Slashdot Mirror
Minor Slashdot Changes
I subtly changed comment spill- originally articles switched
to indexed mode once the total number of comments exceded
the spill. Now, the switch to indexed occurs when the
number of siblings excedes the spill. This makes
more sense to me- extremely deep conversations could cause
indexing to occur even if there were only a few top level
comments. Added an option to hide scores if you
really don't like them. Lots of positive feedback on Highlight
Threshold too: I love that feature personally.
I'm still working on the Login problems- but
I'm not getting very far. Its cookie related though.
Also, its Hemos's 23rd birthday
today, so send him mail
and wish him well. Lets see how much mail he can get *grin*.Update: 03/28 01:37 by H : Well, thanks to all of you yahoos *grin* out there, I've been Slashdotted-or rather, my inbox has. 707 birthday messages-and fetchmail is still going. Thanks folks.
I for one really enjoy reading about these changes. I am more tired of seeing people complain about the types of articles that are posted. Must be some weird "slashdot addiction" where people are unable to just SKIP reading the things they do not want to read....
Tada
Rob "CmdrTaco" Malda
Pants are Optional
Pants are still optional, but recommended for you.
Muhahahahahahhahaha!
Rob "CmdrTaco" Malda
Pants are Optional
Pants are still optional, but recommended for you.
Some pages have a <UL> and </UL> bug in them. Try this link: http://www.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=99/03/23/
Also, when I was previewing this comments, my < reverted to < in the comment entry box. This caused a problem because when I clicked preview a second time, it treated the < as an open brace for an html tag, but I had intended it to be inserted verbatim. Try it... Odd...
This bug is really weird: If I am in plaintext mode, every < is changed. If I am in HTML Formatted, then only the < 's that have matching > 's are changed. Odd....
Hmmm... I think the biggest problem is understanding how this moderation is supposed to work. The moderators are supposed to promote good, well-thought out and insightful comments. They are also supposed to demote stupid comments, flames, and way-off-topic comments.
/. does not include negative posts is a moot point.
However, the moderators are *not* supposed to demote negative comments. Rob has repeatedly reminded the moderators that they are not to demote viewpoints with which they disapprove.
This all means that your biggest concern, that what they see upon first entering
We do not necessarily want to expose newcomers and possible contributors to the verbose maniacs who swear, flame, and cannot make a contribution. We want to expose people to the average joe shmoe and better. That is why the 0-level threshold is good. We see all the average and poor posts, but miss out on the very worst comments.
Finally, these comments are saved, so they are not completely censored, just pushed aside.
-Ben
Happy b-day Hemos. Just finished my 22 a few days ago. Anyway, forward your b-day email from strangers to CT before it's too late and your inbox is flooded. Seems like a mean trick from CT personally, so you ought to get him back :-)
Highlight mode is pretty cool. however, what if (maybe int the indexed modes) messages above the highlight threshold were actually highlighted? put 'em in red or some other stand-out color... just a thought.
>Sorry to be a butthead but you are the source of
:]
>Open source community and you're closing down your
>openess
Patsy,
You forgot to plug NewsTrolls. Here, I'll do it for you:
http://www.newstrolls.com
"NewsTrolls, a site that doesn't censor like that Fascist Slashdot site. We don't make you change your settings (you won't find them anyhow). NewsTrolls: We cater to the lazy, inept, and complacent."
:]
Seriously, though, why do you feel so sorry for those who have no interest in taking responsibility for their own choices?
This is how I see it:
There is something to be said for good first impressions. If I were a Slashdot newbie and fell into a miasma of 'first post/meept/sux/rulz' posts, I'd be instantly turned off. Rob is obviously trying to present the best side of Slashdot as seen from the majority of its users (or in theory, a representative cross section thereof).
You, as a registered Slashdot user, have the opportunity to tailor your experience in just about any way you want. Look around - Rob is doing everything he can to let YOU do what you want. If he lets it all loose, the site's appeal will suffer. If he doesn't let enough out at once, it'll look like it's barely used. If Slashdot were a remote control for a TV, it would have just gained about 3 times as many buttons for you to fiddle with. As a geek, you've got to love that.
As usual, I can take an analogy and bend it even further:
Cable TV doesn't pipe every program to the viewer on the same channel at the same time, do they? Is it censorship if a radio station refrains from playing their entire set simultaneously? Should Yahoo switch to a randomly generated flat list of all its sites so as to not make presumptions of what its readers want?
Come on, let's get real. If a person is too lazy to turn the dial on their TV, that's not censorship. That's choice. It's not your choice, it's theirs. If they don't know how to operate the remote, and don't have the sense to read the instructions, then who are you to say Rob has to flip the channels for them (at the risk of drowning other new users in decidedly lame content)?
You know, the sad and twisted irony here is this: There are some serious similarities between the pro-censorship zealots and yourself. Although I usually fall into the same group as you (I abhor 'true' censorship), I see you claiming to know better than the clueless newbies who first visit Slashdot - you 'know better' because they're not capable of selecting what content they can and cannot view. If there is a desire to see all and hear all, they have that option - just as someone has the option to selectively remove certain content from their environment. Don't treat people as if they were children, as they're not - isn't this a familiar argument from the CDA days?
Do you see what I'm getting at? I hope so, this was a long post.
- Darchmare
- Axis Mutatis, http://www.axismutatis.net
- Jeff
>> If it's allposts, cool, if it's still "0", you're censoring.
>>Most people do not change their default preferences. You know that.
Bah. Maybe a few days ago you would have been right, but now with the preferences bar that sits on the very top of every comments page, your point is moot. It doesn't matter what the default is, since it's not only obvious of how to change the comment threshold, it's inviting. Curious people want to fiddle with the options bar at the top of the page. I don't even need to touch my preferences page since the bar allows me to change everything important. The new system encourages learning more about customization of Slashdot. Besides, people passing through either don't need to be exposed to "First Post" crap, do they? No. Be rational. The only people concerned about the "openness" of the "Open Source Community" are hardened Slashdotters anyway - and they (should) know how to use the preferences bar.
fin.
Yes, I am being the fly in the butter, here...
/. does not include negative posts.
Is the default set at 0 or "all posts" for a new or non-logged-in user?
If it's allposts, cool, if it's still "0", you're censoring.
Sorry to be a butthead but you are the source of Open source community and you're closing down your openess if you decide for a new user or a non-logged-in user that what they see upon first entering
Most people do not change their default preferences. You know that.
BTW, meept!, first post!, etc...
--diva (Invisible Malcontent)
diva Pasty Drone NewsTrolls, Inc.
Is there a standard address for RFE's (Requests For Enhancement), or do you just read 'em in your inbox along with bug reports, flames, and fanmail, Rob?
Well here's one:
Considering you don't seem scared of really hairy HTML, I'd like to see a reading mode of "tree", using mucho javascript and DHTML to visually expand/collapse threads. Maybe a layer showing the article you're reading, clicking on a node in the tree would zoom to that article (using a name=blahblah url's if you don't want to get hammered with a hit for every article). Sure javascript, layers, dhtml, anything that isn't pure XML/DOMscript/RDF/ivory-tower-whatnot is evil evil evil, but it sure would be nifty to use.
I've finally had it: until slashdot gets article moderation, I am not coming back.
I certainly appreciate the hard work that is /. could have a section where updates and
put into improving slashdot. However, I am
quite sick of reading about every smallish
change in big letters on the front page.
Maybe
improvement would be listed without interrupting
the real news.
Please note, I mean this as a suggestion, and do
not wish to offend anyone.
I really like having the "Score: n" next to each
message, but it would be real helpful if that
text was in, say, red, if the score was > 1.
That way, interesting replies, even indexed ones
would be very easy to scan for when scrolling
down through a page.
Doc Technical
I like hearing about all the new changes so I can go and try them out.
Rob should be proud of his work and be able to talk about it on his website.
-Emilio
How ironic! An Anonymous Coward (who can't customize the slashboxes that appear) requests that there be a custom slashbox just for updates.
I don't know, I just thought that was kind of ironic.
-Emilio
This should be an easy hack, I'd think... Just make the flat mode sort ALL posts by score, instead of just sorting the threads by the parents' score.
Otherwise, keep up the good work!
-Dan
When I moderate, I only use "-1, Overrated". That way, I never get meta-moderated!