# I don't like the phrase "meat space" **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 1, 2012, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-the-phrase-meat-space/642714 "2012-12-01T23:55:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-the-phrase-meat-space/642714/21 "2012-12-02T04:05:51Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > I find the term meat space to be inelegant but useful. Come up with something better, and I’ll be happy to use it. Real life? ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-the-phrase-meat-space/642714/22 "2012-12-02T04:07:45Z")
I prefer a surreal life, TYVM. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-the-phrase-meat-space/642714/23 "2012-12-02T04:21:47Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > Real life? I hate that term. It implies that online interactions are not “real”, that they “don’t count” somehow. That kind of mental framework underlies a ton of unsavoury behaviour. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-the-phrase-meat-space/642714/24 "2012-12-02T04:32:39Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > I hate that term. It implies that online interactions are not “real”, that they “don’t count” somehow. That kind of mental framework underlies a ton of unsavoury behaviour. I wouldn’t say they ‘don’t count’, but they certainly don’t count on the same level as my off line interactions. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-the-phrase-meat-space/642714/25 "2012-12-02T05:36:47Z")
The phrase always reminds me of the club George goes to in The Bizarro Jerry. (The meat-packing plant. GEORGE and JERRY are walking around. The walls are still black, but there’s no furniture and there are sides of beef hanging on hooks, sawdust on the floor. They are the only people there. GEORGE is dismayed, and bumps into a side of beef in his distraction.) JERRY: So this is it, huh? GEORGE: But it–eh… It was here, I’m tellin’ you, an’ w–w–it was really here! The, there was, a, bar, and a, an’ a dance floor… JERRY: I guess the DJ booth was over there behind the bone saw? [http://www.seinology.com/scripts/script-137.shtml](http://www.seinology.com/scripts/script-137.shtml) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-the-phrase-meat-space/642714/26 "2012-12-02T06:12:35Z")
Makes me hungry. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-the-phrase-meat-space/642714/27 "2012-12-02T06:34:22Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > I wouldn’t say they ‘don’t count’, but they certainly don’t count on the same level as my off line interactions. And that’s kinda weird, when you stop to think about it, isn’t it ? Both involve the “same” people, communicating and sharing the same ideas/feelings/emotions/ideas/hobbies, albeit via different mediums. And yet somehow it’s “not real”, it’s “virtual”, it’s “not on the same level” and so on. We compartmentalise the hell out of online business. I don’t quite grok how that works. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-the-phrase-meat-space/642714/28 "2012-12-02T07:08:28Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > That’s what happens when you go out into the Big Blue Room. Screw the Big Blue Room, for one, it’s not even always blue, depending on what time of day it is and other reasons it may be black, or even gray! The plumbing is also borked, why should I go into that room when there’s a chance I’ll get **wet**. Ummm… I have a shower at home, thanks. Also, whoever manages the heating and cooling of that room is completely inept. It’s bad enough that people **die** because temperatures are too hot or cold. Not to mention how bad they are at managing the humidifier sometimes. The people who live in the Big Blue Room also have no care for how their actions might affect their neighbors. Why, recently, they just up and cause a whirling dervish that rips through that destroys a bunch of other rooms, not to mention kills and injures people, and who has to clean it up? The US government and a bunch of charities, the owner doesn’t even take responsibility. Not to mention whenever the plumbing breaks, for some reason this appears to be cause for a party rather than fixing it. I’ve heard what I SWEAR are deep bass drums rocking late at night, usually in conjunction with what appears to be a fault electrical socket or something, given the large bolts of electricity that occasionally come down. For fuck’s sake, they let rabid, feral, or otherwise dangerous animals roam around. There’s mold and bugs EVERYWHERE, and it seems to be the prime location for all the crazy, dangerous people to hang out and beg for money or drugs. The Big Blue Room is terrible, I don’t understand why **anybody** would go there, ever. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-the-phrase-meat-space/642714/29 "2012-12-02T07:16:24Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > And that’s kinda weird, when you stop to think about it, isn’t it ? Both involve the “same” people, communicating and sharing the same ideas/feelings/emotions/ideas/hobbies, albeit via different mediums. And yet somehow it’s “not real”, it’s “virtual”, it’s “not on the same level” and so on. We compartmentalise the hell out of online business. > I don’t quite grok how that works. It’s easy. I don’t trust that anyone on line is who they say they are. I like to enjoy the sport of messagboarding as \*if \*everyone is who they say they are, but I don’t actually trust that to be true. I find this an interesting conversation. I think I will start a thread. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-the-phrase-meat-space/642714/30 "2012-12-02T08:40:30Z")
I’m on board with the OP’s dislike of “meatspace” - partly because (and I’m pleased to discover I’m not alone here) it conjures up images of some trendy hipster nightclub themed like a freezing works, complete with sides of beef hanging on hooks and so forth. “In Real Life” works as a descriptor for the physical (not virtual) world, I think. I’ve yet to hear anyone come up with a serious and practical alternate suggestion, at least. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-the-phrase-meat-space/642714/31 "2012-12-02T09:24:00Z")
[Meat in Space!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnDS_Td0KIg) ---
**Author:** ![6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/e19adc/32.png) [@6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-the-phrase-meat-space/642714/32 "2012-12-02T11:02:41Z")
I like meat space. My insidey bits look forward to keeping meat space for lamb. And bacon. I have mousse space as well. ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-the-phrase-meat-space/642714/33 "2012-12-02T14:48:34Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > It’s easy. I don’t trust that anyone on line is who they say they are. I like to enjoy the sport of messagboarding as \*if \*everyone is who they say they are, but I don’t actually trust that to be true. I find this an interesting conversation. I think I will start a thread. I looked for your thread and did not find it - will be interested to see it. the not trusting anyone makes sense…and yet, I find that after awhile I do exactly that: trust people to be who they say they are. I had one experience of meeting in 3D a large group of people that I had previously only known online. I found I changed my opinion of only one of them, and it was for the better. basically, we were all who we seemed. it may be naive, to some extent, but deliberately so I think. mindfully, in fact. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-the-phrase-meat-space/642714/34 "2012-12-02T15:15:36Z")
> [@](#): > > “They’re made out of meat.” > > “Meat?” > > “Meat. They’re made out of meat.” > > “Meat?” > > “There’s no doubt about it. We picked up several from different parts of the planet, took them aboard our recon vessels, and probed them all the way through. They’re completely meat.” > > “That’s impossible. What about the radio signals? The messages to the stars?” > > “They use the radio waves to talk, but the signals don’t come from them. The signals come from machines.” > > “So who made the machines? That’s who we want to contact.” > > “They made the machines. That’s what I’m trying to tell you. Meat made the machines.” > > “That’s ridiculous. How can meat make a machine? You’re asking me to believe in sentient meat.” … Terry Bisson ---
**Author:** ![artemis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/91b2a8/32.png) [@artemis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/artemis)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-the-phrase-meat-space/642714/35 "2012-12-02T15:44:14Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > “In Real Life” works as a descriptor for the physical (not virtual) world, I think. Nope - because it implies that what happens in cyberspace is somehow not real or not actually part of our lives, which isn’t true. “In physical space” would work better, but for some reason that hasn’t caught on (probably because “meat space,” though gross, is pithier). ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-the-phrase-meat-space/642714/36 "2012-12-02T16:21:23Z")
“Uh, the… meat blimp crashed out back.” “The _Meat Blimp?_” “Uh, yeah! That’s how they move meat these days!” - Drawn Together ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-the-phrase-meat-space/642714/37 "2012-12-02T16:25:07Z")
I always talk about meeting someone “outside the box”. I know it has another meaning, but it’s just what I say. I have conversations in the box, and sometimes we meet outside the box. Hell it’s better than “meatspace”. ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-the-phrase-meat-space/642714/38 "2012-12-02T16:35:08Z")
> [@Rushgeekgirl](#): > > I always talk about meeting someone “outside the box”. I know it has another meaning, but it’s just what I say. I have conversations in the box, and sometimes we meet outside the box. Hell it’s better than “meatspace”. I currently like in 3D best, but “outside the box” is OK with me, too. how about “off screen” ? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2012, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-the-phrase-meat-space/642714/39 "2012-12-02T16:35:23Z")
I’ve never heard of “meat space.” Is that anything like “meat market”? ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-the-phrase-meat-space/642714/40 "2012-12-03T14:47:11Z")
Yes. It’s approximately 50% like that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-the-phrase-meat-space/642714.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-like-the-phrase-meat-space/642714.md?page=3)