Best Of MetaFilter

It's been a hard year and a worse week; if you're a MetaFilter member or lurker and want to just come be with some other folks on the site for the sake of being there together as a community, this MetaTalk thread is open for that.

Laugh-Out-Loud Cats #1747 by Ape Lad (cc by-nc-nd)

lately in MetaTalk:

Why, the site is a glorious peacock!: Announcing More Color for the Classic Theme

Mefi Podcast 114 is out: "I Say It's Spinach, And To Hell With It"

Discussing Books in Fanfare: Let's talk about books, baby

How YOU doin'?: What's new, MeFites? Have a life update you'd like to share?

My Desktop/20080402 by mandolux (cc by-nc-nd)

Recently in MetaTalk:

Mefi kicks it old skool with the resurrection of the Mefi Gopher server

and Greg Nog issues a Mefi Cover Challenge to "record a cover of a song that you only know about because it was in a post on metafilter." (Previous Mefi Music challenges here, and the first Mefi Music Podcast with greenish here.)

dip dip dip, my blue ship, sailing on the water like a cup and saucer, o-u-t spells out ;-) by *Psyche Delia* (cc by-nc)

Members are now offered a couple of new profile page preference choices: the ability to make their "Contributions" and "Social" fields visible only to logged-in members, and the ability to enter their geographic coordinates without this info being visible. See all the details in this Metatalk post.

'They made me wear my bathrobe' [screen capture from video via hlntv.com]

Now is the time when I am typing. I am typing on my computer doing internet things. Isn't this interesting? Cool internet things. I solved a puzzle and now people are taking pictures of me pretending to solve a puzzle. – harperpitt

JannaK reports that the HLN network has produced a short video episode featuring the Ask Metafilter post requesting help with her late grandmother's coded messages, and "the true hero of this story: Metafilter's own harperpitt, her code-breaking skills, and the power of the hive mind in tackling web mysteries."

(Post title text grabbed from littlesq!)

flying high by Kalexanderson (cc by-nc-nd)

Posting to the front page of Metafilter can seem daunting, mysterious, and/or fraught with with uncertain outcomes. (Spoiler: It is easier than it might look.) If you have never or rarely posted a FPP but would like to, we’re here to help.

Posting to the Front Page: You Can Do It Too! in MetaTalk

Sausalito, CA by ClatieK (cc by-nd)

The very recent 'rats in the shitter' ...
posted by Fig

God, I think I laughed at Rats in the Shitter for 10 minutes straight posted by thetortoise

I think we're due for another "this comment made me choke on my own spit" meta thread!: In Metatalk, phunniemee asks Mefites for "your favorite funny comments, moments where other mefites have made you giggle uncontrollably"

A helping hand (color version) by Kalexanderson (cc by-nc-nd)

I propose we spend September helping new posters successfully make the leap into the wonderful world of FPPs.

In MetaTalk, julen suggests a cool member collaboration for next month: "Let’s Encourage and Help Folks Make Their First Posts," and asks for input.

phunniemee, Meta-recursively

In Metatalk: Mefites share images of their desks, work spaces, squee places, head spaces, wee places, and spacey spaces. <3

The Human Cannonball by SeeMidTN.com (aka Brent) (cc by)

Eyebrows McGee asks Mefites to Tell Us A Fascinating Thing About Yourself.

snowman in the snow by acidpix (cc by)

"It's that fantastic time of the year when MetaFilter comes together to provide gifts for kids!"

kimberly-ellen-hall nottene JULY calendar by brella (cc by-nc-sa)

Viggorlijah posts a Metatalk inviting women to participate in a July experiment to increase front page posts by women: "Women post to the front page proportionally less often, and I want to see if we can shift that. By my calculations ... only about 8% (lowballed because women don't identify themselves always on profiles) of FPPs are made by women. This is much lower than the number of self-reported women on Metafilter, and lower than the percentage of women commenting."

zork 1 dos version by Opossed

February is Interactive Fiction Contest Month! With even easier IF-building options!

The great Metafilter Holiday-Adjacent Cookie Swap of 2013: signups have begun!