Slashdot Mirror
Slashback: Nods, Lamentations, Nudity
"Heck, gentleman, what right have we got to approve anyhow?" WPL510 writes: "Just saw this article on Yahoo! about the AOL-TW merger. Apparently all the begging and pleading did something because the EU is about to approve their mega-merger. One concession they didn't mention was opening up AIM, of course. Great -- all we need is a bigger monopoly."
This too shall pass. Lord_Macblaster writes "The GameFan Network is no longer hosting sites. Many sites, including VoodooExtreme and my own site, Monolithic Illusions are nothing but dead links now. It's a real shame. Plenty of top notch sites were shut down. Not major news yet, but info is available here on PlanetCrap, and here on Lum The Mad."
This is the kind of thing that could get me into gaming.
nomadic writes: "
Electronic News reports that the PS2 shortage (mentioned before on Slashdot) may actually be DVD-related. Some analysts point to a shortage in DVD drive parts that has been affecting the notebook industry as well, but others suggest that it might be their lax CSS security.
Guess the MPAA leaning on them wouldn't be too implausible, but it's interesting if you consider that Sony's a member of that august body. Wonder how much flak they got from their brethren over the DVD copy protection workaround that Japanese gamers found earlier this year."
Another thing that could get me into gaming -- TheMyth writes: "It appears the Vivid Entertainment Group, is trying to release interactive adult movies for the Playstation 2. Read the article here that tells it all. -- I can't wait to see the field day that our government reps are gonna have with this one. Is this another "targeting adult content to kids case" or is it "targeting adult content to adults that play video games"? Censorship here we come ..."
Giving competition a good name again. An unnamed correspondent points to the results of the century's last ICFP programming contest. ICFP stands for a real mouthful: "International Conference on Functional Programming." "This year, functional languages take all the prizes; OCAML gets 1st and 2nd place, Haskell 3rd, Mercury 4th, and the judges' prize (for best image) goes to a SML/NJ team."
Battling giants has its rewards. GoldSkin writes: "The Digital Divas have reached an out-of-court settlement against Microsoft and their Digital Diva site. You may recall this article from way back in May." From their site: "In the simplest terms, Microsoft's Stacy Elliot will no longer be known as the 'Digital Diva' and Microsoft will no longer use digitaldiva.com in connection with content like that formerly available at that site. Also, in accordance with our settlement agreement, Microsoft has posted a notice at digitaldiva.com. Please visit and see for yourself."
Anyway, good luck, wherever you end up..
- Joe
-Joe
I don't see how any reasonable person could possibly be upset about this. Afterall, do you see anyone attacking VCRs or DVD players because they can be used to show pornography? What's the big deal about the fact that the PS2 could be used for pornography? I'm sure that any such blatantly pornographic materials will be regulated just the same as any other pornographic materials. I'll leave the debate of whether this is good or not for another time, but my point in this post is the simple fact that I don't see what makes this case in any way unique.
I am not an idiot. Please use my name to email me.
"That's right, I'm quoting myself."
-Upsilon
As a karma whore turned troll, let me chime in.
Why is Slashdot a circus of karma whores and trolls at the moment? Slashdot moderation is failing because of exactly the Delphi effect that Signal 11 tries to promote: the more you spread the ability to vote, the more rating the comment becomes a popularity contest.
Trolls know this well, and so do karma whores, to an extent: it's a simple matter of politics. Democracy was cracked by power-hungry lobbyists pretty much the same way Slashdot was cracked by the trolls. If you want enlightened comments and worthwhile discussions, then placing the debate in the hands of the silent majority is just going to create a mess.
Take Big Brother as an example: are you surprised the pretty face with the missing leg won? This shows you how pathetic it was to let the whole Internet vote. If you compare with Survivor, where the people involved in the action did the voting, there's a modicum of sense that arises. The winner was not the prettiest or the most popular, but the one who worked the hardest and made the most sense.
In Slashdot terms, the problem comes from the fact that those who moderate are necessarely uninvolved in the debate at hand. This allows trolls and karma whores to manipulate the popular opinion, while ACs sink karma faster than an omniscient Battleship player.
What you want is closer to peer review that you find in scientific papers. You want moderators who know what the hell is going on, and have proved they are unbiased.
Democracy works when everyone votes. But it doesn't work insofar as empowering everyone with the ability to run the show. Slashdot needs to realize that if they ever hope to run a decent discussion site.
I'd like to see either Signal 11 or myself get moderated up in a story we don't know shit about, when the moderators are authorities on the subject.
And by the way, if you moderated this down because of the goatsex link, you're probably part of the problem I just described.
I'm glad to see Gamefan die. If Lowtax @ Something Awful is telling the truth, they screwed him out of thousands of $$$ in banner ad revenue. Its nice to see a big corporate sleaze hole get screwed in return.
Jeff K. Rluez!!!
----
---- I made the Kessel Run in under 11 parsecs.
The reason /. is so successful is because of all the games you can play and all the drama that ensues. The tech news is just an excuse to be here.
If all this fun moderation, hidden sids, outrageous personalities, impersonation, trolling, etc. didn't exist then this would be just another web log that would have already died. We can get our news anywhere. Only slash has the ridiculously disfunctional community of people who thrive on feeling superior to each other.
I'll repeat this, because I can not overstate its importance: If all the things you (and everyone else) complained about didn't exist, then /. also would not exist, at least not in any meaningful form. If people really just wanted small scale, intelligent discussion they would just join a mailing list.
The soap opera drama that is Slashdot is what keeps people here.
The real reason you are "leaving" (like I said, no one really leaves) is because you are tired of being one of the main characters on stage. I don't blame you. You *ahem* "shined" far brighter than any other, and I don't think anyone else will ever achieve your level of notariety here.
So, make your speeches or whatever. You'll be back, and it won't be the news that brings you.
And a footnote for those of you who will disagree with me: I am right. The only reason you don't recognize it is because you are living a lie, trying to convince yourself that you're here for "pure" reasons. It's all a game, so you might as well admit to being a player.
When Vivid Entertainment was asked to comment on the current situation, the CEO had this to say:
"I am outraged that consumers are even THINKING that we are targeting children. Every CD bought comes with a EULA that requires them to return the merchandise if they are not at least 21 years old."
When asked why Vivid Entertainment Group gives 5 packs of Pokemon Trading Cards with each purchase, he had no comment.