I like Slashdot a lot. I come here every day. Despite the common flames (and downright freaky displays of human frailty around -1), I think the group consensus here is fantastic. It's often very funny, and I like knowing what all the really smart mf'ers think about certain issues and topics. I feel smarter for reading Slashdot.
Having said that, my lack of subscription is for a very simple reason: it's not professional.
I won't subscribe until I never see a dupe or typo. Really, for all of our vaunted technology, if Slashdot cannot surmount these two very simple obstacles, it doesn't deserve any real monetary support. It just doesn't. And again, I say this as a real fan.
Fix that, Taco, and you've got my money. And maybe even a little more credibility.
If you want "Professional", read CNN. Slashdot is the trenches. Its down and
dirty. It has typos and dupe stories and flamewars. We do our best to avoid
mistakes, but we're mistake prone humans, trying to get news out in real time.
So, sometimes things will go wrong.
If I had any mod points, I'd be tempted to mod you as a troll.
I don't think most of slashdot sees typos and dupes as part of the fun, judging by the comments about it whenever it crops up. Sure, it serves as a basis for discussion, but then so would posting an extra funny article a day.
IMHO, the linkup and article from Slashdot should be pretty much error-free; the trench part of slashdot always happens in the comments anyway. And it's lovely to be able to read unique stories without trawling through hundreds of comments on incorrect spellings.
Sure, sometimes things will go wrong, but with a 10-20 minute lead time on most articles after they've been posted, it shouldn't happen quite so often. And I don't think it's anything to be defended.
My point is that some people take Slashdot far to seriously. We're not CNN. We're just some guys trying to post a fun mix of the serious, the important, and the entertaining. Lighten up!
My point is that some people take Slashdot far to seriously. We're not CNN. We're just some guys trying to post a fun mix of the serious, the important, and the entertaining. Lighten up!
(pssssst! Taco! You're asking people to pony up more money! Ixnay on the efensivenessday!)
Am I being defensive? Heh. Maybe. It's just that I've been running Slashdot for five and a half years now, and trying to keep it as an Informal news source. It was built on that very premise, and I think that this is core to its appeal. But there's always a group of people who think that this is a flaw. I just don't get it! I'm not trying to be defensive, I just feel like people who make these arguments want to fundamentally change the very nature of what Slashdot is!
Yes, that's a big part of the appeal. But, spell_check != formal_news. You need to do so much more to be a formal news site. You're so far away from being a formal news site that the tiny incremenatal change of spell checking really is a tiny drop in the ocean of change needed to become "formal". But it would make reading slashdot less irritating (and there's spell checking software that make this easy, unlike avoiding dups...)
I just feel like people who make these arguments want to fundamentally change the very nature of what Slashdot is!
You're saying that integrating a spell checking into the story posting process would fundamentally change the very nature of slashdot.
Now if you were to investigate all stories, use a formal writing style, write your own copy instead of primarily using the submission text, and dozens of other things... then you'd be talking about changing the nature of slashdot. Integrating a spell checking into the story posting, and even into comment posting and posting to the story submission just isn't going to change the fundamental nature of slashdot.
Reasons for not subscribing. (Score:5, Insightful)
Having said that, my lack of subscription is for a very simple reason: it's not professional.
I won't subscribe until I never see a dupe or typo. Really, for all of our vaunted technology, if Slashdot cannot surmount these two very simple obstacles, it doesn't deserve any real monetary support. It just doesn't. And again, I say this as a real fan.
Fix that, Taco, and you've got my money. And maybe even a little more credibility.
Re:Reasons for not subscribing. (Score:5, Informative)
Personally, I think that this is half the fun ;)
Re:Reasons for not subscribing. (Score:2)
I don't think most of slashdot sees typos and dupes as part of the fun, judging by the comments about it whenever it crops up. Sure, it serves as a basis for discussion, but then so would posting an extra funny article a day.
IMHO, the linkup and article from Slashdot should be pretty much error-free; the trench part of slashdot always happens in the comments anyway. And it's lovely to be able to read unique stories without trawling through hundreds of comments on incorrect spellings.
Sure, sometimes things will go wrong, but with a 10-20 minute lead time on most articles after they've been posted, it shouldn't happen quite so often. And I don't think it's anything to be defended.
Re:Reasons for not subscribing. (Score:2, Troll)
Re:Reasons for not subscribing. (Score:3, Interesting)
(pssssst! Taco! You're asking people to pony up more money! Ixnay on the efensivenessday!)
Re:Reasons for not subscribing. (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Reasons for not subscribing. (Score:5, Insightful)
Yes, that's a big part of the appeal. But, spell_check != formal_news. You need to do so much more to be a formal news site. You're so far away from being a formal news site that the tiny incremenatal change of spell checking really is a tiny drop in the ocean of change needed to become "formal". But it would make reading slashdot less irritating (and there's spell checking software that make this easy, unlike avoiding dups...)
I just feel like people who make these arguments want to fundamentally change the very nature of what Slashdot is!
You're saying that integrating a spell checking into the story posting process would fundamentally change the very nature of slashdot.
Now if you were to investigate all stories, use a formal writing style, write your own copy instead of primarily using the submission text, and dozens of other things... then you'd be talking about changing the nature of slashdot. Integrating a spell checking into the story posting, and even into comment posting and posting to the story submission just isn't going to change the fundamental nature of slashdot.