of the very few games to use audio logs. The effect of the logs is chilling.

    The biggest legacy of the game is largely in its story. A science fiction slash horror story, you awake onboard the Von Braun to find the space ship overtaken by a hideous infestation, and the memories start there. Most personal stories go to the effect of "scariest game ever"; even Penny Arcade had its own comments. Most credit the game's terrifying sound effects... but don't forget SHODAN!

    SHODAN came to be known as one of the most frightening robotic villains in games; her damaged, robotic voice recalls a very, very bitter GLADoS. She's probably one of the game's most recognizable icons, and a large part of the scares.

    The game also has another small legacy- the door code found in the beginning of the game, "45100", has shown up in later games involving System Shock 2 dev members, including Bioshock.

    Rock Paper Shotgun has an excellent article on the development of the game. One of the developers also did a three page write up on the successes and failures of the dev team back in December 1999.

    Bioshock is known as being a "spiritual successor" to System Shock 2. System Shock's rights eventually went over to EA, and rumors of a sequel quickly surfaced, but no news of any progress has appeared in recent months.

    A dedicated fan community quickly sprung up around the game. Due to a strange programming error, the graphics were low quality even for the time of release. Fan projects such as SHTUP and Rebirth improved the game's graphics, and a patch was created by Irrational Studios, the developer, to balance the game and add a multiplayer mode. A patch was also released to allow support for more modern operating systems. Of course, due to the game's age, the community is less active then in recent years, with a year between recent postings on one of the game's more active fan sites.

    Sadly, the game did poorly. While receiving critical acclaim from reviewers around the globe, it failed to sell well (in comparison to the recently released Half Life)

    Any interesting tales to share from the halls of the Von Braun, fellow Marines/Navy Cadets/OSA Recruits? Quick personal anecdote: the Sgt. Bronson death log probably freaked me out the most in the game, no question. Also, the Tommy Saurez and Siddons love plot was also really compelling, especially its overall large effect on the story.

    (Bonus: You can listen to all the audio logs (for all the nostalgia it will surely bring) on this webpage, but warning: SPOILERS, and music plays when you enter (can be turned off near the top))
  • Permalink for 'MeFi: Big Ideas: Television for Passionate Thinkers'

    MeFi: Big Ideas: Television for Passionate Thinkers

    Posted: August 2nd, 2009, 10:39am PDT by Jasper Friendly Bear
    Umberto Eco: An Illustrated Presentation on the History of Beauty and Ugliness (running time: 52:42); Salman Akhtar: The Trauma of Geophysical Dislocation (51:55); Ronald Wright: America's Ideals and the Realities (34:52); Norman Doidge: Altered States of Mind (55:21); Lewis Lapham: The American Education System and the Gradual Disappearance of Historical Consciousness (44:09); Leo Panitch: Still a Marxist After All: Lessons and Insights for our Time (43:24); Hazel Carby: Belonging to Britain—the Historic Relationship between England and Jamaica (46:35); Gabor Mate: Close Encounters with Addiction (54:17); and Jordan Peterson: The nature of Evil and its Distinction from Tragedy (42:35) are some of the video lectures available from the Big Ideas TV show that is broadcast on TVOntario. Here's the full list of videos, and many more, but not all, episodes are available as audio downloads.
    • ← Pitfall! - Revision history Reuters: Entertainment News →