Ask And Ye Shall Receive

Oh, man. I can already tell this will be the end of my social life.

I think I've mentioned Metafilter on this site before, haven't I? Well, whatever - for those of you not in the know, it's essentially a multi person blog which anyone can post to (after a week of being a registered user and having submit a few comments to some of the threads, etc...) Some of the posts are interesting. Almost all of them are littered with links which you could potentially get something out of. But to my mind, it's... well, information overload, I guess. There's some fascinating stuff on there but there are just SO MANY links to sift through. I find it more than a little overwhelming. Plus, the posts themselves are often written in such a way as to be just abstract enough to not really understand, and then you click on one of the links to get further clarification and you find that you're either more confused, or it's about a subject that you're not really interested in. I realize "interest" is all relative, but I don't know... I guess I'd just like to know what the subject is about first, before I go diving into it.

But then, someone told me about the "ask" portion of the Metafilter site, and suddenly information overload didn't seem to be that much of a problem. Why? Well maybe because I find myself interested in the most mundane and utterly random topics. Really. For instance, last night I found myself reading up on desirable places to live in Ottawa. Why should I find any sort of appeal in this?

And, there's more! How to use a 1930's Singer sewing machine, various computer questions, what to say to the doctor when you have a migraine headache. I mean, this is bordering on the absurd. I simply go to the main page and start reading the topics - topics which I should have no business being interested in - and I'm hooked.

What is it? Is it the "voyeur" in me? Why do I so enjoy this, but feel so blah about the Metafilter main page? Will I ever leave my house again, or am I destined to become a hunchbacked, long bearded recluse (actually, I prefer the term 'oracle', thank you) who knows small facts about everything?

I know not, people. Maybe it's just that I like to read comments from people who know what they're talking about, and enjoy the idea of a free forum where people help each other out with their small every day problems. Whatever the case, it's one hell of a pleasant time waster. Hell, maybe I'll even ask them how much my furniture costs. Hmph.