SlashNET Forum Log

I've attached the logs from last nights IRC Forum on SlashNET. Next time around we'll have somebody interesting to talk to, but if you're curious what I have to say about things, go ahead and click the link. It was nice talking to everyone, we'll do this again sometime I'm sure.

<Questions> Lunglet asks: do you think the Slash codebose could have benefitted from a more transparent development cycle (e.g. more code, idea from the users to begin with) ?
<Psychosis> "Everybody, this is CmdrTaco, the speaker guy you're all here to talk to."
<CmdrTaco> probably.
<CmdrTaco> but honestly I'm just really being picky about it.
<CmdrTaco> I want to get the underlying system right so that it can grow.
<CmdrTaco> the first version was crap.
<CmdrTaco> well, the first 3 versions were crap.
<CmdrTaco> and the transition for 0.2 -> 0.3 was a total rewrite basically.
<CmdrTaco> so intermediate steps would have been painful for users.
<CmdrTaco> so I just said fuck it. I'll wait until its 'ready'.
<CmdrTaco> it'll be 'ready' soon.
<CmdrTaco> Course I said that last week.
<CmdrTaco> and the week before.
<CmdrTaco> and last june too.
<Questions> adnans asks: How many daily hits does /. get these days?
<CmdrTaco> 220,000-330,000 on weekdays.
<CmdrTaco> 1.8 million last week.
<drdink> alright..
<drdink> moving on?
<CmdrTaco> those are pages, not hits.
<drdink> we had a bot problem a second ago
<drdink> so I'm going to ask this one manually
<CmdrTaco> Not my code!
<CmdrTaco> Not my fault for once!
<drdink> Do you think that slashdot has made a real difference in the open source community? (astral360)
<CmdrTaco> It definately gave it a voice.
<CmdrTaco> We've done a lot of good stuff too.
<CmdrTaco> we seem to have a knack for posting things, and making those "problems" get solved.
<CmdrTaco> Companies suing over domain names and violating GPL and stuff.
<CmdrTaco> so I guess we've made a difference here and here.
<CmdrTaco> I hope its made a difference.
<CmdrTaco> If I didn't think it was, I'd probably have quit a long time ago.
<Questions> Saxgod asks: Do you think that all software should be open-source, or is there room for "closed" or "propriety" software in the world?
<CmdrTaco> I'm not RMS.
<CmdrTaco> NEXT!
<Questions> Saxgod asks: What do you think about open-source hardware?
<CmdrTaco> I think its cool if we can get people to build it.
<CmdrTaco> But until that happens, its not really worth it.
<CmdrTaco> Its neat.
<CmdrTaco> maybe someday it'll be practical.
<Questions> Excession asks: What's your favourite film?
<CmdrTaco> Star Wars?
<CmdrTaco> I dunno.
<CmdrTaco> I like lots of movies.
<CmdrTaco> emad__:Make up your mind.
<emad> CmdrTaco: haha
<acf> identity crisis?
<CmdrTaco> Trainspotting? Star Wars trilogy?
<drdink> [For log readers: emad keeps changing his nick]
<CmdrTaco> Anything animated.
<CmdrTaco> I don't have a favorite.
<CmdrTaco> Anything directed by Cohen is cool.
<Questions> jjohn asks: Do you fell that Microsoft can threaten the OSS movement? If so, how can the OSS community respond?
<CmdrTaco> Yeah, they can threaten.
<CmdrTaco> They could try to sue,
<CmdrTaco> but all that is dumb.
<CmdrTaco> They can't really kill it because its not here or there, its everywhere.
<CmdrTaco> Its on thousands of FTP servers.
<CmdrTaco> So good luck.
<CmdrTaco> We can respond by being smart.
<CmdrTaco> Not being retards and solving problems with flame mail.
<CmdrTaco> by thinking things through,
<CmdrTaco> and writing better software.
<CmdrTaco> If our code is better, they lose.
<CmdrTaco> no matter what.
<Questions> CosmicRay asks: What steps are being taken to ensure the vailidity of stories placed on Slashdot? There have been several instances of stories posted before sufficient fact-checking has been done, which compromises the integrity of the site.
<CmdrTaco> Screw integrity.
<CmdrTaco> :)
<drdink> haha
<CmdrTaco> we never had any before, why would we now?
<CmdrTaco> We do our best.
<CmdrTaco> Dupes happen.
<CmdrTaco> We have hundreds of submissions and a dozen of us doing it.
<CmdrTaco> I've personally posted like 2,150 stories, and made mistakes maybe every week.
<CmdrTaco> So I've got 2100 right and made 50 mistakes.
<CmdrTaco> That ain't so bad.
<CmdrTaco> dupes as in "Duplicates"
<CmdrTaco> I've never posted a "Hoax" and not known it was a hoax.
<CmdrTaco> I let them through because I find them amusing.
<CmdrTaco> As for mistakes,
<CmdrTaco> yeah I make 'em. I'm human.
<CmdrTaco> And then I get 50 emails and fix them real quick.
<CmdrTaco> fair enough?
<Questions> Rak asks: How much does slashdot make?
<drdink> your favorite question
<CmdrTaco> you mean money?
<CmdrTaco> its crap.
<CmdrTaco> If we made money, I'd have a good laptop.
<CmdrTaco> Bandwidth costs a lot.
<CmdrTaco> But cool companies donate hardware.
<acf> like va?
<CmdrTaco> VA & Llamacom have been cool.
<Psychosis> [Anybody watching can take that as a hint!]
<CmdrTaco> VA basically gives us hardware if we need it.
<CmdrTaco> I'll plug anyone who'll give me a good laptop!!
<CmdrTaco> :)
<CmdrTaco> Anyway,
<CmdrTaco> Slashdot pays my rent after expenses.
<CmdrTaco> I think I made $3.20 an hour last month.
<Questions> astral360 asks: What's the box hosting slashdot running?
<CmdrTaco> Its a P2/266 dual,
<CmdrTaco> 256 megs of RAM.
<CmdrTaco> 9 gig cheetah SCSI drive.
<CmdrTaco> RH5.1, massively raped.
<Questions> Raz asks: Today, when sudden wave of boredom hit me, I ran Slashdot through a HTML validator. It screamed like a pig. Are you planning on making /. a bit more standard compliant in the future?
<CmdrTaco> ack!
<CmdrTaco> I've been working on it.
<CmdrTaco> Actually last week I rewrote parts of the homepage to be more compliant.
<CmdrTaco> I cut the warnings in weblint in half.
<CmdrTaco> 700 lines of HTML, 350 lines of errors, I rock!
<CmdrTaco> But weblint is picky.
<CmdrTaco> like B and I are warnings inw eblint.
<Questions> WeThree asks: CmdrTaco: Have you been approaced with a job offer anywhere due to /.?
<CmdrTaco> gimme a break.
<CmdrTaco> I've had lots of job offers.
<CmdrTaco> And I'm still making $3.20/hr :)
<CmdrTaco> I could quit tomorrow and get a "real" job.
<CmdrTaco> that wouldn't be a major problem.
<CmdrTaco> But I do it for the chicks.
<CmdrTaco> really.
<CmdrTaco> (cough)
<Questions> Null asks: What do you think of developing an XMF DTD for slashdot news?
<CmdrTaco> Maybe.
<CmdrTaco> thats somewhere furthur down the list then practical stuff.
<Questions> CosmicRay asks: Are there any plans for a more convenient way to view comments than on a website? Here I am thinking of something like a NNTP server tied in with the comment code. It is just plain not very easy to read lots of comments in HTML form, no matter how nicely they're laid out.
<CmdrTaco> I answered that online yesterday.
<Questions> Lunglet asks: when is Slash 0.3 coming out anyway?
<CmdrTaco> when its done.
<CmdrTaco> soon.
<CmdrTaco> or not.
<Questions> Rak asks: What was your highschool GPA and/or SAT scores?
<CmdrTaco> I scored negative SATs.
<CmdrTaco> I'm not an honor student, thats for sure. I hate school.
<drdink> did the grading box have a Division by zero error?
<CmdrTaco> I'm also stupid, so that doesn't help.
<CmdrTaco> Actually, I never took the SATs anyway.
<CmdrTaco> I had low GPA, but decent ACT scores.
<CmdrTaco> This is kinda a dumb question tho.
<CmdrTaco> Who asked it?
<CmdrTaco> Rak? What's your IQ?
<CmdrTaco> How long is your Penis?
<Questions> delYsid asks: Will slashdot.org/ultramode.txt additionally have the description of a topic? Or can you suggest any other relativ simple way to get it to develop e.g. a slashdot-reader (text2speech)
<CmdrTaco> the topic is in there,
<CmdrTaco> whatever thats worth.
<CmdrTaco> The topic defines like 'Linux' or 'Technology'
<CmdrTaco> I don't know what more you want then that.
<CmdrTaco> the system doesn't *track* anything more detailed than that :)
<CmdrTaco> del is msging me:
<CmdrTaco> I didnt mean the topic. I meaned the text you write ...
<CmdrTaco> (someone fix that in the log :)
<CmdrTaco> He wants the article text in ultramode.txt
<CmdrTaco> I've considered that.
<CmdrTaco> I might do it at some point.
<CmdrTaco> but its a lower priority.
<CmdrTaco> And it might be a problem because advertisers might get cranky if everyone stopped visiting the site.
<CmdrTaco> but it'll happen eventually.
<Questions> Excession asks: Do you read books much? If so, what authors?
<CmdrTaco> I don't read anything that isn't online anymore.
<CmdrTaco> just homework.
<CmdrTaco> I hate paper.
<CmdrTaco> I spend all morning reading web news. I'm sick of reading.
<Questions> PDG asks: How do i get a kewl ass mug?
<CmdrTaco> I read microserfs a few years ago :)
<drdink> how'd that one slip in
<CmdrTaco> click the link on Slashdot on the article that said "Slashdot Mugs"?
<Questions> Lunglet asks: Don't you think it would be worthwhile to spend some time overhauling the Slashdot HTML? It seems to render very slowly. there has to be stuff you can fix, right?
<CmdrTaco> Renders fine for me.
<CmdrTaco> And I've got a P166.
<CmdrTaco> It could be lightened up some.
<CmdrTaco> It rendered fine on my P75 too.
<CmdrTaco> As I get bored I fix busted HTML bits.
<CmdrTaco> eventually (2003?) I'll get them all.
<Questions> Rakholh asks: Will slashdot forever remain a linux-oriented site, instead of giving more new to things like FreeBSD, and BeOS?
<CmdrTaco> Or I'll just redesign the whole thing.
<CmdrTaco> Linux is my primary focus.
<CmdrTaco> Well, almost.
<CmdrTaco> I'd say Free Software/Open Source/Unix is the major topic.
<CmdrTaco> geek news comprises whats left.
<CmdrTaco> As long as I'm using Linux and cool stuff is happeneing, we'll keep do Linux stuff.
<CmdrTaco> I've been trying to get a bit more alternative OS stuff in there.
<CmdrTaco> because I find it interesting.
<CmdrTaco> but Linux is what I use.
<Questions> Lunglet asks: do you think that with the addition of the GNU SQL server, Slash can be turned into a complete GNU tool to mange a website?
<CmdrTaco> No. I've written all this code to keep it in a tar ball on a hard drive that I will bury.
<CmdrTaco> oh wait.
<CmdrTaco> yes.
<Questions> Smack asks: What happens when you graduate and enter 'the real world'?
<CmdrTaco> I graduate in december.
<CmdrTaco> I plan to run Slashdot full time.
<CmdrTaco> so I'm avoiding the real world
<CmdrTaco> because we all know that the internet is fake.
<Questions> Rak asks: Is Slashdot an anti-microsoft site? Will there be any pro-MS comment (there may not be many but there are sOME good things about microsoft)
<CmdrTaco> Hmmm.
<CmdrTaco> If someone submitted a pro MS editorial that was good, I'd run it.
<CmdrTaco> trial by fire :)
<CmdrTaco> some people *have* submitted them.
<CmdrTaco> but they aren't usually worth reading.
<Questions> Excession asks: What sources of caffiene do you use, if any?
<CmdrTaco> I'm really picky about editorials since every time I post one, 15 people tell me that Slashdot posts shitty editorials.
<CmdrTaco> Those penguin mints hurt me.
<CmdrTaco> I drink 2-3 cups of coffee a day.
<CmdrTaco> I used to drink ~2liter of mountain dew a day.
<CmdrTaco> now I'm down to a glass -o- dew.
<CmdrTaco> I'm easing off the caffeiene tho,
<CmdrTaco> I'm unhealthy enough as is.
<Questions> Lunglet asks: do you think you can make a living out of building custom Slash solutions?
<CmdrTaco> Maybe, but I dont think thats what I want to do.
<CmdrTaco> I think there's a demand for it.
<CmdrTaco> And I could do it occasionally,
<CmdrTaco> but I'm not interested in Slash for its own sake.
<CmdrTaco> I'm interested in the communication that it allows.
<CmdrTaco> There are other directions that could go that I'll probably follow someday.
<Questions> jhebert asks: Rob, do you hack on any oss projects besides the /. engine?
<CmdrTaco> currently?
<CmdrTaco> or ever?
<drdink> both?
<CmdrTaco> I wrote ascd, asmixer, ascdc, and have some code in AfterStep somewhere I think.
<CmdrTaco> I had some code in Enlightenment, but that went away after the rewrite.
<CmdrTaco> I've sent patches to mailing lists occasionally
<CmdrTaco> these days its pretty much slash.
<CmdrTaco> Perl has spoiled me.
<CmdrTaco> I don't like C any more :)
<CmdrTaco> and xlib is for the birds.
<Questions> doomy asks: Since slashdot.org has become so huge right now, do you think it might be a good idea to seperate the discussions into different types of discussions and host them on different servers, say.. hardware.slashdot.org, sofware.... news... grabage.slashdot.org and so on
<CmdrTaco> sure.
<CmdrTaco> thats what the sectional stuff is for.
<CmdrTaco> that's what tacohell is a test of.
<CmdrTaco> its all on the same system, but broken apart by catagory.
<CmdrTaco> So we could open more catagories as needed.
<CmdrTaco> I want to do a "Just Linux" section.
<CmdrTaco> Sengan wants to do a more general mainstream news section.
<CmdrTaco> Sin wants a BSD section :)
<Sin23> hehe
<acf> why don't you give the url for tacohell - i don't think its too widley known
<CmdrTaco> slashdot.org/tacohell
<Questions> Lunglet asks: is slashdot still your hobby? Or has it evolved to something bigger?
<CmdrTaco> there are a bunch of pics of me & my roomies there if you're bored.
<CmdrTaco> :)
<CmdrTaco> Slashdot is my job & hobby now.
<CmdrTaco> its my life.
<CmdrTaco> from 9am till I go to bed basically.
<CmdrTaco> minus food & class.
<Questions> Rak asks: Where do you envision slashdot next year? Where do you envision it in 5 years?
<CmdrTaco> sometimes I go out too tho :)
<CmdrTaco> Next year? Hopefulyla bigger server that crashes less.
<CmdrTaco> 5 years I have no idea. I doubt I'd be running it in 5 years.
<CmdrTaco> I can't read 300 submissions a day for 5 years.
<CmdrTaco> My attention span is already messed up.
<Questions> astral360 asks: What is your position on the whole anti-microsoft mentality that most UNIX workstation users have?
<CmdrTaco> I hate windows
<CmdrTaco> I don't really like MS.
<CmdrTaco> But people should use what they like.
<CmdrTaco> I like linux.
<CmdrTaco> So I'll use it as long as its the best.
<CmdrTaco> Hating MS for its own sake is dumb.
<CmdrTaco> There are real reasons to be against MS,
<Questions> Chevelle asks: I watched quite a political war break on /. a few weeks ago, concerning the faked news.com article. After seeing your apologies to your readers, I wondered why you felt obligated to aplogize for wha tyou posted on your web site.
<CmdrTaco> but most people seem to hate it because its trendy .
<CmdrTaco> The jwz thing was a hoax.
<CmdrTaco> It was obviously a hoax.
<CmdrTaco> it was *such* a hoax.
<CmdrTaco> It had an IP and not a Domain Name.
<CmdrTaco> It had numerous references to blatantly untrue statements.
<CmdrTaco> it referenced a legendary hoax (the romero death thing)
<CmdrTaco> I don't feel bad for people who fell for it.
<CmdrTaco> If they fell for it,
<CmdrTaco> they were just not paying attention.
<CmdrTaco> I thought it was funny as hell.
<Questions> DaBuzz asks: For a community that is very much pro privacy, why are those who choose to preserve that privacy called "Cowards"?
<CmdrTaco> Thats Dave's old term.
<CmdrTaco> and it just sorta stuck.
<CmdrTaco> I don't mean it as an insult.
<CmdrTaco> I mean it very tongue in cheek.
<CmdrTaco> Anonymity has its place, and I want to let it continue.
<CmdrTaco> But some ACs fuck up.
<CmdrTaco> And if/when we get sued, it'll go away.
<CmdrTaco> Some folks use anonymity as a shroud to be stupid behind.
<CmdrTaco> Thats lame.
<CmdrTaco> Others use it for legit reasons.
<CmdrTaco> (note that being to lazy to login is *not* legit :)
<CmdrTaco> but some people work for companies that they don't want known
<CmdrTaco> if anyone wanted to post a pro-ms comment with a real email address, they'd get denial of service attacks constantly.
<CmdrTaco> that isn't good.
<CmdrTaco> So it'll stay until I get sued, or a poll says yank it.
<Questions> Lunglet asks: did the little episode regarding the IBM logo on slashdot concern you? have you looked into the legality of using other logos, such as those of Corel? Or the Wine image (that looks a lot like the Windows logo)?
<CmdrTaco> IBM resolved it real nice.
<CmdrTaco> Sengan contacted some folks, and we had lots of others contact us.
<CmdrTaco> I wasn't *really* concerned.
<CmdrTaco> If anyone asks me to yank a logo, I probably would.
<CmdrTaco> but we're basically a 'news' site, so we have a certain right to use logos I think.
<CmdrTaco> if someoen asked us to pull there logo,
<CmdrTaco> I'd just replace it with something offensive anyway.
<Questions> davewalker asks: Have you done any animation since starting /.?
<CmdrTaco> no.
<CmdrTaco> I still draw when I have time, but animation takes a *lot* more time.
<Questions> Uruk asks: is web development your only CS interest? There's so many more things out there! Why limit yourself just to web development?
<CmdrTaco> web development sucks.
<CmdrTaco> human communication is interesting.
<CmdrTaco> I'm into the web because it matters right now.
<CmdrTaco> its where cool stuff is happening.
<CmdrTaco> I'm not interested in theory.
<CmdrTaco> CS is great, but I'm not interested in theory, I'm practical.
<acf> and big-ass animated gifs? =)
<Questions> rhlufaq asks: What do you think the next killer Linux related web site will be?
<CmdrTaco> <BLINK>I love the blink tag. its my friend</BLINK>
<CmdrTaco> There are already thousands of Linux related web sites.
<CmdrTaco> there are to many.
<CmdrTaco> because most suck.
<CmdrTaco> I wish folks would write more code instead of write about other peoples code.
<Questions> frosty asks: What window manager do you prefer?
<CmdrTaco> ack!
<CmdrTaco> I've used FVWM, Afterstep, WindowMaker & Enlightenment enough to talk fairly on them.
<CmdrTaco> I use E now.
<CmdrTaco> DR15 CVS is stable, pretty & smooth.
<Questions> Uruk asks: aside from the fact that elite speak is horrible, wouldn't it be a good april fools joke to post the entire page in elite one day? :)
<CmdrTaco> I'll have a better april fools day joke than that :)
<CmdrTaco> Last time everyone fell for it.
<CmdrTaco> I have to top it.
<Questions> Uruk asks: why did you decide to change the name from Chips&Dips?
<CmdrTaco> It was a different thing.
<CmdrTaco> C&D was me. Slashdot is more than that.
<CmdrTaco> Slashdot is anyone who contributes.
<CmdrTaco> And Slashdot is a funnier domain name.
<acf> like me
<drdink> drdink asks: does that mean you are a chip or a dip? :)
<Questions> Sachmet asks: How often do you skip class? :-)
<CmdrTaco> both.
<CmdrTaco> eek.
<CmdrTaco> several times a week :(
<CmdrTaco> Don't tell anyone.
<drdink> This log will be sent to all your professors
<CmdrTaco> Monday when HI went up I skipped all my classes except one to fix it :)
<CmdrTaco> we were a bit flooded.
<Questions> MarkJ asks: Do you accept that a single-server slashdot is always going to be underpowered for our needs?
<CmdrTaco> Yes.
<Questions> MarkJ asks: Do you hate microsoft, or do you hate closed systems?
<CmdrTaco> Is that an 'or' question?
<CmdrTaco> I like good systems.
<CmdrTaco> Microsoft's systems aren't good for me.
<CmdrTaco> Open systems are better.
<CmdrTaco> If a closed system was better, I'd probably use that.
<CmdrTaco> But I doubt that would happen.
<CmdrTaco> because open development generates better software.
<CmdrTaco> stopit kids.
<CmdrTaco> the nick changing is dumb.
<drdink> Please stop MSGing me questions about where to obtain the log afterward.
<CmdrTaco> Ok, questions?
<CmdrTaco> Or just nick changing?
<Questions> CerealBox asks: Are you going to change the way tables are used in comments sections that causes Netscape to always go to the top of the page when hitting back?
<CmdrTaco> Questions:I'm not sure why that happens yet.
<CmdrTaco> I think its a bug in NS.
<CmdrTaco> If anyone tells me whats wrong, I'll fix it.
<Psychosis> about the log: it'll be posted on slashdot sometime after the forum (assuming rob wants it to be :)
<CmdrTaco> I don't want this repeated.
<CmdrTaco> I don't need evidence that I'm a dork :)
<Questions> astral360 asks: What are you doing about those nasty crackers?
<drdink> AGH
<CmdrTaco> I like crackers.
<CmdrTaco> They're yummy.
<CmdrTaco> I typically eat chicken crackers ;)
<CmdrTaco> my roommates make fun of them.
<CmdrTaco> If you're talking about the digital kind,
<CmdrTaco> I'm a shitty admin.
<CmdrTaco> I don't have time to upgrade every package every time rootshell posts a new sploit.
<CmdrTaco> but I try to stay on top of it.
<Questions> Uruk asks: what's your thoughts on people who believe everything they read - aka the people that read the jwz story and slurped up every word because it came from a "reliable" source, /.?
<drdink> didn't we cover this?
<CmdrTaco> Its just rough being the programmer, the editor, the main writer, *and* the sys admin.
<CmdrTaco> I can answer it:
<CmdrTaco> Don't believe everything you read, think for yourself. You have your own brain, I am not it.
<CmdrTaco> Fair enough?
<Questions> DeltaZero asks: You mention that you want a bigger server so slashdot crashes less. Just how often does it crash now?
<CmdrTaco> Mysql leaks.
<CmdrTaco> Thats currently my only bug.
<CmdrTaco> The system hasn't "crashed" often.
<CmdrTaco> New rule:Nick changers in #forum get k/b'd.
<CmdrTaco> :)
<CmdrTaco> We've had some hardware problems.
<CmdrTaco> And I occasionally make code changes that cause trouble.
<CmdrTaco> Like one day I (accidentally) made a function recursive that (cough) wasn't supposed to be.
<CmdrTaco> that caused a problem.
<CmdrTaco> :)
<CmdrTaco> But right now, except for the mysql leak, the system is stable.
<CmdrTaco> It stays up for a weak at a time.
<CmdrTaco> I just restart mysql whenever it swells up beyond reasonable limits :)
<Questions> ess asks: What about the Lynx bug? Is this likely to be fixed soon? And what's your general opinion of Lynx vs., say, Navigator?
<CmdrTaco> I think its fixed.
<CmdrTaco> I posted a comment in lynx last night.
<CmdrTaco> is that the bug?
<CmdrTaco> are there other bugs?
<drdink> The bug is cookies generally don't work
<CmdrTaco> I saved a cookie last night too.
<CmdrTaco> It worked.
<CmdrTaco> Somev ersions of lynx are nutty.
<Psychosis> lynx cookie support works fine
<CmdrTaco> I think its solid.
<CmdrTaco> But as always, if someone can tell me whats wrong, I can try to fix it.
<CmdrTaco> As for browsers,
<CmdrTaco> use whatever you like.
<CmdrTaco> I don't care.
<CmdrTaco> but if you use BrowserFu v0.2,
<CmdrTaco> and Slashdot doesn't render, don't complain.
<CmdrTaco> Because only 3 people use BrowserFu v0.2
<CmdrTaco> :)
<Questions> codifex asks: Are you going to bring back the old MicroBorg icon with the brighter red laser?
<CmdrTaco> I have to make Slashdot work best for the majority.
<CmdrTaco> Why?
<CmdrTaco> the new one is sharper.
<CmdrTaco> and smaller.
<Questions> JCommons asks: What's your favorite word processing program? WP? SO?
<CmdrTaco> vi.
<CmdrTaco> I write papers in html and print them from netscape.
<CmdrTaco> :)
<drdink> I prefer vim for the record
<Questions> RodStewrt asks: just got here so i don't know if you already answered this, but how do you feel about Dave "DDT" Taylor working at Transmeta and the Quake3Arena deal falling through?
<CmdrTaco> I hope they pay him good?
<CmdrTaco> I don't care where people work I guess.
<CmdrTaco> I think its cool they snagged him, he's smart.
<CmdrTaco> I haven't even played quake in almost a year.
<CmdrTaco> :(
<CmdrTaco> is this the RH thing that we're asking about?
<Sin23> yes :P
<CmdrTaco> Are we talking about the Quake/Red Hat publishing deal?
<CmdrTaco> k.
<CmdrTaco> I think thats cool.
<CmdrTaco> Red Hat sticks to their guns. They want open software.
<CmdrTaco> Red Hat scores a point in my book.
<CmdrTaco> They probably would make a ton of money from quake.
<CmdrTaco> But they chose to remain loyal to their beliefs.
<CmdrTaco> Thats good.
<CmdrTaco> Someone else will distribute Quake.
<CmdrTaco> That'll be good too.
<CmdrTaco> I want to see shrink wrapped quake on the shelf.
<acf> hey taco, i gotta run, but what's the eta on my shirt?
<CmdrTaco> I don't care who distributes it.
<Questions> FORTYoz asks: rob, what do you think about themes.org?
<acf> CmdrTaco: fine. good luck. i'm off to see the siege
<CmdrTaco> Umm,
<CmdrTaco> it's a web page?
<CmdrTaco> OctobrX made it?
<CmdrTaco> I don't really go there, but they don't have enlightenment themes yet.
<CmdrTaco> when they do, I will.
<Questions> Ranma asks: How do you think the linux community would respond to a Micro$oft distro of linux? =)
<CmdrTaco> (besides, I make my own themes, I don't download them usually :)
<CmdrTaco> I think it would be funny.
<CmdrTaco> They'd rip every flaw to shreads.
<CmdrTaco> they'd be much picker than they are about, say SuSE.
<CmdrTaco> It would be a comical double standard.
<CmdrTaco> But if MS released GPLd code, I'd be fine with it.
<CmdrTaco> For that matter, if MS released *good* programs I'd be fine with it.
<CmdrTaco> thank you do the 40 people who msged me about e.themes.org
<CmdrTaco> I know.
<CmdrTaco> its almost empty.
<Questions> davewalker asks: What do you think of Peterley's new LinuxWorld site?
<CmdrTaco> I hated my article?
<CmdrTaco> I thought my article was boring.
<CmdrTaco> Beyond that, I've not read it regularly enough to be fair.
<CmdrTaco> It seems nice. Its young.
<CmdrTaco> It'll get better hopefully.
<CmdrTaco> but so far I don't think any of the linux news sites really have it right yet.
<Questions> LRU asks: Has the Everything site turned out the way you thought it would?
<CmdrTaco> Definately not exactly how I thought.
<CmdrTaco> different. but good.
<CmdrTaco> Nate wrote it- he's here:
<nate> everything was a successful experiment...
<nate> but it had a lot of underlying structural problems
<nate> the next version is going to be much more abstract and flexible
<Questions> Uruk asks: many people think that having a lot of outside companies coming into linux is a bad idea because it would begin to "poison" the purity (in the GPL sense) of linux. Would you use closed source proprietary software for linux, and if so, what's the most you'd ever pay for a software package?
<CmdrTaco> Thats quite the question.
<CmdrTaco> More companies in linux is good.
<CmdrTaco> More companies = more software = happier me.
<CmdrTaco> I've used WP for Linux.
<CmdrTaco> I've got a copy of Applix.
<CmdrTaco> So I certainly would use closed sfotware.
<CmdrTaco> but I still use vim.
<CmdrTaco> I'm not against closed software.
<CmdrTaco> Some apps may need to *be* closed.
<CmdrTaco> But devel tools should be free.
<CmdrTaco> libs should be free.
<CmdrTaco> programming langauges should be free.
<CmdrTaco> Else if something goes wrong,we can't fix it.
<Questions> tig3r asks: What software is used to maintain the html for the site?
<CmdrTaco> Slash?
<CmdrTaco> Is that all?
<drdink> whoa
<CmdrTaco> Do we want to clarify that question?
<Sin23> I think he means text editor?
<drdink> CmdrTaco: at least mention mod_perl and apache?
<CmdrTaco> yeah.
<drendite> Tig3r's idle 10 minutes.
<CmdrTaco> mod_perl, apache, mysql, slash
<CmdrTaco> and vim.
<CmdrTaco> and usually netscape.
<CmdrTaco> Slash allows most HTML widgets to be edited on line.
<CmdrTaco> It stores them in the database for later use.
<Questions> Uruk asks: in your opinion, what is the greatest piece of free software ever written? (Excluding absolute necessities like the kernel)
<CmdrTaco> Ummm...
<CmdrTaco> err....
<CmdrTaco> blue?
<CmdrTaco> I don't think I can answer that.
<CmdrTaco> to much of free software is cool.
<CmdrTaco> The Gimp would probably be the best example of an application.
<CmdrTaco> Linux and Perl are the other best examples.
<Questions> waj asks: Given the growing importance of streaming media as another means of communication, and Real and Microsoft's stupid fighting, it's time for a GNU codec. Do you know of any project like that?
<CmdrTaco> I've talked to folks @ real who want to go that way.
<CmdrTaco> but I don't know if that'll happen.
<CmdrTaco> I don't know of any projects that are getting anywhere. I'm sure there is vapor all over the place.
<Questions> SteveHam asks: Do your profs know of /. ? If so, what do they think, and is there any way to get credit for such a huge undertaking?
<CmdrTaco> Yeah, they know.
<CmdrTaco> Some of them read it.
<CmdrTaco> Others don't care.
<CmdrTaco> My art profs don't know.
<CmdrTaco> They don't get it at all.
<CmdrTaco> I've never got credit for it.
<Questions> Juggler asks: Does CmdrTaco have any advice for people who may have ideas they want to get off the ground, but don't know where to start? (w.r.t. hosting things, advertisement issues etc.)
<CmdrTaco> you mean for websites?
<CmdrTaco> I'm making this up as I go.
<CmdrTaco> I have no clue what I'm doing.
<Questions> Uruk asks: what's the uptime record for the slashdot box?
<Questions> lithium asks: What is your favorite "nerd food"?
<CmdrTaco> can we knock this off at say 7:30?
<CmdrTaco> Its made it maybe 15 days before.
<CmdrTaco> 7:21pm up 5 days, 9:00, 2 users, load average: 1.30, 0.57, 0.51
<CmdrTaco> Nerds?
<CmdrTaco> I only know of the little piece of candy.
<CmdrTaco> Pizza & Beer. Actually Pizza & Screwdrivers these days.
<Questions> Stargazer asks: What do you think will happen if Microsoft decides to sue commercial publishers of Linux for "stealing" ideas (as if they have room to talk)? Think "distributions" as we know them might vanish? (sorry if this is getting redundant.)
<CmdrTaco> We covered that I think.
<CmdrTaco> They can't stoppit.
<CmdrTaco> Its distributed.
<CmdrTaco> Allright! Splits!
<CmdrTaco> That means I get to read my mail now, right?
<Sin23> heh
<Sin23> we're still here :)
<Sin23> i think :)
<CmdrTaco> How 'bout a few more questions?
<Sin23> yeah
<CmdrTaco> then I can bail.
<CmdrTaco> return to idling in #slashdot
<CmdrTaco> :)
<Psychosis> please stop sending duplicate questions to the bot... if you don't see your question, we've unfortunately had to delete it due to lack of time
<Questions> Bwana asks: Where do you see linux in 10 years
<CmdrTaco> 10 years is a long time.
<CmdrTaco> Ask Linus.
<CmdrTaco> :)
<CmdrTaco> By then I'm sure there will be many more options.
<CmdrTaco> Hurd might be working by then :)
<CmdrTaco> that all she wrote?
<Questions> Uruk asks: what do you think about promotion of free software through some type of plugging, aka having vim.org post something like "The editor used to create slashdot!" in exchange for favors, up to but not limited to ad banners, etc. etc.
<CmdrTaco> Umm,
<CmdrTaco> Thats kinda silly I guess.
<CmdrTaco> I'd probably do it if they asked,
<CmdrTaco> but free software doesn't really need banner ads :)
<Questions> netman asks: Other than a difficult UI, what item is most lacking in Linux to get it a greater acceptance?
<CmdrTaco> Apps.
<CmdrTaco> We need an audio editor,
<CmdrTaco> emad wants me to ask myself questions?
<Sin23> heh
<CmdrTaco> I'm not really interesting.
<emad> CmdrTaco: hehe
<CmdrTaco> I'm not really schizo either ;)
<Questions> PedroPicasso asks: Have you ever stepped back and realized what a public figure you've become?
<emad> CmdrTaco asks; What time is it
<CmdrTaco> Who am I? What am I?
<CmdrTaco> PedroPicasso:I try not to think about it.
<CmdrTaco> I think I've become some sort of celebrity to some people.
<CmdrTaco> Most people realize I'm just this guy.
<CmdrTaco> At least, I *hope* they realize I'm just this guy.
<Questions> Smack asks: Where'd your nick come from?
<CmdrTaco> Commander Taco was from a Dave Barry column.
<Questions> Lunglet asks: what is your opinion of Robert X. Cringley?
<CmdrTaco> he suggested it as a name for a fast food restaurant.
<CmdrTaco> He writes good columns, and he's usually more right than wrong.
<CmdrTaco> If you score over 50%, you're ok by me.
<CmdrTaco> But I like reading Dvorak too ;)
<Questions> Uruk asks: ever thought of hawking slashdot CDs of all the stories in etext, along with the source for the site, and anything else that you think is worth it? (I'd buy one)
<CmdrTaco> If someone wanted to pay for it, sure.
<CmdrTaco> I don't really have time to burn one.
<CmdrTaco> its not that big.
<CmdrTaco> a hundred megs maybe?
<Questions> C-apple asks: Probably covered this before, but: How many other sites have announced they're using the Slashdot source code for their own projects?
<CmdrTaco> A few.
<CmdrTaco> I'm advising people to just wait until the next version.
<CmdrTaco> 0.2 was crap.
<CmdrTaco> 0.3 is still crap, but its *better* crap.
<CmdrTaco> usable even.
<CmdrTaco> There are 3 or 4 sites I've seen using it.
<CmdrTaco> That's all, huh? Wheww.
<Psychosis> that's it
<Sin23> Yep. :)
<Psychosis> everybody msg rob and flood him with thank you messages!
<Sin23> CmdrTaco survived trial by fire.
<emad> I'm bushed
<CmdrTaco> aahhh!
<Sin23> hehe
<d> emad: All you did was ask what time it was
<CmdrTaco> oh my lord.
<emad> hehe
<Psychosis> thanks for coming everybody
<Sin23> Oh yeah
<d> Shall we unmoderate the channel?
<CmdrTaco> This was fun. Next time get someone interesting.
<CmdrTaco> :)
<Psychosis> we're gonna have more forums like this with other people, so watch for those :)