Last month’s Profit & Loss report is still being worked on

Each month we see this, the worse it seems.
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 8:36 AM on May 1 [11 favorites]

Over at the Best Of blog, we're starting to do (mostly) daily multi-link posts that highlight the numerous great contributions from the community.

This is good! I've noticed a flurry of mod notes about Best Of additions.

[MeFi Site Update] April May, 2025

*taps calendar*
posted by Klipspringer at 8:53 AM on May 1 [1 favorite]

In over a month we haven’t been able to do the most important thing, but we’ve started doing the least important thing every day!
posted by snofoam at 9:37 AM on May 1 [10 favorites]

Each deck chair has a fresh towel and a little name placard!
posted by phunniemee at 10:02 AM on May 1 [11 favorites]

It is concerning that it's taken this long to figure out the financials. I know a volunteer is helping with this, but even then it's been 6 weeks. I'm glad the financial accounts have been combined into one, that should help going forward.

If possible, I'd like to get updates from the (interim) Board included in the monthly updates. Have they been meeting? What are they working on? Any bylaws, meeting minutes, or progress on having an election? I know we're waiting on the new site for that, but I'd be curious to know what work has been done to prep for it.
posted by Sparky Buttons at 11:09 AM on May 1 [32 favorites]

I'd be curious if people actually read the Best of blog. Do we have any data on this?
posted by ssg at 12:08 PM on May 1 [4 favorites]

Sparky Buttons: "I'd like to get updates from the (interim) Board included in the monthly updates."

I'd like to see the board actually post the updates, rather than what seems like the sole remaining staff member. That doesn't mean they have to craft every part of the update, but it should be approved and posted by the board.

Thanks for the update though, Brandon.

I'm clearly not the only one assuming the accounts are irretrievably fucked-up and may never be fully resolved. If that is the case, it would be better for the board to acknowledge that and assure us proper financial governance processes are now in place, starting with a balance sheet that reflects the true current position of the foundation. MeFi would be far from the first non-profit to be in this exact position. There are lots of people tipping money, regularly, into what is looking like a black hole.
posted by dg at 3:43 PM on May 1 [16 favorites]

I'd be curious if people actually read the Best of blog. Do we have any data on this?

I don't think so, but am asking and looking.

Technically the Best Of blog (BOb? Why do we never use that acronym before?!) and the sidebar are the same thing i.e whatever is posted on the sidebar goes into BOb automatically. We can post separte things to each, just never seen a need to do so.

Am sprucing up BOb to see/experiment with publiczng MeFi more to the general public. If folks have suggestions on how to do that with BOb, I'm all ears.
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 3:50 PM on May 1

Can't anybody here play this game?
posted by Lemkin at 4:16 PM on May 1 [1 favorite]

I'd be curious if people actually read the Best of blog. Do we have any data on this?

I don't think so, but am asking and looking.

To lean into this as a growth strategy when it’s not clear if you’re seeing growth or if the data even exists to measure growth is … disheartening. It’s also May and I’m not sure that accurate financials have been shared yet this year. For a user-funded non-profit. I also wonder how many users even see the sidebar, as it’s not visible on mobile and a large percentage of users primarily access the site on mobile.
posted by kate blank at 5:42 PM on May 1 [10 favorites]

a large percentage of users primarily access the site on mobile.

That's interesting. Do you have any of the numbers behind this, or is it more of a gut thing?
posted by kbanas at 6:15 PM on May 1 [1 favorite]

I’m on mobile about half the time and I have definitely noticed that the sidebar is way way down at the bottom. I like the sidebar and miss it.
posted by ashbury at 6:23 PM on May 1

Yeah, the sidebar is on mobile, albeit all the way down at the bottom.

Putting more stuff in the sidebar/BOb is based on me noticing that things that are highlighted there do seem to pick up favorites (not stats, just visual gut feeling). That's a weak barometer, sure, hence putting a bit more effort in it to see what, if anything, is possible there.

If folks have specific recommendations for tracking things in the sidebar/BOb, please share!
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 6:29 PM on May 1

That's interesting. Do you have any of the numbers behind this, or is it more of a gut thing?

According to the free version of Similarweb, Metafilter.com domain traffic is 74.92% mobile web, 25.08% desktop. (March 2025)
posted by warriorqueen at 6:30 PM on May 1 [19 favorites]

Also, for AI haters, 4.81% of referral traffic for MetaFilter in that month came from...ChatGPT - 5th top referring website.
posted by warriorqueen at 6:33 PM on May 1 [7 favorites]

And sorry for the multiple posts but -

Metafilter traffic in March 2025: 3.699M visits (down almost 9% from February)

Best of blog traffic in March 2025: 2,077 visits (down 75%)

Not missing any zeros.
posted by warriorqueen at 6:37 PM on May 1 [12 favorites]

warriorqueen beat me to the hard data! I had used a similar resource and came up with 76.88% mobile, 23.12% desktop traffic to all Metafilter domains/subsites.

I tried to post this comment three times and each time was forcibly logged out instead. I guess I will reach out via the contact form to see if I’ve been banned, or maybe the fourth time is the charm!
posted by kate blank at 6:39 PM on May 1 [7 favorites]

Close your eyes and imagine an organization so lacking in leadership that the management know that critical tasks are being ignored, but still leave it up to the staff to choose whether to do the things that will keep the organization running or just jerk off and collect a paycheck and everyone chooses to jerk off (sometimes into a Socky!) while the foundation collapses. Ok, now open your eyes!
posted by snofoam at 7:44 PM on May 1 [5 favorites]

Is this the second time a staff member has tried to redirect the conversation away from the financials?
posted by Diskeater at 7:51 PM on May 1 [5 favorites]

If folks have specific recommendations for tracking things in the sidebar/BOb, please share!

Any kind of logging that gives you the referrer for each request would be able to tell you how many clicks were coming from the sidebar, with the exception of links to threads on the blue as those would be indistinguishable from people just clicking on the thread from the main part of the page. Those could be distinguished by automatically adding something to the urls in the sidebar, but probably just the Ask links and links to specific comments would be enough to get the general idea.
posted by ssg at 8:31 PM on May 1 [2 favorites]

Separately from getting the entirety of the financials sorted out, it would be nice if donation stats could be posted some time in the interim, since -- am I misremembering this? -- an apparent-but-never-confirmed anomalous drop in recurring donations (and jump in one-time donations) is what set off this inquiry in the first place, no?

As for the best-of blog, I have that added to my RSS reader, so I see what gets posted -- and sometimes follow links from there -- but I'd never show up as such in visitor or referral stats. Looks like about a thousand people are subscribed to it through Feedly alone (compared to ~9k for the main Metafilter feed and 246 for MetaTalk), though who knows how many of those Feedly accounts are active ones.
posted by nobody at 10:41 PM on May 1 [2 favorites]

(Wait, maybe I am misremembering. I think the anomalous donation amounts showed up in January -- and thus maybe related to the handoff from the LLC? -- and we have seen numbers posted since then.)
posted by nobody at 10:56 PM on May 1 [1 favorite]

It goes back further than that.

Posting monthly P&L figures started in January 2024, and felt very much like it was being started as a way to distract the people who had been asking, for several months by then, for financial details from the August 2023 fundraising month - which sounded an awful lot like it had seen more monthly contributions cancelled than added, but we never got any set of figures that made it possible to tell if that was true.

Now here we are in 2025 and we still don't really know what's going on with the money. But never mind, just keep those donations coming, I'm sure it'll be fine.

I said back then that "the reason I have stopped my monthly donation is that I don't have confidence that the site's funding is being used and managed effectively. I'll be happy to resume contributing if and when that changes".

And since then my confidence has only declined.
posted by automatronic at 3:57 AM on May 2 [15 favorites]

warriorqueen: "Also, for AI haters, 4.81% of referral traffic for MetaFilter in that month came from...ChatGPT - 5th top referring website."

Oh, interesting. Why are we getting so much traffic from Chat GPT?
posted by Vatnesine at 4:47 AM on May 2 [1 favorite]

I’m seeing it on my work related sites too. People are using it as a search engine, especially as google torches its own usefulness.
posted by warriorqueen at 6:08 AM on May 2 [3 favorites]

Diskeater: "Is this the second time a staff member has tried to redirect the conversation away from the financials?"

At least.
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 6:19 AM on May 2 [3 favorites]

who is redirecting the conversation away from the financials? I see a statement from Brandon explaining why they aren't ready yet. Is that what you're referring to?
posted by gorbichov at 6:34 AM on May 2 [5 favorites]

who is redirecting the conversation away from the financials?

Nobody. Brandon doesn't have financials to share. He can't conjure them. The fact that they're not here to share sucks. Someone in a leadership position should come in here and speak more to that, for sure. But there's this strange sentiment among some people that all other conversation should cease as we wait for that to happen, and that talking about other things is somehow... redirection done in bad faith. Which... I mean, I don't really know what to say to that.
posted by kbanas at 7:17 AM on May 2 [6 favorites]

Brandon doesn't have financials to share. He can't conjure them. The fact that they're not here to share sucks. Someone in a leadership position should come in here and speak more to that, for sure.

Yes they should but they aren't.

It seems pretty bad that there's still a big question mark about the financials after weeks (months?).

I mean, I don't really know what to say to that.

And yet here we are.
posted by Diskeater at 7:56 AM on May 2 [4 favorites]

I am seeing a lot of slow load times this morning, and I’ve also gotten the Server Error webpage a few times.

I am also getting booted to the log-in screen when I try to post a comment, last night I had the same experience and could only post by pulling up an incognito window. In a non-incognito window, when I log in and try to post again, I’m directed back to the log-in page again and again.
posted by kate blank at 10:45 AM on May 2 [2 favorites]

Website is slow to load in all aspects. No clear answers on financials. Questions are asked. Someone shows up to white-knight for the mods and act bewildered that the community has these questions about the community-owned site. All is as it ever was, and ever shall be, amen.

are they not volunteer mods, though? If only there was a way to know
posted by donnagirl at 1:18 PM on May 2 [6 favorites]

Just as a data point, I’m mostly on mobile when I use the site, but I prefer the desktop version. I’ve never actually used the mobile version (I hate the mobile version of all websites and go for the desktop version when I can)
posted by LizBoBiz at 4:01 PM on May 2

And it didn’t make me log out when I posted the comment either.
posted by LizBoBiz at 4:02 PM on May 2

I'm not having any speed issues, nor am I getting kicked out when posting comments.
posted by cooker girl at 6:58 AM on May 3 [3 favorites]

I’m confused, I swear I JJST saw posts from this AM on this post that are now missing.
posted by samthemander at 7:09 AM on May 4

I wonder if it would helpful to learn the location of those who are and those who aren't seeing technical problems with the site. I haven't been having any of those problems.
posted by NotLost at 9:19 AM on May 4 [1 favorite]

I live in and access the site from Vienna, Austria and have not experienced any slowness, lag, or other technical issue, and certainly not recently. Not sure why this is so.
posted by 15L06 at 12:56 PM on May 4 [1 favorite]

I am in Albuquerque and haven't had problems.
posted by NotLost at 3:36 PM on May 4

Information about any issues with slowness of the site should be added to the specific thread about issues with slowness of the site here. it's much easier for everyone to ignore it that way.
posted by dg at 3:36 PM on May 4 [2 favorites]

Re: missing comments - I think I must have crossed wires with the thread on the slowness issues. Carry on!
posted by samthemander at 6:06 PM on May 4

snofoam, your sexual comments were gross and uncalled-for.
posted by sixswitch at 3:27 PM on May 5 [2 favorites]

please won't somebody think of the socks
posted by phunniemee at 4:10 PM on May 5 [7 favorites]

I wonder if it would helpful to learn the location of those who are and those who aren't seeing technical problems with the site.

It's slow again for me. Fifth Circle of Hell, Chrome 135.0.7049.113, Android v14.
posted by phunniemee at 9:54 AM on May 6 [1 favorite]

Maybe the staff and board could be more effective if there was a better way to hand jobs back and forth as necessary with each other.
posted by snofoam at 10:49 AM on May 6 [9 favorites]

I hear they're just doing it right into their Slacks
posted by phunniemee at 10:53 AM on May 6 [9 favorites]

Slow as death. I don’t live with phunniemee so it’s not location-based.

Snofoam’s comments were called for, it was me, I called for them. I have no idea how he heard me though
posted by donnagirl at 12:29 PM on May 6 [9 favorites]

donnagirl: "I don’t live with phunniemee so it’s not location-based."

SLEEPOVER PARTY!!!!!
ALL MEFI MALCONTENTS INVITED
posted by phunniemee at 12:30 PM on May 6 [4 favorites]

Sleepover Activities lined up: Light as a Feather Quiet as the Board, Never Have I Meta’d, and reading MetaTalks with flashlights under our chins
posted by donnagirl at 1:03 PM on May 6 [13 favorites]

Re: monthly updates: would like to echo earlier requests for monthly updates from the board, either incorporated into this or separately, whatever is easiest for the board.

I’ve sent Rhaomi a memail offering to source potential accountants/bookkeepers. It strongly seems we need external guidance at this point.
posted by samthemander at 1:08 PM on May 6 [10 favorites]

I offered to help with the financials a few months ago (I have a fair bit of experience with non-profit financials) and was told it was all under control, so...
posted by ssg at 1:25 PM on May 6 [12 favorites]

Slow as death. I don’t live with phunniemee so it’s not location-based.


suuuurree. that's what you WANT us to believe....
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 1:35 PM on May 6 [2 favorites]

it's running extremely slow for me, with a lighthouse score being 51 and extremely poor network response

like it shouldn't take 21 seconds to go from start to getting the full load/first contentful paint, at least if one is bypassing the traditional foreplay of DNS lookup, ssl handshake, a dinner date, and disappointing foreplay
posted by i used to be someone else at 2:31 PM on May 6 [1 favorite]

I've called the local pawn shop, they are out of AOL discs.
posted by clavdivs at 4:29 PM on May 6 [2 favorites]

21 seconds Here, too, also.
posted by clavdivs at 4:31 PM on May 6

Explanation of all the weird Metafilter financial stuff is still not loading for me. Location: planet earth.
posted by snofoam at 6:28 PM on May 6 [2 favorites]

donnagirl: " Light as a Feather Quiet as the Board" lol
posted by Vatnesine at 7:54 PM on May 6 [5 favorites]

I just stopped my (meager) monthly contribution, which started in 2014.

I loved (and still love) this place and have not seen much to indicate that things are going to get better anytime soon. I keep hoping there will be a monthly site update with some sense of direction, or inertia, but it just seems to be the same "working on it!" story without much to show for it.

I'll be among the first to restart if things change but it's wishful thinking at this point.
posted by Twicketface at 7:05 AM on May 7 [10 favorites]

is this the place with the sexual comments
posted by Didymus at 9:34 AM on May 7 [5 favorites]

that's what I came for
posted by Klipspringer at 1:06 PM on May 7 [4 favorites]

Twicketface: "I'll be among the first to restart if things change but it's wishful thinking at this point."

Same. I know I may come across as a hater, but it’s deep, deep grief I feel, and some anger ant those who have treated something so good so incautiously.
posted by donnagirl at 4:05 PM on May 7 [12 favorites]

I’ve mostly been a lurker over the last few years, and I know my recent activity looks like a string of pissy favorites in MetaTalk, but I’ve been around in one form or another since at least 2004, and I still care about this place a lot.

What makes me keep coming back to metafilter, even though it often lately annoys the hell out of me, is that it still feels real. I can read a thread and know there are actual humans behind the posts. Reddit is bots talking to bots. Facebook is obvious garbage, and instagram and tiktok are just ads. But MetaFilter is still made up of actual real people.

This is why the recent mismanagement is so crushing. I’m feeling actual grief. There is so much potential here. So much goodwill. So much that could happen if the people in charge were willing to actually do something. Not just vague “working on it” gestures, but real strategy, real communication, real care. And financial responsibility too, because that matters, especially as a nonprofit.

I’d love to offer to help and I’ve done a lot of this kind of work. I’m on the boards of large-scale nonprofits, I’m good operationally, I know how to manage this type of work. But it feels like I’d get shoved off or ignored because the whole thing is such a mess right now.
posted by bunton at 4:52 PM on May 7 [26 favorites]

I also feel this grief. but I also feel like things CAN turn around. I think what’s hard is that the team who (mercifully, kindly, generously, unpaid) stepped up to right the ship are (it seems) not in a position to provide regular updates on their activities yet, for whatever reason. So it feels like nothing is happening - that the lack of progress equates to a slow sink.

But: I am wondering if we’re actually at that point where the sinking is stopping and we’re now attaining a simple float. The site rebuild is happening. Based on a memail I received from Rhaomi, we have engaged the services of a professional accountant/bookkeeping service to get our financial morass straightened out. There is a semblance of a plan for voting to establish the board (I think). I really hope that the current interim board can find ways to accept help from others to increase the pace of improvements and communication, or people will continue to believe that we are actively drowning, and not just treading water before we get back to swimming.
posted by samthemander at 7:46 PM on May 7 [4 favorites]

Our board is less communicative than the BIPOC board, which is saying something. It does feel like not much* is happening, for those of us not getting personalized updates.

*new site rebuild excluded, that does seem at least to be moving in a direction.
posted by Vatnesine at 5:00 AM on May 8 [3 favorites]

It's great that the site updates in the monthly site updates thread are now coming from people that Rhaomi memailed deciding to pass what they were told on. It's a fun game of telephone!
posted by ssg at 9:43 AM on May 8 [14 favorites]

Actually it's an even funner game because reposting the contents of someone's memail is a violation of site guidelines
posted by phunniemee at 9:57 AM on May 8 [3 favorites]

Did they hire a professional? Or did they get a community member with experience to volunteer their time?

Because they should have done the former from the start, and I'm still not sure they did.

Communication: it's good!
posted by sagc at 10:04 AM on May 8 [3 favorites]

Ugh, I went back to Rhaomi’s memail to confirm, and realized I misread and then misreported their message. The accredited accountant is the volunteer, not a professional we are paying. I apologize for the confusion.

I am very grateful for the volunteer’s time and energy, but at this point we are months delayed and I feel that we should be paying someone to have this promptly resolved. Alternately the site funders should be given a clearer window on why the board does not feel this is necessary.

Argh. I know everyone except the mods are a volunteer and I don’t want to critique their efforts or dissuade them from taking ownership/action on things. I am appreciative of the efforts. It just feels like we have problems that our money could promptly help us solve.
posted by samthemander at 12:07 PM on May 8 [8 favorites]

Twicketface: "I loved (and still love) this place and have not seen much to indicate that things are going to get better anytime soon. I keep hoping there will be a monthly site update with some sense of direction, or inertia, but it just seems to be the same "working on it!" story without much to show for it."

I'm in the same spot, Twicketface. I see a lot of hemming and hawing in public threads from the mods. Small things that should be pretty slam-dunkish take a long time. I'm thrilled we have kirk and Kybard working on the new site, since I think we've been wanting to get off of ColdFusion for, uh, approximately, ever so that we can update/build new things. This has been a long-standing want and to know we're getting there is absolutely exciting. It's just that it's happening when we can't get decent monthly numbers from the people running the site. That's dampened my enthusiasm.

I stopped my (also meager, but also long-standing) monthly contribution in February when it became apparent that blocking Twitter (yes, I know, there are communities of worth that are still entwined with that shitstorm of a site) wasn't an immediate "yes, let's do this right away". To me, that was the final straw in the dilly-dallying of the general administration here -- even though, yes, as I said, I do recognize there are still communities of worth there for the time being.

My thought process was "if they can't stop enriching an actual Nazi -- quickly -- then how can I trust them to use my contribution wisely?"

And so that's where I am. It's good to see some progress in some places, but we're not where I want us to be yet. I want numbers that make sense for this whole calendar year so far and then I'll judge whether or not it's a good place to make a donation.

samthemander: " It just feels like we have problems that our money could promptly help us solve."

I mean, wouldn't this depend on knowing if we have the money in the first place? 😅
posted by juliebug at 2:58 PM on May 8 [6 favorites]

Knowing we have money that could be used would require someone, somewhere to produce a financial report that wasn’t made of misplaced fairy dust and lies.
posted by donnagirl at 2:03 PM on May 9 [6 favorites]

Oh damn, looks like fight or flight has buttoned and zeroed :(

I will miss them.
(nonspecific "they", please correct pronouns, I don't know and can't check the profile)

recently
posted by away for regrooving at 12:09 AM on May 10 [2 favorites]

Help, can anyone please recommend a good brand of water shoes? I keep pouring one out for each of our fallen but my toes are starting to pickle.
posted by phunniemee at 5:10 AM on May 10 [4 favorites]

Okay, it has been nearly 2 weeks since this was posted. It was 45 days ago that the March update was posted.

The last P&L that is available in the drive is this one, which shows that:

a) We are losing close to 7k a month
b) Perhaps more worrisome, we are down to losing close to 7k a month after having close to 1k profit a year ago

A lot gets lost in the snarky remarks (and I'm not innocent here, obviously), but the fact is that we want to know what's going on specifically because of these somewhat worrying numbers.

If we are losing 7k a month, then we've lost about 14k since we last had an update, and that surely isn't sustainable. So since staff doesn't seem to be all-out panicking, I am assuming that MetaFilter is not losing almost 7k a month.

This begs the question of what the heck is actually going on?

Please, staff/mods/etc, can we get some answers about this?

If not, can we please get a fairly-estimated ETA?

If we're relying on volunteers for this, I think it's time we actually paid someone to make sense of this for us -- assuming we are not in the hole for almost 7k every month. And if we are, then it's better to know now than later. If we had ~126k on-hand at the end of February (source), then we have ~18 months (from the end of Feb) before we're out of cash. That's less than 16 months from today, assuming things haven't changed and, of course, assuming the numbers are even remotely accurate.

So, let's get this show on the road. Tax season in the US is over. Accountants should be more available and more quickly. Let's acknowledge that the volunteer route is not working (despite the best intentions) and just use some cash to determine what our assets actually are and then let the users of the site know what those numbers are and what we expect for the next quarter, etc.

Thanks very much for your efforts, and I hope we'll see more information by the end of the month.
posted by juliebug at 1:06 PM on May 12 [23 favorites]

The president of the Metafilter foundation decided to invest a bunch of time to do an elaborate April Fool's joke, rather than figure out how to get accurate financials. There are three really important things for the foundation to do right now:

1. Figure out what the hell is going on with the financials and communicate that to the community.
2. Do whatever kludging is necessary so the site doesn't completely stop working.
3. Get things in place to elect a real board.

I think whoever needs to do whatever to make these three things happen. If we need to pause daily updates to the Best of blog or divert resources from the ongoing cookbook project, let's just bite the bullet and do it.
posted by snofoam at 3:38 PM on May 12 [19 favorites]

Has there been any update on the foundation financials yet? I feel like good financial stewardship and transparency are fundamental qualities of success for the new era of community governance, whenever that might begin.
posted by snofoam at 3:38 PM on May 15 [6 favorites]

Not even a "let me ping someone for an update" post. *sigh* No acknowledgement from anyone who is theoretically in charge.

I'd been tentatively stepping back into having MeFi be a daily part of my life, after a couple longish breaks, but there's not much of a point right now.

I'll be back in a couple weeks and see if we have any more info that's been shared.

✌
posted by juliebug at 5:28 PM on May 15 [6 favorites]

If the Board is handling the financials, then I'd like to repeat for emphasis my request earlier in the thread:

Sparky Buttons: "If possible, I'd like to get updates from the (interim) Board included in the monthly updates. Have they been meeting? What are they working on? Any bylaws, meeting minutes, or progress on having an election? I know we're waiting on the new site for that, but I'd be curious to know what work has been done to prep for it."

Also the Board members should 100% get special tags/boxes to indicate that they are speaking as a site leader/Board member.
posted by Sparky Buttons at 6:32 AM on May 16 [16 favorites]

Sparky B - you could try a stand-alone post for a more visible request but I don’t think the board wants to do any of those things or answer any of those questions.
posted by Vatnesine at 5:10 AM on May 17 [9 favorites]

imagine metafilter 5 years from now
posted by glonous keming at 9:20 AM on May 17 [3 favorites]

imagine metafilter 5 years from now

The site is still here, but there are only two posts on the blue a year: cat-scan and an elaborate April fool’s joke. Ask is doing better, and mostly pays for the site with ads for cat urine treatment products. There are still five paid contractors. The first board elections will be held as soon as the new site is ready.
posted by snofoam at 10:15 AM on May 17 [12 favorites]

Don’t forget in 2028 a yellow-background subsite called MetaCorn appears. It’s for all the previously deleted creamed corn comments. Took two years to build, but it was so worth it.
posted by donnagirl at 9:13 AM on May 18 [3 favorites]

> a yellow-background subsite called MetaCorn

now that's an elaborate AFD joke i can get behind
posted by glonous keming at 12:19 PM on May 18 [1 favorite]

Brandon Blatcher: "The board is handling all that and it's clear they'll respond when they're ready and able.

Otherwise, yeah it sucks to have wait on all this, but it is what it is at the moment. "

Yeah, this isn't good enough. If the financials are accurate and we're pissing away 7k/month, radio silence from the people with their hands on the purse is inappropriate and neglectful.

If the people running this show do not have time HAVE THE FUCKING ELECTIONS ALREADY. Alternatively, step down and let someone with more time, more energy, more financial nous step up.

Metafilter is dying, and the interim board are killing it.
posted by coriolisdave at 3:26 PM on May 19 [14 favorites]

Is the plan to use up the remaining money on moderation, and then when the money is gone to close up shop? If that's the plan, then it would at least be courteous to say so to the people who have made that possible (the donors).


If the plan is to move slowly and not be hurried by the community, that's all well and good, but there's not going to be much of a community left at the rate they are burning up good will. There will be money for a while, it seems, so the moderators can keep moderating. I guess that's something.
posted by CtrlAltD at 4:58 PM on May 19 [8 favorites]

I think as a community we have to reconsider the notion of accepting volunteer help. The fact that we aren’t paying for things is repeatedly brought up as a reason why things aren’t happening when we get cranky about the lack of visible progress. And yeah, I get it. But there’s a good argument to be made for spending the money and getting people who have some obligation to the community and/or timelines. We have a volunteer accountant reporting to a volunteer board, and no schedule.
posted by Vatnesine at 5:14 PM on May 19 [7 favorites]

Bondcliff is gone?
posted by Vatnesine at 6:10 PM on May 19 [1 favorite]

Vatnesine: "Bondcliff is gone?"

Yes, they did request an account wipe.
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 8:17 PM on May 19

incentive idea: the 1000th user to request a wipe is made the Executive Director
posted by glonous keming at 9:13 PM on May 19 [13 favorites]

Gosh that’s a shame.

Per the staff page this is the current board:

MetaFilter Community Foundation Board (MCF or MeFiCoFo)
Current Members (Interim Board or IB):
Rhaomi: President
1Adam12: Treasurer
Gorgik: Secretary
MetaFilter is a community run site with a rotating board comprised of site members.
Contact: MeFiCoFo AT gmail.com

Do we need to like, create new positions and self-volunteer or how can we adjust the current set-up? Honestly at this point, ANY change will be beneficial. Making a decision will help, not hurt - even if we make a “wrong” choice, doing nothing is clearly clearly not working.
posted by samthemander at 9:13 AM on May 20 [3 favorites]

CtrlAltD: "Is the plan to use up the remaining money on moderation, and then when the money is gone to close up shop? If that's the plan, then it would at least be courteous to say so to the people who have made that possible (the donors).
"

I am sure the Board is working hard to get the site back on track.
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 9:38 AM on May 20

Is it a surprise? Or can someone share an update and gain +100 goodwill
posted by phunniemee at 9:52 AM on May 20 [1 favorite]

samthemander: "Do we need to like, create new positions and self-volunteer or how can we adjust the current set-up? Honestly at this point, ANY change will be beneficial. Making a decision will help, not hurt - even if we make a “wrong” choice, doing nothing is clearly clearly not working."

Two months ago I emailed the official board email asking “Is it possible for interested parties to join the interim board at this point?”

The response was:

[email protected] wrote:
That's an interesting question. The current board was put in place to get the full board elected, which has taken much longer than we intended.

I'll get back to you soon

Unsurprisingly, there’s been no further communication.
posted by donnagirl at 10:56 AM on May 20 [7 favorites]

I think the best outcome we can hope for at this point is that the interim board admits that they aren't able or willing to take the steps necessary to run an election in a reasonable time frame and accepts help from a small group who volunteer just to make the election happen.

How about it, board folks? There's nothing wrong with admitting that things aren't working and accepting help.
posted by ssg at 11:07 AM on May 20 [9 favorites]

We have a treasurer??
posted by Vatnesine at 12:08 PM on May 20 [6 favorites]

ssg: "I think the best outcome we can hope for at this point is that the interim board admits that they aren't able or willing to take the steps necessary to run an election in a reasonable time frame and accepts help from a small group who volunteer just to make the election happen.

How about it, board folks? There's nothing wrong with admitting that things aren't working and accepting help."

Who can the board sell to next? Matt, Josh, and Jessamyn all gave it a go. pb? frimble?
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 1:21 PM on May 20

ssg: "I think the best outcome we can hope for at this point … accepts help from a small group who volunteer just to make the election happen."

Please, no more groups of volunteers. Cash for hitting due dates for concrete goals.
posted by Vatnesine at 1:39 PM on May 20 [1 favorite]

If someone sets up a board election bounty to be rewarded to whomever can make the board election happen I will make my first donation in years.
posted by SpiffyRob at 1:44 PM on May 20 [3 favorites]

In case you aren't following the site slowness thread, Rhaomi posted an update over there.
posted by Sparky Buttons at 4:27 AM on May 21 [7 favorites]

ofc why would you post something like that in the site update thread makes perfect sense
posted by glonous keming at 8:36 AM on May 21 [4 favorites]

glonous keming: "ofc why would you post something like that in the site update thread makes perfect sense"

Because people were probably too mean here.
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 8:57 AM on May 21 [2 favorites]

God damn. bondcliff will be missed.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 1:48 PM on May 21 [5 favorites]

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