Editing MetaFilter (section)

==History==
MetaFilter was founded by [[Matthew Haughey]] in 1999.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2009/jan/12/netbytes-metafilter |title=The shock of the old: MetaFilter may be just what you need |last=Schofield |first=Jack |newspaper=The Guardian |date=January 12, 2009 |access-date=November 22, 2018 |archive-date=June 17, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617165929/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2009/jan/12/netbytes-metafilter |url-status=live }}</ref> Haughey wrote the software for the site himself, using [[Macromedia ColdFusion]] and [[Microsoft SQL Server]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.noor.bz/pdf/ali-hasan_metafilter.pdf |title=MetaFilter: An Analysis of a Community Weblog |first=Noor |last=Ali-Hasan |publisher=[[University of Michigan]] School of Information |date=April 20, 2005 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070228115436/http://www.noor.bz/pdf/ali-hasan_metafilter.pdf |archive-date=February 28, 2007 |access-date=November 22, 2018}}</ref> The earliest Front Page Post (FPP), concerning cats in scanners and the resulting pictures, debuted on July 14, 1999.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.metafilter.com/19/CatScancom |title=Cat-Scan.com |date=July 14, 1999 |website=MetaFilter.com |access-date=November 22, 2018 |archive-date=November 23, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181123022747/https://www.metafilter.com/19/CatScancom |url-status=live }}</ref>

MetaFilter was included in ''Time''{{'}}s ''50 Best Websites 2009'' feature.<ref name="time2009"/>

At [[South by Southwest#2011|SXSW 2011]], Haughey gave a talk in which he noted that MetaFilter had about 125,000 user accounts, of which 12,000 are active.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://vimeo.com/21043675 |title=Lessons from 11 years of community (my SXSW 2011 talk) |access-date=November 22, 2018 |last=Haughey |first=Matt |date=March 14, 2011 |publisher=[[Vimeo]] |archive-date=April 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403164529/https://vimeo.com/21043675 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In November 2012, MetaFilter experienced a huge drop of traffic due to the [[Google Panda]] search update; specifically, the Ask MetaFilter page lost 40% of its traffic.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://searchengineland.com/metafilter-penalized-google-192168|title=On MetaFilter Being Penalized By Google: An Explainer|date=2014-05-22|website=Search Engine Land|access-date=2019-02-02|archive-date=2019-02-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190202095624/https://searchengineland.com/metafilter-penalized-google-192168|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://matt.haughey.com/on-the-future-of-metafilter-941d15ec96f0|title=On the Future of MetaFilter|last=Haughey|first=Matt|date=2014-05-21|website=Technology Musings|access-date=2019-02-02|archive-date=2017-06-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170611084234/https://matt.haughey.com/on-the-future-of-metafilter-941d15ec96f0|url-status=live}}</ref> This made MetaFilter overnight lose money and led to the letting go of multiple paid moderators.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://metatalk.metafilter.com/23245/State-of-MetaFilter|title=State of MetaFilter|website=metatalk.metafilter.com|language=en|access-date=2019-02-02|archive-date=2019-01-31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190131050723/https://metatalk.metafilter.com/23245/State-of-MetaFilter|url-status=live}}</ref>

In July 2017, the ownership of MetaFilter was transferred from Matthew Haughey to long-time moderator Josh Millard.<ref>{{cite web |title=mathowie transfers ownership of MetaFilter to cortex |url=https://metatalk.metafilter.com/24487/mathowie-transfers-ownership-of-MetaFilter-to-cortex |website=MetaFilter.com |date=July 31, 2017 |access-date=November 22, 2018 |archive-date=December 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181212175924/https://metatalk.metafilter.com/24487/mathowie-transfers-ownership-of-MetaFilter-to-cortex |url-status=live }}</ref>

In June 2018 the site was losing US$8,000 per month<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://metatalk.metafilter.com/24814/State-of-the-Site-Metafilter-financial-update-and-future-directions|title=State of the Site: Metafilter financial update and future directions|website=metatalk.metafilter.com|language=en|access-date=2019-02-02|archive-date=2019-02-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190202211946/https://metatalk.metafilter.com/24814/State-of-the-Site-Metafilter-financial-update-and-future-directions|url-status=live}}</ref> but rebounded with new sources of ad revenue and increased member contributions.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://metatalk.metafilter.com/24834/MetaFilter-revenue-update-holy-cow-yall|title=Metafilter revenue update|website=metatalk.metafilter.com|language=en|access-date=2019-02-02|archive-date=2019-02-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190203201813/https://metatalk.metafilter.com/24834/MetaFilter-revenue-update-holy-cow-yall|url-status=live}}</ref>

In May 2022, the ownership of MetaFilter was transferred to [[Jessamyn West (librarian)|Jessamyn West]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=[MeFi Site Update] May 25th |url=https://metatalk.metafilter.com/26078/MeFi-Site-Update-May-25th |access-date=2022-11-06 |website=metatalk.metafilter.com |language=en |archive-date=2022-11-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221106012042/https://metatalk.metafilter.com/26078/MeFi-Site-Update-May-25th |url-status=live }}</ref> who had been MetaFilter's first volunteer and first employee.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Quick Summary |url=https://metafilterfinancialsummary.simple.ink/quick-summary-7d9d2ae497f044e3b0d90423ae264dc1 |access-date=2022-11-06 |website=Fundraising Drive Financial Packet |language=en |archive-date=2022-11-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221106012042/https://metafilterfinancialsummary.simple.ink/quick-summary-7d9d2ae497f044e3b0d90423ae264dc1 |url-status=live }}</ref> Additionally, a Steering Committee of community members was proposed in March and elected in August.<ref>{{Cite web |title=First steps in some MetaFilter changes |url=https://metatalk.metafilter.com/26036/First-steps-in-some-MetaFilter-changes |access-date=2022-11-06 |website=metatalk.metafilter.com |language=en |archive-date=2022-11-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221106012042/https://metatalk.metafilter.com/26036/First-steps-in-some-MetaFilter-changes |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The first members of the Metafilter Steering Committee |url=https://metatalk.metafilter.com/26145/The-first-members-of-the-Metafilter-Steering-Committee |access-date=2022-11-06 |website=metatalk.metafilter.com |language=en |archive-date=2022-11-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221106012043/https://metatalk.metafilter.com/26145/The-first-members-of-the-Metafilter-Steering-Committee |url-status=live }}</ref>