By
Jordan117.
March 25, 2009 at 05:01PM (PST)
1
person
found this review helpful.
The best community on the web: Founded in 1999 by Matthew Haughey (AKA mathowie), Metafilter (or Mefi, as its membership calls it) is one of the oldest, strongest and most interesting communities on the internet.
The site is split into colorcoded subsites, each with its own purpose:
Metafilter (blue) functions as a crowdsourced blog -- every member is allowed to make one post every 24 hours. It covers every imaginable topic, everything from esoteric web projects to political news to funny videos. The commentary following each post is consistently excellent -- discussions are routinely peppered with insightful, moving, and laugh-out-loud comments, which are distinguished by a high favorite count based on votes from fellow members.
Ask Mefi (green) is a question-and-answer corner. Every member gets one question per week to pose to the site's diverse readership. Thanks to the helpfulness and expertise of the community, even the most obscure queries are solved within minutes, and complex emotional and familial problems are tackled with intelligence and sensitivity.
The site has further sections for personal projects, user-created music, job searches, policy discussions, and a regular podcast.
Perhaps the best aspect of Mefi is the strong sense of community. Despite having nearly 100,000 registered members, the site only has three primary moderators -- and yet the quality of discourse is extraordinarily high. This is accomplished by a form of social policing that encourages members to enforce the rules through peer pressure and public debate. The result is a friendly, collegial atmosphere that fosters high-quality discussion.
The only catch is the one-time membership fee -- a measly $5. This will net you an account and give you the power to post topics and comments to Mefi, ask questions and give answers on AskMefi, upload music, vote for favorite posts/comments, and view the site ad-free. If you value participation in a witty, intelligent community, I highly recommend registering!
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