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Web Singletons?

Posted by timothy on from the magrathea-dot-com dept.

tcmb writes "There are an uncounted number of web mail and picture sharing services, there are more than enough web sites for online bookmark management and friend-finding, but as far as I know there is only one Internet Archive. Which are the true web singletons, services that exist only once in this form?" And does anything approach the singular time-wasting abilities of IMDB or Wikipedia?

17 of 254 comments (clear)

  1. What? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Seriously what?

    1. Re:What? by aegl · · Score: 2, Insightful
      "The only organizations that could create a "singleton" web app, if you really feel the need to misuse the term that thoroughly, are major patent trolls"

      Patent trolls don't create anything (except pain, suffering and economic hardship for their victims).

    2. Re:What? by Firehed · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Well that's the beauty of the singleton design pattern - you can create exactly zero instances if you want. Which in the context of patent trolls is definitely a bad thing, but it still technically fits the misused term.

      --
      How are sites slashdotted when nobody reads TFAs?
    3. Re:What? by Minwee · · Score: 4, Insightful

      But whoever thought the term applies to the services provided by web apps is just an idiot.

      Some day, I'm going to have to introduce you to a new game called 'Bridge', something called 'set theory' or perhaps just to the concept of 'twins'. Then you might learn a few whole new meanings for that word and wonder why you were such an idiot about it before.

    4. Re:What? by AmberBlackCat · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The good part for the Internet Archive is they can't rip off the idea and do it better because they'd have to go back in time to get the data.

    5. Re:What? by dubbreak · · Score: 1, Insightful

      The word "singleton" wasn't invented to describe the design pattern, douchebag. It means there is only one of something and is used correctly in TFS.

      Lemme guess. Your a singleton (an offspring born alone).

      While the term may be used correctly it doesn't address the target audience correctly. For the slashdot community the title is quite misleading. A title of "Web Singletons?" and it's not about the design pattern? Not cool or geeky. Wouldn't "unique web apps?" or something else better describe what the article is about?

      I know I was disappointed when I found out the article wasn't (directly) related to coding and by the responses I've seen so far it looks as though I'm not projecting.

      --
      "If you are going through hell, keep going." - Winston Churchill
    6. Re:What? by roguetrick · · Score: 4, Insightful

      On the subject of patent trolls, Blackboard fits this, despite being such a horrible piece of crap.

      --
      -The world would be a better place if everyone had a hoverboard
    7. Re:What? by Ralph+Spoilsport · · Score: 2, Insightful
      On the subject of patent trolls, Blackboard fits this, despite being such a horrible piece of crap.

      A-fucking-men to that chief. Blackboard is, bar none, the single nastiest most unintuitive piece of shit I have every had to deal with. It makes Lotus Notes circa 1995 look like genius. It makes Microsoft Clippy look like a good idea. I hate it. I want it gone. I would rather spend hours photocopying stuff and calculating grades by hand without a calculator than deal with that nasty piece of crap.

      RS

      --
      Shoes for Industry. Shoes for the Dead.
  2. Slashdot by zobier · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'd say /. is relatively unique.

    --
    Me lost me cookie at the disco.
  3. Re: "For large values of once" by TaoPhoenix · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Sorry AC.

    You missed http://www.obmoz.com/

    ------

    (Can you talk to Mods?
    "Hi Mod. I know I am Informative, but since neither of the sites are, save your juicy Mod point for something better.")

    --
    My first Journal Entry ever, in 8 years! http://slashdot.org/journal/365947/aphelion-scifi-fantasy-horror-poetry-webzine
  4. Re:I hope it's unique! by Firehed · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Tubgirl, lemonparty, meatspin, 2G1C, etc. The implementation may vary a bit, but goatse certainly isn't the only shock site out there.

    --
    How are sites slashdotted when nobody reads TFAs?
  5. Re:gnaa by Austerity+Empowers · · Score: 2, Insightful

    There is no shortage of idiots on the web.

  6. The grand-daddy of them all... by Nick+Driver · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ...is still alive!

  7. Snopes by Darth+Cider · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Snopes.com is singular and good for wasting time.

  8. TV Tropes by roystgnr · · Score: 4, Insightful

    And does anything approach the singular time-wasting abilities of IMDB or Wikipedia?

    Google for "TV Tropes". No, I'm not giving you a URL. If I had to go find the URL, I might accidentally look at the URL. And then I'd end up clicking some of the links there. But there's no way to read through a Trope page without being curious enough to click on at least two of the links there, and then two of the links on each of those, and then... well, I just put dinner in the oven and I do not want to suddenly snap out of a fascinated reverie an hour from now when the smoke from my kitchen burning down reminds me that I'm starving.

  9. Re:gnaa by Eli+Gottlieb · · Score: 3, Insightful

    There is no shortage of idiots.

    Fixed that for you.

  10. Re:Here's a semi-unique time waster for 'ya ... by ShieldW0lf · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Singletons are the loneliest objects that I've ever seen...
    Factories can be as bad as a Singletons
    They're the loneliest objects since the Singleton

    False is the saddest value that you'll ever know,
    True, it's the saddest value that you'll ever know...

    --
    -1 Uncomfortable Truth