Slashdot Mirror
Slashdot Subscription Update
By far the biggest complaint that we heard was from users who either hate paypal, or simply don't want to mess with it. I'm not going to go into the politics of that issue here, but it's a valid complaint. As we've explained countless times, we picked paypal first because it was simple and quick and planned to support credit cards directly as soon as we worked the kinks out of the system. And now that's happened. I'm still interested in other payment mechanisms and I'm open to suggestions as to what they might be.
Complaint number two was from people who didn't like the metered subscriptions. Again, this is a very valid complaint. I've already explained why it was essential that we impose some sort of limits, so what we've implemented is a new option called Max Ads. What it does is limit the number of pages you choose to view ad free on any given day. By default, that is 10. So even if you view slashdot 20 times a day, your $5 subscription will still last 100 days with the default setting of 10 Max Ads. Of course, you can up that number too.
Subscribers still have the ability to choose what page classes you suppress ads on. Simply hiding ads on Articles and Index, but seeing them on Comments is enough for the vast majority of readers to never hit the default Max Ads settings. At those settings, the subscription fee for a year on Slashdot would be on par with a typical magazine.
So far we've been really pleased with the turnout: 2% of our logged in users have chosen to subscribe, and we really hope that number will increase since such a huge number of readers expressed support for the subscription system, but distaste for paypal.
As we explained earlier, a large part of our decision to suppress banner ads was so that we could start accepting other ad formats, but give users an option to support Slashdot, without seeing these new ad formats. These other ad formats are highly desirable and should allow our sales folks to get contracts that we would otherwise be ineligible for. Web Advertising is a highly competitive field, and these ad formats make it possible for us to compete.
The last thing I'm mentioning here is Subscriber Plums. We have a variety of things that subscribers will eventually have access to. We're certainly open to reasonable suggestions, and we'll announce them as they come online. As I've said before, we won't be taking away things from non-subscribers, just rewarding those who are throwing quarters into the guitar case. More on these plums at a later date.
Thanks to the subscribers, as well as to those who click on our ads and support us by supporting our advertisers. You guys are helping to ensure that Slashdot sticks around for a long time.
I think one of the main things that attracts people to slashdot is that it is not commercial and there is a sense of community (a very twisted one at that). Slashdot is a great FREE site and thats as far as it goes. I wish you guys all the success but I really don't think it will make much money. Slashdot is never consistent (which is a terrible business model) , so how can you expect to make a business out of it? Business involves planning and consistency. I for one don't want to pay for a service that at is heart is free and should always be free.
From what I could tell on the IRC conversation, the /. editors promised to avoid Flash ads. I have noticed a few in the past couple of weeks, along with the "extra-big" sized banner ads on the top. Has anyone seen a statement where they said they would start accepting Flash ads now?
"The universe seems neither benign nor hostile, merely indifferent." --Carl Sagan
One of the things I would be really interested in if I choose to become a member is something like the google zeitgeist. It could show things like browsers used to connect, number of hits by time of day, OSes used to connect etc. The google Zeitgeist in a way is a snapshot of what the google searchers are most interested in at a given point in time. A similar system for slashdot could be a very interesting snapshot of the geek/nerd community.
-F
At the intersection of computation and biology.
What's the /. owner's take on ad blocking software?
I think that it's becoming much more common.
I've never bothered to install ad blocking software, but I recently upgraded my firewall software (zonealarm) and it came with new ad blocking features. I figured, what the hell, turned it on, and wow! It's really nice. I wouldn't want to go back to browsing without it.
I think that this is the beginning of a trend and we're going to see ad blocking software built in to anti-virus software, web browsers, etc...
Slashdot's moderation system is pretty good and pretty unique. How about pushing the envelope a bit further?
How about an option where subscribers can see all the stories submitted and vote on them? The highest moderated stories could the bubble up to a "subscriber selected" page, viewable by all. The editors could then decide if the subscriber selected stories were good enough for the front page mix.
I could expand on this, but I want to post this before the thread runs to 400 posts. You get the idea. Subscribers want control. Push the envelope!
-Russ
Me
I suggest that when /. stories are approved, they be visible only to subscribers for 15 minutes. During that time, posting would be locked, so subscribers wouldn't dominate the discussions. It would be a Bad Idea to let people who pay have an edge in the debate.
/. effect shuts down the affected sites.
/. I'm sorry, but I'm cheap, and that's the reality of the situation.
The idea behind the suggestion is that subscribers would be able to actually read the stories before the
This is the only thing I can think of that would induce me to pay for
Print out the email receipt that comes with your subscription, and tack on the $5 to your next expense report. After all, doesn't your company pay for subscriptions and training materials? Odds are they won't balk at the $5, and if you've ever sent your coworkers a juicy news item via a Slashdot link, then you're totally justified. I bet your boss won't even blink at it - $5 for this is a much better value than a magazine subscription.
What's your damage, Heather?
There's definitely something peculiar going on... I have metamod every day and quite decent karma, yet I haven't been given mod points in months. OTOH, a friend of mine who never posts seems to get mod points every three weeks or so. Hmmmmm...
... would be access to the rejected bin. i pay $5 a month for full access to totalfark, and its worth it there. give access to the reject bin here, and you may well get more subscribers.
Heh. No, you're missing my point. Slashdot is supposed to be an informal source for news. If we sanded off all the rough edges, Slashdot would cease being the site that I want to read. And I've been running this thing for 4.5 years now with the goal being to create a site that I wanted to read. If you disagree with me, don't read. I don't mind!
Pants are still optional, but recommended for you.
Yet another subscription idea:
Take a page from online stock tickers, which show 20-minute delayed values for non-subscribers, and realtime information for subscribers. If Slashdot did the same, it would mean that subscribers have access to new articles 20 minutes (or some other reasonable value) before non-subscribers, allowing them to beat the Slashdot effect, plus the ability to post comments before everyone else.
This benefit could be used in conjunction with, or separately from the existing no-ads system for subscribers, and IMHO it would draw many more subscribers than the no-ads system.
"It is a mathematical fact that the casting of this pebble from my hand alters the centre of gravity of the universe."
Out of curiousity, who does /. use for the accpetance of credit cards?
"There ought to be limits to freedom"
No, his point is still valid.
The slashdot effect is usually worst with the stories at the top of the page. This is because this is the first story that everyone gets to see, whether they reloaded 10 seconds or 10 days ago. Usually, sites linked further down the slashdot homepage are back up, and the volume of traffic has slowed dramatically.
Therefore, the worst period of slashdot effect is probably half an hour or so after the story gets posted.
Furthermore, serving up stories to subscribers earlier than non-subscribers could actually reduce the slashdot effect, as not everyone would click on the link at the same time.
Even better, why dont slashdot (or someone independent) set up a "slashdot OpenNap server".
As soon as a story posts to the homepage, it gets put on the opennap server.
- essentially p2p, so slashdot effect just wont happen. Bandwidth cost are shared between users
-linux/windows clients etc.
-could set up the system independently (in, say, the ukraine) so that copyright infringement isnt too much of a problem.
-easily scriptable, so that links are up on the network straight away, before the original gets slashdotted.
-when a site gets slashdotted, just open your OpenNap client and get the relevant documents.
we now can directly accept Credit Cards in addition to paypal.
Watch out for paypal, here is my experience. That's not the end of it either. One class action suit is already in progress against Palpal, for exactly the things they've done to me, and another is apparently pending.
At least, include a warning not to give Paypal any more of your money than you are willing to kiss goodbye for an indefinite period, for no good reason.
There are alternatives, notably Billpoint which at least hasn't done anything evil to me yet.
Life's a bitch but somebody's gotta do it.
Karma was what made slashdot fun for me, and my incentive to write lengthy, informative, reasoned posts. Now I just fritter along and write what I feel like; I stay kapped even with the occasional down-moderation. That's no fun.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
A /. mirror would be illegal. That is assuming, of course, that you did not go through the trouble of contacting every person who has ever posted & get their permission to reproduce their comment.
Of course the whole copyright complaint is ludicrous. It's just another way for weenies to complain about how evil Slashdot is. While I would not be willing to post if I did not retain my copyright, I have no problem granting slashdot a non-exclusive right to use my post in any way they see fit.
We might disagree about what comments get modded up, but I think you can't lose sight of the fact that the turd-tossers get modded way down, and they stay down. That's what makes Slashdot readable.
- Have a picture
I think you're right there. How about if a Mod is made, they have to enter a reason as to why, or at least if it's moidded down. That way people can make their own judgement as to why it was modded down. I wonder how people'd respond to my posts if they saw "Flamebait: Doesn't hate Microsoft."
"Derp de derp."
I'll agree with that, although it'd be hard to make them provide a reason, it would definitely lend some weight to their decision if they put something. In addition, it'd make meta-modding a lot easier. Just a quick justification string, no longer than a sig would do it. Very good idea.
"I may not have morals, but I have standards."