6 ms·

Sixteen Years

137 points by _pius 12y ago

pronoiac 12y ago
Context: The founder of Metafilter, mathowie, is stepping down from day-to-day operations. It's been an oasis for online discussion, and it's down to him. He ran it by himself for a few years, out of pocket.
colmvp 12y ago
As mentioned in this link, 10 months ago, they had let go of three of their mods, including LobsterMitten (who is coming back onboard): http://metatalk.metafilter.com/23245/State-of-MetaFilter http://metatalk.metafilter.com/23245/State-of-MetaFilter
arkitaip 12y ago
It's a sad day for Mefi but Matt is such a great guy and deserves his break. The mod team is very strong and I have no doubt that Mefi will continue to kick ass in the future. It's impossible to sum up just how much Mefi means to me but thanks for everything, Matt. Really.
SwellJoe 12y ago
I suspect this is a really common situation. Something that is big enough to be well-known, heavily used by a large enough number of users that it brings a lot of stress, but is not big enough (by some definition of "big" and "enough") to support a team to make it all go smoothly. I've been in that same boat most of my professional career, and in fact I'm about 16 years into my journey working with the same project (Webmin; which started out with me having a company that used it in products and then ended up with me pivoting and starting a new company based around it); I'm lucky enough to not be the primary developer, and I'm lucky enough to have always had just enough money to keep an extra support person on staff and occasionally pay to make some problems go away (translations now and then, accessibility testing, UI and design assets, etc.), but having some huge number of people expecting things to always Just Work, and never have security problems, and never be confusing, and always get better but also never change in any way that might effect the way they use it, is a definite source of stress that I don't think people working in large companies will ever experience (though they experience their own sorts of stress and I don't think I would trade, even for much better pay). I've had to step back a few times over the years, in more subtle ways than this. And, I've spent time on other projects and other jobs (either to make money or just to have something else to think about and to play with new languages and tools). But, it's strange to look back on so many years of doing roughly the same thing. It's also odd to think of things that have been so clearly defined by their founder no longer being operated by their founder. This is, I guess, kinda like Rob stepping down from Slashdot a few years back. Turned out not to really effect Slashdot all that much (though I don't know how relevant Slashdot remains today, since I so rarely visit); I wonder if Metafilter has the team to keep it spinning...it's also a site I haven't spent much time at in recent years.
- dublinben 12y ago
  >it's also a site I haven't spent much time at in recent years. This sums up all I can really muster as a response. I used to visit Metafilter long ago, but I've completely abandoned it for at least a few years. The submissions just lost their way at some point, and the archaic comment system was completely surpassed by reddit/HN.
  - seekingtruth 12y ago
    > The submissions just lost their way at some point, The Trigger Warning crowd clearly rules the site these days, has for some time, and act as though it has always been thus.
  - walterbell 12y ago
    Responding to sibling comment: > The Trigger Warning crowd clearly rules the site these days, has for some time, and act as though it has always been thus. What's the "Trigger Warning crowd"?
    - lurknomore 12y ago
      People who post "trigger warnings" before endeavoring upon a topic that might cause a special snowflake somewhere to experience a flareup of their fake PTSD. (Because some people are just too sensitive to be exposed to reality.) It's a common trope among those in the throes of "social justice" identity politics and you are doing well to not have caught the allusion.
      - PhasmaFelis 12y ago
        It must be terrible for you to have to look at those fourteen letters when you didn't want to. Someone should give you a warning of some kind.
      - walterbell 12y ago
        Thanks, I only found a Neil Gaiman sci-fi book in a google search :)
MattGrommes 12y ago
I think it's a good thing for the internet industry to see people publicly step back instead of pretending to be "killing it" constantly with no human cost. And I hope the stepping back is good for Mr. Howie, he deserves it.
- kenko 12y ago
  FYI: while his username is "mathowie", his last name is "Haughey".
gilrain 12y ago
I really respect Matt for stepping back financially, as well as operatively. If he's not actively working on it, he wants that money to go towards better moderation and other expenses. Yes, he still owns the site, so anything could happen in the future. But it's yet another example of why Metafilter is the best community on the Internet.
Mz 12y ago
I don't think it's a sad day for MetaFilter. I think it is another example of Matt Haughey's wisdom. Knowing your limits and admitting them is hard. It is something a lot of very otherwise talented people mess up. It is the end of an era, but I think it makes it more likely that MetaFilter will continue to be successful and not become a has-been. It is in good hands with cortex (aka Josh Millard) at the helm now.
Ollinson 12y ago
Ask Metafilter and the Metafilter archives are among the most valuable corners of the internet. Mathowie has been an excellent steward and I wish him the best.
- asd 12y ago
  Agreed. I don't know how many times where I've had a very specific Google query return a helpful discussion on Metafilter from many years ago. Here's hoping they can keep the lights on.
rsanheim 12y ago
Metafilter is a shining example of what an established, long-running internet community can be and what other similar communities should aspire to. The community, content, and careful moderation is consistently the best of the 'net. Enjoy some relaxation Matt, you deserve it. :)
mironathetin 12y ago
"I started reading programming books and attended an intense 3-day seminar and came out of it building basic web apps. By March of 1999, MetaFilter had a name and a community … " The most impressive sentence comes right at the beginning. This shows what you can do, if you have a goal. All this experience of many years serves only to tame the big companies rampant systems.

137 points by _pius 12y ago

Context: The founder of Metafilter, mathowie, is stepping down from day-to-day operations. It's been an oasis for online discussion, and it's down to him. He ran it by himself for a few years, out of pocket.

colmvp 12y ago

As mentioned in this link, 10 months ago, they had let go of three of their mods, including LobsterMitten (who is coming back onboard): http://metatalk.metafilter.com/23245/State-of-MetaFilter http://metatalk.metafilter.com/23245/State-of-MetaFilter

arkitaip 12y ago

It's a sad day for Mefi but Matt is such a great guy and deserves his break. The mod team is very strong and I have no doubt that Mefi will continue to kick ass in the future. It's impossible to sum up just how much Mefi means to me but thanks for everything, Matt. Really.

SwellJoe 12y ago

I suspect this is a really common situation. Something that is big enough to be well-known, heavily used by a large enough number of users that it brings a lot of stress, but is not big enough (by some definition of "big" and "enough") to support a team to make it all go smoothly. I've been in that same boat most of my professional career, and in fact I'm about 16 years into my journey working with the same project (Webmin; which started out with me having a company that used it in products and then ended up with me pivoting and starting a new company based around it); I'm lucky enough to not be the primary developer, and I'm lucky enough to have always had just enough money to keep an extra support person on staff and occasionally pay to make some problems go away (translations now and then, accessibility testing, UI and design assets, etc.), but having some huge number of people expecting things to always Just Work, and never have security problems, and never be confusing, and always get better but also never change in any way that might effect the way they use it, is a definite source of stress that I don't think people working in large companies will ever experience (though they experience their own sorts of stress and I don't think I would trade, even for much better pay). I've had to step back a few times over the years, in more subtle ways than this. And, I've spent time on other projects and other jobs (either to make money or just to have something else to think about and to play with new languages and tools). But, it's strange to look back on so many years of doing roughly the same thing. It's also odd to think of things that have been so clearly defined by their founder no longer being operated by their founder. This is, I guess, kinda like Rob stepping down from Slashdot a few years back. Turned out not to really effect Slashdot all that much (though I don't know how relevant Slashdot remains today, since I so rarely visit); I wonder if Metafilter has the team to keep it spinning...it's also a site I haven't spent much time at in recent years.

dublinben 12y ago
>it's also a site I haven't spent much time at in recent years. This sums up all I can really muster as a response. I used to visit Metafilter long ago, but I've completely abandoned it for at least a few years. The submissions just lost their way at some point, and the archaic comment system was completely surpassed by reddit/HN.
- seekingtruth 12y ago
  > The submissions just lost their way at some point, The Trigger Warning crowd clearly rules the site these days, has for some time, and act as though it has always been thus.
- walterbell 12y ago
  Responding to sibling comment: > The Trigger Warning crowd clearly rules the site these days, has for some time, and act as though it has always been thus. What's the "Trigger Warning crowd"?
  - lurknomore 12y ago
    People who post "trigger warnings" before endeavoring upon a topic that might cause a special snowflake somewhere to experience a flareup of their fake PTSD. (Because some people are just too sensitive to be exposed to reality.) It's a common trope among those in the throes of "social justice" identity politics and you are doing well to not have caught the allusion.
    - PhasmaFelis 12y ago
      It must be terrible for you to have to look at those fourteen letters when you didn't want to. Someone should give you a warning of some kind.
    - walterbell 12y ago
      Thanks, I only found a Neil Gaiman sci-fi book in a google search :)

MattGrommes 12y ago

I think it's a good thing for the internet industry to see people publicly step back instead of pretending to be "killing it" constantly with no human cost. And I hope the stepping back is good for Mr. Howie, he deserves it.

kenko 12y ago
FYI: while his username is "mathowie", his last name is "Haughey".

gilrain 12y ago

I really respect Matt for stepping back financially, as well as operatively. If he's not actively working on it, he wants that money to go towards better moderation and other expenses. Yes, he still owns the site, so anything could happen in the future. But it's yet another example of why Metafilter is the best community on the Internet.

Mz 12y ago

I don't think it's a sad day for MetaFilter. I think it is another example of Matt Haughey's wisdom. Knowing your limits and admitting them is hard. It is something a lot of very otherwise talented people mess up. It is the end of an era, but I think it makes it more likely that MetaFilter will continue to be successful and not become a has-been. It is in good hands with cortex (aka Josh Millard) at the helm now.

Ollinson 12y ago

Ask Metafilter and the Metafilter archives are among the most valuable corners of the internet. Mathowie has been an excellent steward and I wish him the best.

asd 12y ago
Agreed. I don't know how many times where I've had a very specific Google query return a helpful discussion on Metafilter from many years ago. Here's hoping they can keep the lights on.

rsanheim 12y ago

Metafilter is a shining example of what an established, long-running internet community can be and what other similar communities should aspire to. The community, content, and careful moderation is consistently the best of the 'net. Enjoy some relaxation Matt, you deserve it. :)

mironathetin 12y ago

"I started reading programming books and attended an intense 3-day seminar and came out of it building basic web apps. By March of 1999, MetaFilter had a name and a community … " The most impressive sentence comes right at the beginning. This shows what you can do, if you have a goal. All this experience of many years serves only to tame the big companies rampant systems.