Fixed a broken link in the post.

Added "USPolitics" tag at a user's request (not the OP's)

Two deleted for not even trying to answer the question. Folks, it's really chatty in here; please tread carefully and make sure you have some kind of answer (or at least a clarifying question) in addition to commentary!

Fixed the spelling of Rhiannon Giddens' name in the OP.

I've updated the link in this comment (there's a redirect issue with the https:// version of the link; i've edited it to the http:// version, which will then correctly redirect to https:// ). I've also removed two comments that were entirely about this issue.

Two deleted; a few other replies left up for context. runsrealgood: you are fine, but the form of your pushback was making it personal about another member in a way that was likely to cause more problems. yoz420: you need to take a break from this thread, and from one-note allegations about antisemitism/blood libel in general. If you cannot, the next steps will include timeouts. I strongly encourage you, instead of doing that, to take your concerns to [email protected] or the MOC. Also, because i consider it likely that at least one person will be extra mad that i, specifically, am the mod actioning this particular issue, i want to make it very clear that while we are actively in the process of revamping mod policies and procedures, this kind of thing is not going to be acceptable to any other mod, either.

One comment deleted at the user's request.

Full disclosure: my (non-moderator) comment above has been flagged. As i try very hard to avoid moderating my own comments, i am leaving the flag up for the next mod on shift to make a decision. I will avoid commenting further in this thread in my personal capacity until after that happens; speaking in my official capacity, it would be good if the thread didn't get derailed by it.

Fixed the link in the OP; thanks for catching that, pwnguin!

I'm leaving the comments related to the mistake.

Folks, everyone is on edge and this whole fireworks thing is bullshit, but please try not to snipe at other users? Thanks!

Fixed link in this comment to be clickable.

Another comment deleted as noise. Folks, this is still Ask, and your comments must answer the Asker's question in some way.

Fixed link in this comment to be clickable (and to clear tracking params).

Fixed a typo in the post.

One deleted for arguing about moderation. Please send an email via the Contact Form or refer it to the MOC if you have an issue!

One deleted as noise. Folks, i get that some things invite jokes but you gotta be really careful in Ask; if you're gonna put a joke in you have to also put an actual answer in.

One deleted for arguing with the premise of the question (and in the process failing to answer it).

Fixed spelling of GeneWolfe tag

Fixed link in post and deleted correction comment by Asker

Fixed typo in post title and url

One deleted for not answering the question.

Fixed link in this comment to be clickable.

Two deleted, one as noise and one for chastising other commenters (and not answering the question).

Folks, i hate leaving big holes in the conversation, but several comments have been deleted. Jane the Brown, your comment was read by multiple people as equating folks' use of pronoun labeling/sharing on forums with bullying and physical violence. I'm not assuming that it was intentional transphobia, but at best it was extremely unclear, it upset several people, and it was continuing to be a distraction. I can send you the full text if you'd like to try rewriting that bit and reposting; just let me know.

Everyone else: sorry for the delays getting this handled. If your comment also got deleted, it was because it was part of the derail, and you'refine.]

One deleted as a duplicate.

...sorry, i have been corrected, having misread the reason the comment was flagged. One therefore deleted as noise.

Folks, this MeTa post was obviously born out of a generous impulse (and ngl, i adore Lyn Never and am connected to her elseweb!) But posts about specific users who have buttoned make folks nervous (it's already picked up some flags), so i wanted to be very clear up front: sending good wishes and saying nice things is fine! But we do need to respect folks' privacy and autonomy, too, and in particular it's not great when these sorts of posts turn into rehashing the reasons a user buttoned. So please be mindful and keep things on rails!

One deleted at user's request.

Fixed the misspelling of Cory Doctorow's name in the post title (and slug).

Edited post to fix typos and add another link from the user.

Folks: predictably, a number of comments in this thread have gotten flagged. I think the thread is overall doing alright, and things that needed pushback are getting pushback, so i'm disinclined at this point to leave holes in the conversation. We are keeping an eye on the thread, but please help us out by keeping it on the rails, thanks.

Fixed a very small typo in the post title.

One deleted for really aggressively doing the thing i suggested that folks should be mindful about. If you object to a moderation decision, you have multiple channels to avail yourself of in order to complain about it; "emphatically ignoring it to Do the Thing anyway" is not one of those channels. Seriously, everyone, Donald Trump is not reading MetaFilter! Some of the people who are reading MetaFilter are pretty consistently upset by the incontinence jokes (and the fat jokes), and they are your fellow community members. The entire rest of the internet exists, and on much of it you will get endless praise and upvotes for telling those kinds of jokes! Please exercise a modicum of self-restraint on this one site!

Added link to post at user's request.

anoldfriend6: commenting this much in your Ask threads is generally discouraged. It's fine to pop in to respond to clarifying questions, but arguing directly with answers is not something you should be doing.

Removed a duplicate comment.

Swapped out a link in this comment.

Some housekeeping notes: The malware attack hit all of Gizmodo yesterday; they seem to have mitigated it now. As ever, if a "captcha" requests that you do anything at all outside of your browser, like scan a QR code or paste commands into your terminal, it's malware and you should not do that thing. Also, symbioid, this comment is right on the line of "wishing violence on people", particularly since it's sexualized violence, and it's upset a few people. I'm not removing it but please be mindful?

Three deleted. amtho, it's not a good idea to ascribe someone's bad behaviors to neurodivergence. The other comments were deleted for responding to the deleted comment.

Two deleted; answers in Ask must answer the question rather than getting into side conversations with other users (or with mods). If you have an issue with moderation, please take it to MeTa or the contact form.

Folks, it is officially acceptable for this to be in MeTa; it's in line with things that have historically been posted here, and there's no reason it would need to be moved.

Two deleted for not answering the question. Further notes:

a) Posting a list of several unvetted internet fax services from an internet search isn't helpful; OP has made clear that they have tried those services and they have not worked.

b) Answers should definitely assume that physically taking records to the office is a nonstarter.

One deleted at user's request.

Folks, i'm not deleting anything in here, but this has come up before, so please note that incontinence isn't in any sense a moral failure. It happens to a lot of folks, some of whom may be your fellow MeFites. I get the urge to make fun of every single gross thing that Trump does or is, but there's splash damage on some of those jokes and it would be good to be mindful of that.

Folks, this question has picked up numerous flags and feedback on the contact form. I'm not choosing to remove it at this time; however, that doesn't mean it's without issues.

anoldfriend6: This question is written in a way that (a) seems deliberately inflammatory and (b) reads as soliciting answers which would be straightforwardly illegal; neither of those are things we encourage on Ask (and (b) is straightforwardly against the rules). Please be more careful in the future. It looks like you have been following along and has selected some best answers for productive ways you can move forward which aren't illegal, however.

Everyone else: please remember that gambling isn't illegal, even if you don't like it or see any moral value in it. If you are unable to view this as a problem to solve within OP's gaming community, consider skipping the thread.

Candleman: i'm not removing this comment, but do be aware that language like "Bob in India" reads to some folks as racist; please work on your phrasing in the future.

One deleted for not answering the question.

Also, folks, as we have noted on past occasions, it's not great to jump into a thread just to be dismissive, particularly in the first couple comments. And it's especially not great in this instance, where there are strong links to African history and the horrors of colonialism. I'm not removing any comments, because folks have pushed back strongly and the conversation seems to be recovering, but seriously, please do better.

Added "football" tag.

Added "football" tag.

Fixed a typo in the post.

Two comments removed: the first at the user's request (wrong thread), and the second for responding to the deleted comment. (mittens: i don't disagree with you that it fit in this thread too! but the user wanted it removed.)

One deleted for not answering the question.

Two deleted at user's request.

virve: i fixed the typos in your post and deleted the typo-correction comment!

Two comments deleted. (The first was a link to a closed store that also didn't fit the Asker's parameters; the second was a response to the first.)

Another comment deleted. Folks, it's definitely against the guidelines to accuse Askers of having nefarious purposes. If you suspect someone has a nefarious purpose, please flag it with a note; breaking the commenting guidelines isn't helpful.

Folks, the temperature in here absolutely needs to come down. I'm reluctant to delete a whole swath of comments but you gotta stop sniping at each other.

One deleted as noise.

One deleted. Again, folks, "ask an LLM", much like "just Google it", is not an appropriate answer in Ask under almost any circumstances.

Fixed a typo in this comment.

Fixed a typo in this comment.

One deleted for being hostile and not really answering the question.

One deleted. Anyone who wants to use chatbots for research is already aware that chatbots exist; answers along the lines of "ChatGPT will do this for you" are not materially different from "you can just use Google", which is also obviously a bad answer.

I just noticed that i'd missed a comment replying to the deleted comment. mrjohnmuller: You're fine, your comment was removed for replying to the one i'd already deleted. Sorry about that!

Hi, folks! Just a quick housekeeping note: this comment by exolstice has picked up several flags for quoting the output of an "AI" tool. As this thread is a discussion about such tools, i think it's within the lines of the current content policy and i have not deleted it. However, i don't love it, and it's definitely not something to make a habit of.

Hi, folks! One deleted as a direct attack on another member. Also, a couple notes on comments that are not deleted: Bryant: "You kind of need to make at least a convincing argument if you want people to take you seriously. Appreciate the candor, though; you’re not here to have a conversation, you’re here to be smug." Please do not snipe at other members like this. zardoz, coffeecat, flamk: it's totally fine to passionately defend Platner, but all three of you have made at least one comment that's really, really close to the line about the DV allegations here, and i need you to be more careful: Graham Platner almost certainly doesn't read MetaFilter. A lot of DV survivors, however, do.

Fixed link in this comment to be clickable.

Fixed link in this comment to be clickable.

Two deleted as noise. HearHere, you already got a timeout for behavior elsewhere on the site; you really need to stop this. Also, folks, sorry for not addressing those two in my earlier mod note; i'd missed them in the long thread until one picked up another flag.

Whoops! Also added Substack tag. We now return you to your regularly scheduled argument.

One deleted; HearHere, you have been warned multiple times about throwaway answers in Ask, and about answers on subjects where you have no expertise. You're getting a weeklong timeout; the next step is a ban.

Hi there, everyone. This post has picked up a lot of flags! But it's also picked up a lot of discussion. To be completely clear: the calculus for deleting it would be different if it had 3 comments, but it has over 100. The guidelines are in the (slow) process of being revised, and the new guidelines will be rooted in our Values Statement. That statement includes Humanity as a value, and one of the things we've discussed as part of that is discouraging LLM use more strongly. As far as the current guidelines go, this post skates on the edge, but it's not clearly over the line. (Also, let's be honest: if the user hadn't disclosed, it almost certainly wouldn't have gotten flagged nearly as much. And while i may in fact be the "AI"-hatin'-est of the "AI"-haters on MetaFIlter, there are some perverse incentives there that we are going to need to sort out!) alex1965, full disclosure: If i'd seen this post 4.5 hours ago when it got posted, i probably would have deleted it. It's entirely predictable that it was going to get flagged to hell, and we really don't encourage line-stepping wrt the posting guidelines.

One comment deleted as having spoilers for future books in the series. cyanistes, you're fine, it was a fantastic comment, and i'm going to MeMail you the text so you can repost without the Sword and Citadel spoilers.

Deleted chives' pet tax comment at their request, because the upload site turns out to be kind of dodgy.

Bottlecap: "This does not read that way to me. It just reads like hands. I think you may be getting vibes because of the scheme, which is often associated with kente cloth."

Bottlecap: you are totally not in trouble and this is overall a good answer! However, a user has requested, via flag note, that we clarify that there's a difference between kente (a Ghanaian woven fabric) and kitenge (a wax-print fabric like the one pictured here). And i concur that for reasons of cultural sensitivity, that's a good thing to do, so here we go!

star gentle uterus: "PC inferior race has entered the chat, console chads still winning." Please be mindful that the whole "PC master race" thing, and variations thereof, hit way differently for a lot of folks in the world of 2026. I'd really rather everyone avoided it in future.

Folks, parts of this conversation are getting flagged. I think it's all fairly okay and i'm not deleting anything so far, but please try to steer away from making this conversation about surlyben (or any other specific user). If the expressed opinion is objectionable, by all means talk about that, but past a certain point, talking this much about someone specific starts to develop characteristics of a pile-on, which we would like to avoid.

Fixed the YouTube link in the original post after consulting with the user.

Removed a duplicate comment.

Content note added to post in consultation with the user.

Two deleted. runsrealgood: The user in question wasn't in the thread at the time of my previous mod note, but "not being in the thread" is not the most salient issue with taking cheap shots at other users. Please stop. The other comment was deleted for quibbling about a moderation decision. I might have made a bad call here, but as always, please take it to MeTa or use one of the other available pathways (like the MOC contact form). mrjohnmuller: I didn't delete your comment because it's as much about the post itself as about the moderation decision, but please do stay on topic. [edited because i forgot to include something]

One deleted; being snarky at another user (who's not even in the thread!) is just not going to add to the conversation. Also, seanmpuckett: yeah, you're not supposed to editorialize to this extent in an FPP, and you know that. This got a few flags but it's also got a reasonable amount of conversation going on, so i'm going to leave it alone, but please don't make a habit of this? (Note: i was an early commenter, without my mod hat on. If it hadn't picked up steam, though, it would likely have been deleted earlier.)

Mr. Yuck: While i understand that you consider this to be completely innocent behavior, (a) the way you are talking about it is making a number of community members incredibly upset, and (b) it's quite possible that the behavior you're describing is illegal. We need you to stop discussing these girls in this way on MetaFilter. You're being given a timeout, and i will follow up with you via email. Everybody else: I am not removing anything from this thread at this point, but this conversation needs to move on and not become the "let's yell at Mr. Yuck while he's on timeout" show.

One comment deleted as a duplicate. ellieBOA, i chose to keep the later of your two comments, since it seems like you clarified your wording slightly. If you'd rather i swap them, let me know!

Two deleted. Folks, this is Ask, and you need to answer the question rather than fighting with other commenters.

subdee: I've edited "former CEO" to "former Board Member" in your post, and removed the comment in which you requested the correction.

PareidoliaticBoy: "My reccomendation is just to move to Canada." This comment has received pushback in the thread, so i'm choosing to leave it, but please note that this is not okay. "Just move" is almost never a reasonable or compassionate thing to say, and it should be avoided in general; but it is particularly unacceptable in a thread about trans people (or other minoritized people) having their civil rights taken away.

Fixed link in this comment.

Fixed a broken link in the post.

salad, i am not deleting this comment because the Asker has replied to it directly, but this is not cool—it interrogates the premise of the question, fails to answer the question, and assumes the asker's gender—and you need to not do it again.

One deleted. People (including me!) do have strong feelings about Substack, and i understand the temptation to point out perceived hypocrisy, but it really doesn't need to get brought up in every conversation. (And again, i've been guilty of that in the past and am trying to do better myself.)

One deleted for questioning the premise and not answering the question.

Folks, i understand that many people think the Asker is doing something unethical here; if you are also answering the question it's reasonable to say so, but you can't do that instead of answering.

Added Substack tag.