An anonymous poster asked us to pass the following along:

If you ever make it to Olympia, WA, there is a Secular Men's Support Group that meets twice a month to talk and offer support. It is a very DIY model if you end up starting your own group. Link to see their flyer: https://www.reddit.com/r/olympia/comments/1lt2j9i/mens_group_this_afternoon/

One comment removed due to simply writing "Lots of opinions on this".

The way AskMe works is that people ask concrete question and get (hopefully) concrete answers or suggestions about a problem they're having. Writing "lots of opinions on this" does not help the OP by offering any actual advice or solution, it's just a vague opinion. It's true, sure, people do have various opinions about the question, but that's not the sort of answer we want to encourage on AskMe.

So please try to help the OP by sharing your knowledge or information about the specific question they're having, thanks!

Derailing comment and several responses to it removed.

Yes, that was dumb mistake on my part.

The original comment has been restored, left a comment in the thread noting the mistake, and sent a note with an apology to the person who originally made the comment.

memoryindustries: "was I supposed to lie or omit the fact Cha t found it? Come on."

Indeed, the deletion of your comment was wrong and a mistake, for which I apologize. The original comment with the cite that proves it came from Atwood has been restored. Thank you for taking the time to make sure what ChatGPT output was correct.

rpfields: "Yep, the story of Jila Tolentino's "family's slave" was one of the more shocking ones I've read over the past few years." Author's name corrected to Jia and broken link fixed.

Candidate list:
Updated 12:40am ET 8/30/2025
Updated 11:30pm ET 8/31/2025
Updated 11:51pm ET 9/1/2025
Updated 09:19pm ET 9/2/2025
Updated 03:00pm ET 9/3/2025

Ryvar: "If your personal commitment to truth lies well below your anger and need for easy answers... then you may not be a Nazi yet but you've placed yourself in a state of mind where you can be manipulated in a similar fashion." Ryvar, this is the type of comment, where you essentially call people stupid or easily manipulated, isn't conducive to discussion, so don't do that. You are not being forced to participate in these discussions obviously (no one is). So please consider whether your comments add anything to the discussion as name calling overrides any point you are trying to make and brings the level of discussion down. Case in point: TheWhiteSkull: "You know what, Ryvar? Having just re-read your last comment, particularly the bit about "truthiness," actually just fuck off." Calling people names just devolves the conversation till it becomes about fighting or telling people to fuck off. Which MetaFilter actively discourages, so please knock it off, it usually just starts a fight or makes it worse. To everyone, remember you're talking to people, so aim to be respectful, even in heated conversations or when disagreeing. It's ok to walk away from a discussion that's turning ugly.

phunniemee: "I'll be going back through the comments that did misgender them to change the pronouns.

I find this an odd choice of moderation."

Understood, feel free to create a new MeTa about it or bring it up to the Moderation Oversight Committee in terms of how comments that misgender a person should be handled.

Hi folks, just noting that the OP specifically uses "they" as the pronoun for Sawyer, so please avoid designating Sawyer as a "he".

I'll be going back through the comments that did misgender them to change the pronouns.

One comment deleted. As per the content policy: do not query ChatGPT or other LLMs and then post the output unless the discussion itself is about those types of tools

Text in post adjusted as requested. Please carry on.

One deleted: poster's request.

One answer removed at the poster's request.

One comment removed, AskMe has a firm policy about posting ChatGPT output. We’re interested in human answers, not what LLMs “think”.

Working through thread, removing derailing comments about who should be shot and reactions to that. If you can’t resist such comments, we may need to give you some time off.

Link added!

One double comment deleted

Changed "partner" to "husband" as requested.

Two comments from bombastic lowercase boatshoes are being flagged, the second has been removed as wishing violence on other people goes against our guidelines, so let's avoid proposing assassinations. That being said, there are legitimate forms of protest that involve violence against property (just not against other people) so the first comment has been left up.

Note that after talking it over with NotLost, staff is requesting candidates include their username in the subject line of the email in the following format:
"Candidate Statement: Username"

The original post has been edited to reflect this change in verbiage.

NotLost requested that a comment of theirs be removed and that was done.

This is a staff comment that is tracking who has declared their candidacy and who has sent in their statement. It'll be edited by staff as we move forward.

Nominated candidates:
creatrixtiara at 10:57 PM ET on August 26
chasles at 11:14 PM ET on August 26
adrienneleigh at 11:18 PM ET on August 26
Joakim Ziegler at 8:50 PM ET on August 27
DarlingBri at 1:51 PM ET on August 29
pulposus at 2:45 PM ET on September 1

Candidates who have submitted statements:
Creatrixtiara candidate statement received Tues, Aug 26 at 11:02pm ET
adrienneleigh statement received Wed, Aug 27, 7:08 PM ET
DarlingBri statement received Sun, Aug 31, 9:10am ET
puplposus statement received Monday, Sept 1, 3:05 PM ET

ashbury: "Why is MetaTalk so lightly moderated? Why does this policy, such as it, exist? Does it have to exist the way it currently is used? Can't it change? Why hasn't a mod stepped in here to tell everybody to cool it?

I'm not just shouting these question into the void - these are real questions and I would actually like some answers from a mod."

MetaTalk has a long tradition of being lightly moderated, with the belief it's the place for members to say exactly what they want. I think this policy and MeTa were put in place to give members a place on the site to truly vent as opposed to doing so in threads on the front page or Ask.

I believe we talked briefly in a past MeTa about moderating this subsite more like the main site and at the time people were heavily against it is my recollection. But there's no reason why things can't change and if someone wants to make a new MeTa about that, go for it. Talking about it here at the bottom of a thread with a different subject (declining stats) probably won't get as many eyeballs.

kittens for breakfast: "I'm sure Jacqueline is a very nice person and I am sorry that she buttoned; however, it is my belief that someone who would button over what I said was of a mind to leave the site regardless."

Yeah and that's the point. People are stressed in general these daysand may have other things going on in their lives and someone's comment on the site comes off as an attack might be their final straw. Sure, it wasn't intended, but that's besides the point now. It's been said and regardless of intention feelings were hurt.

We could all do with taking a moment to breath and consider what we want to do with our comments on the site. Because like it or not, they can hurt or come off the wrong way, even when someone doesn't mean them to and that just adds more anger to a situation.

We could all use less anger in our lives and on the site.

One answer deleted at poster's request.

99_: "Sorry, I was copying and pasting from an old draft. Revenue drop month over reduction of 20%.

And I munged some HTML: third bullet under expenses should read: All other expenses comprise less than 2% of our monthly spend and are basically flat relative to June."

Post updated with these corrections and added the tag 'financialupdate'

Link changed at OP's request, one comment removed.

Rash: "Tumtetum's account has been banned.

Their profile indicates their only activity here site-wide, this one comment, upthread. I don't get it; seems like a mighty harsh reaction to a first comment. UNLESS this MeFite is/was actually somebody else, with another history? How do you know?"

As hinted at by their comment, that new account was made a by a person who had previously been banned for being transphobic.

toodleydoodley: "Forex partner & I recently watched the documentary West of Memphis and their takeaway, which I agree with, is: You just can’t let people be that poor." toodleydoodley, the article is about Japan, yet you're consistently making arguments from a western perspective based on your western experiences. Please stop doing that and give the thread a break. For everyone else ready this, please leave the US, the west and other countries out of your comments. Again, the article is about Japan, so commenting as someone who doesn't live in the country or have a lot of experience with its culture in terms of religion and child abuse is speaking from a place of blind ignorance. Some comments have been removed based on the above rationale.

Another comment removed for trying to argue when it's ok to bring up the USA in threads that are not about the USA. There's a long history on MeFi about the USA being injected or brought up in threads where it's not mentioned or the subject of the thread. You'd like to comment in this thread, please make it about India and its ban of online gambling apps. Folks are welcome to agree or disagree about this new law, but please make it India related.

One comment removed at the commenter's request.

Another comment removed, this time for adding for bringing up the USA in a thread about India.

Typo correction to post at poster's request.

One comment and a response removed for derailing the post.

One comment removed for not answering the question.

One comment removed at commenter’s request.

Both comments left for context:

1. Tumtetum's account has been banned. Transphobia is never OK in this site and will never be.

2. Calling people dumbasses goes against our Content Policy.

One comment removed at the commenter’s request.

eirias: "dg’s request that I speak more plainly is fair and I will try to do so without rancor but if I need to reframe, mods, I will."

No worries, just a reminder that MetaTalk is the most lightly moderated portion of the site.][

dg: "My point was not to criticise the moderators, but to point out that measuring their work based on that metric is not accurate"

That's fine, but it is important to point out when mods are doing official things, they should be using the mod style aka the border around comments. If we aren't, it's totally fine to point that out.

dg: "It's quite common for moderators to forget (I assume) to turn on the mod note border or whatever and to do things like deletions and forget to make a note at all."

This should absolutely not be happening and if anyone does see it happening, please email us or flag it. Seriously, members should feel free to point out any instance of this happening and it'll be corrected.

OP, i'd recommend changing the leading paragraph to the one from the article: "Labor Day for me has always symbolized the importance of elevating the fight for gender equality in the work place, and also behind the camera. Here is a list of our top 25 films that show that, and where to watch them." Just so it's clearer what the link is about.

ITravelMontana: "What? Office Space? I’m not getting a direct connection here. Or any connection." To be clear, the phrase " This is what Office Space should have been" is a direct quote from the article about entry #22

Post edited per OP's request to do the following: "The music industry shift could be big" - https://www.donga.com/en/article/all/20250722/5738818/1 "especially with AI in the picture." - https://www.cnn.com/style/kpop-virtual-bands-ai-intl-hnk

One deleted. Please remember some people want to have discussions about the thread’s subject with genuine curiosity and be mindful of what you are saying and how your comment adds to the thread.

Spam comment deleted; spammer banned.

One comment removed. Please don't show up in a thread about Scottish heritage to say Scotland is irrelevant. Be sensitive to context, as mentioned in the Guidelines.

nathan_teske: "Mods could you mark this thread as books included? Unless we have a “games included” tag.

Done!

Fixed misspelling in the title.

One comment removed as requested

I guess I am behind the times? Is editorializing ok now?

No, editorializing is not ok now. This particular post fell into a grey area, so we left it up under the guideline of "let people talk about what they want to talk about in almost every case" and kept an eye on it. The discussion was basically fine.

Others have already chimed in various suggestions or point, so no need to rehash them. Basically, post about stuff that interests you, the links should stand on their own, and avoid making a post about you or your thoughts/feelings on the subject.

tiny frying pan: "Which I always thought was kind of bizarre. There should be at least a 10 minute edit window, or a way to submit an edit easily to be fixed by mods."

There's a feature request for this (#6) on the list of feature requests for the new site. Folks can submit their own requests (or ponies) at this link.

straw: "I have been saying for a while that the problem with people who blindly believe that the current crop of chatbots portending AI being "right around the corner" don't have enough interactions with developmentally disabled adults. That willingness to tell you "yes", the infodumping on things they've read or otherwise imbibed from their environment that's almost plausible, but absolute bullshit? These are patterns that anyone who's spent time in a group home, or around programs for those with developmental delays, or just hanging out with DD relatives, picks up on real fast. " Hi, please be careful about you categorize and write about other people. While I don't think you met this comment to be dismissive of people that are developmentally disabled, the comment did pick up a number of flags that very understandably took it that, so heads about writing about others: be respectful and avoid using them (whoever they are) are examples to prove a point of yours. Because you may be ruining your own point be unknowingly being offensive.

mahadevan: "URGENT: I don't know how else to spread this so posting here - someone can repost this as a new post to MeFI:" Hey, just fyi MetaFilter isn't a site for "you must see this now, it's very important" aggressive type comments or posts, nor is it encouraged to ask people to post something for you. In fact, if a person is feeling that something must posted and/or as soon as possible, we advise you rethink that that line of thought before posting. The comment was also off topic, meaning the thread is about AI/Sam Altman, but the comment was about Trump and the Smithsonian. Those two things aren't related. So the comment has been deleted, for being a derail. Not a big deal, it's nothing personal! Just avoid posting offtopic comments in a thread, along with imploring others to make a post because you think it must be shared.

NotLost: I believe it happened in 2024. It's been on the Site Info page for quite a while."

Yes, the Metafilter Community Foundation became officially legal on November 1, 2024, have updated that page to reflect the tenure of current and past members of that official board.

Yes, the site banner has been updated.

TheophileEscargot: "Could the FAQ be updated to have the current list of board members, with NotLost instead of Gorgic?

Have updated that FAQ entry to link to the General Staff and Site Information page, so that the list of Board members is in a single place, for easy updating.

Could the Steering Committee page be changed to the past tense, and a note added that it was disbanded in 2023?"

Mods don't have editing rights to that page, have passed the request on to frimble.

Post edited per NotLost’s request to change some wording and a few comments removed

One comment removed for not answering the question. Remember, AskMetaFilter is more strictly moderated than other subsites, to keep the focus on helping the OP of a question.

One comment removed for wishing death on others, which violates the Content Policy

Comment and response removed due to providing an answer from an LLM (Gemini). AskMetaFilter is for people to provide answers and LLM answers are specifically banned. Please don't query LLMs for AskMetaFilter questions and then post the output on this site.

We do encourage people who have knowledge about subjects of questions to post answers, thank you all!

FifthCupOfTea: "I’ve been driving EV for a little over 7 years now, and honestly? I’m never going back to gas unless it’s for some kind of apocalypse vehicle."

Hi, just a note that the OP has specific questions about charging an EV, not what makes an EV good to use. Please help the OP by sticking to the original question, thanks!

No comments have been removed.

One answer removed for not answering the question.

One comment removed at member’s request.

One more comment removed, please avoid posting derails about nazi bars.

Three comments deleted. Let's try to be considerate and respectful towards other MeFites and avoid picking a fight with them; try to engage with the content of the video instead. But most importantly: "Avoid downplaying a problem just because it is not a problem for you." Telling someone to go touch grass when they are calling out transphobia is considered, at the very least, a microaggression.

One comment removed for not answering the question and posting an unrelated opinion.

One deleted. Please remember that threadsitting is discouraged.

Edited post, with NotLost's permission, to add link to previous board update and added the tag 'MefiCoFoBoardUpdate'. Will do same to previous Board Update posts.

OHenryPacey: "Good for Jessie for caring so much about the SW myth that he would make a 4 hour long video essay. " Changed 'he' to 'she'

One comment and a response removed for being dismissive about the project.

One comment removed at the member's request

It's ok to not like Star Wars, Andor, Disney+, or even tv, but showing up in this thread to express all of that isn't necessary. You're welcome and even encouraged to engage in a thread on a topic you do like, but let's avoid being down on something others are enjoying.

One comment deleted. Ask MetaFilter comments should address the main question being asked. Please refer to the Ask MeFi section of the content policy.

One comment deleted. Please avoid posting jokey comments as answers. Please refer to the Ask MeFi section of the content policy.

One comment deleted, please refer to the AI Generated Content: section of the content policy.

One deleted, at poster's request.

One comment removed for not answering the question. If folks want to follow along by having answers appear in their Recent Activity, they can click the 'add to activity' link that's in the "posted by XXX" line on in every post.

One off topic comment removed. Please focus on helping the OP by answering the question, thanks.

xdvesper: "Just some quick responses -" xdvesper, go ahead and remove yourself from this thread. The subject is about shifting views of the Israeli government as they continue to commit genocide in Gaza. Coming in here to essentially say "no Israel is right" is not ok. No comments deleted at this point, but there's no need for you to continue in this thread, so please move on.

One comment deleted. Let's avoid aggressive comments towards another member, Please keep the conversation focused on the subject rather than picking a fight with another user.

Lemkin, please avoid threadsitting and give others a chance to say something. There is no need reply to the various comments stating what's wrong with the information in the article. One comment has been removed.

Minor fix to post phrasing on poster's request.

One comment deleted. Name calling is not acceptable and goes against our content policy.

HTML Fixed, the placeholder for the URL was a single dot. Added the full sentence now.

One deleted, poster's request.

NotLost, You've done a lot of good so far, so just keep doing what you're doing. Go for it!

Please stop derailing the thread. If your comment is not about the thread's subject, or you are simply replying to other users to argue/snark, stop. Take a break from the thread.

Just a note that thread sitting is discouraged, so if you find yourself commenting more frequently than other users in the thread, please take a break and let others chime in as well.

xusifem: "Spinifex has an Indigenous land acknowledgement on their website and publishes books by Indigenous and lesbian authors on feminism, decoloniality, and anthropogenic climate change. I find that to be odd behavior for a right wing press." As others noted, Spinifex's book of the week is Terf Island: How the UK Resisted Trans Ideology, which is a textbook definition of anti-trans, so stop trying to convince people that the Collective Shout and Spinifex has no problematic elements. This is not a request, just stop and if you feel you can't, then move on to another thread. Proofs and Refutations: "Fuck off TERF" MetaFilter is unapologetically pro -trans, but also has firm rules about saying 'fuck you' or similar to other members, so let's avoid doing this in the future. If anyone wants to discuss any of this further, email or MetaTalk are your options, avoid continuing the derailing this thread. No comments have been removed.

NotLost: "99_ and staff (Brandon? loup?), would you please work together to get appropriate info..."

Yes, will put 99_, loup, and myself in some sort of email/message chains so we can figure out appropriate communications and assistance.

Added a couple of periods to the post at OP's request.

One comment removed for not answering the question. Please just stick to helping out the OP and avoid injecting other elements to their question, thanks!