Slashdot Discussions Now Include Roulette Video Chat

It's been a long time coming, but we're pleased to announce the latest updates to our discussion software. We've been paying a lot of attention to what other websites have been doing in the space, and as we are only too happy to steal good ideas, from now on all Slashdot stories will now be accompanied by a Roulette-style webcam video chat. In testing, we've discovered that Slashdot users are amazingly likely to engage in informative, troll-free discussion when presented with the video image of one of their peers. This new addition to Slashdot nicely rounds out and improves the discussion experience for all users.

Comments

Pretty Funny Videos

[eldavojohn]

Watch them, it's worth it. I think I see pudge playing guitar, Rob Malda playing guitar singing about short shorts. Crazy dog lady (pretty much straight out of Best in Show) actually a lot of dog related videos. Funny notebook writings like "If you click next, I root your computer" *flip* "Don't make your computer sad." Or "If you turn your head, I win!" A pan of a desk with the nerdiest things you can conjure and then a note that says "Proud to be a nerd." There's a recurring bass player that likes to read you books and sneeze. There's a lot of older folks and women in here ... they probably got their wives and parents to make short videos so it "seemed" like a random demographic.

Sound seems broken on half of them though.

Well played, Slashdot, but the quality of these videos are too high and entertaining for this to be a real chat roulette :-)

Re:Pretty Funny Videos

[commodore64_love]

Well let's look I'm done with slashdot for the day.

Okay I admit it - The videos were funny at first, but now I'd like to be able to turn them off, and nobody seems to have included that ability.

Re:Pretty Funny Videos

[daveime]

about:blank will crash on OSX ... your point was ?

Re:Pretty Funny Videos

[TheSunborn]

>>It's NOT funny when I'm on a slow connection and slashdot is stealing it, and I have no way to turn this shit off.

Come on. Any slashdot reader should know how to turn of flash. If you really don't know please turn in your geek card.

>>It's NOT funny when I'm at work, and the admin wants to know why I streaming mega-videos & tying up work servers.

Tying up work servers? That would be interesting but really, your browser should newer connect to any work server. (Proxy server excluded, but a proxy server should not have any problem handling a small video stream).

And I know I have been trolled, but even trolls need to eat, and this is the only day they can do that for free.

Re:Pretty Funny Videos

[tomhudson]

Then you should be using slashdots' new VLB (Very Low Bandwidth) interface.

Re:Pretty Funny Videos

[Lumpy]

I'm his admin, and I am really wanting to know why he's tying up the work servers... Honestly, he came in this morning with about 600 feet of rope and has been tying onto all the servers since 9:00am. he wont stop, and has locked himself into the server room. Security cant get him out and I'm about 5 minutes from hitting the halon system to end it all.

If you want to save his life, please talk him down, he keeps talking about how the devil on slashdot's new video made him do it..

Re:Pretty Funny Videos

[Ihmhi]

Agreed. It's especially annoying for me as I'm the sort who opens a half-dozen or so /. stories from the RSS feed, so I have six of these videos going off.

By the way, if you want to block the source of the vid in an adblocker, hosts file, etc., the link is:

http://s.fsdn.com/aprilfools/flowplayer-3.1.5.swf

Re:Pretty Funny Videos

[Anonymous Coward]

http://a.fsdn.com/aprilfools/m/dex_Faraday.m4v
Dog licking camera

http://a.fsdn.com/aprilfools/m/dex_Movie1.m4v
Handwritten sign "Your ad here" with spoken ad for marketing to "not just shut-ins"

http://a.fsdn.com/aprilfools/m/dex_Movie4.m4v
Almost black screen. Apology to a couple of moms for agreeing to the Chatroulette thing.

http://a.fsdn.com/aprilfools/m/dex_r1.m4v
Doll doing the SNL Natalie Portman Gangsta Rap

http://a.fsdn.com/aprilfools/m/dex_Video1.flv
Silent. Video feedback of camera filming its own output on top of a Slashdot page

http://a.fsdn.com/aprilfools/m/dex_Video2.flv
Handwritten note: "If you turn your head, I win!!" Audio, but no voice.

http://a.fsdn.com/aprilfools/m/dex_Video3.flv
Pan across nerd paraphernalia with handwritten note "Proud to be a nerd." Audio, no voice.

http://a.fsdn.com/aprilfools/m/dex_Video4.flv
Paranoid guy with tinfoil hat and face cover, worried that "THEY could be watching."

http://a.fsdn.com/aprilfools/m/dex_Video5.flv
"Before we get started, I'd just like to thank you on behalf of Slashdot [bla bla] Alright, let's do this thing." Stands up, prepares to unzip pants.

http://a.fsdn.com/aprilfools/m/lee_1.mp4
Silent. Guy pointing and laughing at camera.

http://a.fsdn.com/aprilfools/m/lee_2.mp4
Silent. Guy holding dog in front of camera.

http://a.fsdn.com/aprilfools/m/leefriend_1.mp4
Silent. Girl acting surprised/embarrassed by what she sees, turning away, then looking again.

http://a.fsdn.com/aprilfools/m/leefriend_2.mp4
Silent. Bearded dude waiting and talking.

http://a.fsdn.com/aprilfools/m/leefriend_3.mp4
Silent. Dude with yellow tie moving camera to correct lighting situation. Talking to the camera and someone off camera.

http://a.fsdn.com/aprilfools/m/leefriend_4.mp4
Silent. Dude in red polo shirt badly acting like he's laughing.

http://a.fsdn.com/aprilfools/m/leefriend_5.mp4
Silent. Doll held in front of camera, hardly any movement.

http://a.fsdn.com/aprilfools/m/pudge_bad_hair.m4v
Guy with guitar playing a song about the bad hair of his supposed chat partner.

http://a.fsdn.com/aprilfools/m/pudge_my_mic_is_off.m4v
Silent. Guy with guitar playing a song, possibly about his turned off microphone.

http://a.fsdn.com/aprilfools/m/pudge_nerdier_than_me.m4v
Guy with guitar playing a song repeating the line "You look nerdier than me", ending with "but stay the way that you are."

http://a.fsdn.com/aprilfools/m/pudge_should_be_working.m4v
Guy with guitar playing a song, musing that the viewer should be working, but in the end admits that he's glad the viewer isn't working.

http://a.fsdn.com/aprilfools/m/pudge_tune.m4v
Guy tuning his gu

that's the explanation

[jollyreaper]

This is what they've been doing instead of fixing the CSS problems on Idle (or simply removing it.)

Re:that's the explanation

[u38cg]

CSS is not getting fixed on Idle because Taco and co want it to go away. Since they are corporate schills, they can't say so: all they can do is make it so bad they just "have" to kill it.

OMG BOOBIES!

[thomasdz]

What a great idea. Now I can see BOOBIES from the safety of my parents basement... here...let me try it out..
ewww gross. (click) ewwww gross... (click) ewww yuckko (click) ewww grosser! (click) ahh good, guy with guitar playing a tune... OMG he's lifting his shirt...agghhh ewww gross. (click) ewww gross...
I want Boobies. Girl Boobies. Oh yeah, I forgot...this is Slashdot.
I guess I'll just reload the wikipedia page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boobies
oh YEAH baby... seabirds! yeah! fap fap fap

Re:OMG BOOBIES!

[HopefulIntern]

Shouldnt that be "flap flap flap"..?

Sorry..

Re:Boobs

[Vorpix]

this is one thing we DO NOT WANT from slashdot's readerbase.

Awesome!

[Anonymous Coward]

I found my long lost dog through slashdot. Roulette Video Chat FTW

Re:Boobs

[SimonTheSoundMan]

I hope I get this guy on the other end: http://www.wimp.com/livechatroulette/

If Only ...

[WrongSizeGlass]

... my iPad had a camera and supported Flash.

Re:If Only ...

[BitZtream]

Once again, proof that Apple knows best and by removing flash from the iPad has saved you from the evil it brings.

Re:Boobs

[SimonTheSoundMan]

Right, seriously. I have people holding note pads asking for mod points, and another guy took his trousers/pants off. Please, slashdotters!

But...but...

[gimmebeer]

I'm on the Internet so I DON'T have to interact directly with other humans... :(

I know this is an April Fool's joke, but ...

[damn_registrars]

... this would fit right in with all the other crappy non-features that have been forced into slashdot lately.

Flashblock

[tepples]

Okay I admit it - The videos were funny at first, but now I'd like to be able to turn them off, and nobody seems to have included that ability.

What web browser are you using? I have my Mozilla Firefox set up so that whenever I reload a page, the SWFs turn off until I click them.

Re:Flashblock

[commodore64_love]

IE6. It's the only thing my employer lets me run. If I was using FF or Opera, then yeah I could turn-off the flash until I give permission for it to load (click "play"), but no such function in Microsoft's shit.

Re:Flashblock

[tepples]

IE6. It's the only thing my employer lets me run.

I can think of three solutions:

• Uninstall Flash Player.
• File a trouble ticket with the IT department about Acid2 (that's 2, not 3) breaking, and then post your boss's rationale as to why all of your employer's PCs still use only a decade-old web browser.
• There is a third solution, but describing it on Slashdot has been seen as flamebait in the past.

Re:Flashblock

[sirius_bbr]

Actually, this prank pushed me over the edge to actually install flashblock :)

Re:Flashblock

[Anachragnome]

"...the SWFs turn off until I click them..."

Better luck then me. All the Single White Females I come across turn off the moment we share the same room.

Re:Somebody think of our CPU cycles

[m.ducharme]

If you can't figure out how to disable it, you need to turn your geek card in at the door.

Re:Boobs

[Minwee]

You're libel to get man boobs.

That's only possible if there is a permanent record made. If the image isn't published then you are _slander_ to get man boobs.

Re:Boobs

[Profane MuthaFucka]

I always read Slashdot with my cock in hand, so I suppose this means that Cmdr Taco actually read that reader survey form I filled out last year.

Thanks CmdrTaco

[bazald]

It's new features like these that keep the site fresh. srsly

Re:Boobs

[Ihmhi]

Here, it'd would probably be "Moobs or GTFO"...

Forgot your meds, did you?

[whitroth]

This is the *STUPIDEST* idea I've seen in a long while (other than, say, the idea that the tea baggers live in the real world).

AND I see no way to turn it off.

Did I mention I hate flash? And are you guaranteeing on-site, 24 hr maintenance, when we get infected from an infected flash video?

            mark, who has his setting at "old style" slashdot

Re:Forgot your meds, did you?

[whizzard]

AND I see no way to turn it off.

If you have adblock plus installed (and you should, really), this filter will take care of the problem:

slashdot.org##div.chatter

Re:Boobs

[g0bshiTe]

Those were the chicks!