Re: [seul-edu] Slashdot or Linux & Education

[Doug Loss <dloss@suscom.net>]

jeff covey wrote:
> 
> [sorry this is off-topic.]
> 
Yeah, I'll stop after this too :-).

> on Tue, Mar 14, 2000 at 08:32:29AM -0500%, Doug Loss said:
> 
>     Doug> You know, I've pretty much given up on trying to contribute
>     Doug> to Slashdot.  They don't seem to accept new stories except
>     Doug> if they come from their personal friends or are of personal
>     Doug> interest to them.
> 
> and robin (roblimo, not malda) suggested that we break things
> down by topic rather than author because in his (i think quite right)
> opinion, "slashdot is a personality cult; freshmeat is a knowledge
> cult."
> 
I guess that's it for me.  Cults of personality always get stale after a
while, as topics start to get re- and re-re-hashed.

> think of it this way:  how much do you know about scoop?  (i mean, do
> you even know scoop's real name?)  

Patrick Lenz.  What's my prize?

> freshmeat is about linux code & coding.  linuxtoday is about linux
> news.  slashdot is the rob & jeff show, and you have to love it or
> hate it on those terms, and accept that it's about what they think is
> important, not what you think is important.
> 
Yup.  Which is why I tend to visit it only every few days anymore.  It's
a big-bucks personal website.  I don't visit any personal websites, nor
do I have my own.  I'm looking for information and reasoned discussion,
which is why I like Kuro5hin, Advogato, and Technocrat.

>     Doug> And the S/N ratio in the comments is so low as to make it
>     Doug> hardly worth wading through to find anything worth reading.
> 
> on the contrary, i find that the moderation system makes it one of the
> only sites with a comment board that's worth reading.  set your
> threshold to 4, and you'll only see worthwhile stuff.

We just have to disagree on that, I guess.  The moderation system isn't
the problem so far as I'm concerned.  It's the "Anonymous Coward"
account.  If everyone had to register to post (even with a pseudonym),
the S/N would go way up, I think.  As you say, it's personal taste.  The
tast of Slashdot has just soured a bit for me, is all.

-- 
Doug Loss                 Even if you're on the right track,
Data Network Coordinator  you'll get run over if you just
Bloomsburg University     sit there.
dloss@bloomu.edu                Will Rogers