Slashdot Mirror


How Edward Snowden's Actions Have Impacted Defense Contractors

An anonymous reader writes "A new study sheds light on the attitudes of a very exclusive group of IT and security managers — those employed by U.S. defense contractors — at a time when national cybersecurity is under scrutiny. Most indicated that the Edward Snowden incident has changed their companies' cybersecurity practices: their employees now receive more cybersecurity awareness training, some have re-evaluated employee data access privileges, others have implemented stricter hiring practices. While defense contractors seem to have better security practices in place and are more transparent than many companies in the private sector, they are finding the current cyber threat onslaught just as difficult to deal with."

180 comments

  1. Beta Blows by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    Scrap it and go back to the drawing board!!!!!

  2. How Slashdot Beta has impacted my life. by east+coast · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I will not give in to the powers-that-be-Dice and put up with a terrible design with no functional gains.

    Boycott the Beta!

    --
    Dedicated Cthulhu Cultist since 4523 BC.
  3. About the beta. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    It is now official. Netcraft has confirmed: Slashdot is dying.

            One more crippling bombshell hit the already beleaguered Slashdot community when IDC confirmed that Slashdot page views has dropped yet again, now down to less than a fraction of 1 percent of all websites. Coming on the heels of a recent Netcraft survey which plainly states that Slashdot has lost more market share, this news serves to reinforce what we've known all along. Slashdot is collapsing in complete disarray, as fittingly exemplified by the stupid fucking beta website and the wholesale discard of user feedback.

            You don't need to be the Amazing Kreskin to predict Slashdot's future. The hand writing is on the wall: Slashdot faces a bleak future. In fact there won't be any future at all for Slashdot because Slashdot is dying. Things are looking very bad for Slashdot. As many of us are already aware, Slashdot continues to lose market share. Red ink flows like a river of blood.

            Slashdot Beta is the most endangered of them all, having lost 93% of its core users. The sudden and unpleasant departures of long time Slashdot users Jordan Hubbard and Mike Smith only serve to underscore the point more clearly. There can no longer be any doubt: Slashdot is dying.

            All major surveys show that Slashdot has steadily declined in market share. Slashdot is very sick and its long term survival prospects are very dim. If Slashdot is to survive at all it will be among S&M enthusiasts. Slashdot continues to decay. Nothing short of a miracle could save it at this point in time. For all practical purposes, Slashdot is dead.

    That crippling bombshell sent Slashdot fans into a tailspin of mourning and denial. However, bad news poured in like a river of water.

    Fuck the beta.

    1. Re:About the beta. by c0lo · · Score: 1
      In his last speech as Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer endorsed beta:

      "There's nothing that beta.slashdot.org cannot do. beta.slashdot.org can simply do anything. Anything rendered in beta.slashdot.org is fantastic. I love beta.slashdot.org. I can't get enough of beta.slashdot.org. Return to betadom, you insolent insects! You're nothing without beta.slashdot.org! Why not use beta.slashdot.org? Linux is garbage; it wasn't made for beta.slashdot.org. Why do you cower? Because you're not using beta.slashdot.org. Use beta.slashdot.org already! Return, return, return, return, return to beta-dooooooooooooooom!"

      Steve Ballmer, on beta.slashdot.org.

      --
      Questions raise, answers kill. Raise questions to stay alive.
    2. Re:About the beta. by jimbolauski · · Score: 1

      Slashdot was dieing before, fewer people were turning to Slashdot before the beta in favor of other aggregate site like Reddit. Dice's answer to this problem is to make it look more like Reddit. The thing Dice doesn't understand is that change for the sake of change irritates their users, Digg changed their interface and people left in droves. Slashdot will never be able to compete with Reddit by being like Reddit instead they will be alienating their loyal followers, for a chance at new users. Betting a dollar to win a cent is a bad plan.

      --
      Knowledge = Power
      P= W/t
      t=Money
      Money = Work/Knowledge so the less you know the more you make
  4. Slashdot Beta: Day Two by sl4shd0rk · · Score: 3, Insightful

    ..All sense of time has deceived me as the day has started out with thick clouds overhead. It is difficult to tell if morning or early afternoon. I've struck my head on something earlier as I collapsed, shortly after waking, and have no idea how long I've been out. An odd fog has rolled in from the north; cold and dank, reeking of stale piss. I wonder if there are others out there.. Afraid and confused.. Shackled to the same fate as I. This godforsaken Beta UI.

    --
    Join the Slashcott! Feb 10 thru Feb 17!
    1. Re:Slashdot Beta: Day Two by TWiTfan · · Score: 4, Funny

      I have swallowed my pride and dignity and, against all my best instincts, I have entered the beta. I find myself standing in an open field west of a white house, with a boarded front door. There is a small mailbox here.

      --
      The cow says "Moo." The dog says "Woof." The Timothy says "Thanks, valued customer. We appreciate your input."
    2. Re: Slashdot Beta: Day Two by schlouse · · Score: 4, Funny

      The mailbox contains a small figurine of some sort. Upon closer inspection, it appears to be constructed of some sort of fossilized wood, depicting a once-popular actress alongside a popular southern state hot grain product.

    3. Re:Slashdot Beta: Day Two by petkill · · Score: 1

      >You are likely to be eaten by a Slashdot Beta >The Slashdot Beta is a sinister, lurking presence in the dark places of the Internet. Its favorite diet is commenters, but its insatiable appetite is tempered by its fear of light. No succesful Beta has ever been seen by the light of day, and few have survived its fearsome jaws to tell the tale.

    4. Re:Slashdot Beta: Day Two by pr0fessor · · Score: 2

      You have been eaten by a grue.

    5. Re:Slashdot Beta: Day Two by Tackhead · · Score: 1

      I have swallowed my pride and dignity and, against all my best instincts, I have entered the beta. I find myself standing in an open field west of a white house, with a boarded front door. There is a small mailbox here.

      It is grey.

      Not even a grue would eat it.

    6. Re:Slashdot Beta: Day Two by frank_adrian314159 · · Score: 1

      You open the mailbox. Peering inside you see a Post-It (TM) note stuck to the back of the mailbox, which you must reach in to remove. Scrawled in blood on the Post-It (TM) note are the words "Welcome to Slashdot Beta! Love, Dice Holdings, Inc. P.S. Enjoy your stay."

      You close the mailbox and stagger off. You are eaten by a grue.

      --
      That is all.
    7. Re: Slashdot Beta: Day Two by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As you approach the boarded up white house, you notice an odd sound of sniffing. You've stepped in a pile of Slashdot Beta. But strangely, it's almost as if it's alive and is attempting to smell you. You realize that you must have been transported to Soviet Russia.

    8. Re:Slashdot Beta: Day Two by DocHoncho · · Score: 1

      Better that than actually using the beta site!!

      --
      Celebrity worship is a poor substitute for Deity worship and costs more to boot.
  5. Re:Boycott by captchya · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Fuck Beta

  6. The best part about Slashdot... by Bearded+Frog · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The best part about Slashdot for me was really the people who visit it. This site has had one of the most intelligent communities around. This is how the site is successful IMO. Really good people massing together behind it. Finding and promoting articles is one thing but the commentary is where it really takes off. Almost every time I view a story what I find more interesting is the story that develops below it. I really don't know of another site where I can attempt to follow a debate about nuclear fusion, and find a debate about Apple only a page apart. This is about to be taken away as the best and brightest around here are going to leave as they are fed up with these beta changes, and Slashdot as a quality site will die. The new site takes away from the comments and the user driven atmosphere and plasters it with pictures and wasted space. This protest may seem futile at first to the bigwigs at the top here, but like I said the best part about this site is the comments. Therefore, if the only comments left are ones complaining about beta, its going to be a very accurate view of the future of Slashdot from here onward if the beta continues.

    1. Re: The best part about Slashdot... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      the beta will not continue. not in this house. the beta must die.

    2. Re:The best part about Slashdot... by Pav · · Score: 2

      The question : what can replace it if/when this is required? This episode is making me wish I'd been keeping up with the federated technologies people have been experimenting with - a federated nerd community that somehow included moderation wouldn't make me cry. It's strange but I've actually returned to IRC after 15 years - the dev communities I'm interested in have channels on FreeNode, and it's one of the only other truly nerd-friendly hangouts left.

    3. Re:The best part about Slashdot... by argStyopa · · Score: 3

      The best part about Slashdot for me was really the people who visited it. This site had one of the most intelligent communities around. This is how the site was successful IMO. Really good people massed together behind it. Finding and promoting articles was one thing but the commentary was where it really took off. Almost every time I viewed a story what I found more interesting was the story that developed below it. I really didn't know of another site where I could have attempted to follow a debate about nuclear fusion, and found a debate about Apple only a page apart. This was taken away as the best and brightest around here left when they were fed up with these beta changes, and Slashdot as a quality site died. The new site took away from the comments and the user driven atmosphere and plastered it with pictures and wasted space. This protest may have seemed futile at first to the bigwigs at the top here, but like I said the best part about this site was the comments. Therefore, if the only comments left were ones complaining about beta, it was going to be a very accurate view of the future of Slashdot from here onward when the beta continued.

      Ftfy.

      What I think is hilarious is that they can spend resources building the betabomination, but we still use markup from like 1991. Hey guys, there's better forum code out there, where you can even EDIT POSTS! /noveltyshock.

      BETA SUCKS

      --
      -Styopa
    4. Re:The best part about Slashdot... by LQ · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The best part about Slashdot for me was really the people who visit it. This site has had one of the most intelligent communities around.

      Exactly. It is not a news site. It is a place where geeky folk discuss techie news items. That's why I've been visiting daily for over 15 years. I'll be sad to see it go. Why does everything turn to shite when the MBAs take over?

    5. Re:The best part about Slashdot... by StripedCow · · Score: 1

      If this continues, I suspect that another company will take over.

      Perhaps the Stackexchange guys (known for Stackoverflow) can come up with a nice forum for us...
      They already have most of the code in place in the form of a Q/A board. And they have the community (programmers, physicists, electrical engineers, etc.)

      I can see that work.

      --
      If Pandora's box is destined to be opened, *I* want to be the one to open it.
    6. Re:The best part about Slashdot... by Thud457 · · Score: 2

      beta.slashdot.com will re-write your hard drive. Not only that, but beta.slashdot.com will scramble any disks that are even close to your computer. It will recalibrate your refrigerator's coolness setting so all your ice cream goes melty. beta.slashdot.com will demagnetize the strips on all your credit cards, screw up the tracking on your television and use subspace field harmonics to scratch any CD's you try to play.

      beta.slashdot.com will give your ex-girlfriend your new phone number. It will mix Kool-aid into your fishtank. beta.slashdot.com will drink all your beer and leave its socks out on the coffee table when there's company coming over. beta.slashdot.com will put a dead kitten in the back pocket of your good suit pants and hide your car keys when you are late for work.

      beta.slashdot.com will make you fall in love with a penguin. beta.slashdot.com will give you nightmares about circus midgets. beta.slashdot.com will pour sugar in your gas tank and shave off both your eyebrows while dating your girlfriend behind your back and billing the dinner and hotel room to your Discover card.

      beta.slashdot.com will seduce your grandmother. beta.slashdot.com does not matter if she is dead, such is the power of beta.slashdot.com, beta.slashdot.com reaches out beyond the grave to sully those things we hold most dear.

      beta.slashdot.com moves your car randomly around parking lots so you can't find it. beta.slashdot.com will kick your dog. beta.slashdot.com will leave libidinous messages on your boss's voice mail in your voice! beta.slashdot.com is insidious and subtle. It is dangerous and terrifying to behold. beta.slashdot.com is also a rather interesting shade of mauve.

      beta.slashdot.com will give you Dutch Elm disease. beta.slashdot.com will leave the toilet seat up. beta.slashdot.com will make a batch of Methanphedime in your bathtub and then leave bacon cooking on the stove while beta.slashdot.com goes out to chase gradeschoolers with your new snowblower.

      --

      the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

    7. Re:The best part about Slashdot... by Pav · · Score: 1

      Actually... I've created a channel on IRC called #slashdot-refugees (on FreeNode... there's even a web client. Some in the community might want to commiserate, discuss plans of keeping the community together into the future etc.. and a realtime medium might be a good way. It's 2am in Australia though, so although I'm in channel I won't be around for a few hours.

    8. Re:The best part about Slashdot... by Common+Joe · · Score: 1

      I really don't know of another site where I can attempt to follow a debate about nuclear fusion, and find a debate about Apple only a page apart. This is about to be taken away as the best and brightest around here are going to leave as they are fed up with these beta changes, and Slashdot as a quality site will die.

      Yes, but there is hope. Boycott and if that doesn't work, we'll forge another website.

      -- Common Joe

      Valentines Day Slashcott: Boycott Slashdot because "Fuck Beta!": February 10 - 17

      And Support Okian Warrior's alternate slashdot idea! A note from Okian can be found here: http://www.altslashdot.org/wiki/index.php?title=AltSlashdot. And be patient. It looks like the site and his email has been slashdotted.

    9. Re:The best part about Slashdot... by kharchenko · · Score: 1

      Right on! It would be a terrible thing to disband this community by curtailing the comment functionalities. The discussions are by far .. by FAR the valuable thing on Slashdot, and it's as much due to a balanced moderation system as to the community itself. You don't see many other sites allowing or handling anonymous posts any more. Please don't ruin it!

    10. Re:The best part about Slashdot... by TheGratefulNet · · Score: 1

      you may have hit the nail on the head. shifting to a new platform might be a way to remove AC functionality.

      the powers in charge (not slash but 'more in charge' at higher levels) really hate anon speech. I just wonder if there's any push 'from above' to change slash just to remove anon posting features?

      it could be less sinister than that; just a 'jobs program' for a bunch of bored engineers who can't leave well enough alone.

      --

      --
      "It is now safe to switch off your computer."
    11. Re:The best part about Slashdot... by Giblet535 · · Score: 1

      There's fark.com.

  7. Beta Boycott by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Feb 10 - feb 17.

  8. Re:Boycott by TheNastyInThePasty · · Score: 5, Insightful

    My advice to the peons working on Slashdot: find another job. The veracity with which this "upgrade" is being pushed displays a stubbornness that can only be attributed to MBAs with no idea of what Slashdot is about. The fact that the commenting system is such an afterthought in the Beta is as much evidence as I need that the people pushing this redesign never use this site.

    I know you don't get to decide whether or not the Beta moves forward or which design gets used, but believe this: You WILL be blamed when it fails. You work for a corporation now and the higher ups with undoubtedly throw you under the bus when they have to explain to their bosses or shareholders why the website redesign failed. This failure is going to be associated with you and your teammates and it will set back any hopes you have of being promoted within the company. Take the advice of me and my fellow Slashdotters: Get out now.

    --
    The best thing about UDP jokes is I don't care if you get them or not
  9. ask the good natured end USers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    we should know http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=citizens%20police%20state&sm=3

  10. Slashdot Beta by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Does it auto-play videos for everyone?

  11. No just NO by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Can we safely assume if you must log in during the boycott next week everyone will post simple polite Fcku Beta messages?

  12. Contact Alice Hill by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Complaining in the comments is not enough! This is the person responsible for beta. Contact her directly to lodge your complaints.

    Since beta appears not to support links, here is the URL: http://www.linkedin.com/in/alicehill

    1. Re:Contact Alice Hill by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      This is a person. She wakes up every morning, goes to work, and drinks her share of coffee. She had only so many hours a day to devote to community problems. She's got a boss and corporate leadership who set goals she must fulfill. And she probably has a personal life she'd like to lead too. Maybe even children who are definitely more important to her than the bitchfest going on at /.

      WTF is wrong with you people? It's just a fucking web site.

    2. Re:Contact Alice Hill by Kell+Bengal · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The problem here is one of a corporation taking a community website and then systematically ignoring that community's input. We've seen it with the moves into business intelligence and the hell-or-highwater drive to beta. While a community website such as Slashdot is valuable to both its users and its owners, the relationship between the company and the community is asymmetrical.

      There is relatively few effective mechanisms available to the community to have its will heard, short of simply leaving and never coming back (which defeats the point). Thus, concerned users are identifying the fulcrums around which this problem is revolving and applying leverage there to attempt to restore some balance between the goals of Dice and its user base.

      While I agree that we should not be hassling private citizens outside their role as an employee, we are certainly at liberty to express our views and have them listened to. We're trying to save Slashdot's profitibilty, and by extension their employment, by ensuring that the website remains one that is attractive to its user base.

      While the designer of the website is on the clock and responsible for the design and deployment of Beta, we are obliged to try to make them see that this is a terrible decision.

      --
      Scientists point out problems, engineers fix them
      altslashdot.org: The future of slashdot.
    3. Re: Contact Alice Hill by schlouse · · Score: 2

      Further, this is not exactly complicated shit. It's a discussion web site for Christ's sake.

    4. Re:Contact Alice Hill by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      This is a person. She wakes up every morning, goes to work, and drinks her share of coffee. She had only so many hours a day to devote to community problems. She's got a boss and corporate leadership who set goals she must fulfill. And she probably has a personal life she'd like to lead too. Maybe even children who are definitely more important to her than the bitchfest going on at /.

      You don't say ?
      A real person with a real life ?

      So, that's a good entry level to try to make things move...
      We're not bitching anybody, we just need to be a bit demonstrative to real people.

    5. Re:Contact Alice Hill by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      And the same happened at Reddit. Look at the fiasco of /r/politics when it was discovered that the mods there were censoring entire publications from submission. They still do. The firestorm that erupted led to wailing and gnashing of teeth and a mass community exodus. But no mod or corporate changes. It's obnoxious, but no amount of community complaining changed corporate policies. Censorship remains, enforced by mods and set as policy by the ownership.

      At least this isn't a censorship fight. Here, the owners just want to implement a design change. Which may or may not be of benefit in the long term.

    6. Re:Contact Alice Hill by Krneki · · Score: 4, Insightful

      With great powers comes great responsibilities.

      --
      Love many, trust a few, do harm to none.
    7. Re:Contact Alice Hill by LordFlower · · Score: 1
      I agree.

      Lets not get stupid with this

    8. Re:Contact Alice Hill by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      WTF is wrong with you people? It was just a fucking web site.

      FTFY

    9. Re:Contact Alice Hill by evilRhino · · Score: 1

      I think it's more analogous to new Digg than /r/politics. The awful Digg website design drove off users never to return. There are several other sub-Reddit that took the place of /r/politcs. Hell, we could even make a slashdot-esque sub-reddit.

    10. Re:Contact Alice Hill by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Go ask Alice, I think she'll know

    11. Re:Contact Alice Hill by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      She's fucked around with CNET in the past.

      Man, I used to download shareware from that site (was on 50:50 par with Tucows) but once that site started pushing it's special downloader bloatware crap on me I started to avoid it like the plague.

      I wonder if that was her doing as well? ...

    12. Re:Contact Alice Hill by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You mean like this one? It looks kinda dead. I searched for a slashdotbeta subreddit, but that doesn't exist. Thank god. The infection might spread, and can you imagine the bitching if reddit's interface got worse?

    13. Re:Contact Alice Hill by Jahoda · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Dude, don't worry - by the looks of it, Alice Hill appears to be woman. This isn't 4chan or reddit, the worst she can expect from us slashdotters would be an army of us asking to carry her books every day.

    14. Re:Contact Alice Hill by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > It's just a fucking web site.

      Yeah, right. I have another idea about what a "fucking web site is".

      P.S: FUCKBETA

    15. Re:Contact Alice Hill by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sorry, I missed the part where we forced her to work this job.

    16. Re: Contact Alice Hill by Plugh · · Score: 1

      Bingo. They could implement a Drupal site with the relevant module in a day or less.

    17. Re: Contact Alice Hill by mandark1967 · · Score: 1

      Further, this is not exactly complicated shit. It's a discussion web site for Christ's sake.

      And as Christ's official spokesperson here on planet Earth, I've been told to let you know your Lord of Overlords thanks you for doing it for His sake.

      --
      Sig Follows: "Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself." -- Mark Twain
    18. Re:Contact Alice Hill by ObsessiveMathsFreak · · Score: 2

      WTF is wrong with you people? It's just a fucking web site.

      Technically yes. But it is also the geek discussion forum on the web.

      As a friend of mine said a few years ago: "Every tech-head on the planet goes to Slashdot". He was right. Slashdot is more than an ordinary website. It is practically an internet public house, a geek watering-hole, international web discussion forum, and the best sources of technology "lore" around. We have all learned more, about life and tech, from lone comments here than from any course, job, or textbook.

      I don't think Dice understands any of this. I don't think they really get just how wide and deep the feelings behind sites like Slashdot go. Geeks regard this site in the same way as Brits regard the BBC, or possibly their Queen. Sure we might we tired of it, rail on things, and complain about the editors; but if you try to take it away or destroy it completely... , you are toying with the unspoken forces on which the internet is built. I'm being very serious.

      Honestly. I honestly think that Slashdot needs to be taken into the care of some kind of non-profit organization, or other public trust. The existence of this site, and the value of its comment system, to the world at large is such that it is unwise to leave it in the hands of a private company, particularly one so seemingly keen to destroy it.

      I think the solution to this is for Slashdotters to set up a non-profit and use a kickstarter fund to buy the site back from Dice. I image there are quite a few people around here who would be more than able to manage just about every aspect of the operation. (Where is Taco during all this anyway?)

      --
      May the Maths Be with you!
    19. Re:Contact Alice Hill by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Linked In is a website built around employment. It's perfectly fine to link to. It's not like it's her facebook page or something.

    20. Re:Contact Alice Hill by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The fact that we on't have commments from user "AliceHill" on this thread is evidence enough that she is a sociopath. So who cares?

    21. Re:Contact Alice Hill by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The infection might spread, and can you imagine the bitching if reddit's interface got worse?

      Literally the only way for this to happen is if Reddit paid someone to rape you with a stick every time you opened a link.

  13. Re:Boycott by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Ad block the beta

  14. Give it two weeks or two months by sandbagger · · Score: 1

    And they'll be back to the lowest common denominator level of security.

    --
    ---- The above post was generated by the Turing Institute. Maybe.
    1. Re:Give it two weeks or two months by oodaloop · · Score: 1

      It's been months and there's no sign of stopping. (IAA Defense Contractor).

      Also, /. BETA sucks.

      --
      Tic-Tac-Toe, Global Thermonuclear War, and relationships all have the same winning move.
  15. Snowden's Beta by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Snowden's demosntration of the insider threat is just as dangerous to the credibility of the IT community as the arrogance shown by the Beta. Both demonstrate a level of arrogance disconnected from the customer base, which leaves our community a target. Why should you empower the IT department when they do things to you like this?

  16. Slashdot beta and defence contractors? by gallondr00nk · · Score: 3, Interesting

    It's funny, but since yesterday and the javascript popup, I find myself unable to type any comment that isn't directly about the beta.

    1. Re:Slashdot beta and defence contractors? by TWiTfan · · Score: 4, Funny

      Everyone is talking about the beta. Somewhere, there is a very jealous alpha.

      --
      The cow says "Moo." The dog says "Woof." The Timothy says "Thanks, valued customer. We appreciate your input."
    2. Re:Slashdot beta and defence contractors? by dkleinsc · · Score: 1

      Bernard Marx, perhaps?

      Oh, it's much better to be a Beta! Alphas have to work so hard! I love being a Beta!

      --
      I am officially gone from /. Long live http://www.soylentnews.com/
    3. Re:Slashdot beta and defence contractors? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The first rule of beta is "You don't talk about Beta." The second rule of beta is "you don't talk about Beta"

    4. Re:Slashdot beta and defence contractors? by thoromyr · · Score: 1

      it isn't just you. I tried to post a comment, but slashdot solved that problem: it hid the "reply to this" link.

      Yeah, I know, I'm sure the site didn't really do that. But it had the same net effect. fuck the beta.

  17. Save Slashdot Classic by Bob9113 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Javascript dancing baloney and giant pretty pictures belong on USA Today, not Slashdot.

    The meat of Slashdot, the substance that draws viewers here instead of the alternatives, is the comments. Lose those comments and you will lose the eyeballs. Lose the eyeballs and you will lose the ad revenue.

    Alternatively, you can accept that you made a mistake, keep Slashdot classic, and keep the steady flow of cash. Make the right business decision, here, Dice. Don't kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.

    No legitimate discussion until Slashdot classic is restored. Sacrifice a few days of discussion now to save all the days in the future. The Spirit of Mohdri Dragon Lives! (feel free to get drunk and naked while posting)

    1. Re:Save Slashdot Classic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      SlashWordpress buildMySite is supposed to be an upgrade?

    2. Re:Save Slashdot Classic by MrNemesis · · Score: 1

      "I come not to praise Slashdot, but to bury it".

      Dice have no reason to keep the comment system - commenters don't make them any money. Large click-through rates on huge adverts and paid placements/slashvertisements make money, and those are things that the current user base are extremely sensitive and hostile to. So the easiest solution is to gut slashdot from the inside out by destroying the thing we come here for - then all of us pesky marketing-resistant geeks will fuck off someplace else, leaving the site free for either a) an eternal september's worth of users from elsewhere or b) strip-mining of the /. assets.

      Either way, given the way this beta has been foisted upon everyone with next to no feedback being listened to, I think dice has decided that /. as we know it is dead. Businesses rarely recognise sacred cows.

      --
      Moderation Total: -1 Troll, +3 Goat
    3. Re:Save Slashdot Classic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Slashdot was fine as it was and should be left as it was. This supposed upgrade is no good at all.

    4. Re:Save Slashdot Classic by rts008 · · Score: 1

      (feel free to get drunk and naked while posting)

      The last time I tried that whilst using the library computer, the cops arrested me, you insensitive clod!

      Oh yeah, AND Go AWAY AND DIE, SLASHDOT BETA!!!!

      --
      Down With Slashdot BETA!!! I've been around the corner and seen the oliphant; you can only abuse me from your perspecti
  18. Re:Boycott by davecb · · Score: 1

    It's also hard to turn beta off, as that link was removed. Ah well, ^X-delete-cookies

    --
    davecb@spamcop.net
  19. Re:Boycott by MiliusXP · · Score: 1

    Slashdot 8.1

  20. Re:He's a traitor by Rosco+P.+Coltrane · · Score: 4, Funny

    Glad that people are starting to come around to this conclusions, and away from the hero that the self-centered libertarian narcissist precious snowflake that infests Slashdot thinks of him as.

    Did you know Snowden doesn't like Beta? How do you feel about him now, huh?

    --
    "A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
  21. Re:He's a traitor by mwvdlee · · Score: 4, Funny

    He may be a traitor, but atleast he hasn't created beta.

    --
    Slashdot social media options: AIM, ICQ, Yahoo, Jabber and Mobile Text. Why no MySpace?
  22. fuck beta by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Fuck beta

  23. Re:He's a traitor by qpqp · · Score: 0

    Who cares about your trolling, offtopic comment?

    Go fuck Beta!

  24. What's the Big Deal About Beta? by SenorPez · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Me: Beta can't be that bad, right? *clicks link to see beta version of article* Me: Wow. That's terrible. It's like Digg and Reddit had a baby. Whoever thinks it's a good design should go back to working on the latest internet startup that ends in "er" without the "e".

  25. Re:Boycott by Arrogant-Bastard · · Score: 4, Interesting

    As one of the first users of this site (yes, I know my UID number, it's not my original one), I fully support this.

    Moreover, IF the people running this site are so obstinate, stupid, and ignorant that they persist anyway: then the boycott needs to be permanent. We ALL need to leave. We need to teach a lesson, and if the only way that lesson can be communicated is over the bleak, abandoned corpse of slashdot, then that's how it has to be.

    I could warn you of course, but you would not listen. I could kill you, but someone would take your place. So I do the only thing I can. I go."

  26. NO! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If you move me to the beta slashdot abortion i'll add this place to the block list and never visit again.

    Too many other news sites regurgitate the exact same storys i see here. And all of them don't look as shitty as the beta slashdot.

    Stop being stupid.

  27. FUCK BETA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Edward Snowden is not half the hero that any Slashdotter will be if he opposes Slashdot Beta!

    Slashdotters of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains!

  28. Welp, ya done it now /. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Ya pissed off the nerds, and lords knows no ones got time to post up about how dumb a move you are making than a bunch of pissed off nerds.

  29. The parallels are too obvious to ignore. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    It's Obamadot.

  30. Re:Boycott by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    We need to teach a lesson, and if the only way that lesson can be communicated is over the bleak, abandoned corpse of slashdot, then that's how it has to be.

    Didn't Digg teach that lesson already? Where are those community members now? People point at Digg and tell the /. admins, "Look what happened to them!" Perhaps they should think inward and consider, Look what happened to that community.

    For just as Digg's investors lost, so too did the community that used and supported the site. Which in no way excuses those who had abused their privilege rigging the Digg queue. But it does point out that the losses accrue to the users just as badly as do they to the owners.

  31. Lurker by Octojay · · Score: 5, Informative

    I've been lurking on Slashdot since its inception but haven't felt the need to create an account until now. I will be joining the boycott on February 10-17th. Beta is absolutely terrible, I gave them that feedback when they introduced it and apparently so had everyone else but they chose not to listen. This site is something special, please don't let them destroy it.

    --
    NO BETA - Save our community. Boycott Slashdot Feb. 10-17th
  32. Re:Boycott by Corbets · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The veracity with which this "upgrade" is being pushed displays a stubbornness that can only be attributed to MBAs with no idea of what Slashdot is about.

    Right, because nerds have never been known to compulsively obsess over doing things their way regardless of what the user wants. I suggest that your stereotyping doesn't help; focus on the problem, not your hypothetical reasons.

    Also, I'm not sure that "veracity" means what you think it means. But then, I'm a nerd with an MBA, so what do I know?

  33. Dice it by captchya · · Score: 1

    Slashdot Beta..poster child of the new VP in charge of Slashdot at Dice. Budget has been eaten up, Beta is finally ready. VP has to either launch the Beta or quit. I pity the VP! Extremely ugly options, both.

    1. Re:Dice it by LVSlushdat · · Score: 1

      Apparently Dice subscribes to the Microsoft/Canonical "Do what we want.. FUCK the users of our product" schoool of thought.. Witness Windows 8 for Microsoft, and Unity for Canonical/Ubuntu... "We know what's best for you, and you'll use it and LIKE it!!".. ummm... No we won't.. For my (shudder) occassional use of Windows, its Windows 7 till hell freezes over, and, though I used to swear by Ubuntu, now I swear AT it.. Moved without regret to Debian... Wonder where I'll go when Slashdot takes the "dirtnap"... Been here since 1998 or so.. Lost my original account, thus the larger UID...

      --
      THANK YOU, Edward Snowden!! Americans owe you a debt of gratitude (whether they know it or not..)
    2. Re:Dice it by LVSlushdat · · Score: 1

      damn.. forgot the main thrust of my post...

      FUCK THE BETA!!!

      --
      THANK YOU, Edward Snowden!! Americans owe you a debt of gratitude (whether they know it or not..)
  34. Edward "Beta" Snowden by schlouse · · Score: 1

    Says "nope"

  35. Headline is biased by 0xdeadbeef · · Score: 1

    I think you mean "How their own actions have impacted defense contractors". If they didn't have dirty secrets, there would have been no motive for Snowden's policing, and nothing for him to publish.

    1. Re:Headline is biased by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      One ontopic post and it gets modded Overrated. Don't defy the groupthink.

    2. Re:Headline is biased by doti · · Score: 1

      sorry, we will not discuss about the articles until the beta goes away, or /. dies

      also, fuck beta.

      --
      factor 966971: 966971
    3. Re:Headline is biased by 0xdeadbeef · · Score: 1

      I think you should make /r/slashdotrebooted and take your whining there.

      It's hilarious that these people think Slashdot is being destroyed by more javascript, as if the last redesign didn't fuck it all up and they just kept on reading it. It was actually destroyed years ago by shitty editors and the eternal september of its readership. Slashdot hasn't had influence or an interesting community in a long time.

    4. Re:Headline is biased by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hey fucking fucktard, They listened to us.
       
      So up your ass with broken glass!

  36. Re: Somebody tell me when the crybabying is over by schlouse · · Score: 0

    You are a fucking retard. The point is precisely that the posters of good comments are themselves planning to go away.

  37. Re:Boycott by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Where is a good place to go to? I will say that /. has some of the most intelligent people (who actually know what they are writing about) on any forum.

    Reading Digg or Reddit... might as well post about things to /b/ since the same responses would be given.

  38. Holy god the beta by jonnythan · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The beta is bad. It's so bad. The comments are reduced in screen width about 50%. Subject lines are deemphasized, scores are minimized, etc.

    The discussions are the reason to come to Slashdot, and the beta trivializes them entirely. It looks like the comment section on a generic news site.

    The comments now look like an afterthought, whereas they used to be the primary focus of the site.

    1. Re:Holy god the beta by bjoast · · Score: 4, Insightful

      A few more points:

      - The user IDs don't even show.
      - The comment date says things like "Yesterday" or "4 hours ago".
      - Beta sucks.

    2. Re:Holy god the beta by ender- · · Score: 2

      Perhaps they are aiming for a new demographic, who might feel embarrassed by every one else having low user ID's, and who aren't smart enough to understand yyyy-mm-dd date formats?

      That's the only thing that makes sense to me. The beta is horrible and as a *LONG* time reader and commenter here, I won't continue visiting if they go live with that horrid beta interface.

    3. Re:Holy god the beta by Githaron · · Score: 1

      I don't understand why anyone likes the ambiguous time on any website on any feed, I could understand "about 4 minutes ago (Thursday February 06, 2014 @10:09AM)" but I like having exact time on posts.

  39. Commentors by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Comments and commentors don't generate revenues.

    There's a reason why Digg revamped.

    The Slashdot that you knew and loved is going to disappear. Slashdot doesn't make money. And things will change to make this company worthwhile, otherwise, you'll see the domain name sold off or turned into an online retailer for computer equipment or something.

    Why is Slashdot not making money? Ad based revenue or lack thereof - and all of us with AdBlock. Making money off of ads only works for those selling ads - Facebook and Google for example. And Slashdot doesn't have the user information that Facebook has so pimping user info isn't an option.

    That's just my MBA guess - and it's a guess because I have nothing to do with Slashdot, Dice, VA systems and any other company that has every owned or managed Slashdot; just experience with websites that try to pay the bills with advertisements and partner agreements. Although, there are exceptions: Fark.com.

    tl;dr Bend over and take it because things are gonna change because the way things are don't cut it.

    1. Re:Commentors by dcollins117 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Why is Slashdot not making money? Ad based revenue or lack thereof - and all of us with AdBlock.

      I'd consider turning off AdBlock to support Slashdot if the ads were unobtrusive static text. I can't abide flashing, animated ads. They're distracting and they annoy me, so I don't allow them.

    2. Re:Commentors by Kremmy · · Score: 1

      Yeah, here's the problem. You have a popular website that doesn't make money, it's popular on its own merits and for what it provides. You need to find a way to make money off of this website.

      You gut the website and make a new one.

      That's not how you create a product, and the MBA isn't going to learn that until the sense has been taken out of every organization.

    3. Re:Commentors by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      no, comments and commentors draw/are traffic

      without traffic you have no advertisers

      where did you get your mba? dumbass u

  40. anonymous by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Perhaps Anonymous could help with this Beta problem. They love to "fix" things

  41. Re:Boycott by ZecretZquirrel · · Score: 1

    And what exactly is the trend being followed here? The trend of Bad? What is next?

  42. Re:Boycott by TheNastyInThePasty · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Hah. You're right about the word veracity. I should have used arrogance or audacity.

    You're also possibly right that the workers think they have created gold too. However, any project manager worth his salt would look at the reaction to the redesign and change the course of the work. The lowly nerd at the bottom of the totem pole might be stubborn enough to want to keep his way, but he has no power. The managers are the ones with the power to decide whether or not the beta moves forward. It is ultimately their fault but it's unlikely that they will shoulder the blame.

    --
    The best thing about UDP jokes is I don't care if you get them or not
  43. Bit of a blow by jlebrech · · Score: 1

    ... for stackoverflow coders

  44. Re:Boycott by Dale512 · · Score: 2

    Good grief that thing looked hideous. Sidebar information should never take up that much screen real estate. Then again, maybe they think the discussion is the sidebar.....

  45. BETA(max) by nebulus4 · · Score: 1

    Does anyone know who designed Beta? Was it done in house or did they use some 3rd party? I really want to know, so I would never ever have to deal with these people.

    --
    "It would be wrong to refuse to face the fact that everything is fundamentally sick and sad."
    1. Re:BETA(max) by LVSlushdat · · Score: 1

      Hell, they could have done a better job with a rewrite by simply using WordPress.... Oh well, a roll of the Dice, it comes up snake-eyes... users lose!!!

      --
      THANK YOU, Edward Snowden!! Americans owe you a debt of gratitude (whether they know it or not..)
  46. Re:Boycott by Trimaxion · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Plus Fucking Plus!

  47. Re:Boycott by Krneki · · Score: 1

    Also down-vote any story that is not related to Slashdot Beta.

    --
    Love many, trust a few, do harm to none.
  48. dice non est arbiter elegantiarum by CaptainStumpy · · Score: 3, Informative

    beta is crappy.

    --
    It will be better to purchase from an owner who is a good farmer and a good builder.
  49. I thought the previous redesign was bad by ThEATrE · · Score: 3, Informative

    This most recent redesign is just unusable. I will leave 100% if this is the new Slashdot.

    1. Re:I thought the previous redesign was bad by ThEATrE · · Score: 3, Informative

      I tested out the beta in a new window and if it keeps up, I will remove it from my history so it doesn't autofill in my browser navigation bar and just stop coming here.

    2. Re:I thought the previous redesign was bad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I tested out the beta in a new window and if it keeps up, I will go back and time and prevent Slashdot's parents from meeting so that it will have never been born.

  50. Maybe we're all missing the big picture... by RDW · · Score: 1, Funny

    In an earlier Snowden story, it was revealed that:

    "British intelligence agency Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) reportedly used spoofed LinkedIn and Slashdot pages to compromise the computers of network engineers working for global roaming exchange providers based in Europe."

    http://news.idg.no/cw/art.cfm?...

    Is it possible that all of us, right now, are logged into a spoofed page that has replaced the real Slashdot for reasons known only to GCHQ and the NSA? 'Beta' is probably the final stage in whatever sinister plot they have planned for us. Incredible, I know, but is it any less likely than the alternative, that a job search site none of us had ever heard of would buy Geeknet for $20 million, and then proceed to trash its properties by a series of bizarre decisions like setting up SlashBI (beware the tumbleweed!) and inflicting Beta on its loyal readers? Just how far does this conspiracy go?

    1. Re:Maybe we're all missing the big picture... by caseih · · Score: 1

      -1, offtopic. ;) Your post is the only post visible to me at the moment that has anything to do with the actual article.

      What I want to know is how did snowden cause this horrible slashdot beta design to happen?

    2. Re:Maybe we're all missing the big picture... by ObsessiveMathsFreak · · Score: 1

      Is it possible that all of us, right now, are logged into a spoofed page that has replaced the real Slashdot for reasons known only to GCHQ and the NSA? 'Beta' is probably the final stage in whatever sinister plot they have planned for us.

      I would think a more believable story is that the NSA/GCHQ is simply paying Dice to destroy a possible/actual forum for IT dissent.

      More honestly, "Never ascribe to malice, that which can be explained by incompetence". The simplest explanation is that Dice has no idea what they are doing, and don't care to.

      --
      May the Maths Be with you!
  51. Re:Boycott by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Ditto!
    Never bothered to look at the beta until I saw your link. Been coming to slashdot since 2000, never bothered to register, with this I'll just stop coming back.
    Really feel bad about losing this comunity, the solution is that Dice back off or fork... Next week will be off /.
    Will be the most productive week of the year.

  52. Re:Boycott by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Jawbreaker style

  53. Beta Sucks. by csumpi · · Score: 2

    Beta Sucks.

  54. BETA gives you cancer!!!! by Nightbrood · · Score: 1

    Fuck Beta... I've been on this site for over 16 years I thought you guys were on something until I went and viewed it. It is an unholy abomination. I even took the time to dig up my Slashdot account instead of lurking because of how horrendous the new site is to use.

    P.S. Do I get bonus points for hating Beta with a 4 digit UID or does that just make me old? Of course you can't see that if you are using beta. ;)

  55. Obligatory meaningless title by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Not just the time to make posts ourselves, I've got a capcha beating script set to post a vicious anti-beta diatribe onto every new story that pops up on the main page.

    Although, now I'm spending all my time tweaking the script...

  56. Re:We ALL need to leave. by DocSavage64109 · · Score: 2

    The question is, where would we go? I suppose I'll at least be a bit more productive at work, if less informed.

  57. Re:Boycott by AndroSyn · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I don't usually respond to off-topic stuff like this, but seriously what the fuck is up with the beta design? This crap is terrible...absolutely terrible. Do not want. I've been wondering why I still stick around /. but I think the new site might be the final nail in the coffin for me.

    RIP /. you used to suck, now you just fail.

  58. Re:He's a traitor by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Troll, my guess is you support beta.

  59. Re:We ALL need to leave. by Pav · · Score: 3, Insightful

    That's it really... where would we go? Slashdot isn't the site it's the community. There has been OSS work on federated search, and federated social networking, but a federated discussion site with a decent moderation system would be nice right about now. Is it even a solvable problem?

  60. Re:He's a traitor by SleazyRidr · · Score: 1

    We need the Snowdens of the world, precisely because you can't do "whatever you want" in a "free country". The NSA etc. thinks that because they're "the good guys" they can do whatever they want to catch "the bad guys." They can't: we have the constitution, and if they can't do their jobs while following it, we need to replace them with people who can.

  61. Re:Boycott by DarkMorph · · Score: 1

    Logging in for the first time in at least 3 years for the sole purpose of contributing to the "fuck beta" momentum building up here.

    I've seen one particulary inspiring comment (can't remember whose quote it is off-hand, sorry) - as a last resort, if the beta movement isn't rescinded then let's do what we always do when an OSS project goes to hell.

    Fork it.

    Get the fuck away from DICE and get our own /. going. If they're so determined to drive the majority of us away from this site, may as well have a new place to call home.

    --
    Gentoo Linux - Wouldn't have it any other way. And fuck beta.
  62. I didn't sign up for the beta by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Where can I get the stable release?

  63. Re:Boycott by SleazyRidr · · Score: 1

    My favourite thing about the beta so far is that the headline of this story was cut off by the stupid front page redesign. It's like they're saying: "you don't really need to read the story, just look at this stock image about it and you'll know everything you need to know!"

    The stupid people are already well catered for. Turn on any TV and you'll find something for the people who don't care about the facts, but want to know that everything's going to be ok, and want something interesting to talk about at parties. /. used to cater to the person who wanted a little more depth. A story would kick off discussion, and there would be hundreds of subject experts pop up and put it all into perspective. People would tell stories of when they were involved in similar things in the past, stories about complex science would get discussions by people who actually understood what they were talking about, and would give us links to the actual scientific paper, free from all the journalistic hype. Ignoring how bad the design of the beta site is: if it drives away even a small portion of the people who read this site, the discussion will degenerate, and frankly, I can get the stories elsewhere.

  64. Out with a bang by islisis · · Score: 1

    If this keeps up, at least Slashdot will die in a fashion faithful to the old days.

  65. Ah Mr. Snowden by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If only you knew how bad beta is.

    I've with Beta for months on the mobile platform. I hate it there too and even worse there are several defects.

    The comments don't load automatically. REALLY... I don't come to slashdot for the articles, but rather for the community. Interesting discussion over relevant articles is really what slashdot sales. Good job destroying that.

    At least with the non-mobile version it is possible to click the comment number indicator as a link to the full post. On the mobile edition this does not work.

    Anyhow, I support this boycott.

  66. Re:Boycott by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's just a really early April Fool's joke.

    Hey guys, wouldn't it be hilarious if we made a fake /. redesign? We could satirically poke fun at everything wrong with Web 2.0 design trends, with excessive javascript popups, spinners, big chunky text blocks, form over function philosphy. It would be just like some 20-year-old marketing intern got hired and cluelessly told us how we needed to redesign the site to keep up with the kids. Funny shit, right?

    You jokers sure got me good! Real master stroke.

  67. Re:We ALL need to leave. by Common+Joe · · Score: 1

    Keep your eyes open. Boycott Slashdot for a week. If that doesn't work, there are other alternatives materializing. Dice screwed up big time.

    -- Common Joe

    Valentines Day Slashcott: Boycott Slashdot because "Fuck Beta!": February 10 - 17

    And Support Okian Warrior's alternate slashdot idea! A note from Okian can be found here: http://www.altslashdot.org/wiki/index.php?title=AltSlashdot. And be patient. It looks like the site and his email has been slashdotted.

  68. Re:Boycott by Common+Joe · · Score: 1

    IF the people running this site are so obstinate, stupid, and ignorant that they persist anyway: then the boycott needs to be permanent. We ALL need to leave.

    Fully agreed. And it just might happen.

    -- Common Joe

    Valentines Day Slashcott: Boycott Slashdot because "Fuck Beta!": February 10 - 17

    And Support Okian Warrior's alternate slashdot idea! A note from Okian can be found here: http://www.altslashdot.org/wiki/index.php?title=AltSlashdot. And be patient. It looks like the site and his email has been slashdotted.

  69. Re:Boycott by chihowa · · Score: 3, Informative

    Fuck waiting until next week. I'm starting today.

    All of the comments are just talking about Beta, which is completely understandable but completely uninteresting. [Note to the mods: this is how it should be. Trying to bury the Beta discussion won't fix things.] I'll check back in after the boycott and see if there's anything left standing.

    If there isn't, I want to thank all of you for many years of good conversation and interesting discussions. This was a great thing to be a part of for a time.

    I'm going to have to add a firewall rule to keep habit and muscle memory from bringing me back here until then. Productivity, here I come!

    --
    If you want a vision of the future, imagine a youtube comments section scrolling - forever.
  70. Fuck beta by neilsnat · · Score: 1

    Just another complaint that Slashdot beta minimises THE most valuable and useful part of the site, namely the comments. I'll be joining the boycott. Fuck beta.

  71. Fuck Beta, Fork Alpha.Time to resurrect slashcode? by seandiggity · · Score: 1
    --
    Geeks like to think that they can ignore politics, you can leave politics alone, but politics won't leave you alone.-rms
  72. Re: Somebody tell me when the crybabying is over by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If we leave there will only be Cold Fjord and AFK to post comments you will miss us once we are gone.

  73. Re:Boycott by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Question. I lurk slashdot and post AC and don't really have a profile.

    Why are so many people against the new design? It stands to reason that this system has been around a long time and would not be built to handle newer technologies, so at some point you'd have to rebuild it from scratch to optimize newer web applications, right?

    Ultimately I see the same comments, the same moderation system, and the same news stories, with some new features. I'm not a big fan of the default design, but the FAQ says you can still use the same "Classic" design with the new system.

    From your post the only issue i can see is some issue regarding "trend following", which is not an issue, it's a buzzword as bad as any MBA buzzword because it's not defined. What is "trend following" and why is it bad? What are Slashdot users losing with the new system? How is it bad if they're incorporating design elements of other sites if those elements worked for those sites?

    Right now the image your expressing is one of obstinance for the sake of stubbornness, which I believe is hurting your cause. What exactly are your issues with the new system outside of "Change is scary/annoying"? Clearly Dice has an interest in upgrading the system, and all this boycott is doing is saying "STOP!" without saying why, or working with Dice to incorporate elements that the community would want. Dice may be forcing a change, but right now the organizers of this look worse. So please articulate your reasons for boycotting the new system detailing exactly what you are losing that you value and are being forced to lose, as non-programmer techie folks like myself simply do not understand.

    disclaimer: use simple terms. I'm one of those "scary idiots" with an MBA.

  74. Indeed... Fuck it. by denzacar · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Fuck beta. Fuck it to infinity and beyond.

    --
    Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
  75. No beta for me by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No beta for me: http://slashdot.org/?nobeta=1
    That plus noscript means I never see the beta mess.

    Is it the ubiquitous "Enhanced for Mobile!" infinite vertical scrolling style that the web "design" community came up with by looking at a roll of toilet paper?

  76. U.S. defense contractors .. by DTentilhao · · Score: 1

    U.S. defense contractors .. aka .. privatised war ...

    1. Re:U.S. defense contractors .. by idontgno · · Score: 1

      Are you saying they're responsible for Slashdot Beta?

      Dear God. It all makes sense. The GCHQ and NSA and assorted DoD ne'er-do-wells have replaced our coffee with Beta. And I bet they're surprised we noticed.

      (Look, it certainly sounds all paranoid and nonsensical, but it makes as much sense as Dice thinking Beta was actually an improvement. More sense, really. I'd say that the odds-on favorite explanation for Beta was lulzsec taking full advantage of Slashdot's famously creaky security and defacing the hell out of it, except that even lulzsec has better taste than Beta.)

      Well, excuse me, I have to head for the restroom. I feel a pretty good-sized Beta coming on that I need to take care of.

      --
      Welcome to the Panopticon. Used to be a prison, now it's your home.
  77. Re:Boycott by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I think you meant "voracity," which is different from "veracity."

  78. Re:Boycott by allo · · Score: 3, Insightful

    No Beta. Just keep the classic version. Who needs this web2.0y thing anyway?!

  79. RESPONSE - NOT AN EMPLOYEE by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    Pardon the caps.

    I got a response from her over linkedin that she no longer works there:

    "[AC], I'm not sure what is going on today, but I have not been with Slashdot Media for some time.( Guess I need to update my LinkedIn profile.) I gather the beta is causing some negative responses. I can tell you that the site feedback is taken very seriously and no one wants to drive away a loyal community. Please use the submission forms or whatever process is in place because the data is being compiled and that will drive a lot of the changes made.

    My apologies for any negativity - I have been a /. user since the 90s myself.

    --Alice "

    Don't email her - it does no good and affects an innocent person.

  80. About the defence contractors... by whitroth · · Score: 1

    And where is the training on ethics, and legal responsibilities, and how to get hold of an inspector general, and how one is allowed to blow the whistle when your PHB dreams up some utterly unConstitutional scheme?

    Not gonna happen.

    And, off-topic, with all the screaming and yelling about the "new" version (which I didn't even bother looking at - I'm still on "classic", and don't know why it needs to change), maybe it'll piss off enough of the brain-dead dorks and trolls who have nothing to say about an actual story.

                    mark "will we *ever* get past the endless September?"

  81. Re:Boycott by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    you might remember the phrase

    news for nerds, stuff that matters...

    see, it is all about serving a bunch of nerds who are demanding it their way

    and effing mba should know that you pander to your customer, in this case they have decided that the advertisers are their customer

    the nerds who create the content that brings people to the page have every right to have it their way

    and yes, I have an mba as well

  82. Re:Boycott by avandesande · · Score: 1

    Ewww what was that? I've never needed eyebleach before for a site's layout.

    --
    love is just extroverted narcissism
  83. Re:We ALL need to leave. by mandark1967 · · Score: 1

    ...snip...And be patient. It looks like the site and his email has been slashdotted.

    WHAT?!?!?! You mean someone from Dice redesigned his site and email too and called it Beta?!?!

    My God, man! They're like the Borg! Will they stop at nothing?!?! Oh the humanity!

    --
    Sig Follows: "Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself." -- Mark Twain
  84. IRC - #slashdot-refugees (on FreeNode) by Pav · · Score: 2

    ...for those who know how to use IRC.

  85. Re:Boycott by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    From the first day I encountered the beta version, my slashdot bookmark was replaced with:

    http://slashdot.org/?nobeta=1

  86. wtfbeta by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    wtfbeta

  87. Aargh. Beta doesn't autofill subject in replies by tsqr · · Score: 1

    Replying using Beta, just for the thrill of it all.

    See, you wouldn't have to explain your UID if everyone was using Beta, 'cause your UID doesn't show up in Beta.

    I would have quoted your first paragraph, but Beta doesn't seem to have a "Quote parent" link.

    Hmm, no "Parent" link, either. Crap. And the whitespace. And the low-contrast grey text, who thought that was a good idea? And holy crap, the Preview looks really, really awful!

    Starting to feel disoriented and queasy now. Gotta go.

  88. Re:Boycott by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... clearly you've never used gnome 3

  89. Re:Boycott by tsqr · · Score: 2

    Why are so many people against the new design?

    People have repeatedly enumerated the things they don't like. Don't be lazy; read the commentns. tl;dr: It's ugly. It wastes a lot of space. It is missing a lot of features that long-time users fine useful. It is change for the sake of change

    It stands to reason that this system has been around a long time and would not be built to handle newer technologies, so at some point you'd have to rebuild it from scratch to optimize newer web applications, right?

    Wrong. I don't think you even know what you're talking about with the "at some point you'd have to rebuild it from scratch to optimize newer web applications" comment.

    Ultimately I see the same comments, the same moderation system, and the same news stories, with some new features. I'm not a big fan of the default design, but the FAQ says you can still use the same "Classic" design with the new system.

    The Classic site will disappear in a couple of months. Suggest you re-read the "Movin on up" banner at the top of the Classic site.

    The rest of your post is more "what do you think is wrong", which you can answer for yourself by browsing the comments. Rest assured it isn't "Change is annoying".

  90. Re:Boycott by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This reminded me of the old shakespearian "The fault, something something lies not in our stars but our selves." Whoever designed this beta site is clearly B-team material and they are undoubtedly as proud of it and as wed to it as any MBA.

  91. How Edward Snowden's Actions Influenced the Beta by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The beta... It's snowden's fault.

  92. Sidebar by Camel+Pilot · · Score: 1

    I would rather they would use the horizontal real estate to display better post indentation

  93. Re:Boycott by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Don't put bleach in your eyes.

  94. oh im so fucking scared they showed a picture of s by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    go fuck yourself. I learned more about nuclear theory and physics reading and thinking with my own fucking mind and reading the works of legends.You fucking nitwits dont realize the whole god damn thing is a fucking illusion due to the holographic principal, but carry on thinking your small IT site makes any difference at all to things that matter

  95. It's the same thing... by Metabolife · · Score: 1

    I don't really see too much of a difference between new and old functionally. It's just looks more trendy.

  96. Snowden is a hero by samantha · · Score: 1

    Cybersecurity is a joke as long as NSA and other government agencies are poking access, surveillance and disruption holes in everything that they can. There will be much hype about cybersecurity to "protect" us as a guise to control, subvert and shutdown at will as much actual "computer power to the people" as possible. Be aware and do not play into this.

  97. Re: Somebody tell me when the crybabying is over by DocHoncho · · Score: 1

    Maybe Michael Cristopeit and his merry band of sock puppets will make their triumphant return. With the Slashdot population devastated by the loss of all the constructive posters all that will be left is a wasteland of GNAA posts, MyCleanPC spam and those bizarre posts about eating poop.

    Now that I think on it, some of the classic slashdot trolls are part of the sites charm and one of the reasons I kept coming back all these years. You just don't see Natalie Portman, naked and petrified, covered in hot grits anywhere else.

    Speaking of trolls, I just realized I hadn't seen hide nor hair of everyone's good buddy APK. Another part of slashdot's weird charm, relegated to the ash heap of history. Slashdot, you will be missed!!

    --
    Celebrity worship is a poor substitute for Deity worship and costs more to boot.
  98. Joining the Boycott by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Funny enough, I consider readability an important aspects of getting news online. It's not like slashdot is lacking in visitors. The slashdot effect is one of the most powerful forces on the internet.

  99. I don't know about you by jennatalia · · Score: 0

    But I really need to work at a place like this. Where's my doctor's note....? http://www.mentalhealthy.co.uk...

  100. TPI by jennatalia · · Score: 0

    Spend twice the manpower checking over your admins if you think it will help. If someone wants to do something or steal something with the right access, they're going to do it. How about we make everyone get Security + training so the gov't will pay for a shitty cert with so many different types of training for obscure objectives that it's ridiculous.

  101. Actions Have Impacted Defense Contractors by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Except, you know, the need to understand and obey the constitution. The pre-eminent law of the land. The constitution that cannot be overturned by executive order, cannot be contradicted by ordinary legislation, and cannot be defied without harsh sanction.

    Well, except by the senior members of the three letter agency Star Chamber.

  102. I can summon users from the vasty deep by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why so can I, or so can any man. But will they come when you do call for them?

  103. Well that explains Beta then by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'll bet she won't feel ten feet tall if Slashdot ends up like Digg.

  104. Re:We ALL need to leave. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I think usenet is the way to go.

  105. Please for the love of god by toxickitty · · Score: 1

    Please address people's concerns about the new web site look or put it off for a long time. I am trying to read very important stories on this web site and it's drowned in protesting (annoying but I understand why). So would the peeps running slashdot please ADRESS THE CONCERNS of people so we can have comments RELATED TO THE STORY. Thanks.

  106. Re:We ALL need to leave. by azalin · · Score: 1

    There used to be a time when shlashdots source was available... Or am I mixing something up?