Slashdot Mirror

Be sure to run adblockers, stripping out adverts makes a big difference.

But even slashdot is a big fat bloated pig. no reason at all to load everything and a giant pile of JS.

I highly recommend https://alterslash.org it removes all the bloat from slashdot.org Thanks to Jonathan Hedley!

Two thoughts:
1) Really? Are they email notifications? If so, I probably turned those off 18 years ago and forgot about it. Maybe the notifications need to be somewhere else. Or maybe I've been missing out on something key, since I regularly scan my recent comments for new replies. I guess I've been doing it the hard way.

2) Notifications aren't sufficient anyway. Let me share a vision:

Stop thinking of Slashdot as a news site. Instead, consider it to be the exact inverse of StackOverflow. SO is focused on specific questions and specific answers, while cutting-off discussions. Slashdot is about impromptu discussions, with no end, based on current events "News for nerds, stuff that matters." If I just wanted news, there are 5 billion news aggregators out there. Heck, half the time Slashdot links to some other news aggregator or blog site anyway. It's gotten so meta that people make it a goal to find the "real" story and post a link to it. Some of this is about editors, but there is something bigger going on.

The joke on Slashdot is that nobody RTFAs. They come here and click on the comments. I do it too. It's because half the time, the story is garbage, or overblown, or misrepresented. I don't mean the Slashdot summary is wrong (it sometimes is), but that the news article itself is a troll. But this is a good thin, and it should be the focus of Slashdot. It has lots of really smart geeks who want to prove everyone else wrong. Lets use that! For example: There was a story something like "Germany produced half it's power from solar." I click the comments, and learn that really it was "For 45 minutes one summer day, Germany reduced the gas-fired plants down to almost zero. So baseline nuclear imported from outside the country + and solar was sufficient." Wow, that's very different. So in 3 minutes I'm already the local expert because I know the truth. I can debunk the overblown headline when someone brings it up over lunch. And with 15 more minutes of reading high-rated comments, I know what I'm talking about on what is baseload power versus peak and the economics of solar.

What if we could take the best rated comments, and aggregate them into a summary? Almost a real-time semi-automated Wikipedia? Ever read https://alterslash.org/ ? It kinda does that.

So now we get to the problem with notifications. Someone posts some revealing insightful thing about the article. Someone else posts a question like "Can you provide a link to that?" or "Hey, but what about this other thing..." and.... no replies. Because the incentive to reply is gone once the story is off the front page. The discussion got cut-off. Is there a way to change the site to be discussion-centric, where highly moderated threads stay up there and people are more inclined to see them and continue talking about them? I almost want a moderation of "+5 Nailed it" that applies to a whole thread. That's for comments that aren't snarky one-liners, they are those "Ohhh.... NOW I get it!" moments. Those times someone made you change your mind. That's what keeps me coming back.

On a similar vein, I want to be able to see all my comments, in context, for all time. I get into some discussion in real-life, where I think "I read about this on Slashdot, and I posted a reply that I feel like really explained the issue." I wanna find that again. I also want to see how much my positions have changed. I imagine running for office one day, and wanting to go back over my comments to understand why I thought something. It's almost a mind-map of my own thoughts and opinions.

Sometimes, I've thought about taking a comment and turning it into a blog entry or article on my own site. This is because there is an "answer sniping" mentality on Slashdot, which makes people try to limit their posts to a few minutes. So you can't always post the entirety of your thoughts. If you post within 5 minutes, odds on a +5 are good. If you post within 15 minutes, you probably

It's pretty simple. Google can ruin a business when they exclude a website from the search result. Do you remember when a couple of news papers who didn't have a pay wall, but relied on advertention space, complained about Google? Google copied the content of the title and the intro of the news articles in their Google News site. Most people, especially those who read the news on the internet, don't read the whole article. They only read the intro (often in bold text). These news papers lost 20% of their visitors when Google started with Google News.

Well the news papers won in court. Google was no longer allowed to copy the articles into Google News, but Google went further. They completely delisted those news papers from their search results. The result was that the affected news papers lost 95% of the original traffic. Why so much? Because most people use a search bar to go to a website. If I type slashdot in Google, I get a link to slashdot. If Google takes slashdot out of the search results, I will go to https://alterslash.org/ (at least on my computer). That was what happened with those news papers. They ended up with paying Google a lot of money to be found again.

For the person who uses Google as a search engine, it is different. They have a choise to not use Google. For the content providors it is a completely diferent story. They have to play by Googles rules.

The top comments on alterslash are all about the beta, so I had to check it out too...

To be honest, I'm glad I jumped the ship 10-11 years ago.

Quick alterslash fix in the morning while drinking my coffee and I'm done.

I get a hit on this other website. You have obviously copied vlm's comment word for word, not even bothering to change the username on your post.

If you don't like going to Facebook to find out what's on Slashdot, the following link is extremely useful:

http://www.slashdot.org

I just recently started reading my /. here:
http://alterslash.org/

Where is the "I don't want to experiment with alpha software" button?

here.

Worse, it's New!Yahoo. Forced rollout of an Awkward New!Ponies look, theme-above-thought, CSS-uber-alles which I KNOW wasn't retro-tested because the topic bullet-list insists on masking the upper-left even of this TEXTAREA (Yeah, this is FF2, which is what this distro supports -- can't imagine how broken earlier browsers look here)... I know I'm pissing-and-moaning here, but seriously, this stuff's broken. I can't wait til http://www.alterslash.org/ has caught up with the changes so I can go back to reading Slashdot, because I sure can't here.

Wouldn't you have to do that a thousand times to get something remotely interesting?

What we need is something like AlterSlash which compiles lots of highly rated Slashdot posts into one place.

That I would use because there are people smarter than me who use twitter.

I already use Slashdot in RSS and it's pre-filtered for spam for me.

Read alterslash.org - i discovered a while back: the best thing about slashdot is the (good) comments...

*cough* http://alterslash.org/ *cough*

Man, you guys really don't know about Alterslash yet?

Pretty mcuh could analzye http://alterslash.org/

...so I stopped participating here.

You have 6 posts this month. You stopped participating?

Not that I disagree with your assessment of how things work around slashdot.

I primarily use http://www.alterslash.org/. I figure I don't want to give them the ad page views.

Welcome to Apple being popular. I make a good living writing application software for Windows - verbal abuse hurled at Microsoft and their products is so rampant here that I've been trying to stop reading Slashdot for a few years. The only way it's bearable is with AlterSlash - which filters most of the crap for you.

For example, several of the highest-modded comments to this story are beating on Microsoft and Windows Vista. A product that, if you'd take their attitude at face value - will apparently kill your pets, urinate on your carpet and set your back yard on fire when it's installed. In reality those posters will be using it sometime over the next few years, will forget what they were complaining about and they'll make something else up.

Do I think Apple stock is overvalued? Yes. But not any more than any popular technology company that's perpetually on the verge of exponential growth.

If you have a look at http://alterslash.org/ you can see a graph of comments over time. Plus an interesting digest version of slashdot + the top comments - its actually got me reading slashdot again after a long hiatus.

Me too. http://alterslash.org/

This is impossible. A laser beam is a very high frequency electromagnetic wave.
It is a electric field and a magnetic field moving together.

The breakdown voltage of air is about 2000V per millimeter.

With a powerfull laser in a lab, which is about fifty orders of magnitude too weak to do anything to a satellite, you can get sparks in mid air due to the air breaking down because of the high voltage of the electric part of the electromagnetic wave.

You cannot generate a laser beam powerfull enough to destroy a satellite from the ground. IF you tried you would just make a lot of plasma in the air above your laser. Focusing lots of little lasers on a satellite would require far more lasers than could be practically built.
I suspect these storys are planted in the media to worry unfriendly countrys, just like the star wars program that never had a chance of working or the rediculous story I saw in a newspaper a couple of years ago about missiles that can burrow into the ground and destroy a shelter 150feet down.

I also think it's a sad reflection on the state of slashdot that this story is up to 150 comments and I'm the first to point this out. I'm going to go and bash my head on a wall unitl I come to my senses and stop even reading alterslash.

The great thing about slashdot is that, despite all the idiotic stories, there are usually some good comments explaining what's wrong with each story. Alterslash will usually pick a lot of them out for you automatically. If you want both, plus a little bit of del.icio.us thrown in, there's always diggdot.

Oh, I didn't see that, because I dont read slashdot.org anymore, for it is ugly. I read AlterSlash, for it is much prettier, elegant, and simple.

Once you go AlterSlash, you never go back.

Oh, I didn't see that, because I dont read slashdot.org anymore, for it is ugly. I read AlterSlash, for it is much prettier, elegant, and simple.

Once you go AlterSlash, you never go back.

Alterslash has been around for ages, but it appears to be broken right now (must be because of the code overhaul).

I use http://alterslash.org/

I just had a frightening thought. The Troll blacklists both have 200 foes. Assuming that half the names on both lists are the same, this makes 300 troll accounts. The mods have marked me a troll above, so we can safely bet that there's 300/3 = 100 trolls on Slashdot. This also means that roughly one third of 333 active users are [tt]rolls. This number (1/3) corresponds to the signal-to-noise ratio according to AlterSlash.

AlterSlash

<hemos_> Alterslash is illegal.
And is violating copyright.
And unfortunately, under the way US copyright law works
they will probably get a cease and desist soon.
Becuase if we don't - then we give up the right to defend ourselves.
So, I don't want to be hostile
but because of the law, we have to.

Does that mean you're the anonymous coward removing your mask now?

Sorry, I'm not the poster you're looking for :)

That'll teach me for taking a look at -1, but I was hoping for another mirror site, since the link was apparently already /.ed before the first mirror managed to get a copy. If someone wants to complain about the editors, it might be reasonable to suggest that they set up mirrors and include the links before they publish the URL of those wimpy little servers.

That's a reasonable idea, especially for the easily clobbered sites such as the above, the problem is that /. doesn't want to deal with the legal, and more importantly, bandwidth issues of mirroring, there's http://mirrordot.org/ (I haven't really used them but have seen them in comments) though from their front page I wonder if /. might have legal issues with them. I recall some trouble with http://alterslash.org/ along that grounds some time ago but they seem to have changed their page somewhat since then, they could also just link to the google cache (no images although).

The fact is they have to realize that posting links to small sites without warning just doesn't work for a site of this scale. Before they post these links they really should give the webmaster an advance notice, either to see if something can be arranged to allow for the extra traffic, or to abandon the story altogether. They've resisted advance warning in the past but considering that I cannot recall a single small server that had actual NEWS and not something that could be (and often is;) posted weeks or even months later waiting isn't an option (and gives them more choice on the slow news days). To the abandoning of the story I realize they don't want to drop a story on some cool site because of some wimpy server but the fact is that even if they go ahead and post there still no story on a cool site, just rambling with dead links! Links like this to small sites that die upon impact do nothing but frustrate readers looking for non-existant content and harm the people who run the actual site that was so cool in the first place.

I find it absolutely hilarious that you actually see slashdot.
www.alterslash.org

The alterslash graph confirms. Kinda neat too http://alterslash.org/img/sg_New_Star_Wars_DVD_for _Trivia_Buffs.png?

I usually print out AlterSlash at 6 pages per sheet. (Using Proxomitron to change the tables from 600 pixels wide to 100%.)

RIAA: "We're doing this to protect the artists" (even though we took their copyrights away).

EV1: "we're doing this to protect our customers." even though the customers face no legal threat.

Actualy, it's the same argument that was used by CT and Hemos about http://alterslash.org/ which reposts the top comments from slashdot. They claimed in an online chat a year or so ago that they *had* to protect comment posters copyright, or something, which was completely false. They were rightfully slammed in the comments, and I guess they never ended up doing anything, since the site is still there.

AlterSlash does a pretty good job of that actually.

Of course, then they'll just start pirating the book as well.

So what, the book's already been written, and Tolkien is dead.

I wonder if Tolkien would have still written it if he didn't think he could make any money off it.

I'm sure he could still make money off it. Cowboyneal makes money off the crap he writes despite Alterslash copying it, and Cowboyneal's prose is incomparible to that of Tolkien (Tolkien could spell, after all).

Second, to avoid the problem in the future, let me direct you to AlterSlash. I saw your comment there because of the moderation. I saw the story there. I didn't see Michael's idiocy.

Is this...

From what I've heard, slashdot has engaged in saber-rattling in the past with respect to http://alterslash.org, "The Unofficial Slashdot digest". At the very least, Malda would rather see it gone; I believe someone asked about it once in an IRC interview and he was very short about it. As a matter of fact, alterslash used to have a number of other features, which were probably disabled to various "anti-trolling" measures put into place on Slashdot. God forbid they should acknowledge or cooperate with a site that actually adds a dime worth of value to the Slashdot experience!

I think VA/OSDN/Slashdot would have to have some grapefruit-sized balls to try to pimp-slap anyone for appropriating "copyrighted" content. The only thing they actually create in terms of content are the pithy editorial sound bites and the occasional Slashback/Quickies. Somebody remember I said that when VA runs out of cash and decides to get sue-happy.

Perish the thought that there's anything hypocritical or biased about Slashdot staff! They remind me of the National Enquirer or the Sun; they'll let you know on the front page about the startling new evidence that the apocalypse is nigh, and on the inside back page there's ads for blessed power crystals and holy napkins to protect you from it!

What, like AlterSlash?

(your parent post was in the top 5 for this article for quite a while, too)

Alterslash.org is pretty close.

It really bugs me when the RIAA calls copyright violation, "Stealing."

As much as when CmdrTaco does it?

<hemos_> Alterslash is illegal
<hemos_> And is violating copyright.
[...]
<CmdrTaco> Thats totally a copyright violation.
[...]
<CmdrTaco> Thats really slimey.
[...]
<CmdrTaco> Wow, I didn't know someone was doing that.
<CmdrTaco> *sigh*
<CmdrTaco> I wish people wouldn't steal.

AlterSlash seems to do a very good job of filtering out the drivel from Slashdot.

What free speech of Dmitry's was censored? Should the actions of AlterSlash be protected as free speech?

As for bnetd, their server was shut down due to violations of regular old copyright law in addition to DMCA violations. All the DMCA did here was keep Blizzard from being allowed to sue the ISP.

As for your third link, I think it's quite a stretch to say that the DMCA is responsible, since the DMCA does not even apply. Without the DMCA the RIAA just would have threatened to sue under some other law.

But AlterSlash was threated by no other than legal genius Jeff "Hemos" Bates for violating Slashdot's copyright by accessing the site with scripts. It's more real than you think...

Mandrake News Linux Mandrake [G] | Posted by michael on Saturday December 14, @01:47AM
from the putting-along dept.
DCowern writes "Mandrake yesterday released their FY2001-2002 earnings and I'm glad to say it's looking real good for them. They've cut operating costs by 42% and increased revenues by 31%. They're still not quite in the black yet but they're expecting to break even month-to-month beginning in February. The full report is here [G]. In other news, Mandrake announced two new programs yesterday. The first is Multi Network Firewall [G], which looks like an extremely nice package for running small to medium-sized networks. The second program, and my favorite, is their "OS refugee [G]" offer."

Linux Port of Disciples 2 Announced Games [G] | Posted by michael on Friday December 13, @02:55PM
from the linux-gaming-now-slightly-less-feeble dept.
bobz writes "Happypenguin [G] is reporting [G] that Linux Game Publishing [G] has announced the next game they'll port to Linux will be Disciples 2: Dark Prophecy [G] a turn-based strategy game that was well-reviewed but not terribly successful commercially. /me breathes a sigh of relief that it's not another first-person shooter."

SBC-Yahoo Partnership Cuts User Privacy Privacy [G] | Posted by michael on Friday December 13, @04:17PM
from the yahoo-knows-you're-a-dog dept.
simeonbeta2 writes "The San Francisco Chronicle is running a story [G] about Pac Bell's dsl partnership with Yahoo. Initially touted as a new service, Pac Bell is apparently now mailing existing dsl customers to urge them to install additional client software that will enable 'incredible new features and services'. While SBC's privacy policy [G] is not excessively intrusive, use of the new software is covered by Yahoo's privacy policy [G], which is just a bit more Orwellian." The story's a little overblown - Yahoo's privacy policy reads that way because they offer financial services and the like, where they may well need financial information from you to provide the service. The reporter needed to investigate this new software DSL users are being asked to install, and find out what sort of user tracking it enables.

DIRECTV Broadband Shuts Down News [G] | Posted by michael on Friday December 13, @05:29PM
from the fatality dept.
Phroggy [G] writes "Effective today (Friday the 13th), DIRECTV Broadband [G] is officially out of business. The company will remain partially operational for the next 60 to 90 days, and we will work to transition our roughly 160,000 customers to another provider. Details are still sketchy. So, anybody gonna be hiring in the Portland area in a couple months?" There's a press release [G] about the shutdown.

Geminid Meteor Shower Space [G] | Posted by michael on Friday December 13, @06:54PM
from the stardust dept.
Target Practice writes "Is it an asteroid? Is it a comet? Who cares? According to Sky and Telescope's [G] website, 3200 Phaethon has been spewing chunks [G] into our atmosphere for the past 150 years, and tonight, after the lan party, you can step outside at two or three A.M. and see the best light show yet - topping off at 75 meteors per hour! Be there..." Space.com [G] has another story.

30 Years Since Last Man on the Moon Space [G] | Posted by Hemos on Friday December 13, @10:23PM
from the what's-the-point dept.
Honeydipper Dan writes "December 14 marks the 30th anniversary of the last man on the Moon [G]. I haven't noticed any hoopla about this. Perhaps this event raises the subtext of why we haven't been back a little more than the first Moon landing's 30th anniversary did over 3 years ago. The Apollo 17 mission was a great success, however, and deserves to be remembered. It marked the first (and last) time a geologist was on the surface of the Moon. Meanwhile, NASA [G] is commemorating the Wright brothers' flight of December 17, 1903, getting ready for next year's Centennial of Flight [G]."

Jon Johansen Trial Continues The Courts [G] | Posted by michael on Friday December 13, @10:53AM
from the grinding-grinding dept.
An anonymous reader writes "The Norwegian prosecution has been allowed to change the indictment [G] in their case against "DVD-Jon" Johansen. There is an English [G] language article on Friday's trial proceedings now available." VG.nett [G] is also covering the trial.

30 Years Since Last Man on the Moon Space [G] | Posted by Hemos on Friday December 13, @10:23PM
from the what's-the-point dept.
Honeydipper Dan writes "December 14 marks the 30th anniversary of the last man on the Moon [G]. I haven't noticed any hoopla about this. Perhaps this event raises the subtext of why we haven't been back a little more than the first Moon landing's 30th anniversary did over 3 years ago. The Apollo 17 mission was a great success, however, and deserves to be remembered. It marked the first (and last) time a geologist was on the surface of the Moon. Meanwhile, NASA [G] is commemorating the Wright brothers' flight of December 17, 1903, getting ready for next year's Centennial of Flight [G]."