Groupthink: A derogative term used to disparage a widly-held belief or set of beliefs with which the speaker does not agree.
When we surround ourselves with people who agree with us, and punish people who disagree to discourage them from participating, we get a distorted view of what a "widely-held belief" is.
I think that special interests groups present a more formidable challenge.
You've described every direct and veiled appeal to slashdot readers to participate in surveys, visit what slashdot considers ridiculous websites, write congresscritters, etc. Is it a problem only when others do it?
I'd even argue that frequent posters should have diminished comment visibility, as people who spend an inordinate amount of time online are already over-represented in online discussion.
I've installed at least two versions on at least two machines and am currently using none of them. My video driver installation queries made me want to choke the living shit out of every condescending, snarky Linux geek that had new hoops for me to jump through, and the actual solution was far simpler than any of their suggestions.
The last time I let the updater install many changes at once I was left with an un-bootable Linux partition. I don't have time to screw with it. I'm back to Windows on both of those machines and the new machine is a Mac.
The 99 cent version is far more likely to be a waste of time if it hasn't been vetted by a publisher to reject total garbage. With self-publishing, every single person finding the book has to do the vetting.
I haven't found a single self-published title that I thought was worth the price, even at $0. I'm sure they're out there, but the abundance of garbage makes them very time-consuming to find. It's a far better use of my time to stick to the books that have been reviewed by reliable people and recommended by *my* friends. Books reviewed by the author's friends almost universally suck.
Every time I spend an hour selecting, sampling and rejecting a dud, I've essentially paid for (with my time) a couple full-price books. The cost isn't an issue anymore.
for 99 cents, so what if it's bad? I can find that much on my bedroom floor.
If you have all the time in the world, you can afford to try all the books you can buy with the money in your sofa. But if you don't, the difference between 99 cents and 7.99 isn't meaningful if the 99 cent version is far more likely to be a waste of your time.
I once had to shame my IT department into replacing my whining hard drive by offering to buy it myself. They made me put up with the whine of a clearly dying drive for a couple months over what was at the time a $130 part.
The screensaver shows every time I am interrupted long enough that it decides I've stopped reading. I probably see that damned thing 10 times per day. That'd be incredibly cheap ad space at $25. Give me the device for free and the books at half price and we'll talk.
A popular request is to be able to disable the screensaver. I can't imagine how annoying it'd be if it was displaying ads.
The home screen is already pretty small for the task of listing all your books, so "on the home screen" probably means the ad will be full-screen until you press a button to see your home screen. That's something you'll have to put up with every time you switch from one book to another.
That, and the screensaver shows every time you are distracted long enough that it decides you aren't reading anymore. A popular request is the ability to turn the damned thing off. Imagine how much fun it will be to see another ad every time your reading is interrupted.
1. The screen on my Kindle is perhaps 50 times the size of the logo on it.
2. I get to see the logo "ad" before I decide if I'm willing to put up with it. If I accept dynamic ads then I don't know what kind of cheesy, crass stuff I'm going to have to put up with.
It's a matter of class. $25 just isn't enough money to give a marketer a permanent piece of my personal space.
It's easy to say, while sitting at your computer in your underwear, that you'll do something. It's another matter to actually show up in meatspace.
Nobody will notice, and the few that show up won't find anyone protesting and will be too embarrassed to stay. If three show up they won't even know the others were there.
Still, I'd consider it an achievement if an astrophysics professor gave me any attention at all at 12 years old, even if it was to say, "You got some more learnin to do."
...this strikes me as someone who has too much time on his hands.
Yes, he should instead be posting comments to internet forums.
I'm going to guess you've spent more time in internet forums this week than he spent running his test. To show for his time spent, he's got something half a million people apparently wanted to see.
// oink - a temporary piece of code - oinks need further attention // crap - something I'd rather not have to do - needs further attention, and should be considered broken code // shit - okay, now I'm pissed - if this gets to release, there's a major problem // fuck - if these aren't resolved by the end of the day I'm giving the fuck up
if I walk up to someone and strike up a conversation about some complex issue that perhaps one or both of us aren't very familiar with,... I learn something
If you've done that in the "general population" more than a couple times and think they're mindless sheep because they won't entertain you, then you've had an opportunity to learn something but simply haven't done so.
Who'd want their google portfolio to read, "I left my employer's super-secret prototype on a bar stool." If this is a marketing ploy, I hope the guy was well-compensated. Or his name is fictional.
Slashdot Mirror
Could we at least have an explanation, or full disclosure, or something? Why so many PACKT reviews? Free samples? A sponsor? WHat is it?
When we surround ourselves with people who agree with us, and punish people who disagree to discourage them from participating, we get a distorted view of what a "widely-held belief" is.
You've described every direct and veiled appeal to slashdot readers to participate in surveys, visit what slashdot considers ridiculous websites, write congresscritters, etc. Is it a problem only when others do it?
I'd even argue that frequent posters should have diminished comment visibility, as people who spend an inordinate amount of time online are already over-represented in online discussion.
I've installed at least two versions on at least two machines and am currently using none of them. My video driver installation queries made me want to choke the living shit out of every condescending, snarky Linux geek that had new hoops for me to jump through, and the actual solution was far simpler than any of their suggestions.
The last time I let the updater install many changes at once I was left with an un-bootable Linux partition. I don't have time to screw with it. I'm back to Windows on both of those machines and the new machine is a Mac.
The 99 cent version is far more likely to be a waste of time if it hasn't been vetted by a publisher to reject total garbage. With self-publishing, every single person finding the book has to do the vetting.
I haven't found a single self-published title that I thought was worth the price, even at $0. I'm sure they're out there, but the abundance of garbage makes them very time-consuming to find. It's a far better use of my time to stick to the books that have been reviewed by reliable people and recommended by *my* friends. Books reviewed by the author's friends almost universally suck.
Every time I spend an hour selecting, sampling and rejecting a dud, I've essentially paid for (with my time) a couple full-price books. The cost isn't an issue anymore.
If you have all the time in the world, you can afford to try all the books you can buy with the money in your sofa. But if you don't, the difference between 99 cents and 7.99 isn't meaningful if the 99 cent version is far more likely to be a waste of your time.
Oh, so close to being useful (pats you on the back for RTFA)...and then you had to be a dweeb.
I once had to shame my IT department into replacing my whining hard drive by offering to buy it myself. They made me put up with the whine of a clearly dying drive for a couple months over what was at the time a $130 part.
The screensaver shows every time I am interrupted long enough that it decides I've stopped reading. I probably see that damned thing 10 times per day. That'd be incredibly cheap ad space at $25. Give me the device for free and the books at half price and we'll talk.
A popular request is to be able to disable the screensaver. I can't imagine how annoying it'd be if it was displaying ads.
The home screen is already pretty small for the task of listing all your books, so "on the home screen" probably means the ad will be full-screen until you press a button to see your home screen. That's something you'll have to put up with every time you switch from one book to another.
That, and the screensaver shows every time you are distracted long enough that it decides you aren't reading anymore. A popular request is the ability to turn the damned thing off. Imagine how much fun it will be to see another ad every time your reading is interrupted.
Two differences:
1. The screen on my Kindle is perhaps 50 times the size of the logo on it.
2. I get to see the logo "ad" before I decide if I'm willing to put up with it. If I accept dynamic ads then I don't know what kind of cheesy, crass stuff I'm going to have to put up with.
It's a matter of class. $25 just isn't enough money to give a marketer a permanent piece of my personal space.
It's easy to say, while sitting at your computer in your underwear, that you'll do something. It's another matter to actually show up in meatspace.
Nobody will notice, and the few that show up won't find anyone protesting and will be too embarrassed to stay. If three show up they won't even know the others were there.
Google doesn't make things that are visual enough. How would the job interest Jobs?
I didn't get the notification at my email address: nancydrew@example.com. Does that mean my data wasn't stolen?
Still, I'd consider it an achievement if an astrophysics professor gave me any attention at all at 12 years old, even if it was to say, "You got some more learnin to do."
No.
How much of it do you really re-watch? You'll spend the rest of your life transferring it from medium to medium. Is it worth it?
I read that as "stop up internet administration". I think my version is more likely to come to pass.
Yes, he should instead be posting comments to internet forums.
I'm going to guess you've spent more time in internet forums this week than he spent running his test. To show for his time spent, he's got something half a million people apparently wanted to see.
How'd you do?
Here's my comment irkedness rating:
Last time I let my ubuntu installation update itself I ended up with a non-bootable Linux partition. THat was the last time I touched Linux.
if I walk up to someone and strike up a conversation about some complex issue that perhaps one or both of us aren't very familiar with, ... I learn something
If you've done that in the "general population" more than a couple times and think they're mindless sheep because they won't entertain you, then you've had an opportunity to learn something but simply haven't done so.
10 ? tab(int(rnd(0)*30));"I am bad"
20 goto 10
Yes, I did this repeatedly. Probably a different text. And probably a TRS-80 and not a C-64.
Who'd want their google portfolio to read, "I left my employer's super-secret prototype on a bar stool." If this is a marketing ploy, I hope the guy was well-compensated. Or his name is fictional.