Have been going back and forth with Rhaomi in email this morning and here's a summary of what's going on:

The large quantity of FPP posts that zarq created would have meant removing a lot of contributions from other people who have participated in the threads. Manually removing the personal information would have required a lot of manual work.

So a new script was developed by Rhaoni (over several months) to go through a user's posts and remove the content of the person requesting an account wipe, while preserving the comments and links that were made in those posts.

Here's how that process works, explained to me this morning by Rhaomi:

The only things remaining from the original FPP are 1. the title (which is part of the URL), 2. the tags (which are a shared site resource), and 3. the raw URLs from the post. Everything else written by the user requesting the wipe is erased, including any original writing that could possibly identify them. The original post text, no matter how long or how simple, is replaced by a brief independently-written one-line description of the topic for context.

This process was developed by Rhaomi over the past few months to comply with any account wiper's request, while still keeping the links and comments of those who had commented on the post.

This new script was run last night on zarq's FPP posts on Metafilter.

That's what I know and understand as of this point.

emelenjr: "Your profile suggests you're in Katy, TX, and a cursory search came up with a few results for ADHD evaluation there. "

Please don't ever take information from someone's profile and use post it on the site, in any way, that violates the Content Policy.

Certainly you were doing it with the best of intentions, but this is a privacy issue and we normally such content and issue some sort of ban, temporary or permanent.

In this instance, I reached out to the OP and they said the link in their profile that mentioned a location (thedryer.com) was just a joke and they live nowhere near there.

Which is great news, but everyone, do not post information from a user's profile. Feel free to ask or request information, but do not take it upon yourself to mention anyone's profile information. Doing so could result in removal of the content and possible ban.

In this case, no bans have issued.

One comment removed for posting the output from a LLM. Please note MetaFilter's Content Policy on LLM/chatGPT output:
"MetaFilter is a place for people to share their own knowledge and ideas with each other, not to interact with algorithms, so using ChatGPT or other generative AI tools is discouraged. Please do not query ChatGPT or other LLMs and then post the output unless the discussion itself is about those types of tools, and in those cases, please clearly label what you are posting as coming from an AI tool. "

One deleted: poster's request.

One deleted. Wrong thread!

Several commens removed and one ban issued. Please don't attack other members.

One comment removed at user's request.

One comment removed for derailing the thread by complaining about another comment that they think is a derail. It's ok to just not comment or, preferably, focus on the topic of the post and comment about that.

Whoot, brand new day and times for the site! Congrats to everyone on the new board!

Several comments removed. Please do not start an argument with other users and remember that Ask MetaFilter comments should address the main question being asked.

To be clear, I'm not against getting rid of the queue.

No specific data on hand about deleting posts from un-queued sites.

Projects is different though because it's specifically for "for members to toot their own horn and link to something that they have done". Do we care if someone signs up just to post their project on Projects? If someone signs up and puts up a link to a 'One Day Bathroom Remodel' site and says they were the designer for the site, do we let it stand? Matt (the original creator of MetaFilter) thought commercial projects were fine, but things have changed in those 20 years.

Not a big concern, IMO, at the moment. If it starts turning into that, we can rethink things. Probably worth thinking about what constitutes a Project, because shockingly there isn't a firm definition in the FAQ.

No major spam in Projects, it's pretty quiet in general.

For submissions, I would just review them and make sure the project was doing what it said it was doing. There's only two I can think of that I rejected over the past year, one was asking for help with a game design and the other was essentially a stunt post.

If we remove the queue, I'd expect more spammy posts over time, because people, but we'll see.

One comment deleted. Please avoid starting an argument with other members. Also, Ask MetaFilter comments should address the main question being asked.

glonous keming: "ren't there already gaps in mod coverage or am i misremembering that?"

There are gaps ranging from 1-6 hours during weekdays, to a 16 hour gap over a weekend evening.

restless_nomad: "I also don't know if literally everyone is a contractor "

Everyone is a contractor. Mods, loup, developers, all contractors,

One deleted. Please keep comments on-topic and address OP's question.

One deleted. The back and forth between a few users needs to stop now. Please leave some room for others in the thread.

Brandon Blatcher: "Hey, just ran through some tests where I created a post for the FPP, Ask, Anon Ask, FanFare, and MeTa, that order. The system correctly posted the FPP, then has glitched where a message is posted saying an old post was deleted, but it wasn't wasn't. Have let frimble know about that, they'll look into it."

Frimble has fixed this, deleted posts are showing up in the mod log with their reason. Note that currently if the deletion reason is edited, a new entry appears in the log for the same post, which is ok, but I'd say it's fine in the sense of members being able to see everything that was done/edit differences.

Linking to a letterboxd page is a cool of highlighting the past movies that an actor has been in and the general verbiage does touch on her life and career. That said, others are welcome to share links from other publications or even their own favorites and memories from Keaton's numerous stage and film performances

One comment removed for trolling.

Brandon Blatcher: "The queue button turns red after 48 hours, I think, still testing this part (will know this evening around 8pm ET). "

Yep, the "button" turns red after 48 hours.

Otherwise, looks like staff was approving anon AskMe's within on a much tighter time frame (a couple of hours) with no issues.

stodgeflompton: "Metafilter is like a cargo cult where the smart people left ten years ago, and everyone who's left is just posting what they think those people might like" Hi, just remember that nobody forced you sign up and comment in a community you clearly do not think highly of. Please check out the Guidelines and Content Policy and participate in good faith or we may have to remove you from the site.

2 comments removed as requested.

According to Brandon Blatcher, all anonymous AskMes are automatically delayed at least 48 hours.

There's an update to this, I was incorrect.

I wait for the queue button to turn green (as demonstrated here)before checking and approving anon AskMe's. That button turns green after 22 hours (created a test post to verify this).

So the Anon AskMe's are not automatically delayed for 48 hours. They do sit in a queue for 22 hours before the system "green lights" them for a mod to review and post. But the posts can be reviewed and published at any time once they're in the Anon queue.

The queue button turns red after 48 hours, I think, still testing this part (will know this evening around 8pm ET). I've only seen the red button once or twice, when we were checking with other mods about a problematic post, so it did sit for a while.

Apologies for confusion, hope this clarifies things

Klipspringer: "It was launched in March 2025 as "a log of official mod comments and post deletions". However at some point recently the page title has changed to "Recent moderation comments" and it doesn't appear to list deleted posts any more. Could we be told why deleted posts are no longer listed?"

Hey, just ran through some tests where I created a post for the FPP, Ask, Anon Ask, FanFare, and MeTa, that order. The system correctly posted the FPP, then has glitched where a message is posted saying an old post was deleted, but it wasn't wasn't. Have let frimble know about that, they'll look into it.

Checked the wayback machine and the mod seems to have always said "Recent moderation comments". Can you pinpoint a time when it said otherwise?

Talked with loup, we agree it would be best if the newly elected MeFiCoFo Board (voting ends October 14) makes the decision on whether to expand the current moderation log.

plagued out moggies: "I believe there are still some questions for loup from the anon-delay thread. "

Loup was notified of this.

Klipspringer: "for the next (October) site update could we have an update on the Recent Mod Actions page?"

Checking with frimble and loup about the questions!

Hey, we're removed one comment for not answering the question. We appreciate that people may be frustrated by having similar problems, but as noted in the Content Policy that AskMe is more tightly moderated than the rest of the site and the answers in it need to answer the question, thanks.

Two deleted. A comment posted in the wrong thread and a reply deleted.

Also, a delay might be a good thing, as people do write us sometimes, asking to remove their post from the Anon Queue .

The weekends have the longest time between shifts, between 12-19 hours currently. So there will be delays at times.

umber vowel: "
I have another question: Is it expected that moderators will read every AskMe question that gets posted? Is it up to individual mods how much they want to read of the site, as long as they're responding to flags?

It's just surprising that no one noticed those two duplicate questions before approving them. The topics were pretty memorable."

It is expected that we read most of the site, but that isn’t always possible, depending on what else is going. Something public or private might be happening that demands more immediate attention.

Is anything else arbitrarily delayed?

Everything else in the queues is posted as one gets to them on their shift.

Loup's off until tomorrow, but they touched bases on the Slack a little while ago.

It won't be a problem to approve Anon AskMe's during a mod's shift, once they've read them and verified they're not breaking any policy or law (my words). I'll start doing that later tonight.

Posting a link to this MeTa in the mod Slack so that others be aware as they come on shift.

jacquilynne: "Anonymous question submitted."

Approved the test Anon post and it appeared live immediately.

Will delete the test in a minute, but here's the text from the post:

Test
1:38PM Eastern Time
posted by anonymous to Technology at 1:40 PM - 0 answers +

] So yes, Anon AskMe's could be approved any time after they're submitted

Hi, I'd like to do a test of the anon queue and am requesting ONE person respond to this comment. Then that SINGLE person will go and create ONE anon AskMe labeled TEST and in the text of the question will post the time they submitted it and what time zone they'rei n. That test anon question will be approved and then quickly removed and we'll see what happens.

Basically, I'm pretty sure we can approve anon questions whenever, but want to test that assumption.

One comment deleted. Please refer to the AI Generated Content section of the Content Policy.

phunniemee: "Can we get any info on how the anon ask me queue currently works?"

Post appears in queue and stays there for 48 hours. From landing page of the backend, mods can see the number of posts in the Anon and other queues (no there is not a MeTa queue, the text was just left there, all MeTas are immediately posted).

After 48 hours (i think), the grey circle turns Green, letting us know to manually approve an Anon post.

After a certain amount of unknown time, the circle can red, letting us know a post is overdue.

Edited photo link to not have a raw URL on the Ask frontpage

One deleted: poster's request.

Several comments addressing the Oct. 7th derail mentioned in the previous mod note removed (including the original two comments). One left for context. Let's please focus on the post at hand and avoid derailing the conversation.

Oh, the moderation team will be posting the ThereIsHelp link in suicide related posts, to remind people they don't have to face things alone, reaching out is a courageous step, and help is closer than they might think

No comments deleted but let's avoid a derail about the date itself.

One deleted: poster’s request.

One deleted. Let’s refrain from name calling folks.

paduasoy: "Still in tag with an E, Brandon." Fixed!

The advice to move on meant just and not violate the Content Policy by name calling. One comment removed.

Hey, mod dropping in to say maybe this part of the conversation has reached its limit, people are going back and forth and should move to something else, be it a another thread or some other point about the topic. No comments removed, just giving advice.

Changed name in post and tag to Sarah Mullally (no 'e')

One answer removed for not answering the question and instead making a joke. Please remember that the point of AskMe is to help the OP by addressing the problem, thanks.

Duplicate comment and request to remove it, uh, removed.

One duplicate comment removed.

Removed a string of answers that were based on a misinterpretation of the question.

Aintnolobos, your comments in this thread have been trollish and dismissive of others and you have a history of doing that on the site. Remove yourself from this thread and refrain from commenting any further within it.

A few comments deleted. Let's try to keep this conversation productive by avoiding Ad hominem attacks so please stop calling other members trolls or telling them to STFU. Also, let's avoid calls to have anyone locked up.

One deleted: poster’s request.

mediareport: "I've sent this request via the mod contact form as well. This should be something easily remedied during the next mod's next shift, and I'm expecting it to happen quickly, since the voting period has now begun. Thanks."

Your request has been sent to the Election Committee, who have to approve any changes. Then the changes will be communicated to frimble, who is the only one who has access to edit the particular page.

Thanks for your patience.

Hey, thanks for asking about this.

My understanding is that we post or message the person directly with the ThereIsHelp link in situations when someone seems danger of committing or idealizing suicide. The most recent question wasn't explicitly either of those, so it falls in a gray area and looking at it, I think it's ok to leave it up since people are commenting about why it's not a good idea.

Being more liberal about posting the link is a good idea, so I'm mentioning it in the mod Slack to get everyone on the same page. Thanks for the suggestion!

One deleted: no debate, just answers, please.

One comment removed, there's no need to call OP's curiosity bigoted. Also, Ask MetaFilter comments should address the main question being asked.

At the Election Committee's request, am closing up this thread. If people have any questions or concerns, they can post in the "Reminder of end of campaign period" thread.

Several comments removed by commenter's request

IMDB link updated!

pro-tip: If you send a message now, it will have been done...

Good point, I scheduled an email to remind me to send one in two days. Thanks!

Closing this thread because the Campaign Period has ended. Voting is scheduled to begin on Oct 1, per the Election Timeline. Thank you to the candidates and to everyone that posted questions to them.

Closing this thread because the Campaign Period has ended. Voting is scheduled to begin on Oct 1, per the Election Timeline. Thank you to the candidates and to everyone that posted questions to them.

Closing this thread because the Campaign Period has ended. Voting is scheduled to begin on Oct 1, per the Election Timeline. Thank you to the candidates and to everyone that posted questions to them.

Closing this thread because the Campaign Period has ended. Voting is scheduled to begin on Oct 1, per the Election Timeline. Thank you to the candidates and to everyone that posted questions to them.

Closing this thread because the Campaign Period has ended. Voting is scheduled to begin on Oct 1, per the Election Timeline. Thank you to the candidates and to everyone that posted questions to them.

Closing this thread because the Campaign Period has ended. Voting is scheduled to begin on Oct 1, per the Election Timeline. Thank you to the candidates and to everyone that posted questions to them.

Closing this thread because the Campaign Period has ended. Voting is scheduled to begin on Oct 1, per the Election Timeline. Thank you to the candidates and to everyone that posted questions to them.

Closing this thread because the Campaign Period has ended. Voting is scheduled to begin on Oct 1, per the Election Timeline. Thank you to the candidates and to everyone that posted questions to them.

Closing this thread because the Campaign Period has ended. Voting is scheduled to begin on Oct 1, per the Election Timeline. Thank you to the candidates and to everyone that posted questions to them.

Closing this thread because the Campaign Period has ended. Voting is scheduled to begin on Oct 1, per the Election Timeline. Thank you to the candidates and to everyone that posted questions to them.

Closing this thread because the Campaign Period has ended. Voting is scheduled to begin on Oct 1, per the Election Timeline. Thank you to the candidates and to everyone that posted questions to them.

Thyme is off for a couple of days, I'll drop a note to them when they're back on Sunday.

plagued out moggies: "Like, here’s a simple, specific question: has loup been actively managing the BIPOC board minutes situation? If yes, how do they think they’re doing? If no, why not?"

I do not know and they're off for the weekend, so the soonest you could get an answer to that is probably around Monday afternoon.

For folks who want to minimize their presence on the site, here's what frimble suggested when we were talking about it the other day:

* Checking in your MetaFilter preferences that "Minimal Profile for non-members" is turned
* Reviewing what platforms are in "Also On" because they appear here https://www.metafilter.com/contribute/socialexplorer.mefi (only available to logged-in members, but regardless) ]

It's also worth noting that a Twitter/X account was trying to get right wing social media to attack the site by screenshotting some of the charlie kirk thread. Please remember that the web is very public and there are some ugly corners of that want to hur

mediareport: "Can you please point me to the mod comment noting that Brandon's mod-announced deadline for the BIPOC minutes to be posted by the end of August would not be met?"

There wasn't one, will keep that in mind for the future.

plagued out moggies: "So, in all honesty: who’s running the ship, mods?"

Same as it's been for a while, loup oversees the mods and we keep them in the, um, loop, of what we're working.

One comment deleted. Please avoid starting an argument with the OP, Ask MetaFilter comments should address the main question being asked.

One deleted: poster’s request.

Changed 25 to 23 in post and deleted first comment at the user's request.

phunniemee: "Are you going to remove all the comments linking to florals for not answering the question?"

No, because there's a bit of subjectiveness involved in this question and the answers.

chasles: "I agree, seems an easy change. "

Minor note, the About page isn't editable by the mods, it'll have to go through frimble, to edit on the back end. Not a big deal, just a heads up.

One comment removed for threadshitting and getting snarky with commenters, which goes against the Content Policy in Ask MetaFilter.

Also, you can't just decide it's ok to heckle commenters, that goes against the general MetaFilter guidelines about being considerate and respectful

One comment removed for posting in the wrong thread.

One deleted. Reminder that making insensitive jokes using a group's language are not welcome and will be deleted.

Title updated, thank you for reporting it.

One deleted. Poster’s request

One deleted for noise.

One deleted. Comment posted in wrong thread.

NotLost, give it about an hour, there's a small speed bump to prevent spamming.

mygraycatbongo, stop derailing this thread as it violates the Content Policy and you've been asked to knock it off previously. If you continue to post comments in here, a temporary ban will be issued. One comment has been removed. Edit: Changed mind and issued a 24 hr ban, as the member hasn't listened to previous requests.

mygraycatbongo: "That take is so fucked up I can't even go down there." Hey mygracatbongo, that sounds like a good idea to avoid derailing this thread, so please move on, as sciatrix has and allow others to talk about the thread's subject. Two comments have been removed.

One comment removed at the member’s request.

One comment removed at user’s request.

One deleted at poster's request: wrong thread. EDIT: And two more, because they too reported having posted here by mistake somehow. No problem: one was of minimal substance, the other's author I have MeMailed their text for reposting elsewhere (if they so desire). Apologies for the inconvenience either way. The server gremlins seems happy though -- no clue why that happened to several of you. Let us know if you can't post in future somehow? Thanks!

One comment removed at user's request.

Couple of comments removed for not answering the question and instead making jokes. That violates the Content Policy for AskMe.

One deleted. Poster's request.