Slashdot Mirror
XKCD Improving the Internet ... Yet Again
netbuzz writes "Comic creator Randall Monroe suggested in a recent xkcd strip that YouTube comments would be better — or, more precisely, less idiotic — if only those posting them were forced to hear their words read aloud first. Well, YouTube has gone and made this "audio preview" a reality, albeit an optional one. And, it's not the first time that xkcd has contributed to the betterment of the Internet, as those who are familiar with last year's "Internet census" and its use of a Hilbert curve may remember."
Although I think that the people who need this feature most are the kind least likely to actually use it.
Never underestimate the stupidity inherent in all human beings.
I love xkcd, but hate idle. Should I start loving idle or start hating xkcd???
First non-pants story I've seen on idle! Huzzah!
Will stupid people realise how stupid their posts are when they're read out aloud?
The best example would have to be this strip and the resultant web site (NSWF).
I think the greatest improvement of our lifes from xkcd was when Stallman got a katana. Now I can sleep better, knowing he will be protected from the he-who-cannot-be-named, aka Bill.
Any life is made up of a single moment, the moment in which a man finds out, once and for all, who he is.
I'm about to go register the username Robert'); DROP TABLE users;--
It also be nice if they would order the comments oldest to newest from top to bottom for English readers (instead of bottom to top).
So when is /. getting this?
Anyone at GMail want to confirm if this particular cartoon also inspired or contributed to the inspiration of GMail Goggles?
Now, if only, we implemented this on slashdot, then we'd be in business!
The problem is, most of the people who need this won't realize how stupid and inarticulate they sound.
Your licence will be banned when the other geeks realize you can't spell licence.
Any life is made up of a single moment, the moment in which a man finds out, once and for all, who he is.
Those comments on YouTube come from people? I thought it was a virus or something.
This is an interesting idea, although part of me really cringes at the notion that we're implementing a device that's designed to IMPEDE communication on a site whose stated goal is: "Broadcast Yourself" It will be interesting to follow usage patterns, but what I most fear is that this becomes a norm, and sites like slashdot receive less feedback due to the sheer amount of time required to listen to each commenter's post.
If you get an error, type "OVERRIDE" or "SECURITY OVERRIDE" and then try the optimize command again.
We so need this on Slashdot...
Damn, it appears my LICENSE will be banned as well.
Any life is made up of a single moment, the moment in which a man finds out, once and for all, who he is.
Am I the only one who doesn't really see this as a problem? I've never been in the situation where I'm watching something on youtube, and am suddenly interrupted by a stream of moronic comments. Frankly, I treat youtube as a novelty. An enormous narcissistic portrait of (primarily) white, middle class people. It's fun to watch, but if you're using it for any serious data, you're crazy.
If you get an error, type "OVERRIDE" or "SECURITY OVERRIDE" and then try the optimize command again.
Yeah, I liked it better when it was just the drawings of a guy flowing around the world in a barrel.
Support the 30 Hour Work Week!!!
http://xkcd.com/285/
YouTube comments come from people!
We all know what to do, but we don't know how to get re-elected once we have done it
I'm going to need to see the sub clause regarding licentious spelling before I get too worried.
I love when "Stephan Hawking" reads my YouTube comments to me...
Did anybody ever explain to the O.P. how babby is formed?
-fb Everything not expressly forbidden is now mandatory.
I don't know if it improved anything but at least from my German, politically uninterested, albeit perhaps uninformed but also unbiased point of view his blagentry regarding the elections seemed to switch the whole internet from supporting Ron Paul to supporting Barack Obama overnight. No, really. I went to bed and the frontpages of all major social networks were Paul! Paul! Paul! and when I woke up Obamania broke loose. Fine with me though. I like "that guy." :)
The phrase is "case in point".
Any threat posed by ESR can be easily nullified by getting him to pontificate on just about any subject. Far more than the sound of racking a slide on a pistol, ESR loves the sound of his own voice. This should buy you the time you need to carry on with your op or E&E.
Obligatory xk...oh, wait.
Last night I played a blank tape at full volume. The mime next door went nuts.
Hey, cool. I've got mod points on Slashdot, too!
Everybody takes after xkcd!
- RG>
Hey pal, this isn't a pleasantforest, so don't waste my time with pleasantries!
Try these:
Workit, better, faster, stronger.
Great, now people are going to post even more incomprehensibly because they'll have mangled their spelling to make the text-to-speech engine pronounce it better.
<3 xkcd though.
Arguing about vi versus Emacs is like arguing whether it's better to make fire by rubbing sticks or banging rocks.
try this: my roflcopter goes ssssssssssssssssssssss
"Pants are still optional, but recommended for you." ~ CmdrTaco's Sig
I thought it had something to do his sig in a way I couldn't quite understand. Thanks for clearing that up Brit folk! I feel rather daft now.
-- Political fascism requires a Fuhrer.
Ex.
I'm teh suxxorz. wen he told me, i wuz liek: zOMG dat's totally kewl. I nevr thot u could dew taht.
Easy to read and also creative. It shows personality, In other words, It'z totally ballin'!
idle.slashdot.org reminds me of CNN's "half hour news hour", which was a pale imitation of The Daily Show. idle is like a pale imitation of fark. Now with even narrower text entry boxes!
You sure?
The worst part of being athiest.... You don't have anyone to talk to during orgasm!
This reminds me of the lego pyramids I used to build when I was a kid.
But I think we'll run out of blocks before we reach the peak.
Sorry, but I have to kill you now.
Cress, cress, lovely lovely cress
The thing I dislike about xkcd is the cringeworthy lameness of it, which crosses the line (as this site often does) from 'geeky but interesting' to 'jesus, I hope your nerdiness doesn't rub off on me'.
I disagree, although I do see where you're coming from as this is pretty much exactly how I feel about User Friendly. XKCD does have it's slightly lame/cringe moments but for the most part it's inspired observational comedy imho.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Yes, it would. If you didn't think the recent height and depth comics were awesome then you don't get to be a geek.
When will this kind of feature be available on /. ?
~WBGG~ "And I'm so sad like a good book I can't put this Day Back a sorta fairytale with you" ~Tori Amos
I was shocked to see this button on YouTube after reading that XKCD comic, but it doesn't work for me. It playes all my comments really fast so I can't understand it.