Slashdot IRC Forum

The IRC forum with CmdrTaco and Hemos is now complete, and a log has been posted. They answered quite a few questions about Slashdot's subscription system, bigger ads, and other assorted stuff. Don't miss the question about pop-up ads.

Well...

[The-Bus]

As long as I can hit the monkey and still get $20...

Hasn't been asked enough....

[reaper20]

Just in case I missed it:

Do comments display ads by default?
Do I get penalized for viewing them?
And if so, am I paying for that?

Can you explain all this again Taco? Just kidding.

(ducks and runs)

Re:Avoiding Ads

[Anonymous Coward]

Especially when Slashdot dumps the answer right in your hands, like this [slashdot.org]. Those ads were interesting for the hour that I saw them! =)

I won't subscribe!

[Anonymous Coward]

First I was afraid
I was very sad
Kept thinking I could never read
a slashdot full of ads
But I had oh so many posts
Smacked down for saying jamie's wrong
I grew strong
I learned how to carry on..
So now there's ads
More of the same
I just logged on to find them here
Between the news and all the flames
I should have changed my fucking hosts
I should have switched my uid
If I had known for just one second
they'd be back to bother me

So off I go - I'm out the door
Just turn around now
'Cause I'm not reading anymore
Weren't you the one who hit me with $rtbl
You think I'm quelled
You think I'd just go to hell --
Oh no, not I
I won't subscribe
As long as I know how to post
I know I'll be alive
I've got all my life to live
I've got all my posts to give
I won't subscribe
I won't subscribe

It took all the strength I had
Not to read this thread
Kept trying hard to ban
slashdot addiction from my head
And I spent oh so many nights
Just posting crap at minus one
Used to be fun ...
But now I want to cut and run
And you see me at
Another site
I'm not that stupid little user
Reading every night
And so you felt like dropping in
And just expect me to be free
Now I'm saving all my comments
For someone who's loving me

So off I go - I'm out the door
Just turn around now
'Cause I'm not reading anymore
Weren't you the one who hit me with $rtbl
You think I'm quelled
You think I'd just go to hell --
Oh no, not I
I won't subscribe
As long as I know how to post
I know I'll be alive
I've got all my life to live
I've got all my posts to give
I won't subscribe
I won't subscribe

Hey hey...

Important Stuff:
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Here's an idea

[Jesse Duke]

to support /. *and* get rid of the stupid ads *and* not pay the submission : modify junkbuster slightly so that, on certain urls (/. ads), instead of filtering them by breaking the download altogether, the url is downloaded and sent straight to /dev/null, and the browser is sent an empty image (or told that the image is not available).

Time to get coding :)

My favorite CmdrTaco quote...

[Dimwit]

I have to do a radio interview at 10 tonight, and eat dinner.

I'd like to watch Junkyard wars w/ kathleen ;)

but I'll keep going for a bit.

Dear lord, I want this man's life. My fiancee won't even watch a movie with me if it has a computer in it. *sigh* Some bastards have all the luck.

Now, to be on topic: I think this could've been handled a bit better. I think people would've been more open to the whole thing, had the term "tip jar" been used from the beginning, instead of "subscription"...

But, what's past is past...

Slashdot's new business model

[Anonymous Coward]

A guy walks into the public library one day... Okay, it isn't the public library anymore, they've been privatized for about a decade, but people still call it that. Anyway, the guy walks into the library, and the head librarian walks up to him.

"Welcome to the Infotronobeam(r) Public Library! Our increasing costs means we have to look for new sources of income. Unfortunately the ad posters on the ends of the stacks aren't generating enough, and we have to seek financing from those who use our library."

"Aw, damn," the man says. "You mean you're going to start charging me to borrow books? If you do, I'm just going to leave and go to some other library!"

"No, no," the librarian says, smiling. "You still get as many books as you want for free."

"Um, okay... So what exactly do I have to pay for?"

"Nothing," she says, still smiling. "That is, unless you want me to stop doing... this! WOOP WOOP WOOP WOOP WOOP WOOP WOOP WOOP WOOP WOOP WOOP WOOP!" She draws in a deep breath. "WOOP WOOP WOOP-"

"Stop! Stop!" the man cries. "Okay, what do I have to do to make you not do... that?"

"Oh, it's simple! You just pay five Northamericos, and you can check out a hundred books without any audio accompaniment. You can even choose if you only want certain kinds of books... For example, I could be silent in the Non-Fiction section, but shout WOOP when you go into the Childrens Literature section. It's like a tip jar!"

"Okay... Wait. How is that like a tip jar?"

"You're giving me a tip for my great service!"

"The great service of not screaming incessantly?"

"That's right! So, do you want to put some money in the tip jar?" the librarian asks, holding out the glass jar, shaking it as if in invitation. The few lonely Pentium pieces in the jar rattle. It seems not many have jumped at the opportunity.

"No, I think I'll pass... I just want to check out books."

The librarian gets a stern look on her face as she draws in her breath. "WOOP WOOP WOOP WOOP WOOP WOOP..."

At that point the man remembers he has some earplugs in his pocket. He puts them in his ears, and the woman's screaming dulls down to be almost unnoticeable. Smiling, he goes about looking for a book, with the librarian following, becoming increasingly frustrated. He notices suddenly that everyone else seems to be wearing earplugs as well... He laughs, thinking that the "tip jar" is going to remain pretty empty...

So.. I'm still confused..

[XaXXon]

Do you guys plan on offering any payment types other than slashdot?

And what about a flat payment rate?

I wish you guys had addressed these important issues in your IRC forum. Also, I can't be bothered to read FAQ's, the original article, the entire web log, or anything else pertaining to the questions I'm asking. Please send me a uu-encoded, ROT13'd, PGP'd, and backwards response to all my questions or I'll keep asking them over and over and over...

An excerpt

[HongPong]

<CmdrTaco> We hope that enough users want Slashdot to still be here in a few years.
<hemos> I just don't wnat you to. :)

Says it all, really, don't it? :-D

Karma Whores, only Better

[Wanker]

Remember the Karma Whores? People would compete to see who could come up with the most Karma points for the sheer joy of saying "my score is bigger than yours".

I say let's ressurrect this annoying facet of human nature and turn it to Slashdot's advantage. Why not include a symbol along with each subscriber's comments that represents his/her "devotion" to Slashdot, as measured in US Dollars. (Kind of like the "community supporter" program on EZBoard, and similar "marks of recognition" found on other discussion boards.)

The catch-- these are not earned, they're bought! People could mindlessly compete to see who could get the most impressive widget associated with their name. Hemos could spend hours thinking up new and more interesting associations.

They would give no special privileges, just bragging rights (and revenue for OSDN).

For example:
$10 gets you "open source leech"
$100 gets you "linux bigot"
$1000 gets you "kernel hacker"
$10000 gets you "alpha geek"
$100000 gets you "better than Hemos"
$1000000 gets you "new owner of Slashdot"

Re:One possibility

[labratuk]

what the marketing people call 'early adopters'...

And I bet you've got the laserdiscs, CD-I, Sega Genesis, minidisc player and US Robotics x2 modem sitting in the loft to prove it...

GENITAL GNAWING

[waldoj]

I'm glad that an archive of this exists on slashnet.org -- I started logging the IRC session when I saw:

<Questions> elsie asks: are these gonna be popout ads?
<hemos> I WILL GNAW OFF MY OWN GENITALS FIRST

Though I'm not looking forward to popup ads appearing here, I must say that I will enjoy calling Hemos on this one a couple of years down the line. :)

-Waldo

Re:New Options

[Pussy Is Money]

"Yeah, you'll get some space on our website to promote your service so that other people can rate it annoying or stupid."

What kind of product is this?

Re:You know what?

[Stiletto]

This is where you have to stop and think "Hey... if Slashdot DOES go down because of a lack of profits, where will I turn?"

Here's where I will turn: I will turn my computer off, walk outside (that open space with the big bright white thing in the sky) and relish the fact that I am no longer compelled to sit there hitting reload waiting to first post.

A glad day it will be indeed.

So what size nail do want with your coffin?

[GiMP]

Bring out your dead. Bring out your dead.

OSDN: Here's one -- nine pence.
Slashdot: I'm not dead!
AC: Here -- he says he's not dead!
OSDN: Yes, he is.
Slashdot: I'm not!
AC: He isn't.
OSDN: Well, he will be soon, he's very ill.
Slashdot: I'm getting better!
OSDN: No, you're not -- you'll be stone dead in a moment.
Slashdot: I don't want to go in the cart!
OSDN: Oh, don't be such a baby.
AC: I can't take him...
OSDN: Oh, do us a favor...
AC: I can't.
OSDN: Well, when is your next round?
AC: Thursday.
Slashdot: I think I'll go for a walk.
OSDN: You're not fooling anyone y'know. Look, isn't there
something you can do?
Slashdot: I feel happy... I feel happy.
[ AC clubs slashdot to death]
OSDN: Ah, thanks very much.
AC: Not at all. See you on Thursday.

Kind of like Opera does

[xX_sticky_Xx]

You select your demographics and particular ads are served based on those values.

I find it very useful. I'm a 99 year old woman from Afghanistan and I don't get any ads.