Slashdot Mirror
Slashdot Tries Something New; Audience Responds!
We've had only a few major redesigns since 1997; we think it's time for another. But we really do take to heart the comments you've made about the look and functionality of the beta site that houses Slashdot's future look. So let's all slow down. Right now, we're directing 25 percent of non-logged-in users to the beta; it's a significant number, but it's the best way for us to test drive this new design, to have you show us what pieces need to be fixed, and how. If you want to move back to Classic Slashdot, that path is available: from the Slashdot Beta page, you just need to select the "Slashdot Classic" link from the footer (or this link). We're committed to keep you informed of the plans as changes are implemented; we can't
promise that every user will like every change, but we don't want anything to come as a surprise. Most
importantly, we want you to know that Classic Slashdot isn't going away until we're confident that
the new site is ready. And — okay, we've got it — it's not ready. We have work to do on four big areas:
feature parity (especially for commenting); the overall UI, especially in terms of information density and
headline scanning; plain old bugs; and, lastly, the need for a better framework for communicating about
the How and the Why of this process. Some of you have suggested we're not listening; on the contrary,
some of us are 'listening' pretty much full-time. We're keeping you informed of this process, because
we're a community and we want to take everyone with us. But, yes, we're trying something new. Why?
We want to take our current content and all the stuff that matters to this community and deliver it on
a site that still speaks to the interests and habits of our current audience, but that is, at the same time,
more accessible and shareable by a wider audience. We want to give our current audience the space
where they are comfortable. And we want a platform where we can experiment with different views
of both comments and stories. It's not an either/or. It's going to be both. If we haven't communicated
that well enough, consider this post a first step to fixing that. And in the meantime, we're not sorry
to have received a flood of feedback, most of it specific, constructive and substantive. Please keep it coming. We will be adding more specific info here in the days to come.
Dear poster, as you might have noticed: the readers are already "keeping it coming". Perhaps the readers haven't thoroughly communicated it enough: "Fuck Beta".
The Dutch will inherit the earth. If not, we'll settle for a bit of ocean. Beta delenda est!
The title calls us their "Audience". This is the core of the problem. They think they are running CNN. They do not understand that we are their contributors, their community, not their audience. Their articles are day-late dollar-short shit. We are the authors of the good part of the site, they are the chalkboard.
This is an attitude change that came with Dice, Malda never looked at Slashdot that way. And regardless of the beta, if they don't change that outlook Slashdot will die.
But apart from the data being presented, the style in which it's presented, and the user's interaction with that data, there's basically very little wrong?
All we need is a picture of Alice Hill's head on a spike as the logo, and it would be perfect.
Also FatPhil on SoylentNews, id 863
Thank you. I sitll intend to participate in the slashcott next week, however. I believe that there is a political element at Dice that would not mind seeing the wretched hive of men's rights activism and anti-feminism that is Slashdot in mothballs.
Godspeed to those who are working on altslashdot.org. I'm afraid that Code.org and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have given orders from On High that the community that questions feminism at Slashdot must be disbanded.
I've encountered sexism many times in my life before. Usually the argument is that because I was assigned the male gender at birth, despite the physical gender of the wetware between my ears, THEREFORE I am sexist. Q. E. D.
I wished many, many times during my male adolescence thatI had been born female instead. None of those wishes came true. However, if any of them had, I suspect that my school's administration would not have attempted to threaten me with FBI incarceration because I wanted to have a computer club nor would they have attempted to paint me as a plagarist because my code was "too good" for somebody of my age back then.
More assigned males are speaking out against this problem. There is nothing you can do, Dice or Code.org. More and more of us are becoming aware that the feminist narrative is wrong-headed.
As much as I wish more cis women would go into programming, I am not their mistress or their Borg queen. I do not control their actions.
There needs to be a different approach.
Join the Slashcott! Stay away entirely Feb 10 thru Feb 17! Close all tabs to prevent autorefresh!
I never realised that 95% of the commenting /. world needs to shut the fuck up. What a bunch of trumped-up, patronising, presumptuous children. Go back to your forums and your usenet flamewars, for goodness sake. Feedback is one thing, activism is the next step, but so many of you have flown off the handle and polluted the comments, tags, and god only knows what else.. Give /. feedback the way they asked and just sod off if the end result isn't want you wanted. I won't miss you.
Some of us are here for the /., not your petulant whinnying.
Right now I wish /. was sensors, because I want everyone who has commented on the beta in a non-beta related article to be permanently banned from ever commenting on the site.
It's fucking annoying, I came here to read comments and have discussions, the beta works well enough. Go talk about it in places like this article or just fuck off and never visit /. again, I don't care.
Please /. management, do not let a bunch of prissy idiots who think they own the site ruin it. Ban them, or at least give me the option of hiding all comments that mention "beta".