Slashdot Mirror
Assorted Katz Hype
Many people are submitting The Obvious
article about Jon Katz not belonging on Slashdot. I guess
I'm glad that in the end its up to me. Personally, I think
most of his articles are good.
xach sent us a deja news bit that goes
much further.
I agree with most of the stuff in these articles, but
I also think most of Katz's articles are worth reading,
but when he mentions his book, I press the back button.
You can too.
If you don't want to see it, you don't have to anymore.
But I guess too many people aren't happy unless they're unhappy.
Misfit
Lloyd Wood's article did more for my grey matter than the last dozen Katz articles -- well researched, logically organized, thoughtful, to the point
/. was all a setup to promote his book when the time was right.
I tend to agree. I've been a Katz defender in the past, feeling that most flames were out of line. I still believe personal attacks are unneccessary, but I began to have misgivings about Katz's intentions when the book thing started. It became increasingly clear that Katz's initial arrival on
Wood's article has served to crystalize my thinking on this matter, and has convinced me to turn on the Katz filter on my prefs page.
I used to read Katz's NetCitizen column on Wired and thought he was (very) occasionally insightful about new media topics and their resultant political impact. However, I never was impressed by his ability to grasp the underlying technical issues and was always a bit amused to see him either use some flowery hand-waving when discussing them or repeat the same mistakes. It seemed to me it was clear that not only did he not understand the technology but had no interest to do so.
In this way, he never really struck me as being very different from the "old media" journalists he used to castigate daily. The only real difference being that he was somehow aware that he had a jump on the rest of them by exploiting the internet.
Thus, I was somewhat aghast to see him pop up in this forum, which I had been reading and contributing to for about a year. It's not that I object to strong personalities or celebrities. It's the fact that he has never taken a CS class, or written a line of code, or soldered a wire, or done anything else that makes us geeks. Or the fact that he doesn't really join in our discussions but instead posts his "essays" which are nearly content-free, self-serving monologues.
Basically, what I object to is that Katz being here violates the sense of community that (I thought) was at the heart of slashdot. As much as I have grown to like this forum, if someone starts a new one that's Katz-free, I have to admit that I'll probably migrate there. And don't worry, I won't let the door hit me on the way out.
Slashdot: News for Nerds. Stuff that matters.
Yep, that says nerds in general. Not just hardware nerds, or software nerds, mac nerds, linux nerds, etc. But ALL nerds. Slashdot is a place for everyone to communicate unique ideas about technology, not just nitty gritty low level tech info. I kinda like Jon's articles. Granted, they're not the most insightful, pulitzer prize winning pieces of literary greatness, but alot of people like them. If you don't like them, then not only do you not have to read them, you don't even have to know they exist. That's why the filtering is there. Hell, you don't even have to read what Rob says; just filter his posts out. Easy as that.
I don't like all of Jon Katz' articles, but I don't like all of any particular writer's writing (except for the shining exception of Hunter S Thompson).
In a lot of ways I agree with Wood's extensive critique of Jon's articles (in spite of the fact that it does take a couple of pot shots). It does seem like Jon is possibly taking advantage of this forum to market his own stuff.
Is there really a lot of harm in that? VA Research systems uses slashdot to market their own stuff: they (presumably) give Rob money and machines and in exchange they get ad space (and lots of it). That's fair: they give, they get, and vice versa for Rob M.
Jon Katz also gives something to the site, and he's getting something in return. He provides content and he gets increased exposure. Give some, get some, 'round and 'round it goes.
What I find impressive is the fact that Jon continues to stick around in spite of his many many detractors. Yeah, he can be a puffy ol' windbag at times, but his stuff usually contains enough of interest to make it worth reading (imho). If you disagree with me on this (and I know that oh-so-many of you do) the magical filtering features allow you to shut him out. Or, if you have a modicum of self-control and free will, you can choose to leave him unfiltered and simply Not Click Through to read his articles.
Is slashdot "selling out". No. Rob & Co. is (from what I can tell) continually working their bums off to increase the quality and usability of this site. Allowing Jon Katz to write and post articles here is part of that. Recruiting more writers will further improve this site. Original content, whether you like it or hate it is a good thing.
Maybe Jon could tone down the self-promotion a shade. Maybe Rob could refine his editorial judgement a shade. If not: so what. You've got the filtering technology, so use it.
I'm glad that Rob added the link to Wood's news posting. It's a sure sign of increasing editorial maturity when an editor is willing to publish articles that criticise the publication and it's editorial policies.
- deb
I read most of Katz's articles, and liked most of the ones I've read (not necessarily agreeing, ofcourse) but lately I have noticed the decline of the content. Although I must admit that I'm a big a fan of spiritual jouney's as the next guy, and dog's, what the hell does that have to do with geeks/nerds/technology?
His articles dealing with technological views from "regular" people's standpoint are usually a good way to go. I can gain a lot of insight as to why my users look at me funny all the time. I can gain a differing viewpoint on the same subject matter.
In a place with no real niche for articles on strictly viewpoints, Katz offers up insightful editorials that will hit a mark usually. Unfortunately, lately his editorials have dealt less with viewpoints, and a little more with self-promotion. A little is fine, but his last article had a bit more than a little.
Recently I've taken to quickly scanning his diatribes for his book title. If I see it a little too often, well then, close that window, and move on (unless I use lynx, then the back button is employed).
I just hope the Katz decides to tone down the self promotion, and maybe even a bit of the fluff you find in standard articles for standard periodicals. Couldn't hurt.
- Dan
Readers: Either you filter him, ignore him or read him. How hard is that? Any other excuse is lame.
/. is starting to feel tabloid-ish with these kind of "news" items.
/. : Either you keep him or get rid of him. Posting something like this on your site is throwing gasonline on the fire. These type of posts are antagonistic and fostering the controversy. If you're trying to defend Katz, then do it off the main page in a prepared statement that gets updated often.
Personally I like his work and have e-mailed him a couple times to compliment his work and tell him to ignore the flames. BUT, you guys need to decide.
If you want him (hope you do!) then keep him. People don't like it...tough! If not bag him, and if people don't like *that*...tough! You said it yourself "...in the end its up to me".
Almost a catchy slogan, eh?
Seriously though, Lloyd Wood's article did more for my grey matter than the last dozen Katz articles -- well researched, logically organized, thoughtful, to the point. Not controversial for the sake of drawing attention. Slashdot would do very well to feature this guy and anyone else who has a similar similar level of being clued in/being able to read and write.