MeFi/.

I've just been lost in metafilter for about two hours.

Among the things I read were this and this. There was more, but that was about 40 clicks ago. This is what tipped me off to the fact that I am definitely no longer in Kansas. And it kind of terrifies me.

Metafilter is pretty accessible to all and allows anybody to sashay on in and add a link or a comment. I like the site's articulated goal: "This website exists to break down the barriers between people, to extend a weblog beyond just one person, and to foster discussion among its members." Sounds a little less kumbaya than Wikipedia's "We're going to create a space for THE SUM OF HUMAN KNOWLEDGE!" (grin). Metafilter makes you rack up a little street cred before you get to post on a main page and be a lofty contributor. You've got a waiting period of at least a week (oh God! A whole WEEK!? A veritable cyber LIFETIME!), plus postings, before becoming eligible for this honor.

What makes a good post for the community? Well, MeFi says this: "most people haven't seen it before, there is something interesting about the content on the page, and it might warrant discussion from others." I can dig it. I also enjoy that MetaFilter doesn't encourage shameless self promotion. It gently suggests instead "Self promotion can be "earned." If you consistently post thought-provoking comments or links on the site, people will click on your name to know you better. On the profile page, you can put your own URL and people can check that out. " So then being cool and thoughtful gets you brownie points? This is my kind of place...or a place in which I wouldn't do very well. Either/or.

Slashdot is also kind of interesting but seems like a space for people vastly more technologically inclined than I. The articles were interesting to me, but ultimately not quirky and weird enough to keep me reading for hours (evil, EVIL MetaFilter! I should be working on my thesis!), the same way MeFi did. Quite frankly, I'm not sure about what a lot of slashdot is talking about because I don't have the appropriate body of knowledge, but for people who can grasp this stuff (or if I simply read a little more) I'm sure it's cool stuff.

And now I should continue listening to Jeff Buckley, drinking Earl Grey and avoiding my thesis like bubonic baboons. Or something sort of like that.