When flasks turn to K's - a Q&A for the future
12As you all know by now, our beloved @JonT has left us for what we hope are far greener pastures than he can fathom. It goes without saying that he will be missed by all of us here at Mediocre. The voice he had on these forums was unmistakable and the mark he left will be ever lasting. He is our friend first and was a coworker second. That cannot be stressed enough. To say that things won't feel a bit different around here would be an understatement. In the end, we are incredibly happy for him and his new opportunity and wish nothing but the absolute best.
But I can assure you this, the team here will do everything we can to ensure that the community we've all built here, together, remains what it is. You can count on that.
And with that we thought we'd open this thread up to a bit of a Q&A for myself, @HollBoll, @Moose, @Dave, and @Galmaegi. If you have any questions about what our plans are for the forums or what you can expect from us, ask away. If you simply want to ask us some random questions about life and what our thoughts are on how we're ruining the next generation by giving away participation trophies to kids that simply show up to a competition these days, well we've got lots to say on that too. If you got concerns, voice em'. We're open to talking about whatever you want. So fire away.
- 24 comments, 147 replies
- Comment
@MEHcus, why did you capitalize the B in hollboll?
@hollboll I've always felt that the lowercase b was the most overvalued lowercase letter in the alphabet.
@MEHcus reckon it got too many participation awards?
@MEHcus *b*itter much?
@hollboll @MEHcus More importantly, why did you capitalize the 'h'? It's like she's an entirely different person and we already liked the one we had!
@cinoclav @MEHcus @hollboll I actually think this phenomenon is quite literally @sohmageek's fault
edit for evidence: https://meh.com/forum/topics/scavenger-hunt-the-reveal#55e8c53340c113d40a26e738
@Lotsofgoats Usually is. The bastard.
@MEHcus I hate to say this, but that's the perfect answer.
Nicely expressed, @MEHcus. Who should we "@" when we have a question or need some help in the forums?
Do we have to call on all of you, or will you each have a special area of expertise?
@KDemo Great question. The answer is really any of us. We'll all be monitoring the forums and will be more active day to day than we have been in the past.
Maybe you could come up with a shared name? @DaMoMEHoGa? @DaGaHoMEHMo? @mod?
@KDemo I like just @MEHMo
@KDemo I don't think the internet's ready for that kind of multi-headed monster.
@KDemo If it is a product-related question, particularly at launch, feel free to @ me. I try to know all the ins and outs of things we're selling and I'm up every night at least for awhile after launch. Or just @ me if you wanna talk or whatevs.
@hollboll or, at least, so said the plebeian masses of the focus group when we presented our attempt to genetically engineer the ultimate customer support employee
@KDemo @galmaegi volunteers for all VMP questions.
@hollboll If the internet were ready for it, what would be the point? Sigh. I see that standards have dropped so quickly already. ;-p
@MEHcus Any of you being any of the ones on the Q&A or anyone anyone like @Dstanley?
@MEHcus Who the hell is @Galmaegi?
@Teripie Um, I'm @galmaegi. Who the hell are you?
@galmaegi likes Peanut Stouts. And I like @galmaegi.
@galmaegi I LOVE THIS ANSWER
@marklog Yep. I gave 9 out of 10.
@galmaegi I am the Teripie, the one true and original Teripie. All other Teripies are imposters. Teripie since 1998.
@Teripie I'm just galmaegi since 2014. No one seems to know how to spell and I kinda like the way it is. It means seagull in Korean. I like beer and dogs.
@galmaegi I like beer and dogs.
Both for consumption?
@kadagan @chellemonkey Now y'all think I'm a guy chugging beer with do... meat. ㅠㅠ
@galmaegi They must of missed THIS
@ceagee Psst...
@galmaegi * whisper * what ?
Are there plans in the works to replace or move a current flasker into @JonT's vacant spot? Or is the plan to move forward with a group effort and see how it plays out?
@Thumperchick Damn, as I was writing out mine you jumped in. Still keeping my question as well, because ANARCHY.
@Thumperchick we'll move forward with a group effort for the time being. From a CS standpoint it has been quiet enough around here lately that we've got the resources on hand to all commit some extra attention to the forums without needing to bring someone on full time right now. Of course we will be actively monitoring how that transition goes and will make the necessary changes down the road if we see a need.
@MEHcus So this circus and these monkeys are now mostly under your supervision? (Under @dave)
@Thumperchick
@MEHcus What's @bingo got to do with anything?
@Thumperchick
@Thumperchick Short answer: For now we're going to split up aspects of his role among existing team members. Long answer that's more about company structure than personnel, but what the hey:
1) We started Meh and had the Customer Support team managed by our COO, while I managed the Community team (uh, mostly @JonT). They sat close together, so it worked pretty well but always felt a little weird to not be able to clearly give the same marching orders to both sides.
2) This summer I started managing both teams, which worked well from a general "not having to check with another manager" side of things, but still had a little bit of "wait, which team should handle this" type of questions come up from time to time.
3) So now the Customer Support team is essentially becoming the Customer & Community Support team. That's less of a personnel thing and more of a structure / management thing - if either CS or the Community side grow to need more help, we can hire, but I'm going to hire people into a Customer & Community Support team instead of having separate ones.
Basically, since members of our community are often also our customers and vice versa, it makes less sense to have an arbitrary team division there.
(just for clarification, I'm not on customer service, I just set up the deals/specs (and sometimes the front page video with @chadp and @matthew) and like to hang out with you folks in the community because I think you're swell people and it lets me be creative. So CS questions are best left for everyone else, but I can help if someone has a question about a product we're selling or a video or my hobbies and interests or my dogs or lamps or film history or whatever else you might want to know about)
@dave That division always did seem counter-intuitive. I'm looking forward to seeing how this cross-over works out.
@Thumperchick
@Moose So what do you know about lamps? Because I love lamp
@Moose Can we get a complete and exhaustive list of your hobbies, interests, and areas of expertise?
@Galmaegi Why can I never remember how to spell your screen name? Is it @sohmageek's fault?
Real question - do you still spend most of your time focusing on Korean customers? Or are you now split between helping everyone?
@Thumperchick I'm her boss and I can't even remember how to spell it. Don't feel bad.
@Thumperchick @MEHcus - Have you considered that maybe it's intentional so no one contacts her? Well played, @galmegai . .uh . . . oh.
@Thumperchick Don't worry. You're not the only one as @MEHcus said. At the moment I'm helping everyone if I can. When @hollboll sees any Korean support email she'll use Google translate and read out loud for me. That helps.
@KDemo See? You can't even tag me.
@galmaegi @hollboll If this hasn't already been videoed, it needs to be. A series please. And thank you.
@Thumperchick Annnd thanks to @MEHcus I just found out @galmaegi is female......evidently "galmaegi" is masculine in my mind...
@chellemonkey I mean, she has "gal" right there in the name.
Is the plan to hire out for a new Community Liaison-esk position or is the role gonna be consumed in by the CS conglomerate?
If hired out, can we be a part of the selection process...that sounds fun.
Can we get a few more "Let's meet _" videos regarding the staff. I really enjoy those videos.
@studerc See my response above to T Humper.
I like where you're heads at on this one, should we move to that, we'll see what happens. AKA probably not.
Let's see if we can convince @matthew and @chadp to put some more of these together for us. You're right, they are fantastic videos.
@studerc I second the "Let's meet __" videos - they're a fun look into the human behind the gifs.
@studerc I would love for there to be more of these videos, so mine doesn't have any excuse to be shown again.
As @JonT was using a mediocre Laboratories computer, therefore giving up all rights to his collection of magical gifs stored on said computer, can we expect the CS masses to take full advantage of this pre-made collection for our delight?
@cinoclav hopefully he stored his gif collection in ... no i won't say it, because a certain browser extension will change it to "my butt".
@cinoclav Nope, we'll be relying 100% on @Medz to make all new gifs as needed at a moments notice from here on out.
When there are grapes on a buffet, it really really bugs me when people pull off a handful of single grapes leaving an unsightly skeleton of grape stems. Break off a sprig, people! I'd like to hear staff thoughts on this.
@KDemo I always break off a sprig. It's awkward to stand there and pull off single grapes.
@hollboll Thank you! You are invited to my grape party.
@KDemo I want some grapes now.
@KDemo when i try to break off a sprig, it doesn't come off cleanly and i drop grapes everywhere.
@KDemo I feel like the path to true world peace centers around getting people to quit being dumb. Fixing this issue would be a step in the right direction. Take the sprig people, don't be dumb.
Two words, @katylava. Turd knife.
@KDemo I'm on team @katylava here. Sprigs fight back and usually win.
@KDemo I just spit coffee onto my screen. Thanks for that.
@MEHcus You, too may attend my party.
@editorkid @katylava
@MEHcus While we're at it, can something be done about the assholes that do this?
@joelmw No for realz doe
@joelmw - Electronic homing carts?
@KDemo The only correct answer is to eat the sprigs, too.
@joelmw That is @humper's single biggest pet peeve. He rounds them up on his way in the store and just grumbles the whole time. He may have heckled a few people about it, too.
Aldi solved this problem decades ago. Other stores are just stupid.
@zachdecker We've talked about that as well - it would make sense to institute this everywhere. At least if you're returning a cart at Aldi, you get a quarter for your trouble.
@KDemo This is a very complicated question and seems more in Irk's realm then the CS staff.
@ceagee - Trying to civilize the masses, one post at a time.
@zachdecker That's basically the way every cart I've used in Europe worked. Some countries charge for bags, too.
@jqubed as you do at Aldi as well...which makes sense, since they are a German Company...
@joelmw Marvel at the majesty that is the wild shopping cart, grazing in it's natural habitat.
(That should have been read in an ambiguous European accent. Or possibly African)
@Chops Okay, that made me laugh--in a purely joyous and appreciative way.
But this would be more like dogs inbred and tortured for fighting and "let loose" in a cage. The shopping cart's natural habitat would be in a grocery store. ;-p
@joelmw Agree. Shopping carts are domesticated. They do not belong outside except under human control or corralled in some way. Running free, they are a hazard to navigation and paint jobs.
@joelmw Although, it does give a new spin on the song "Renegades" if you imagine it being sung by shopping carts.
@zachdecker unfortunately Aldi hugely sucks in just about every other way. At least in our state.
Was there with my son who noticed an untethered cart on the way out. Being a budding entrepreneur, he proceeded to check that cart in for the quarter. But not before getting physically pushed out of the way by an apparently dearly underpaid Aldi employee going for the same quarter. Unbelievable if I haven't witnessed it.
@rockblossom I wish I could find photos or video, but my lazy search netted nothing. A group in my hometown (Missoula, MT) marches with shopping carts in the annual University of Montana homecoming parade. Or they did. Not sure if someone's still doing it. They'd do formations and whatnot. That's cool too.
@KDemo @katylava @mehcus I think we have spriggers and grapists, and it's important to work as a team. I'm fully capable of taking the whole sprig, but sometimes I only want a grape. That's when I wait for a fellow sprigger to take theirs, and then I grape them.
@DaveInSoCal - So, kind of a symbiosis thing? That's playing a dangerous game -
@KDemo unless you provide me with grape shears, expect me to destroy your grapes in my effort to free a cluster.
PLEASE PROVIDE GRAPE SHEARS. THE MORE ORNATE, THE BETTER.
@curtise - Sweet!! I didn't know about those, but I always snip grapes into convenient sprigs before serving.
Grape shears: great idea, or the greatest idea?
Irk plushies?
@thismyusername plushies Irk?
@thismyusername @MEHcus Irk plushies, please.
@MEHcus yup. I'd get behind that.
When your office space gets cleaned, do the cleaners ever have a problem distinguishing trash from office decoration?
@rockblossom We've had a thing or two go missing without a trace over the months. I'd be lying if I didn't suspect this to be the culprit, or at least one of the culprits.
@rockblossom ALL. THE. TIME.
@rockblossom I am 99% sure that they are the reason why we don't have any more nerf darts. I think they used to vacuum around them but then they gave up. They also gave up on my desk ages ago, because it is almost always covered/surrounded in stuff that sits on the border of "work related paperwork and packaging" and "trash." I cleaned last week and found papers going back a year, boxes from stuff we sold months ago, and enough trash that I had to take three trips to the dumpster. My hoarder-esque desk does not reflect the state of any of my coworkers' though.
@Moose Did you ever consider that perhaps a cleaner just saved him/herself a trip to the dumpster by putting stuff on your desk?
if i could have lunch with one of you, who would i want to have lunch with and why?
(note: this is not a stalker type offer to randomly show up and expect lunch)
@carl669 You're typing this from inside @matthew 's house right now, aren't you?
@carl669 shouldn't it be the other way around?
@carl669 Who does 'one of you' consist of?
@jaremelz - ssshhhhhh!!
@hollboll - you'd think so, but no.
@MEHcus - i leave that open to your interpretation.
@carl669 Depends. You buying?
@carl669 We are all one people. You and I are the same. Having lunch with any of us is having lunch with all of us.
@MEHcus Human mehtipede?
@jaremelz eeewwwwww
@dave depends. how much can you eat?
@MEHcus this is far too high level thinking for a monday.
@carl669 You know, your replies to myself and dave could be about the same thing.
@carl669 ME... Why? I have good beers! ;)
I sent JonT a box back in August- it supposedly arrived the Wednesday before he left for vacation. Do you know if he ever got it? It had blue food in it (to share). I asked but never got a reply.
@sammydog01 I sent something TTM related weeks ago, never heard a word. :(
@jaremelz Who's attention? Maybe @Hollboll would be more responsive.
@sammydog01 is it cotton candy flavored?
@hollboll Yes!
@sammydog01 I think it was to @Mehcus
@jaremelz Oh yeah I got that, asked @sohmageek to let me know why I was getting things in the mail but never got word. Was waiting for a last minute push in the scavenger hunt for points at the end to close it out.
@MEHcus And the item that was for everyone, did it make it safe and sound? It was in the same box.
@jaremelz It did
@MEHcus Yay
@jaremelz @MEHcus For some reason I thought this thread might get clearer, but it has only gotten more mysterious.
@MEHcus E-mail Forkoff@sohmageek.com for explanation... and yes I have plans... :) Tonight starts the big countdown... along with some other things...
@dave Would you really expect anything different?
@hollboll So does that mean you got it or are you a really good guesser?
@sammydog01 If you're responsible for
Yes we got them. They're super weird.
@hollboll Good! I guess the note got lost.
Who will be organizing Season 3 of the Mediocre Fantasy Football League?
@JonT will you still stay active on your team this year????
@kadagan Lets get through season 2 before we start worrying about season 3
@kadagan The real question is whether it will make a difference if @JonT keeps up with his team or not. (I got to contribute to his 0-3 record this week.)
@MEHcus Can you turn on trophies in the FF Advanced League? I want to have a reminder of how I beat you by 70 points.
@metaphore no comment
Are we ever going to see an Irk vs. Glen death-match?
When will I get my upside down goat badge? And the goat surprise? Life i$ kinda $ucky right now, a goat badge would be nice.
@lisaviolet I'm sorry your life is being $ucky. Does this help?
@OldCatLady Thank you, it helps a lot. :D
@HollBoll When will @studerc and the rest of us get our prizes?
@sohmageek normal prizes will be coming first. The labels @JonT gave me aren't valid anymore because they're 2 weeks old so I'll have to print new ones. Don't get too excited, but normal prizes will most likely go out this week.
Goat prizes will take longer since we're trying to decide how to
punishreward you for your service. ;)@hollboll So what were the worthless prizes for those who sent in lyrics for Mad Ape Den?
@hollboll and then there's the Irk thing: "If your question gets asked you might even get a trinket or bauble of extremely low value, what a deal!"
Perhaps there was a heavy emphasis on "might"
cause that whole thing has been ignored.
Although Irk answering your question is sort of reward enough, I'm thinking a plush Irk would be the best way to handle it. : )
Plush Irks for the Irk questions !! Sell them to the other fools who want them and that will cover the cost of handing them out to the winners. You see I have this all thought out for you. You are welcome.
tl;dr plush Irk
@hollboll And I didn't see the person who had it as a question above. I guess it's an in demand kind a thing. But then you already knew that. or should.
@hollboll
Hello I am a fool who wants Irk plushies.
@thismyusername @hollboll @ceagee @sohmageek I'd buy an Irk plushie. Maybe.
@Barney well he is purplish
@ceagee And I do love purple...
@Galmaegi do you still get the same volume of korean traffic considering 1/2 of the normal speaker docks are gone.
@sohmageek That's a problem. Now the speaker docks are gone, they're going to find something else to write in about. ;) But no, I'm not really seeing the same type of questions we used to get back in Dec. We're not a strange web site to them any more I think!
Who is the jauntiest now?
@mehcus I was thinking of this... and I totally agree @JonT has been a pillar of the community... Granted... he was paid to do so... BUT... I'm surprised he got a K... I thought it would have been something like a broken flask, or jolly roger with a flask behind or something...
@sohmageek They fucked up. Guess whose fault that is?
@joelmw Even a takoyaki would be interesting ;) I'm sorry :(
@sohmageek Second that. A broken flask or some orher special symbol for ex-Mediocre staff would be nice, as long as it wasn't insulting.
@sohmageek ....or lifetime VMP status....
(😉 I got your back, @JonT.)
I think a tipped flask would be appropriate. Pouring one out for the homies and what not.
When will Meh do a video like this one?
(Extra bonus points if you actually do it in one take)
@dashcloud This one has the World's Record and is also most excellent.
@ceagee Thanks for that- I enjoyed it.
@sammydog01 It looks like it was fun to be in !
@dashcloud Gotta love the SILF shirt.
@ceagee I wanted to be grumpy about that, but couldn't help but enjoy it still.
@ceagee I remember fondly that video when it was released. BTW, it is the Michigan version of the city, not the other one.
@dashcloud Here's one of my favorites:
When we saw Belle & Sebastian earlier this year they showed this video and played live in front of it.
@SSteve I have recently been introduced to Belle & Sebastian. Like them a lot.
@ceagee Lucky you. Don't miss this album: http://smile.amazon.com/God-Help-Girl/dp/B002736YNA. It might not come up if you're just looking for B&S albums. The box set is also something that might be overlooked but shouldn't be: http://smile.amazon.com/Lazy-Line-Painter-Belle-Sebastian/dp/B00004I9UT. You can get it used for a penny.
@SSteve Thanks for the tips. I have been listening on Youtube, but would like to dive into my own CDs at some point.
This is perhaps a bit unrelated to the people of concern in this thread, but something I'd love to see more of is more insights into the business side of Meh, and of Mediocre in general. We've gotten a few glimpses, "like the story for those speaker rocks":https://meh.com/deals/audiosource-outdoor-rock-speaker-pair-2 or that pie chart showing how much of Mediocre's revenue came from Meh sales, but I think it'd be cool if the bean-counters posted more and got to share their stories too.
@lljk agreed. But that might be the secret sauce.
@lljk Half of it is just trying to figure out what would be interesting and what's dead boring. Maybe questions from the community would help spur some of that. I bet any time someone says "how'd you end up getting these things" we'd have some sort of answer, though it might often be "the place that had them didn't want them any more, so we were able to get a good deal."
@Galmaegi What happened to your fancy Korean Member Support badge?
@dashcloud In my purse so I can pull it out whenever I need to.
There was a hubbub a while ago when unhelpful answers were being deleted in the beginning of the product sale thread. Is that still happening or is it more laissez-faire these days?
@SSteve It mostly felt like a week or so of doing that seemed to stop people from posting the most annoying level of stuff at launch. If it feels like it's picking up again, I could see doing more, but it's more based on "is this thread annoying to read?" (for us, for our regulars, and for new people coming into the forum for the first time) than any strict rules.