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Webby Award 2004 Winners Announced

ivar writes "Over at the official site, the 2004 Webby Award Winners have been announced. There were a few surprises given the last publicly viewable rankings - I guess they keep the last few days in secrecy for a reason." The press release announcing the winners has more detail, noting: "Reflecting the egalitarian spirit of the internet, winners ranged from Wikipedia.org (Best Community), a free, community-built encyclopedia, to the official site for the Oscar-winning documentary The Fog of War (Best Film), to web powerhouses like Google (Best Practices and Best Services)."

38 of 284 comments (clear)

  1. Just so long as no Flash sites won. by Power+Everywhere · · Score: 5, Insightful

    There's nothing worse for the web than Flash. Can't be bookmarked, needs a plugin, version dependent, source can't be studied, and the W3C has no control over it.

    Valid XHTML 1.1 and CSS are the way to go, no matter who or what's writing it.

    1. Re:Just so long as no Flash sites won. by pjt33 · · Score: 4, Informative

      Afraid the Broadband category winner has a URL ending /index_flash.html

    2. Re:Just so long as no Flash sites won. by bonkedproducer · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Yeah, and color TV is evil and sucks the soul out of everything. Flash has it's place, and has made great strides in usability - just because it's not the way you would do things doesn't mean it is evil. If you don't like flash - DON'T VIEW OR SUPPORT SITE'S THAT USE IT - but it has it's place just like every other peice of technology on the planet. Damn, the W3C has no control over those pesky games people play over the internet either, let's make sure we dump the entire games category from the webby's. Slashdot users, for the most part WE ARE GEEKS! I am proud to say that I fit that description, but everytime I see a fellow /.er bemoan some peice of technology because THEY don't like it, it smacks of elitism, and intolerance, are you just trying to get back at someone in the past that made you feel inferior? Or maybe you're just challenged because something you don't use is liked by someone else? Having said all that, yes, XHTML and CSS are excellent tools as well, and often more useful than flash, but sometimes moving images, sound, etc. go a lot farther than static images and text to create an experience, as for those that said Flash is a bastardization of all the Internet was meant to be, sorry, next time we want to create anything we'll clear it with you.

      --
      Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence in society - M. Twain
    3. Re:Just so long as no Flash sites won. by Ziviyr · · Score: 3, Insightful

      At least black and white TV sets usefully decode color signals.

      Not much comes out of flash on an webbrowser without a flash plugin loaded.

      --

      Someone set us up the bomb, so shine we are!
  2. Where's Slashdot? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The 2004 Webby Award Winners have been announced.

    I don't understand. Wikipedia and Google are cool and everything... but what about Slashdot??

  3. Wikipedia community by Raul654 · · Score: 4, Informative

    Probably the best community page on Wikipedia to get to know people in the community is Wikipedia:Wikipdians. It's a listing of all the differnet indices of Wikipedians. (I personally started Wikipedians by age and the Facebook)

    --


    To make laws that man cannot, and will not obey, serves to bring all law into contempt.
    --E.C. Stanton
    1. Re:Wikipedia community by LordK3nn3th · · Score: 3, Insightful

      "Best" community?

      I would consider slashdot or something awful to have far superior communities. Sure, the idea is great (I sometimes contribute to wikipedia here), but let's be honest with wikipedia-- trolls are almost unstoppable, and many editors and admins I have met are rude and lazy, following the moto "Let the wikiprocess sort it out"-- using that as an excuse to have someone else fix it. And of course nobody does-- and when you do you get labeled "POV, troll, fanatic", etc.

      Quacks, paranormalists, spiritualists, creationists, and various other people quickly hunt down opposition and try to silence it any way they can. One guy even got into a war over the capitilization of "god" (was not referring to any specific god) and the issue took a long time to resolve.

      Maybe if you're looking up info for London or Al Capone or the economy in 1945 the thing is good-- but for anything remotely controversial, such as science, skeptics, religion, I would not recommend it simply because of the "community" at wikipedia I have experienced firsthand.

      --

      ---
      Never criticize religion on Slashdot. You will be modded down for "Troll" no matter how factual it is.
    2. Re:Wikipedia community by Eloquence · · Score: 4, Insightful
      I think your sig speaks for itself. If you approach Wikipedia articles in a confrontational manner, then of course you will run into conflicts and edit wars. How else could it be, if people from all parts of the political, scientific and religious spectrum have to work together?

      My experience is that the people who will get into conflicts are mostly those who have a problem with our neutrality policy. They feel that Wikipedia should clearly label certain views as nonsense. Of course people can never agree on what is and isn't nonsense, so they fight all day about it. But our policy states that in such cases, what we do is attribute the claims from both sides to their adherents.

      Now, there are often misunderstandings regarding that policy, such as the belief that we have to give pseudoscience "equal time" in science articles. This is addressed in some detail in th actual policy page: NPOV and pseudoscience. And of course there are religious fanatics and other hardcore believers who find it difficult to work together and insist on the exclusion of certain points of view or on the prominent inclusion of their own in articles which have nothing to do with their belief system (e.g. religious views in scientific articles). However, as we develop and refine our policies, these cases become increasingly rare.

      There is of course always conflict, and it contributes to truly adding all perspectives to an article. However, in terms of civility, Wikipedia fares much better than most other online communities, not least because we have a clear policy against personal attacks. In terms of getting the facts right, I have described several ideas in my campaign platform for the upcoming Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees election.

  4. BBC by RonnyJ · · Score: 4, Informative

    The BBC also have an article about this, predictably considering they also won three awards. They won best news, sports and educational coverage, which really does show how great a resource they are.

  5. Wikipedia by Shapemaker · · Score: 4, Interesting

    If you don't yet know what that is, head there now to see for yourself. You're doing yourself a disservice by not looking :-)

    While you're there make sure to contribute to the topics which are marked red (no explanation yet). That way the great service will become even better and we can all benefit from it.

    I know of several schools in my country which instruct their students to go look for information there (in case the student knows english, not our native). I suppose it will only get better since academic institutions are beginning to refer to it.

    --
    "Intellectual Property" should be an affront to anyone capable of independent thought.
    1. Re:Wikipedia by rdsmith4 · · Score: 3, Interesting
      As great as Wikipedia is (I'm an avid user and contributor) I'm afraid that it can never have very good credibility, written as it is by anyone and everyone who wants to write. I'm not talking about the vandalism or obvious nonsense, which is removed in a hurry, but badly-written or simply misleading articles, particularly on obscure topics.

      Also, too many people create too many new pages with too little information (stubs) - the article count is in the hundred thousands but how many of those are exhautive analyses of their topics?

      Of course, it can only get better with age, but I fear it will only ever be good for quick reference or interesting reading - never for research.

    2. Re:Wikipedia by Shapemaker · · Score: 3, Informative

      Hmm, weird. Mathematics, physics, particle physics, basic and advanced chemistry... I've followed those "threads" quite extensively and I've yet to find a blatant error/nonsense. Of course there are lots of stubs (or just placeholders), but that is just waiting to be rectified. You're right, though, when you say that there's too little existing information in many cases.

      As for the politics, I cannot comment as I've only contributed occasionally and anonymously. I certainly hope it's not THAT bad as other people have suggested...

      --
      "Intellectual Property" should be an affront to anyone capable of independent thought.
  6. wikipedia by ambienceman · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Wikipedia (and affiliates) should be on that list because the interface is clean. It's easy to get around and go off on tangent while searching something. It's open...and it's educational. I learned a lot of cool facts.

    Like where the " All your base are belong to us " come from. And yes, ive just proved that I am not worthy of reading Slashdot because I didn't know wtf that came from.
  7. Ironic by mabu · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The Webby award site has dumbass javascript pop-up windows that link to the award winning web sites. Way to go people... take an award-winning web site and cram it into a 1/4 size pop-up for all the world to appreciate.

  8. Oh well, no Groklaw by FunWithHeadlines · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Sorry to see Groklaw not on the list, especially in the law group. I've learned more about the law in the last year from that site than I learned anywhere else...by far. It is also an example of a true community site that formed by self-selection. People just flocked to the site and made it what it became. The power of many-eyes in action, this time to discuss legal cases that could greatly impact our tech lives.

  9. I respectfully disagree by Deitheres · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I know that Flash is not popular here on Slashdot. No flamebait or trolling intended, but you gotta realize we are no longer in the world of lynx. You may still use it, I may still use it on occasion (just like you and I may still use vi or emacs), but the general public wants multimedia content. While it is true that Flash requires a plugin, so do many other things (such as java on mozilla). The necessity of a plugin does not make something inherently bad (IMO).

    Flash allows for cross-browser, cross-platform web development. If I create a Flash animation I do not have to worry about how it will appear on Mac/Linux/Windows/Netscape/Mozilla/IE/Opera. It will be consistent across all platforms. The same cannot be said for HTML and CSS. Even though standards have been set, rendering software does not always abide by those standards (mainly this only applies to MS).

    Long story short, and I know it's slightly OT, I think Flash is a great way to present good looking multimedia content with a (relatively) small footprint. What does bother me are websites that do flash-only, or use flash unnecessarily. You should not design an ENTIRE site in flash, and if you do you should at least provide a non-flash site for your users.

    Just my $.02

    --
    Just like driving a car:
    (D) to go forward
    (R) to go backward

    1. Re:I respectfully disagree by Deitheres · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Well I will admit that it has been a long time since I have run Linux (long story, wife is not a computer person can't "understand" Linux blah blah blah), but I never had any problems with flash animations between platforms. Now, when I last used Linux the only browsers available were Netscape or Opera, so I have no experience with Mozilla/Konq/Foo Browser under Linux... In the past, I never had an issue between IE/Windows and Netscape/Linux as far as rendering the animation. Granted, both versions of Flash were version 4.0 (I believe). I do not know what the status of Flash releases are these days, and it may be an issue where version releases are not kept consistent across OS platforms, although I could be wrong.

      Also, I think you misunderstood my point about CSS/HTML. You said when valid HTML is "displayed on a standards compliant browser, it will be the same." I agree, but the point that I was trying to make is that IE is not exactly compliant with W3C standards. That was the only point I was trying to get across.

      Out of curiousity, is there an OSS alternative for Flash? A quick Google search did not provide anything that stuck out to me, maybe a fellow slashdotter can fill us in!

      Dan

      --
      Just like driving a car:
      (D) to go forward
      (R) to go backward

    2. Re:I respectfully disagree by iammaxus · · Score: 5, Insightful

      But you are missing the point of the web entirely. Flash is managed by one company, its control is not in the hands of a consortium but a for-profit company. HTML does have problems being used cross-platform, but thats just beacuse of the nature of its creation, by a relatively disjointed consortium and there is no way around it. Sure the proprietary nature of it gives it advantages but it gives it disadvantages too.

      Regardless, personally, i think the biggest porblem with Flash is how hard it is for machines to get data from it. As soon as google starts giving me results for Flash based content, maybe i will change my mind.

  10. what about porn? give me a break... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I nominated www.thehun.net and I dont see it as a winner. This contest was rigged. We all know they get 10x as many hits as slashdot. ;)

  11. Crap! by jandrese · · Score: 5, Funny

    It used to be that winning a Webby ment your website wouldn't be around for the next year (they had this great knack at picking websites that were on the verge of shutting down).

    This year: Google wins two categories. I'm frightened.

    --

    I read the internet for the articles.
  12. This is the best? by erick99 · · Score: 4, Funny
    I surfed over to webbyawards and sampled each site briefly. Honest-to-God, if this is the award winning best of the 'net then the 'net is in bad shape indeed.

    Happy Trails!

    Erick

    --
    http://www.busyweather.com/
  13. Re:Google? Best Practices? by duncan+bayne · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I'm probably being trolled here, but I'll bite: given that human rights are meaningless without the means to defend oneself against human rights violators (from muggers to Government employees) - how can you support free speech, freedom of religion etc. without supporting RKBA (Right to Keep & Bear Arms)?

    And in case you're wondering, I'm not American, I'm a New Zealander. Not all RKBA supporters are American.

  14. Borderline waste of time by Deitheres · · Score: 3, Funny

    I LOVE Wikipedia, but I find myself staying away from it due to the tangents that the parent post mentions. Maybe it is my adult ADD (ha), but I can't keep focused when I am there. I start by looking something up about Alan Turing and then all of a sudden I am reading about the Republic of China (yes, this topic is ~5 jumps from the page on Alan Turing). It kind of reminds me of Everything2.com... i just wish I could keep myself more focused!

    --
    Just like driving a car:
    (D) to go forward
    (R) to go backward

    1. Re:Borderline waste of time by UserGoogol · · Score: 3, Informative

      Two steps. Turing links to World War Two, which links to China.

      --
      "Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity." -- Hanlon's Razor
  15. It's so 1997... by leshert · · Score: 5, Funny

    I signed up for the 'Webby' nominations last year, and got a reasonable number of emails from them (not all-out spam, but maybe 6-7).

    Maybe it's just me, but the whole tone of the thing leaves me with the impression that the Webby folks have an extraordinarily high (but unfounded) opinion of themselves. Reading the mails they sent, I was transported back in time to the mid-1990s, when The New Economy was going to leave the brick-and-mortar dinosaurs choking on comet dust.

    I think we may have found the last few dozen people who haven't woken up from the Internet Bubble.

  16. Al-Jazeera as a news site nominee? by idiotnot · · Score: 4, Funny

    You have got to be kidding me. They make Fox look a paragon of unbiased reporting!

    1. Re:Al-Jazeera as a news site nominee? by Xaer0cool · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Exactly. They give one side, fox gives the other. The truth lies somewhere in between. That is why it's important to have both.

    2. Re:Al-Jazeera as a news site nominee? by caluml · · Score: 3, Insightful
      The truth lies somewhere in between

      Somewhere near the BBC. I think more Americans should read what the rest of the world is saying. American media is reknowned for being amazingly biased and blinkered.

  17. Why The Onion? by Entropy+Unleashed · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The Onion has essentially been doing the same joke for years now. They're certainly one of the funnier sites on the Web these days, but I for one found both Modern Humorist and Red vs. Blue more funny and innovative. I can see it winning People's Voice, but I'm surprised that the Webby awarders didn't spice things up a little.

    --

    "I would give my right hand to be ambidextrous."
  18. All Flash apps reinvent the wheel by TrentL · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Every single Flash app is re-inventing the wheel. Unlike HTML, there are no common Flash widgets (or at least none that I've seen in various places). The usability is shot to hell. Users can't apply their own styles. Can I even cut and paste text from a Flash app? Most don't let me.

    Flash does have it's place. The Washington Post and NY Times often have nice Flash side-bars that can make an electoral map or poll results come alive. But in general, I don't think Flash enhances the web experience.

  19. Re:It has it's place by bonkedproducer · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Wrong - at least in it's current interation, most flash sites have selectable text, and if the designer is the least bit skilled (read: knows how to use the f^$^ing tools he's chosen) you should have little or no problems cutting and pasting.

    Flash no longer is used as a big single timeline by the majority of professionals either, the advances in ActionScript allow for a lot more linking of small .swf files to allow for the back button, etc. to work - those that you find that don't have this functionality mean the author doesn't bother to keep up with standards of his tools, and probably couldn't code his way out of a wet paper bag.

    --
    Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence in society - M. Twain
  20. GoogleNews by magefile · · Score: 3, Interesting

    has had some relatively balanced articles by Al-Jazeera on it.

  21. Lord Kenneth misbehaves on a regular basis by Goonie · · Score: 3, Informative

    Might I point out that Lord Kenneth is a known miscreant who has pulled a number of stunts like this. Keep that in mind when evaluating the worth of his criticisms.

    --

    Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a rigged demo
    --Andy Finkel (J. Klass?)
  22. Re:Google? Best Practices? by next1 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    dude, you're from new zealand, one of the most peaceful countries in the world. low crime rate, low violent crime rate, no nukes, no wars.

    cities in america such as new york and washington have amongst the HIGHEST rates of gun murders and assaults in the world.

    america is riddled with guns and riddled with gun violence. new zealand is NOT riddled with guns and, coincidentally, NOT riddled with gun violence. hmmm..

    look at the school shootings in the US. kids carrying guns to school, guns they have often sourced from their own homes, ie; guns that were intended for self-defence as you describe.

    do you really think you'd hold the same view if that was your reality?

  23. Hey, Taco, ... by WIAKywbfatw · · Score: 5, Funny

    Hey, Taco, I see you found the "post anonymously" option.

    --

    "Accept that some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue." - David Brent, Wernham Hogg
  24. Good flash example by yem · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Flash allows for cross-browser, cross-platform web development.

    The local pizza delivery co has a 100% flash site. It takes orders and everything - very slick. However, it was developed with Flash 7 and the latest plugin for Linux is 6.0.81.0. When I click my location on the map, the web browser segfaults.

    This illustrates the problem. Flash makes you dependant on one company for your display software. When they don't keep up the support, you get locked out. Hell is only flash site I actually would use regularly and it doesn't work for me. So much for cross platform.

    --
    No, I did not read the f***ing article!
  25. Re:Is it just me, or do people here abuse moderati by LMCBoy · · Score: 3, Insightful

    because I'm right

    What exactly do you think you are right about? Google won an award for building the world's most useful website. This fact is completely independent of the fact that they refuse to take ad money from gun makers. Why should something so irrelevant as their ad choices determine whether or not they are eligible for a Webby?

    In short, you have failed to consider the possibility that you were modded troll because your post was a troll. i.e., you used a completely unrelated news item to shout about some random pet peeve of yours. That's a troll, isn't it? If not, it's at least off-topic.

    Anyway, it's moot now, since your post is now at +5. Congrats on successfully gaming the system... :)

    --
    Liberal (adj.): Free from bigotry; open to progress; tolerant of others.
  26. Look at this earlier webbie... by blakespot · · Score: 4, Funny
    This asshat won a webbie in 2001. A distinguished honor, the webbie...


    blakespot

    --
    -- Heisenberg may have slept here.
    iPod Hacks.com