Slashdot Mirror
Updated Slashdot Advertising Policy
In response to increased advertiser demand, we have decided that we will post one story
a day paid for directly by our advertisers. These paid "Slashvertisements" will appear daily amidst the normal stories you read here. Our first Slashvertisement
is for our sister site, ThinkGeek ,
stuff for smart masses. From Linus' Autobiography
to
42" Plasma Screens and Caffeine Products Galore, ThinkGeek has everything you need, except love. But enough of their gift certificates could bribe your way to that too! And check out
their current exciting specials!. Also at the request of our advertisers, anonymous posting has been disabled. If you
are interested in reaching quality demographics using Slashvertisements for your company, or just have
questions about the new ad policy, email Hemos.
Let's have a close look at the costs involved when running a Linux system.
An important factor in Linux' cost is its maintenance. Linux requires a *lot* of maintenance, work doable only by the relatively few high-paid Linux administrators that put themselves - of course willingly - at a great place in the market. Linux seems to be needing maintenance continuously, to keep it from breaking down.
Add to this the cost of loss of data. Linux' native file system, EXT2FS, is known to lose data like a firehose spouts water when the file system isn't unmounted properly. Other unix file systems are much more tolerant towards unexpected crashes. An example is the FreeBSD file system, which with soft updates enabled, performance-wise blows EXT2FS out of the water, and doesn't have the negative drawback of extreme data loss in case of a system breakdown.
According to Linux advocates, an alternative to EXT2FS would be ReiserFS. Unfortunately, ReiserFS is still in beta stage. This means it is not intended for production use (although according to many Linux advocates this shouldn't be a problem, which makes me wonder how (little) valuable they find your data).
The other proposed 'solution', EXT3FS, is nothing more than an ugly hack to put journaling into the file system. All the drawbacks of the ancient EXT2FS file system remain in EXT3FS, for the sake of 'forward- and backward compatibility'. This is interesting, considering that the DOS heritage in the Windows 9x/ME series was considered a very bad thing by the Linux community, even though it provided what could be called one of the best examples of compatibility, ever. When it's about Linux, compatibility constraints don't seem to be that much of a problem for Linux advocates.
Back to Linux' cost. Factor in also the fact that crashes happen much more often on Linux than on other unices. On other unices, crashes usually are caused by external sources like power outages. Crashes in Linux are a regular thing, and nobody seems to know what causes them, internally. Linux advocates try to hide this fact by denying crashes ever happen. Instead, they have frequent "hardware problems".
The steep learning curve compared to about any other operating system out there is a major factor in Linux' cost. The system is a mix of features from all kinds of unices, but not one of them is implemented right. A Linux user has to live with badly coded tools which have low performance, mangle data seemingly at random and are not in line with their specification. On top of that a lot of them spit out the most childish and unprofessional messages, indicating that they were created by 14-year olds with too much time, no talent and a bad attitude.
I could go on and on and on, but the conclusion is clear. Linux is not an option for any one who seeks a professional OS with high performance, scalability, stability, adherence to standards, etc.
It's a slashdot sales extravaganza!
Please, please stop! :)
...I don't know what could be. My mom woke me up with a phone call saying hysterically that UFOs landed in the forest today, so...
Will there be a tag or something to show that this is 'a product placement story' or will this be left to the wits of the /. reader?
Evil ZEN Scientist
I was quite happy with the way the advertising was going already.. This isn't a sign of something worse looming over the horizon is it? Though I have to say that some of your sponsors are pretty cool!
Look at your calenders boys and girls...
APRIL FOOLS @#@#$
or at least I hope so.
Anonymous posting has been disabled due to advertiser's request? Are you insane?!?
Part of the beauty of slashdot is the ability to post your view without getting lambasted for it. I'm not a 'fp!' or 'you're a retard, Taco' kind of AC when I do, but sometimes I think things need to be said without my name attached.
Oh, and I guess you can't bash corporations anymore like you did. What's next, eliminating any poster who isn't in keeping with the various advertisers? God, shut slashdot down before subjecting it to this.
April fool of course.
:-)
no sig.
Will you be able to immediately discern what are the paid stories -- will they be flagged as such -- or will you have to guess what's an ad and what's an honest opinion?
I am the Lorvax, I speak for the machines.
The weakest April Fool's joke I've seen here...last year's was pretty good. "Slashvertisements?"...hehe...
How Jaded Are You?
How much would Microsoft have to pay for a slashvertisment?
How much would Microsoft have to pay to get Moderation disabled on their slashvertisment?
0xB
After having to figure out which stories are real and which stories are April Fool's jokes in my half asleep state, I must say this one has me confused. If it's real, then April Fool's day isn't the best time to post it. If it's a joke then "ha ha". I guess I've learned my lesson about posting before I'm fully awake.
ANd im always anoynomous. ;)
All Troll + "offtopic" mods are meta moderated as "Unfair", because you abused the system.
normally, quality journalists try their best to separate editorial content from paid advertisement. this helps prevent any impropriety. you will often see in newspapers where ads that try to look like editorial content are marked on the outside as being ads.
don't expect that here. this is slashdot.
will have a field day with this. And he'll actually believe this and all the other stories today.
Watch out for his upcoming corporatism-gone-amok rant.
Steve Magruder, Metro Foodist
But somehow it reeks of April Fool stench... Gotta wait and see :)
If you get DDJ, read the Swaine's Flames column on Slashdot's New Business Model.
Best Slashdot Co
You've shown how this wouldn't matter anyway. .
Happy 4/1. :)
very soon there will be a sponsored story from microsoft :)
Slashvertisement: Windows XP for Embedded Systems
You can tell the editors are having a ball! This is one of my favorite days of the you too.
Business News and Resources: www.usasource.net
"But enough of their gift certificates could bribe your way to that too!" Down the toilet...
Moderation: Put your hand inside the puppet head!
I really hope this is an April Fool's. Because if it isn't, this will be the last comment I post here and the last time I read here.
It's hard to be religious when certain people are never incinerated by bolts of lightning.
Where I am it is April 2nd.
And I thought I was safe from ever reading the words "Feminine Itching" on /.
:)
Well, it was a good ride while it lasted.
There are 01 kinds of cars in the world. The General Lee, and everything else.
Subscribers will no longer see advertisements on the pages -- just "advertorials". Nice.
rOD.
Rod Begbie done this, and he's not
I haven't had my coffee yet, so that is how long it took me to figure it out....
About time we had real ads, not these wimpy little banner ads and stuff. Go Slashdot!
Oh, uh, April 1st? Nevermind.
If *I* was slashdot and planning on implementing a major and obviously controversial new policy, I don't think I'd pick April 1st as the day to roll it out ;)
:)
The question will be, how many poor suckers will swallow the bait
Stuart.
I was wondering when they were gonna finally say something about the lack of anonymous posting on April Fools.
/. hive mentality...No, never...Not me...
Not that I'd EVER post anonymously when I post against the
*phew*
...it were a Microsoft advertisement.
I'm already getting hit with a barrage of april fool's jokes from my favorite sites. I'm scared to go home and find out what my brother and sister have been planning to do to me all day...
Something tells me that Hemos is going to be wondering where the big influx of flamemail came from.
Christopher N Emmick
A good man, a better nerd.
Okay, the story didn't say it so I have to ask...
If I subscribe do I still need to read this crap?
The fact is I don't mind "tech" oriented banner advertising.. but mixing things in with stories is an awful idea; I mean even the National Enquirer doesn't mix advertisements in looking like stories.
So if I subscribe do I have to read the crap, and if I subscribe, how much further is Slashdot going to sell out?
Astrogen
Subject
Pfft...i knew this was going to happen sooner or later. and don't lie to us /., its not about increased advertiser demand, its about you needing more cash.
/. in general won't be able to hide from their karma being killed or being $tblr'd (is what its called? i cannot remember).
/., you've really overdone yourselves this time.
Its also wonderful that you disabled anonymous posting, so people who have something negative to say about mods, or
congrats
(moderation totals: Flamebait:1 Truth:-5)
while you make pretty speeches...i'm being cut to shreds. you throw me to the lions...a delicate balance.
phew!
/., leaving us with no Manager's Day specials!
I was getting worried that "corporate America" really did take over
Really good one, guys!
Mind the gap...
Ahh, the joys of April 1 on Slashdot: where the stories ARE the trolls! Nice one guys. heheh
:-)
I do have to feel sorry for Hemos, though: hopefully his spam filter is on full-blast to catch the flak from this story. Wonder how he's going to pay CmdrTaco back? Perhaps with a story about selling Karma points with CmdrTaco's email address as the contact?
I don't think this qualifies as news to anyone who regularly reads slashdot. I mean, seriously, did you think that all the stories featuring thinkgeek would have been there if thinkgeek *wasn't* affiliated with slashdot?
Tarsnap: Online backups for the truly paranoid
You are moving in that direction, and I am running out of space for all of my bookmarks. I hate having to click several times to see the whole list. Now see how capricious your readers can be? Now that we are advertising targets.
(note to the people who haven't gotten it: look at a calendar)
Al Qaeda has ninjas!
It's about time Slashdot stopped sucking up to the nerds crowd and joined industry-standard practices of obfuscating advertisements as news stories. Watch out USA Today!
I for one would love to see more Slashvertisements here since the banner ads explain so little abvout the product I might be clicking through on. Now, when are you going to begin implementing opt-out "Valued Partner" marketing programs?
;-)
Bush signed the Kyoto Agreement and is personally pleging 20 thousand to the wildlife federation in Alaska
We got this in our email this morning:
In light of the (company name erased) successful efforts to expandthe customer business, effective, April 15, 2002, (company name erased) dress code will go from business casual attire to business formal. This change in policy is attributed to the increased number of customers (both current and potential) who will be guests in (company name erased) offices around the world. Formal business attire will include business suits, appropriate footwear and ties for men. Jeans and khakis will no longer be considered appropriate attire. We understand that this is a drastic change in our current policy, but appreciate your cooperation and understanding as (company name erased) continues to adapt to the changing business environment.
Sig (appended to the end of comments you post, 120 chars)
but I can't tell what I'm more amused by!
1. The anonymous button really is missing.
2. CmdrTaco posted Hemos' email so that's where all the flames will go.
3. Anticipating how Hemos will get back @ CmdrTaco. (Note to Hemos: don't disappoint your loyal fans!)
[o]_O
This may be a one-off "Slashvertising special" but they managed to plug their sister company's shop nevertheless.
More smart than funny; no complaints about that fact though.
Should invading one's peaceful neighbours be opposed, or rewarded with trade deals?
I'm shocked. I thought slashdot has been doing this for ages.
Conformity is the jailer of freedom and enemy of growth. -JFK
...then fantastic.
.com busts. Although technically Slashdot aint a .com, it's a .org.
;-)
Personally, I love Slashdot. I don't want to see it go. That would be the biggest irony of the
Imagine this in the news:
"Today saw the first of the dot-org blow outs when Slashdot, one of the Internets most popular sites folded. Slashdot readers were quoted as saying 'Actually, I really didn't see that one coming'..."
Nah, wouldn't happen. Although, I do feel I need to ask if Slashdot still qualifies as a dot-org being as it has a business model of sorts. Does it matter? Probably not. Am I totally misinformed? Probably, but at least I'm the first to admit that
Claric
There's no problem that cannot be solved with a suitable amount of high explosives
I'm caught between wondering if this is a good idea (selling stories) and wondering if this is an April's Fools troll....
:)
Of course, it seems like a good percentage of the stories are already just big ads for a website or new gadget anyways... I'm not sure if we would notice a difference
Wow, they even turned off Anonymous posting for this story! The slashdot editors sure are having fun today :)
Scary thing is, even with today being April Fool's Day, I almost took this story seriously. With how many ads we constantly have shoved down our throats by websites, slashvertisements really don't seem too far off.
Wow! This story was so informative! It really brings meaning to the phrase News for Nerds!
/. for such a great article!!
I'm ordering my case of Hyperglow Caffeinated Beer right now, as we speak!
I mean, come on, who doesn't want the wonderful effects of delicious, nutritious caffene with the delightful after taste of alcohol?
Thank you
Endorsement money? Gee, thanks!!!
Have you thought about what you're looking at today?
CmdrTaco, that was cruel. :) I salute you. Poor Hemos, I'm sure what 90% of his email is going to be today...
will you be placing the slashads in their own topic or have them posted by their own author? i'd like to use my prefs page to hide them.
disclaimer: i am aware of today's date.
The One Rule Of Chess You'll Ever Need: Don't play someone who carries a kit in their bookbag.
It's the worst Slash-dot
day of the year!
With geeks belly-aching
and everyone telling you
"a-hundred to one!"
It's the worst Slash-dot
day of the year!
There'll crapping and trolling
With dumb jokes a-flowing
And avian-I-P!
With a thousand and one posts
Reminding our hosts
It's 'oh four 'oh one!
It's the worst Slash-dot
Day of the year!
You'll think we're in hell
When you can't really tell
You gulliable nerd!
It's the worst Slash-dot
Day of the year!
Why bother.
stop with these april fools posts. I've seen enough.
oh! I think that this is *True*
This better be one of those April 1st things!
I have no problem with this or any other creative business model. My only comment is that these "Slashvertizements" should be easily identifiable in someway. Not hidden and passed off as editorial comment, or "News For Nerds".
/. and see how long the site stays up...
I kind of like the idea of purchasing the slashdot effect. For the load testing you by a front page story from
Cheers
Mike
www.jmagar.com
-
As long as Slashdot is taking advertisements, here's an interesting press release I got from apple.com this morning.
Apple Announces Next Version of Mac OS X
New Version 10.2 To Be Available For Macintosh And Pentium 4 Computers
CUPERTINO, California--April 1, 2002-Apple® today announced Mac® OS X version
10.2, the second major upgrade to Apple's UNIX-based operating system. Mac
OS X v10.2 will deliver significant performance improvements and new
features and will add support for Intel® Pentium® 4 computers. Mac OS X
v10.2 will be available at the Macworld Expo San Francisco during the week
of July 15, 2002.
Mac OS X v10.2 is the ultimate digital hub, with the ability to create a
music library and burn music CDs with iTunes, burn data CDs from the Finder,
make movies with iMovie(TM) 2, watch DVDs with the DVD Player and create DVDs
with iDVD.
Throughout the operating system, Apple has ensured that Mac OS X v10.2 fully
leverages its UNIX-based design, significantly increases performance and
provides new features. The groundwork for Pentium 4 compatibility was laid
two years ago when Darwin, the core of Mac OS X, was made available for
PowerPC and Intel platforms under an open development model. Since then,
Darwin customers and developers have helped make it a powerful and efficient
operating system. Because Mac OS X v10.2 is identical on Macintosh and
Pentium 4 computers, applications written for one can be made to run on both
with little or no additional development effort.
"With this new version of Mac OS X, Apple brings the most advanced operating
system on the market to computers using Intel Pentium 4 processors," said
Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "Mac OS X v10.2 includes the Aqua(TM) interface and
allows users of Intel-based computers to experience the performance and the
ease of use which Macintosh users have enjoyed for years."
Availability & Requirements
Mac OS X v10.2 will ship this July and will be available as a full retail
package through The Apple Store® (www.apple.com), at Apple's retail stores
and through Apple Authorized Resellers for a suggested retail price of $129
(US). Mac OS X v10.2 will be available for current Mac OS X users as an
upgrade package through Apple's Mac OS Up-to-Date program for $19.95 (US).
Using Mac OS X on a Macintosh computer requires a minimum of 128MB of memory
and is designed to run on the following Apple products: iMac(TM), iBook(TM), Power
Macintosh® G3, Power Mac(TM) G4, Power Mac G4 Cube and any PowerBook introduced
after May 1998. Using Mac OS X on an Intel Pentium 4 computer requires a
minimum of 128MB of memory. Refer to http://www.apple.com/macosx for a
complete list of hardware compatibility.
Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple
II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the
Macintosh. Apple is committed to bringing the best personal computing
experience to students, educators, creative professionals and consumers
around the world through its innovative hardware, software and Internet
offerings.
Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS, Macintosh, Apple Store, Aqua, iBook,
iMac, iMovie, Power Macintosh, Power Mac and PowerBook are trademarks of
Apple Computer, Inc. Intel and Pentium are trademarks of Intel
Corporation. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their
respective owners.
So...are these adverstories going to be labelled as such, or are we pulling a Yahoo! here?
Triv
This will be the LAST POST I will put to Slashdot until the no-a/c policy is revoked.
:-)
Or until April fool's day is over.
Whichever comes last.
Give me my freedom, and I'll take care of my own security, thank you.
Great April Fools gag, guys! Love the dry humor.
Posted by CmdrTaco on 16:13 Monday 01 April 2002
Shouldn't this kind of thing be posted before noon?
www.timcoleman.com is a total waste of your time. Never go there.
Moderation Totals For This Story: Flamebait=148, Funny=36, Overrated=2, Troll=277, Underrated=5, Total=468.
Never approach a vast undertaking with a half-vast plan.
Slashdot has been covertly endorsing products for their advertisers for quite a long time now.
"I don't know that atheists should be considered citizens, nor should they be considered patriots." - George Bush
WheatoniX OS ...
HyperGlow Caffeinated Beer ... Boba Fett's Original Helmet ... Duke Nuken Forever ... Megan Morrone Download of the Day Internet Appliance/Doll ... Desktop Zero-Point Infinite Power Generator ...
/., enough with the April Fools jokes and linking to other sites April Fools jokes already... (Although I really wouldn't mind a copy of Duke Nukem Forever, but like that's gonna happen anytime soon...)
Please
"I won't mod you down - I feel the need to call you a twit explicitly, rather than by implication."
I was all like "No way!", but then I realised it was a joke and thought "Whoah, you are some far out tricksters, man! They're just such crazy and unpredictable guys, I'm so priviliged to be a direct witness of their wit!"
In years to come people will be like, "Gee, so you were actually there when they pulled that famous stunt?" and I'd be all like "Yeah, man, I was one of the originals, saw it first hand, it was hilarious"
God you should have seen my face when I realised you guys were just yanking us. Man.
How fucking funny can you be?
Malike Bamiyi wanted my assistance.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Ignore slashdot on April 1 for the rest of my life.
Software Wars
Is this the best the could come up with? Serriously this is weak. I hope they have better jokes in store for latter in the day.
April fools' jokes are pathetic. Almost as pathetic as ThinkGeek's overpriced target-marketed crap, or joking about bribing your way to love. But it's hard to have a sense of humor when you've got a splitting headache and all anyone can do is tell you the moon is falling.
I think that this is all about it being April 1...
Stallman Now Threat To Betty Crocker, Too
Microsoft To Acquire Catholic Church
Falwell Ministries Takes Over TSR, Inc.
RFC 748 - TELNET Randomly-Lose Option
Not bad for an April fools, but i thought Microsofts' "Tech Ed" joke was much funnier:
:)
(See front page of microsoft.com or goto: http://msdn.microsoft.com/events/teched/)
PS. Nice touch actually disabling anon posting
This comment does not represent the views or opinions of the user.
that this is redundant, but..
I can't help but think of this as selling out hardcore. Before I get blasted with the usual "if you like slashdot, you should be willing to pay for it", I'm used to *NOT * having to pay for it. I don't like paying for things that used to be free. I understand the state of the net economy, etc. etc - that doesn't mean that this won't suck.
BTW, if this is an AFD thing, then, good job.
"I do not fear computers. I fear lack of them." -Isaac Asimov
This is Taco's attempt at the first email Slashdotting. I hope Hemos has some good filters set up! :-) Cruel Taco, cruel.
Buh-bye, Slashdot; I'll miss you.
Giving advertisers an easy way to gather email addresses from their stories really and truly sucks rocks. Way to go.
*buckle*
Dave
The ads already have a good chunk of people a little off the /. bandwagon. Even as an April Fools joke, this may stir up a flamewar.
--
No electrons were harmed in the posting of this message.
Geez, guys. The April Fools corruption has spread.
From the slashdot FAQ:
Now that you have sold it, does this mean you've become corporate drones?
No.
Answered by: CmdrTaco
Last Modified: 10/21/00
Isn't it time to update the FAQ to reflect current reality?
The good news is that the advertorial stories will be served by an IIS server under Windows 2000.
That will keep us from seeing them too often.
--
Mad science! Robots! Underwear! Cute girls! Full comic online! http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/
CmdrTaco posted this. He then references at the end 'if you have questions, email hemos'.
Gee, that's odd. You don't announce something and then say 'if you have questions, email someone else'. heh
Gonzo Granzeau
"Nothing the god of biomechanics wouldn't let you into heaven for.." -Roy Batty
Notice that Malda posted all this goofy stuff, and then said you could feel free to mail Bates if you have comments? I'd hate to be hosting Jeff's email right now.
In related news, i.e. April fools jokes, a Swedish newspaper reports that it today introduces a way to pay per page viewed. It consists of a little device that you attach to your monitor in which you can put coins as you surf.
9 9/25554 6/mynt.jpg
/. ?
Every month someone from the newspaper will come to your home to retreive the coins.
Image showing the neat little device here:
http://www.dn.se/DNet/articles/255500-2555
Maybe something for
Oh, I can't help quoting you because everything that you said rings true
Here is a mirror.
Alan Thicke's Journal
My Slashdot ads say "
Is there a chance
that we can expect to see some REAL news today, or is it all going to be this absurd stuff that forces me to think?
Delrin
As long as John Katz is forced to purchase his Slashvertisements like anybody else.
Of course, don't forget to read the thinkgeek emails! Here you will discover how truly difficult it is to decide what to do on the weekends... have a pizza party? A fash party? Go to the mall with all of your friends? Have a sleepover and call boys on the phone?
In short, if you haven't checked out thinkgeek, you don't know what you're missing!
sulli
RTFJ.
We're supposed to be smart. People, it's just an April Fools day joke. Why are you all so gullible? I suppose the paranoid side of us geeks can't help, but ask: "But what if Rob is serious?" If this is serious, then I'll shave my dog's head.
"If you are interested in reaching quality demographics using Slashvertisements for your company..."
...then you're S.O.L. Current polls show that 65% of the \. demographics are CowboyNeal.
Your fantasies contain the seeds of important concepts.
Advertise with a story on Slashdot! Have hundreds of thousand of people read peoples opinions about why your company sucks and why your product sucks.
Even given bad quaility service? Advertise with a story on Slashdot! You'll have every instance of bad quaility service recounted in detail.
Does your product ever break? Bits fall off? Advertise with a story on Slashdot! Etc etc.
Slashdot: To all advertisers, rates are marked down 90% today! Come join the party!
Advertiser: Oh wow, perfect opportunity!
Slashdot on April 2 after receiving the money: April Fools!
-- Kircle
is redundant!
Best Slashdot Co
Oh look, it's April Fools. Awright, you got me. That's what I get for coding late.
Sheesh.
Bahstahds.
Dave "Ain't I the tard" Newton
How is it possible that after years and years of pranks on April 1st people still get fooled?
Are people really so dumb or is Hemos so smart?
This story was an interesting way to show how few people read the story!
Read what is being advertised! Then decide if it is serious.
Bush's education improvements were
WheatoniX, The Next Generation OS, was developed entirely by Wil Wheaton in his spare time (when he wasn't working on his website or pursuing his acting career).
t ml
http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/looflirpa/wil.sh
I hope wil has a good sense of humor.
-THIS SPACE FOR RENT!
Posted by CmdrTaco on Monday April 02, @11:13AM
from the tightening-our-belts dept.
Well, folks, it started as an April fools joke, but we got such a positive response by companies such as Microsoft, eeger to spread FUD throughout the slashdot community, that we have decided to implement this new advertising strategy imediately. Thank you for your cooperation. Any converns should be addressed to me directly.
--CmdrTaco
--Got Lists? | Top 95 Star Wars Line
[sigh]
--- "I believe in freedom of speech as long as the other guy says what I want to hear" - Chief Justice William Rehnquist remarks on M$ suit
IANAL, but I've seen actors play them on TV
How do we do it?
VOLUME!!!
Jeeze - of all days when I want mod points I get them today when the only real options will be +1 Funny or -1 Dipshit
Oh well, I'll save them for tomorrow.
Really now cmdrtaco. You guys have taken this April 1st thing too far.
Now it finally comes out that I should have been buying "Slashvertisements" instead ...
Karma? Karma? I don't need no stinkin' karma.
Amazingly covered in the last slashdot story posted!
"And like that
I visited The Open Directory Project , which had Microsoft pasted everywhere and a notice that it had changed name to The Microsoft Directory Project and Gates Open Directory (GOD).
My first thought was "Hey, all those hours I've done for free and now Gates will get rich on it".
It even has a clippy (or what ever it is that the annoying paperclip from the office apps is called).
TC - My Photos..
No returns on a $5,999 (their "special" price) Sony Plasma Screen "due to the cost of this piece"?
...
Is the item itself an April Fools joke, then?
Linus' autobiography was at least real.
I can't help but think this faux advertising is going to result in at least a few sales, therefore being the only April Fools joke I can think of that's not really an April Fools joke at all
It feels a bit like perverting the whole meaning of April Fools.
Oops.
D
Their Caffeine candy sampler really helped me out on late-night coding on my latest project. Especially the penguin mints. I have lots of their t-shirts in my wardrobe. I bought mousepads and desktoppers from there. My office is plastered with posters. I am a true fan. Good to see initiatives like this on slashdot.
(Oh, and a happy april fool to you all)
Hmmm... I might be able to convince our accounting department to pay for an advertising story linked to our competitor's web site.
YRO, Spam, and Privacy articles brought to you by the folks responsible for the X2 wireless camera.
April Fool's day alwyas sees a flurry of interest in a "retract my last post" feature for Slashdot. This would enable people to pull posts after coming to the embarassing realization that they've just been trolled by CmdrTaco.
I always thought that those ZDNet editors were pretty funny. The same guy who told us all to convert to MAC OS X last week will come back with a new article and tell us all how great Windows is then he comes back with another article and tell us how Solaris is amazing.
I don't know about you guys, but I don't want Slashdot to become that dumb. Unfortunately, everyone has a price, ironically we've even seen MS ads on Slashdot.
That's the only thing I could think while reading the story.
To make laws that man cannot, and will not obey, serves to bring all law into contempt.
--E.C. Stanton
It says Apache lost 4.75% to Microsoft in Web-site server marketshare. Its damn funny & can never happen
Does that mean they've stopped selling "Sandra: The tech support doll"?
Does this have anything to do with pigeons?
:)))
damn, 80% of todays stories had something to do with pigeons and I guess disabling AC was pigeon stuff too!!
Fabio - Sumare/Sao Paulo/Brazil/South America/Earth/Solar System/Milky Way/Universe
http://www.morroida.com.br
Realizing that this may NOT be an April Fools joke, please clarify and expand on the new policy regarding AC postings. Which advertiser(s) requested it?
To celebrate the occasion of my 1000th post, I will post no more forever on Slashdot. Goodbye.
APRIL 1st Joke
:) I know slashdot pretty well now... and I know its April 1st today..
I can bet this is a Joke.... !!!
I don't buy it.
...if ThinkGeek is behind this, or if this is straight out of Rob's head. I mean, I'm sure ThinkGeek is getting their servers mangled right now because of the posting, which is what lead me to this thought (brain fart?).
I'm not a prophet or a stone-age man,
I'm just a mortal with potential of a super man.
This rather stinks, but I'll try to be understanding about needing revenue from advertisers. Do you have any more details on the policy? Will these be notated differently so we can choose not to read them, even if we don't have the option to not display these? What type of advertising/paid submissions would (and would not) be allowed?
This said, I still hope this is an April Fools' joke.
They've been thinking about trying the no-AC idea for awhile now...What better way to test it out than to put it in as a big joke on 4/1?
No one can justifiably get mad, but they still get to test out if there are less posts, view the overall quality of posts, and generally assess the pros and cons of the idea.
I hate April Fools day. I fell for this hook, line and sinker until I went out to look at ThinkGeek's specials.
How about we have Commentials. Comments / Commercials. Well I know that if things go down to that level, I'll still have http://www.MattCohn.com . Yes, I don't know what I would do without MattCohn.com, from the FREE E-MAIL to the MATTCOHN.COM MERCHANDICE, and even to the MATTDANCE and MATTCHAT. Yes, MattCohn.com will always be there for me when Slashdot.org gives way to corperate America.
The scary thing is, any other day I would believe you would do this.
In fact, I'm sure you will at some point.
unless you guys are also going to start "opting in" all our email addresses to a spam list also this is either a funny april fools or a cry for another website to take over
Ave Molech Setting
I'm afriad that this just isn't outragous enough for 4/1 ...... now if it had been a MS ad...
as Cowboy Neal. The smart advertisers will know what you did, but the one's that deserve this treatment will be in the dark.
I have no problem posting as myself, or anyone else for that matter, even if people ARE reading this.
.... but now we've all reformed and learned to love the bomb.
...
Especially on April 1
Basically, if you can't say something without being known for it, you shouldn't have said it. That includes criticisms. If you can't criticize someone - or some company - in a non-libelous way, then you shouldn't do it. Attaching a name to your comment is the only way to hold yourself accountable - something that's really out of style today.
dk
Acts 17:28, "For in Him we live, and move, and have our being."
Wow, theres alot more active people on slashdot today. It appears that that one Anonymous Coward guy was replaced by probably hundreds of new users. Its great the support slashdot is getting in these difficult times.
can't sleep slashdot will eat me
This is an extremely clever way to test the waters!
Post your unpopular scheme on April 1st, and see
just how unpopular it is. If the backlash is too
great, just claim it is an April Fool's Day joke.
... i didnt catch the fact that its april 1 today at first...
:)
:) One way to weed out the not-so-quick users :)
but then i read the part where i'm supposed to email Hemos... and its posted by CmdrTaco...
This sounds suspicously like geeks in space when ur supposed to email The Pope 1024 copies of 0
I'll be Hemos is getting KILLED by ppl who dont get it
In a related story, VA Software (LNUX) reaches a new high.
Hmmm, advertisements mixed in with the stories and disguised as stories? Perhaps /. has become a testing grounds for some kind of newspeak? This could be Orwellian in scope! Head to high ground, everyone!
Happy pagan new year... I mean April Fool's Day.
Lack of eloquence does not denote lack of intelligence, though they often coincide.
Heh, good one. You had me for a couple minutes there. It was the infinite power source that gave it away for me.
Thanks for the chuckle slashdot.
Breck
I amazed that there are so many people here who actually believe this.. Man, even geeks are suckers. Either way, since according to Taco, noone reads the posts, looks like a good number of people are going to believe this, and Hemos is gonna get flamed like crazy.
:)
I have to say I feel bad for the guy as he seems like a nice guy. Had a problem with one of the ads breaking NS4.7.x and he took care of it right away. Oh well, I have to admit, it is pretty funny
int func(int a);
func((b += 3, b));
April's Fools (I hope.)
The Generation
I'd say something witty here, but I'm not that bright.
Thus spake Paul:
There you go...
Unselfish actions pay back better
You actually had me going there for five minutes you bastards. I had to look twice, think about it, then realise hey, it's april fool's.
Now I think I'll go call my mother and tell her I'm pregnant out of wedlock. That should turn a few hairs grey.
Moral indignation is jealousy with a halo - H. G. Wells
That today is today the first of april, right? Ok, good, just checking.
The angel in the oatmeal.
It says Apache lost 4.75% to Microsoft in Web-site server marketshare. Its damn funny & can never happen
Actually if you read the site you would see that this change is just due to register.com and Network Solutions migrating their domain parking facilities to Windows. So it's not really as much of a gain for Microsoft as it seems. Apache still has around 64% of all active servers.
he he .. April Fools, right? he he (nervous laughter as I switch over to K5) :-)
CmdrTaco, you rock! (today is April 1st right?)
_______________________________
"I'm not Conceited...I'm just a realist..."
If you have that many bookmarks, maybe you need to learn to organize them a bit. Most browsers include a tool to help you do this. Don't let the fact that it's a complex point-and-click interface scare you. My biggest problem is whether or not to include Slashdot on my daily PDA download. If I read all the articles on my Visor while riding the bus to the office, what will I do all day at work?
I do not have a signature
A joke's a joke, but what's with turning off anonymous postings? It doesn't enhance the joke at all (come on, there's not a chance anyone's going to fall for this story) and as others have pointed out on this thread it's a pretty important part of slashdot. Maybe turning it off for just this one story, but for the whole site?
You will easily be able to spot the ads because the ads don't have spelling mistakes in them.
Somewhere in the heavens... they are waiting.
Corporations are already good enough at bashing themselves.
Oh, and for me posting this my personal information will be on file with the DoJ as a dangerous radical and enemy of the state. Time to go lie naked in the periwinkle.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
My favourite is the National Instruments page:
http://www.ni.com/news/releases/april0201.htm
"New eIeI/O Software Suite Introduces eFarming"
Hehe.
If $username reply = true and sid=02/04/01/1452256
Then set $rtbl= true
D'oh!
"Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus."
And I am not wearing pants.
One future, two choices. Oppose them or let them destroy us.
If you're trying to freak people out, you're failing :) You tried too hard :)
No AC's? Heaven!
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Then I remembered what day it was today.
:-)
That was good!
WOW, FINALLY...
a chance to _slap_ this little astroturfing troll!
Uh, wait:
battle@betty:~$ date
Mon Apr 1 10:21:51 MST 2002
Oh. Nevermind.
Exceeding the recommended torque is not recommended.
I post a ton of shit anonymously because I either don't want my employer to know some of the shit I post, or I post information that I don't want traced back to me for some reason or another. I can pretty much gaurantee that the quality of slashdot is going to go down significantly. And while I can certainly make another account, it's a pain in the ass and I don't want to.
Need Free Juniper/NetScreen Support? JuniperForum
Given the nature of Slashdot, this may be one of the best forms of consumer feedback I've ever seen.
I have no problem with this so long as I don't start seeing ascii art of goatse.cx at BestBuy.
sig
Yum - easter
april 1
roasting the bunnies
with chocolate bums
Fire up the coal stove,
throw the bunnies in,
pickle the furry critters
in vinegar and Gin.
Eat um for dinner,
eat um for tea,
but whatever you do,
leave a bunny for me.
A slashdotting - you get the stick first and then the carrot !
JM
Oink, Oink!!
Dear god I hope so..... otherwise I'll have to expand my policy of not buying from intrusive ads.... no way will anyone take this bs, good thing it isn't true.
--Nuintari
slashdot : where an opinion can be wrong.
Far too many people here gripe about stories that they submitted not being posted for months...and then being attributed to someone else. Why not have a for-fee posting service? For example, I have a really cool story, but /. editors don't want to post it. So I pay /. $10 (or whatever, depends on how badly I want it posted), and they put it up on the site. Even better, they could auction slots on the page for each day.
What is your Slash Rating?
Being in a different time zone it seemed way too late for Aprils fools jokes.
Before 12pm only!
I thought maybe Slashdot had finally come to its senses and started to use TEXT BASED ADVERTISING as both Google and Kuro5hin.org do.
This is actually a better idea than wasting bandwidth on huge great big add banners (i dont have shockwave and im damd if im gonna install it just to see a stupid advert).
Let's vote on each story to see whether we think it's an ad or not.
Is this thing on? Hello?
I suggested a similar idea.
$x='S24;r)>63/* h@<5+oZ)32"5cz';$me='phroggy'x$];
$x=~y+ -xz+\0-Tx+;print$_^chop$me for split'',$x;
This appears to extend to ALL articles. No AC Posting at all?
Gosh, with this kind of intrusive adverstising, who in their right mind would use this site!?! It would be almost as bad as visitting Disney World.
...Oh, point taken, carry on. I'll post when I get back from the Maelstrom!
I think Slashvertisements might not be a bad idea if you could get vendors to pay for the ad space.
/. readership knows these are advertisements, what's wrong with ads in this format? Magazine have been doing it for years, multi-page advertisements (appropriately labelled at the page edge). Why can't Slashdot? If it could work financially, I'd say go for it.
Of course, you'd have to modify the Slashcode to allow certain features for these articles that others don't have:
- Allow for disabled A/C posting
- give the vendor some kind of moderator power to suppress negative comments (you know they wouldnt buy the ad space otherwise)
- throw in a few other concessions maybe.
As long as the
One con I've noticed is that the number of posts with +1 bonus has about quadrupled...
That's why you need to learn the secret of browsing at +3 or +4, so many people have had the +1 bonus for so long that I feel it became useless. Maybe the scale needs to be adjusted though, everyone posts at 1 or 2, then the top end could be 6 or 7, low end should be -1 or -2.
What?
can anyone else see ThinkGeek sending Taco a Plasma Screen? Not that they bought the advert, but still...
"Sometimes a woman is a kind of religion, she can save your soul & set you free from all your sins" - Bad Examples
I just want to be the first to predict that this story will one day be referenced as a duplicate...on a day other than April Fools. I wonder how much of this is really a floater by Taco et. al. to see how people react before seriously looking into this type of thing.
Actually, minus the no AC's etc. I'd be impressed by any company that would put itself, an idea, or a promotion up for a no-holds barred review by the Slashdot community. As long as it was clearly identified as being paid for, I would actually prefer it to many other advertising means. It would be very interesting to see how well moderation would work for a commercial story.
My next sig will be ready soon, but friends can beat the rush!
Update your resume that is, because net ads do not work.
I have never bought something from a net ad. I most likely never will. I use pricewatch to check prices. Look at the site decide if they are to be trusted. "Does ssl work etc" Then place my order.
I order Pizza online from the one company that takes orders here.
I will not buy clothes online.
Groceryworks like service is not available here.
Good luck with your new jobs. And no I do not want to supersize that.
Get a free ipod.
seeing as how I have moderator points today, can I moderate this
mod minus one
for you this time --
no sense of rhythm
and no sense of rhyme
Oh wait, I just posted to this thread, never mind.
Someone you trust is one of us.
A new episode of Geeks in Space was posted today.
I kind of like the idea of purchasing the slashdot effect. For the load testing you by a front page story from /. and see how long the site stays up...
Advertising on Yahoo - 18 cents per click
Advertising on Google - 22 cents per click
"Slashvertizements" - $5000 for one hour of main page coverage
The look on the CEO's Face when you prove you can crash the web server -Priceless
I'd say Slashdot was more a wrong than a right. ;-)
News for Geeks in Austin, TX
"We [Slashdot] think the ability to post anonymously is important. Sometimes people have important information they want to post, but are afraid to do it if they can be linked to it. Anonymous Coward posting will continue to exist for the foreseeable future."
That's unfortunate the the "foreseeable future" has ended.
"Brevity is the soul of wit." -Polonius, Hamlet.
Today it's an April Fool's day joke.
In a year they will run 3 or 4 of these a day.
Does this mean he's going to have to pay for the "stories" that go on the front page, or will he still be given a free ride by Malda & gang?
Joke or not,it is still a Slashvertisement.
:-)
Think about that.
WTF is up with removing anonymous posting capability? Gotta collect that personal information to sell to your advertisers?
Actually, this was posted on April fools day to gauge the outrage. If it's no worse than a standard slashdot flamefest, it's a great policy to add to the corporate coffers. If the moral outrage reaches new all-time-highs, then it's easy to blow it off;
HaHa, wasn't that funny... (now, lets see if we can get something a _little_ obnoxious by; maybe pop-unders)
-- The above may have once been believed by me, but any truth or application you find is your own problem.
user: nytimes
password: nytimes
There are no FNORDS in the ads.
This is a wholly BAD idea. I am a paid subscriber, but you're going to find a way to squeeze in an advertisment even though I'm PAYING you to get rid of them from my view? You've just pissed off your paying customers too.
Unless you find a way for us to "turn these off", I'm not renewing.
---
IMHO, of course.
May the SOURCE be with you.
Questions: Will we be able to post comments in slashvertisements as with normal news stories? Will they be clearly marked as ads? If so, they could actually be sort of fun - we could post rebuttals to the ads, make jokes about them, etc. The only problem would be if the editors modded down such posts in order to unfairly present the impression that slashdotters all love the product being advertised.
I have to say, I'm not going to miss the anonymous cowards. The only thing that troubles me, though, is that they are not being banned to make slashdot better. They are being banned because the advertisers want to see - probably - who is saying what, so they can market to them better.
Are the new changes going to keep me from reading slashdot? No, of course not - but I can't avoid thinking we're losing a little bit of specialness here.
One last thought: if the advertisers are paying to post stories, might they also pay to keep stories about why their products are bad from being posted? And will Taco say no to that?
I'm the stranger...posting to
I am a sucker - I actually forgot this was April Fool's day, and posted an honest response to the story. I am an idiot. Happy April Fool's Day, everyone!
I'm the stranger...posting to
Perhaps we should call this day "4/.1"?
Christopher N Emmick
A good man, a better nerd.
Nope. Been here several years. Idiocy remains idiocy. You never get used to it. (And judging by other user comments, I am not alone.)
Oh yeah, APRIL FOOLS!
I don't know about those ads, but i am sooooo happy to see anonymous postings gone. I expect the quality of the comments to improve drastically.
It's funny, but I have found that I only really visit 'community' sites where it is still possible to post anonymously. It just says a lot about the management that they aren't total control freaks. (Killing ACs would be bait-and-switch in my mind.)
--
Power to the Peaceful
Starting tomorrow morning, "News for Nerds. Stuff that Matters" will be replaced with "Ads for Herds. Buy Stuff You Cheap Bastards". The index page will be replaced with a multicolumn layout of banner ads that rotate on a hourly basis. You are expected to check the site at least 5 times a day from work and home to click on the banner ads.
That is all.
I can hide behind my keyboard with the best of them!
Viva la anonymity!
(just felt like burning some karma as a pseudo-AC since I can't get away with it as a true AC at the moment :)
--
Power to the Peaceful
I think they should show up in a different color.
Better yet, have the ad color be configurable by Slashdot users... for example, I could set my ads to be white on white.
A lot of slashdotters are complaining about these jokes all around here. But hey, you don't have to read them. At least there is one day a year you may go outside and have a great day, instead hitting the reload-button every five minutes.
:)
And I still think 1. April is a funny day =) (ok I actually went outside and had fun in the sun
b4n
I thought the wedding was the April Fool's story, just someone had set the system date off by a few weeks ....
--- Will in Seattle - What are you doing to fight the War?
For that matter, we already had an editor devoted to that.
:)
His name is JonKatz.
--pi
haha, April fools. Real funny. Now turn anonymous posting back on. Oh.. you're not kidding :(
Posted by CmdrTaco on Monday April 01, @12:13PM
from the tightening-our-belts dept.
Ok, this has GOT to be an april's fools article kinda thing...
This has GOT to be...
Please say its an april fools, pretty please?
You can't take the sky from me...
Geeze.. I hope they resume the AC posting. I need to post stuff under anonymous, because it's much more fun this way.. especially when they mod them down. :)
Slashdot community, please notice: I am looking for a girlfriend.
Nave H. Weiss
Check out some of the ThinkGeek stuff on their own 4/1 link. Some Very funny stuff.
You miss half the joke if you just huff and walk away!
... to get people to read what you write, then I guess we're in for a lot of Jon Katz stories.
Bleh.
Blearf. Blearf, I say.
A few ideas they should consider: each time you use a +1 point, your karma goes down by 1. And each time a +1 bonused post gets modded down you lose 2 karma points. Hopefully this would deter people from wasting them.
Had me going there for a moment. Read most of the way through before I got it.
Insert witty sig here.
I'm glad that Slashdot isn't doing anything for April Fools Day. All of the stories pertaining to this website seem perfectly believable today.
Comment without sacrificing karma.
It is not a coincidence that this was posted on April 1st, or that anonymous posting is disabled on the same article on the same day.
Can I still include links in a post to sell stuff? Or are you going to start requiring subscriptions to let us promote our products?
This better be a April 1st joke ... it better be
So far slashdot has been following the MS model (not to say it's a bad one). MS scalable cost-benefit solution evolutions lead to anyone affiliated with a sponsor, with enough of a 'contribution', being able to have a single posted story, then only "subscribers" being able to post comments "since they are the most deserving" and then and then and then...
Often wrong but never in doubt.
I am Jack9.
Everyone knows me.
In response to increased advertiser demand, we have decided that we will post one story a day paid for directly by our advertisers. These paid "Slashvertisements" will appear daily amidst the normal stories you read here.
Hmm. Okay, maybe I can handle this.
Our first Slashvertisement is for our sister site, ThinkGeek , stuff for smart masses. From Linus' Autobiography to 42" Plasma Screens and Caffeine Products Galore, ThinkGeek has everything you need, except love. But enough of their gift certificates could bribe your way to that too! And check out their current exciting specials!.
Come on. Don't just paste the ad copy into the story. Make it sound interesting.
Also at the request of our advertisers, anonymous posting has been disabled.
Okay, that's bullshit. Slashdot is NOT Slashdot without ACs and the ability to post anonymously. Lots of good information has been posted anonymously, including people posting information we find really interesting that could cost them their job.
If you are interested in reaching quality demographics using Slashvertisements for your company, or just have questions about the new ad policy, email Hemos.
Slashdot has now completely sold out. Period.
No ACs, and advertisements mixed in with real articles. Without even so much as an "Advertisement" icon (or, therefore, a way to filter them out).
Rusty, I'm coming back. Sorry for ever doubting you.
Foolish Fool!
...just as long as it was in a unique category that we could opt to exclude from the homepage
asdf
Et expecto resurrecreation
Et in unum Dominos and Checkers;
Qui tollis peccata mundi morning.
Mea culpa kyrie elei-
Sonny Tufts et Allah in Pompeii;
Donna nobis pacem cum what mei;
Agnus and her sister Doris Dei;
Lord, have mercy on my solo.
Et in terra chicken pox romana;
Sic sic transit gloria manana;
Sanctus estes Kefauviridiana;
In flagrante delicto Svetlana;
Lord, have mercy on my solo.
Credo in, at most, unum deum;
Caveat nabisco, mausoleum;
Coitus interuptus bonus meum
Kimo sabe watchem what you sayem;
Lord, have mercy on my soul, so low.
test
I'm an AC!
Hahahaha!