Rob CmdrTaco Malda AMA On Reddit

TheNextCorner writes with news on where CmdrTaco has been hiding. Quoting Malda's IamA blurb over at that Reddit thing: "In 1997 I started Slashdot.org. For several years, we pioneered news aggregation and on-line communities while exploring our niche of the 'net under the slogan, 'News for Nerds, Stuff that Matters.' Our work was later expanded upon at countless other more successful sites including Reddit and the Huffington Post. I left Slashdot last year, took a long time off, and then started work at the Washington Post Co's WaPo Labs their digital media R&D skunkworks group. I work as their Chief Strategist and Editor-at-Large, contributing what I can to a variety of projects ranging from their Social Reader, to some projects under development. From here I am able to continue to explore my interests in news, journalism, technology, and communities. ... I'll hopefully be answering from 2pm-5pm ET"

Comments

Nifty

[RyoShin]

That sounds pretty nifty, and I wish the best of luck to him, but Slashdot seems to have really lost its way without a Taco to command it.

Wrong place to do a Q&A

[hessian]

Reddit, Digg, YouTube, and FaceBook have a standard of comments so low that Slashdot looks like the Encyclopedia Brittanica in contrast.

Perhaps we can get CmdrTaco into a forum with more standards, or just do the chat in cryptocat and post the result here.

Re:Wrong place to do a Q&A

[FatLittleMonkey]

You're assuming he left on good terms....

Re:Who really cares?

[EvilBudMan]

He is probably worth enough. More than you or I, I would guess.

Re:Who really cares?

[PopeRatzo]

Outside of the fluke that is slashdot, what else has he done.

Slashdot is enough. What have you done?

He should be proud of creating this lasting community. It's a worthwhile destination on the Web in my opinion (and yours, since you are here).

How many online sites have made a big splash and then disappeared into the dustbin of history? Like MySpace and others. Slashdot goes on and there are people here whose opinions mean something to me. That's an accomplishment.

Re:Reddit? What's that?

[Rude Turnip]

Some people say Reddit killed Digg, but most people would say Digg committed suicide.

Re:Who really cares?

[PopeRatzo]

When Slashdot makes a big splash, that would be a valid question. Slashdot is, and always has been, a niche site that many people have never even heard of.

What's wrong with "niche"? Do you need the validation of mass popularity to find value in things? Do you only enjoy music that reaches the top of the Billboard charts? Do you only enjoy movies that make $50 million or more in the first weekend?

The things of value, that last, are only occasionally the things with greatest mass appeal. And those occasions should always viewed with care, if not suspicion.

When Slashdot makes a big splash, that would be a valid question.

That's my point. In the swimming pool of culture, it's the big fatsos that make the biggest splash, and they often expire young.

I've read obituaries for slashdot since I first started lurking here more than a decade ago. They are usually earnest, and often entertaining, and always wrong.