What I would *love* is a way to colapse or skip entire threads.
Gmail has an excellent interface for this (I was subscribed to the Gmail help mailing list, and sometimes a thread would go for dozens of posts).
Well, not excellent; it would need to be modified somewhat, but the XMLHttpRequest portion already works so making it work on Slashdot shouldn't be that difficult, to allow collapsing a thread (or expanding a thread that's below your threshold, without opening a new tab; or, replying to a post without having to open another tab, like Gmail allows you to reply to any email in a thread).
What about a database interface to Slashdot? Then the community could create its own various inventive ways to read stories, like you suggested. (I fear that this would reduce Slashdot's advertising revenue, though, so it would be rejected as "not technically possible" or something like that. Then again, most people have images turned off so they're already reducing their advertising revenue.)
Follow that path far enough and the government can keep you deliberately uneducated to prevent civil disorder. A government that does this is evil.
Brazil, in fact, does exactly this. A friend is from a small town in the mountains outside Rio, and the mayor makes twice as much as President Clinton did (I don't know if Bush's salary was raised or not; this was during Clinton's era).
She said it wouldn't be so bad, except that there are children starving in the streets. And the police would rather kill the orphans than fill out the paperwork.
Here in the US, government jobs are somewhat looked down upon; pay is less than private-sector jobs, productivity is terrible, there's something of a stigma to it. Whereas down there, everyone wants a government job -- so they can get their hands into the till.
The mayor had someone killed, in his house, and nothing happened.
Her cousin was camping with some friends, and police encountered them, killed them, and there was nothing the family could do about it.
Politicians, when running for office, are regularly killed by the incumbents. Also, they regularly lie to the people: "vote for me and every house will have a new fridge!" After the election, however, the only new fridges that appear are in the mayor's house (and family and friends).
Bribery is the way to get things done down there. The cops will stop people who look like they have money (I looked American, and was reading a book which means of course I'm educated and therefore rich) so they pulled us over and hassled us until my friend mentioned that her cousin is the chief of police; then we got an apology and were sent on our way.
I realize that the above is completely anecdotal and I do not have the means to back it up, so take it at that level. I don't believe she has any reason to lie to me, though (and it made me really nervous to be pulled over and not speak the language).
Interesting! Someone else told me that I must have participated in a thread that the powers that be decided was "wrong" and they removed mod points from everyone posting in that thread.
After hearing that, I changed my sig (a few months back, IIRC).
You give new insight: perhaps only paying members are given the privilege of moderating.
It would have exceeded the sig limit, but I had wanted to say something like "I haven't been able to moderate for over 3 years. Slashdot won't get any of my money until I get moderator points back and an apology as to why they were removed and what thread I might have posted in that was 'inappropriate.'" (Or something similar.)
I haven't yet read the article where Taco talks about Roland and Beatles submissions, but I will soon as that might have some other insight into this issue.
Makes you wish they were even less efficient up there! The less they get done, the better off we all are it seems.
I agree. We should declare a moratorium on new laws for the next 20 years: Congress' only job would be to eliminate existing laws, to remove the "dead code" for the next generation. This would help make the economy more efficient.
First of all, the moderation system was written by two guys in their spare time.
Then Slashdot became popular: because of the mod system, not because of the lack of it.
Also, Slashcode is GPLed, so anyone can use it (nanodot.org is doing so, or at least they were--it appears they switched to WordPress). So no, requiring a "full-time staff" is a red herring.
As to Slashdot reading, I for one am returning for the dupes, because I have a job and outside interests and cannot devote time to reading Slashdot every evening. (I try to, but sometimes other events intrude.) And, I rarely read the articles because the discussion is the enlightening part, not the product-placement-disguised-as-news.
Finally, a small-time blogger scraping by on ad revenue is already able to use the law: DDoS (or even DoS) is illegal, and spam-bombing the poor guy's blog sounds very much like D/Dos (although IMNAL).
Wait, why am I responding to an AC? Damn, missed that initially...
We would not have the same issues as drunk driving if marijuana were legalized.
Studies have been performed that showed drivers to be more careful when under the influence of marijuana. (Yes, studies are just a form of statistics, which can be subverted.)
Crack only exists because cocaine is illegal. Crack was created in order to be a more potent, less voluminous cocaine, making it easier to smuggle across borders.
I don't need to think of turf wars for dealers who "sold just weed." Just as I don't have to think of the turf wars fought by alcohol dealers when it was re-legalized. I believe the "pot-only" dealers would continue to have a decent business: they already have a customer list, and their prices would go down since guns would not be as necessary a tool of the trade. (You don't see alcohol dealers shooting each other over turf, do you? But damn they sure did back in Prohibition!)
Laws creating a prohibiting climate are responsible for creating the mafia: the laws do nothing to address the demand, they only restrict the supply; this in turn drives prices up. Prices go up, users have difficulty paying and may turn to crime to support their habit. The crime is not part of the drug use. The crime is to support an unfair tax that the government has levied on the goods that are in demand, which are artificially priced out of the user's disposable income.
I am in complete agreement that the government will not admit to being wrong. That is, until it has to start competing for citizens. By that I mean, within the next generation we'll have nanotechnology and many, myself included, intend to leave and never come back. (Imagine a beowulf cluster of Dyson spheres!)
(Mods: this is OT with no karma bonus. Please consider spending your mod points positively, on something well-written.)
Now that I've guaranteed my karmic fall, I just wanted to let you know that I noticed you had friended me in the past... few months I suppose (I wish there was a better history of friendships).
I just friended you as well (I reviewed some posts and really like your communication style, especially when you're wrong), but I'm curious: what was it that convinced you I was a keeper?
I wonder if laws like that are really necessary. (I'm wondering that as a US citizen.)
Why am I wondering? I believe that for an idea to garner followers, it needs a personality pushing it.
No Christianity without Christ. No Vatican without the Pope. No Microsoft without Gates, no Linux without Linus. Otherwise a book is just a bunch of letters arranged a certain way, and we don't really want to outlaw arranging letters...
I don't recall who made this point, but there was some historical figure who said something about the news making it always seem like the end was near, that our way of life was about to end, that something drastic was always just about to happen; the apocalypse is always just around the corner. That people have always felt that way, that they felt that way 200 years ago, 100 years, and now.
This is exactly what Bush is selling: The Rapture.
Scarily enough, he's managed to convince many that he will preside over the Rapture Wars.
Sims (squares of the map, each ran by its own server) that are relatively new are likely to have nowhere near the population of more popular areas [...]
Hey, thanks for that insight: "popular" and "population" have the same root! (I love language.)
If only we had time travel. Then we could just listen for the Earth-shattering kaboom!, and work backwards. Finding terrorists would be a piece of cake!
Easy: get the part numbers, in writing, from the doctor some time before the surgery.
Then, do your research.
Possibly recommend different parts to the doctor, and possibly change doctors when the initial doctor sticks to the expensive part that you happened to notice, in your research, that the doctor owns a piece of.
Nothing is free or easy, but I'm giving you the above plan for the cost of reading it.;-)
Others have commented that questioning science is the only way to advance science (Einstein questioned science regularly), so I'll leave that alone.
I do want to bring up that there seem to be some religions on this planet which do promote questioning and doubting, and learning about other religions. I always wondered why such tolerance didn't take over the religio-sphere, so to speak, since it should be more encompassing, more welcoming, more interesting.
But, I suppose that just plays into your point: if you teach people to question, they'll spend less time worshipping you and your beliefs. So, the most effective leaders (not "the best leaders") tend to discourage questioning in their followers, whether they are religious or military (or both). Bush may not be a good leader, but he is rather effective because he has learned to combine both religion and military; however, the Taliban learned this too and hopefully regime change in America is no more than 2 years away.
You have a problem with other people harvesting their own sovereign property for their own benefit? Good luck with your control issues.
My sister-in-law had a test-tube baby. They kept a bunch of extra embryos frozen in case of accident. Once the baby was born, they destroyed them.
You think it's okay to destroy something, but not to use it to further our scientific knowledge (and ease human suffering)? Well, at least I don't have to live in that skull.
Slashdot Mirror
Gmail has an excellent interface for this (I was subscribed to the Gmail help mailing list, and sometimes a thread would go for dozens of posts).
Well, not excellent; it would need to be modified somewhat, but the XMLHttpRequest portion already works so making it work on Slashdot shouldn't be that difficult, to allow collapsing a thread (or expanding a thread that's below your threshold, without opening a new tab; or, replying to a post without having to open another tab, like Gmail allows you to reply to any email in a thread).
What about a database interface to Slashdot? Then the community could create its own various inventive ways to read stories, like you suggested. (I fear that this would reduce Slashdot's advertising revenue, though, so it would be rejected as "not technically possible" or something like that. Then again, most people have images turned off so they're already reducing their advertising revenue.)
How about: add a drop-down box to the "story submission" page so that the submitter can decide which editor to submit the story to?
Brazil, in fact, does exactly this. A friend is from a small town in the mountains outside Rio, and the mayor makes twice as much as President Clinton did (I don't know if Bush's salary was raised or not; this was during Clinton's era).
She said it wouldn't be so bad, except that there are children starving in the streets. And the police would rather kill the orphans than fill out the paperwork.
Here in the US, government jobs are somewhat looked down upon; pay is less than private-sector jobs, productivity is terrible, there's something of a stigma to it. Whereas down there, everyone wants a government job -- so they can get their hands into the till.
The mayor had someone killed, in his house, and nothing happened.
Her cousin was camping with some friends, and police encountered them, killed them, and there was nothing the family could do about it.
Politicians, when running for office, are regularly killed by the incumbents. Also, they regularly lie to the people: "vote for me and every house will have a new fridge!" After the election, however, the only new fridges that appear are in the mayor's house (and family and friends).
Bribery is the way to get things done down there. The cops will stop people who look like they have money (I looked American, and was reading a book which means of course I'm educated and therefore rich) so they pulled us over and hassled us until my friend mentioned that her cousin is the chief of police; then we got an apology and were sent on our way.
I realize that the above is completely anecdotal and I do not have the means to back it up, so take it at that level. I don't believe she has any reason to lie to me, though (and it made me really nervous to be pulled over and not speak the language).
After hearing that, I changed my sig (a few months back, IIRC).
You give new insight: perhaps only paying members are given the privilege of moderating.
It would have exceeded the sig limit, but I had wanted to say something like "I haven't been able to moderate for over 3 years. Slashdot won't get any of my money until I get moderator points back and an apology as to why they were removed and what thread I might have posted in that was 'inappropriate.'" (Or something similar.)
I haven't yet read the article where Taco talks about Roland and Beatles submissions, but I will soon as that might have some other insight into this issue.
Cheers,
Thing 1
I agree. We should declare a moratorium on new laws for the next 20 years: Congress' only job would be to eliminate existing laws, to remove the "dead code" for the next generation. This would help make the economy more efficient.
Then Slashdot became popular: because of the mod system, not because of the lack of it.
Also, Slashcode is GPLed, so anyone can use it (nanodot.org is doing so, or at least they were--it appears they switched to WordPress). So no, requiring a "full-time staff" is a red herring.
As to Slashdot reading, I for one am returning for the dupes, because I have a job and outside interests and cannot devote time to reading Slashdot every evening. (I try to, but sometimes other events intrude.) And, I rarely read the articles because the discussion is the enlightening part, not the product-placement-disguised-as-news.
Finally, a small-time blogger scraping by on ad revenue is already able to use the law: DDoS (or even DoS) is illegal, and spam-bombing the poor guy's blog sounds very much like D/Dos (although IMNAL).
Wait, why am I responding to an AC? Damn, missed that initially...
Badgers?
Studies have been performed that showed drivers to be more careful when under the influence of marijuana. (Yes, studies are just a form of statistics, which can be subverted.)
Crack only exists because cocaine is illegal. Crack was created in order to be a more potent, less voluminous cocaine, making it easier to smuggle across borders.
I don't need to think of turf wars for dealers who "sold just weed." Just as I don't have to think of the turf wars fought by alcohol dealers when it was re-legalized. I believe the "pot-only" dealers would continue to have a decent business: they already have a customer list, and their prices would go down since guns would not be as necessary a tool of the trade. (You don't see alcohol dealers shooting each other over turf, do you? But damn they sure did back in Prohibition!)
Laws creating a prohibiting climate are responsible for creating the mafia: the laws do nothing to address the demand, they only restrict the supply; this in turn drives prices up. Prices go up, users have difficulty paying and may turn to crime to support their habit. The crime is not part of the drug use. The crime is to support an unfair tax that the government has levied on the goods that are in demand, which are artificially priced out of the user's disposable income.
I am in complete agreement that the government will not admit to being wrong. That is, until it has to start competing for citizens. By that I mean, within the next generation we'll have nanotechnology and many, myself included, intend to leave and never come back. (Imagine a beowulf cluster of Dyson spheres!)
Now that I've guaranteed my karmic fall, I just wanted to let you know that I noticed you had friended me in the past ... few months I suppose (I wish there was a better history of friendships).
I just friended you as well (I reviewed some posts and really like your communication style, especially when you're wrong), but I'm curious: what was it that convinced you I was a keeper?
Sincerely,
Thing 1
I wonder if laws like that are really necessary. (I'm wondering that as a US citizen.)
Why am I wondering? I believe that for an idea to garner followers, it needs a personality pushing it.
No Christianity without Christ. No Vatican without the Pope. No Microsoft without Gates, no Linux without Linus. Otherwise a book is just a bunch of letters arranged a certain way, and we don't really want to outlaw arranging letters...
There are now specific remedies...
(This post is on-topic!)
This is exactly what Bush is selling: The Rapture.
Scarily enough, he's managed to convince many that he will preside over the Rapture Wars.
I think we'd live in a much nicer society if we decided not to make new laws for the next 20 years.
Hey, thanks for that insight: "popular" and "population" have the same root! (I love language.)
PS, love your sig.
1/2 ;-)
Then, do your research.
Possibly recommend different parts to the doctor, and possibly change doctors when the initial doctor sticks to the expensive part that you happened to notice, in your research, that the doctor owns a piece of.
Nothing is free or easy, but I'm giving you the above plan for the cost of reading it. ;-)
"Wisdom is the domain of the Wiz."
Even more so: while someone is ranting about how "this will never work", someone else is quietly making it work.
I do want to bring up that there seem to be some religions on this planet which do promote questioning and doubting, and learning about other religions. I always wondered why such tolerance didn't take over the religio-sphere, so to speak, since it should be more encompassing, more welcoming, more interesting.
But, I suppose that just plays into your point: if you teach people to question, they'll spend less time worshipping you and your beliefs. So, the most effective leaders (not "the best leaders") tend to discourage questioning in their followers, whether they are religious or military (or both). Bush may not be a good leader, but he is rather effective because he has learned to combine both religion and military; however, the Taliban learned this too and hopefully regime change in America is no more than 2 years away.
This is actually a good thing: you want to join the sue-fest? You still can, for less than $20! (Plus legal fees where applicable.)
I laughed at the humor, but just to clarify they meant "accident in coming to term", not "post-partum abortions." ;-)
Yes, and why do you suppose that is? Perhaps similar reasons that medical marijuana research has been hampered for the past few decades?
My sister-in-law had a test-tube baby. They kept a bunch of extra embryos frozen in case of accident. Once the baby was born, they destroyed them.
You think it's okay to destroy something, but not to use it to further our scientific knowledge (and ease human suffering)? Well, at least I don't have to live in that skull.
No shit, look at Citrix.