Orientation

Welcome to the Metafilter Orientation Page! MetaFilter can be a confusing place for a brand new user. Here are some things that we think will be helpful for getting oriented. This page was created originally from advice given in this MetaTalk thread. MetaFilter has few hard and fast rules and a lot of loose guidelines that have evolved over the years. You are welcome to participate as much or as little as you want to. Welcome. Quick Links some stuff, explained MetaFilter's FAQ MetaFilter's Community Guidelines MetaFilter: Good comments, good posts, bad posts Ask MetaFilter: How to ask a good question, following up. some features Recent Activity is a way to read the site to get updates on threads you have commented in. For many people it is their main way to interact with the site. My Ask and My MeFi are customizable pages for Ask MetaFilter and MetaFilter, respectively. Each allows you to choose tags and categories of topics that interest you. You can get to your "My Ask" page by clicking on the tab underneath the "sign out" link on the front page of Ask MetaFilter. Your "My MeFi" page is similarly located on the front page of MetaFilter. You can follow your contacts' activity on the My Contacts page Many people enhance their experience by using Greasemonkey Scripts and Plugins. A number of plugins will also work even if you're not logged into MetaFilter.

Things to do on your first day Edit your profile add social sites and as much information as you feel comfortable with. choose between the normal or simple styles set your geographic location to see other MeFites near you and meetups, events and jobs in your area Add other users as contacts if you want to follow their contributions; their recent activity will turn up on your sidebar on the MeFi home page. Familiarize yourself with some of the lingo.   A few simple rules Don't self-link (more explanation here) Don't be an ass. Mind the notes under the text entry box. Ask someone if you have questions.   Questions? Contact? These are the mod/admin people (see also: Moderators) For an up to date listing of mods, see the mod FAQ entry. frimble who does most of the coding for the site cortex who mostly moderates MetaFilter restless_nomad handles admin tasks and user feedback taz who helps moderates at night (U.S. time) LobsterMitten goodnewsfortheinsane Eyebrows McGee travelingthyme loup vacapinta and jessamyn occasionally help out. The contact form is the best way to ask the mods a question. It goes to the entire mod team. There are other ways to contact the mods. There is a flagging feature. You can flag posts or comments by clicking the exclamation point at the end of the "posted by..." line. FIAMO stands for "flag it and move on" and is a good first step with problematic posts or comments. You can use MetaTalk to talk to the larger community about policy/etiquette topics. You may want to check if your request has been made before