Interview: Ask Jon Katz Almost Anything

I have gotten a stack of e-mails lately requesting an interview with Jon Katz. And last Friday, after we got Jon up on the little stage in our LinuxWorld booth, where he engaged in a live two-hour dialog with over 100 Slashdot readers and other show attendees, I got the same request in person - over and over. Jon is, without doubt, the most hated Slashdot Author, but he is also the most-read, the most-discussed, and the most puzzling, at least according to the e-mail I get about him. It's time to stop guessing about Jon and why he writes what he does the way he does, and to simply ask him! One question per post, please. The question and moderation cutoff time is Wednesday noon, U.S. EST, at which time I'll forward 10-15 questions to Jon via e-mail. Answers will appear Friday.

Comments

A More Civil Net

[Skyshadow]

Jon -- You seem like a fellow who might have some small amount of experience with the lack of civility which is rampant on the net. Given that, I have a two-part question:

a) Who do you suppose the main culprits are? Why do you suppose that certain forums (like /.) can be somewhat civil one day and full of trolls and flamers the next? Is it simply a matter of certain people skipping 4th grade classes for the day, the flood of newbies, a popularity thing or just the nature of the beast? This leads into the second part of my question...

b) Do you foresee a circumstance where the net will ever be a civil place without comprimising anonymity and free speach? Or is every net medium which tries to provide these things doomed to go the way of Usenet?

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A -real- question

[jd]

Enough of the trolling on here. I'll try and write a real question. *deep breath* here goes...

Libertarianism means a lot of different things to different people. Usually, it is meant purely in the context of a hypothetical "Big Government". However, recently, events have shown that duly elected Governments around the world can be dictated to and ordered around by "Big Corporations", who are accountable to no-one, including the market place.

Can you pin down, exactly, what your interpretation of Libertarianism is, and how it handles the whole power question, where you have Corporate Law, rather than Government Law?

Preaching to the choir

[Q*bert]

In the same vein, I would like to ask why you choose to air your articles on Slashdot. They are written from a non-technical point of view for a non-technical audience wholly unfamiliar with their subjects: Weblogs, the DVD controversy, the Linux revolution itself. Clearly, the Slashdot audience finds your articles insultingly simplistic. We are already familiar with these issues, often in more detail (technical and historical) than you, and by and large we are annoyed to have our opinions simplified and read back to us.

I have two questions. First, do you agree with me in seeing your posts as popular digests of our culture, intended for a lay audience? Second, if you do agree, why do you persist in using Slashdot as a forum?

I will be very interested to read your answers. Perhaps the basis of your friction with Slashdot is, after all, just a confusion about audiences. Thanks for having the courage to offer an interview. I hope it leads to some kind of dialog that clears up the Katz-Slashdot controversy.

Vovida, OS VoIP
Beer recipe: free! #Source
Cold pints: $2 #Product

Religion

[Amphigory]

You spend a lot of time bashing the religious beliefs of others, but never share your own. Some would argue that this is nobody elses business, but since you consistently choose to denigrate people of faith, I think I have the right to ask:

What are your religious beliefs?

Remember: none is just another belief :)

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Education?

[Glytch]

What, if any, Universities/Colleges/Technical schools have you attended? What did you study?

The Bottom Line

[paul.dunne]

Do you get paid to write for /.? If so, are you working freelance, or are you a member of And^H^H^HVA staff?

Community interest

[Signal 11]

It's a rare person indeed that draws such an intense response from the geeks and slashdotters amongst us - I'd like to know why you keep posting and commenting even though so many people are outwardly hostile towards you...

What draws you towards this community?

Anti-Katz

[Simeon2000]

Katz,

I am a Christian. I am a geek. I am not alone. Though we ChristoGeeks (a new demograph I just coined which you may proceed to patronize) tend to be a quiet group here on Slashdot, I felt the need to voice this question.

You seemingly never fail to rail upon religion (more often than not, Christianity) in each of your posts here. I haven't read your book, but more than likely you will do it in there too. My question is... why? Obviously you are against relgion, and seem to view it as a form of mind control/censorship. Did you have a bad experience with Christianity as a young child? Do you think the vocal minority of Christians in the public eye are obnoxious? Or is this simply another way to pander to your audience, who at the time is mainly comprised of anti-Christian slashdot readers.

Thanks for your time. At least reading your articles lets me see just how far the extreme left-wingers would like to take things.

p.s. Before any Christian-brainwashed-sheep hating /.'ers moderate this down as flamebait, at least consider letting the minority speak.
----- if ($anyone_cares) {print "Just Another Perl Newbie"}

Do you actually read the followups?

[Zach Frey]

I know you read your email, since you've used email as a basis for a number of your essays, and you actually have answered whenever I've emailed you directly. However, I'm pretty sure I've never seen you participate in a Slashdot discussion itself, whether it was one about your own stories, or any other.

Do you actually read the feedback that gets posted as replies?

Girls and Jon Katz

[TeknoDragon]

We know how hemos, CmdrTaco, and Roblimo feel about geek girls, but we haven't ever heard a related story from JonKatz. Given your traditional stance against all the western social problems one would think you'd have a few interesting things to say.

Jon

[Wah]

(sorry for all the idiots, I'd hope you've gotten use to it by now, but stupidity and immaturity can sometimes be difficult to ignore)

Two questions:
1) As a techno-author where do you think we're headed with this whole Internet thing? Give me 20 years down the road, society, commerce, privacy, entertainment, just pick an area and tell me what you think.

2) Given that a number of people here seem to think that they could do your job better than you with no hands, no eyes, and a pen with no ink, what does it take to get where you are? i.e. Where should aspiring writers (in this genre) start, where does the path begin (or where did it for you) and what are the right turns to take?

Thanks, now stop using the phrase "geeks, programmers, and nerds" so much, it gets annoying. I prefer the term "typer" but since I made it up last week not many people are using it...

Qualifications?

[devphil]

I'll probably be checking off the little "don't want to read any more of this author" stuff for Mr. Katz in the near future, just because I value my bandwidth.

Having said that, here's my question: You've said yourself that you are not a technical person. What makes you think that you can speak for those of us who are?

(That isn't necessarily a flame, although I realize it sounds hostile. I'm merely curious and asking for qualifications.)

Truth or Parody

[Duxup]

I'm trying to keep this from sounding like a flame but still ask what I mean here. I should note that I haven't read a lot of Katz. However the few times I have your opinion seems so simple and stark it would seem your almost parodying opinions that you don't believe in. I wonder sometimes if you really believe all the things you write, or if the intent is more to promote discussion?

Honest question

[swordgeek]

One of the biggest and most valid criticisms you (regularly) receive on /. is directed to your writing style. Specifically, you write _long_ articles with _long_ (occasionally run-on) sentences containing questionable grammar. Given that you're a professional (paid!) journalist, do you feel that this affects how seriously your readers take your writing?