In honor of you posting recognition of today's complaints, I've posted this using the beta. Even if some consider it pro forma at this point, here are some specific complaints:
1) "Oops! You do not appear to have javascript enabled. We're making progress in getting things working without JavaScript." Glad to hear it. No one should be "migrated" so long as javascript is mandatory.
2) White space and wasted space. Enough have made detailed complaints about this, so I'll just register my chagrin. I will say this: the people who come to this site are used to, indeed prefer, a denser presentation of information. This includes the text editor, which is absurdly restrictive on the x-axis.
3) Font size. Perhaps this falls under wasted space, but it's atrocious enough to deserve its own comment.
4) Incomplete summaries. Waste less space and use as much of the old summary as "Classic". (I recognize the drop-down menu allows one to switch between "Standard", "Classic", and "Headlines", but this, again, requires javascript. What is more, Standard adds nothing. Changes shouldn't be made for the sake of changing something. A change should be an improvement.)
5) Absurd margins on the right.
6) Obnoxious or irrelevant photos. We're literate here. Many of us read books that go on for hundreds of pages without a picture. We don't need pictures added like some security blanked.
7) Load more? The old system gave preference to higher modded comments but did not require that you filter for higher comments to see them. Of course when there are a great many comments, a load more button is useful. But such a button should not be obscuring high ranked comments within moments of an article being posted.
8) I just found another as I went to "Preview Comment." Why does the p tag produce what looks like four lines of white space?
9) Above all, all changes should be subjected to this test: Do they get in the way of the conversation? Do they make it harder to scan through the conversation, looking for interesting comments. If so, they are not improvements. They detract from the reason people come to Slashdot.
The formatting matters are some of the most obvious and often discussed. They should also be the easiest to fix.
If beta isn't stopped, it will be time to leave. Until that time, it's probably best to protest about it in shifts. Pick a time of the day to make your complaint known, then leave off visiting Slashdot for the day. Otherwise, today's protests will be just a flash in the pan. Constantly protesting is rather demoralizing, but it should continue until the beta is obligatory. Think of it, therefore, as a hike rather than a sprint.
Or better. They could require the use of Slashdot beta for all internet based discussion. Why ban speech when you can make it so cumbersome to follow that everyone will just give up?
That's funny. We used to have "user engagement." Now the engagement consists (rightly) in screaming about the beta. That gives an interesting spin on the stuff they're bragging about:
2.9 Million Monthly Unique Visitors [All of which will say WTF!?! when they make their monthly visit in February.]
4,653 Average Comments Per Day [Peaking well about this when it was announced that the beta was being phased in. 93% of the comments include the keywords "Fuck" and "Beta".]
93 Million Page Views Per Month [Past Performance Is Not an Indicator of Future Results.]
Indeed. About an hour ago everyone was complaining about OT downmods and making accusations. With the latest articles, it seems the Fuck Beta posts are being left alone.
I doubt the moderators will be kind to someone who is so wrong.
Well, the users with mod points might not be kind. But there seems to be an unlimited supply of OT mods going about that are being applied to anti-beta posts. I'm sure the individual(s) doing this would be happy to supply some good karma to the turncloak.
It's a temporary home. Okian Warrior just registered it a couple of hours ago, so what can you expect? BTW, notice that my comment was downmodded OT into oblivion, even though (despite the snark) it was actually relevant to GP's comment? There is a disturbing trend here.
I've been posting here for years. I always try to be polite, even in disagreement. Accordingly, I have never been downmodded, except in a few cases of clear disagreement (i.e. a controversial topic gets "overrated", etc) and in most of those I generally get moved back to my starting score of 2 by others. I'm always at karma cap. Again, I ascribe this to the fact that the comments of someone who tries to be polite are generally not rejected by the community.
All this is to say that today is a first. I corrected a link to a comment by an AC here making it easier for folks to follow his intended direction to this project. When I did this, my comment was downmodded OT into oblivion.
I don't claim to know who's doing this OT downmodding, but if even my little comment (which was on topic for its GP) was downmodded then we should expect it to continue. Your comments may no longer be welcome on Slashdot.
Very well. I won't post on the beta. If they don't want to hear about it, that's okay. It's their site, not the users'. But I might mention how fascinating comments on interesting topics like [this article's topic] will one day be discussed on this website.
Yeah, it might not have all the features you want. As a matter of fact, it might be the opposite of what you want and what you actually like in a car. But, hey, it's a beta. Which means nothing will change and your input will be ignored.
Will you will actually leave if Beta is implemented?
A) Yes.
B) I'm already working on a Slashdot alternative/competitor.
C) I'm not even here now. I left when it was clear user feedback would be ignored.
D) Rage has limited my response to a constant and inarticulate, "Fuck Beta." Ask me nothing more.
E) I'll say I will but force of habit will prevent it.
F) No.
G) Ever notice how there are no longer any Cowboy Neal options? Guess what made Cowboy Neal leave.
Indeed. But crunching a few football stats is hardly something that's going to occupy such a machine for long. Plus, the thing isn't always used and wasn't built to be only used to solve the world's problems. It was built to do the calculations necessary to solve problems people care about. It's doing that.
As for "claim to have changed the world", you've something of a point there. But I'd offer two replies. First, the most spectacular pieces of technology are often used in a popular or workaday context as a demonstration to the public. This is no different and it's pretty harmless as such things go. Second, that's just Steven Wolfram for you. Have you ever read the beginning of his book? They guy's a bit of a megalomaniac. You walk away from reading that thing with the distinct impression that he believes every advancement of science over the past decades is due to the (oft uncited) application of his ideas and every failure to advance is due to a failure to understand his ideas.
Do you expend CPU time on video to watch television or movies? Do you employ computers whose resources might be better spent elsewhere to post on Slashdot? Do you play video games? If so, you could be putting your efforts and computers toward predicting terrorism, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions or whatever using the relevant data sets. As a matter of fact, why are you even reading this comment? You've got work to do, the world needs saving, hop to it.
Meanwhile, the rest of us are merely human. We can fight hard, even heroically, to solve the world's problems. But we need downtime. Even God showed us it was okay to take the day off once in a while.
Yes, I do know that. But I'm not asking that the appointment be blocked. Not only do I think that in most cases a president should have a staff of his choosing (again, excepting serious circumstances), but in this case I don't expect that anyone better or worse would be nominated in his place. Indeed, I know little about the nominee himself. What I want is for the opposition to complain loudly in front of the whole Senate, putting themselves on the record doing so. Then I should like the Democrats to save face by putting themselves on the record as ever more pro-civil rights and liberties (i.e. pro-4th amendment). I should like any chance for all these cynical opportunists to get caught in a loop, outdoing one another in their claims to be support the bill of rights, to be increased.
Above all, I want more news cycles to be consumed with the NSA, even if that requires some grandstanding and filibustering. Election cycles are far longer than new cycles, as the continual presence of the TSA demonstrates. And once people begin to forget about the Snowden revelations, they'll be no more angry at them than they were about the Patriot Act.
Yeah, I don't understand the mods sometimes. In point of fact, Democrats did not filibuster so often in the past but, then, neither did Republicans under former Democractic presidents. And, yes, Democrats will come to regret the rules change but politics is a short term game (too short, indeed, for consideration of the common good). Even so, I agree with GP's sentiments. Even if I didn't, they aren't unreasonable. The mod was unfair and should be corrected.
This suddenly makes me rather sad that the filibuster rules were changed for appointment confirmations. The Republicans had been using the filibuster against appointments far too frequently (traditionally one only goes after appointments if there is a serious problem), but this is precisely the kind of appointment where it might be useful. Even if I think most of them are cynical opportunists, I should very much like the opposition use this chance to put more pressure on the security state.
[A]re you honestly not smart enough to believe [...]
Intelligence is not a function of one's beliefs. I have very different beliefs about religion, philosophy, and politics from a great many people, including people on Slashdot, but I would be rather stupid to assume that they were stupid on this account. Indeed, someone could have views diametrically opposed to my own on the all most important questions and I wouldn't think them less smart for the fact.
Now, how one arrives at beliefs, that can tell a thing or two about intelligence. But that's not what you asked about. If you'd honestly like to know my views on Russia, and aren't just making an assertion in the form of a question, then the old article I linked comes close.
Slashdot Mirror
In honor of you posting recognition of today's complaints, I've posted this using the beta. Even if some consider it pro forma at this point, here are some specific complaints:
1) "Oops! You do not appear to have javascript enabled. We're making progress in getting things working without JavaScript." Glad to hear it. No one should be "migrated" so long as javascript is mandatory.
2) White space and wasted space. Enough have made detailed complaints about this, so I'll just register my chagrin. I will say this: the people who come to this site are used to, indeed prefer, a denser presentation of information. This includes the text editor, which is absurdly restrictive on the x-axis.
3) Font size. Perhaps this falls under wasted space, but it's atrocious enough to deserve its own comment.
4) Incomplete summaries. Waste less space and use as much of the old summary as "Classic". (I recognize the drop-down menu allows one to switch between "Standard", "Classic", and "Headlines", but this, again, requires javascript. What is more, Standard adds nothing. Changes shouldn't be made for the sake of changing something. A change should be an improvement.)
5) Absurd margins on the right.
6) Obnoxious or irrelevant photos. We're literate here. Many of us read books that go on for hundreds of pages without a picture. We don't need pictures added like some security blanked.
7) Load more? The old system gave preference to higher modded comments but did not require that you filter for higher comments to see them. Of course when there are a great many comments, a load more button is useful. But such a button should not be obscuring high ranked comments within moments of an article being posted.
8) I just found another as I went to "Preview Comment." Why does the p tag produce what looks like four lines of white space?
9) Above all, all changes should be subjected to this test: Do they get in the way of the conversation? Do they make it harder to scan through the conversation, looking for interesting comments. If so, they are not improvements. They detract from the reason people come to Slashdot.
The formatting matters are some of the most obvious and often discussed. They should also be the easiest to fix.
If beta isn't stopped, it will be time to leave. Until that time, it's probably best to protest about it in shifts. Pick a time of the day to make your complaint known, then leave off visiting Slashdot for the day. Otherwise, today's protests will be just a flash in the pan. Constantly protesting is rather demoralizing, but it should continue until the beta is obligatory. Think of it, therefore, as a hike rather than a sprint.
Or better. They could require the use of Slashdot beta for all internet based discussion. Why ban speech when you can make it so cumbersome to follow that everyone will just give up?
Hey, I fell for that when I decided to play Duke Nukem Forever. I'll never get those 10 minutes of my life back. Fool me once...
Indeed. About an hour ago everyone was complaining about OT downmods and making accusations. With the latest articles, it seems the Fuck Beta posts are being left alone.
Well, the users with mod points might not be kind. But there seems to be an unlimited supply of OT mods going about that are being applied to anti-beta posts. I'm sure the individual(s) doing this would be happy to supply some good karma to the turncloak.
It's a temporary home. Okian Warrior just registered it a couple of hours ago, so what can you expect? BTW, notice that my comment was downmodded OT into oblivion, even though (despite the snark) it was actually relevant to GP's comment? There is a disturbing trend here.
I've been posting here for years. I always try to be polite, even in disagreement. Accordingly, I have never been downmodded, except in a few cases of clear disagreement (i.e. a controversial topic gets "overrated", etc) and in most of those I generally get moved back to my starting score of 2 by others. I'm always at karma cap. Again, I ascribe this to the fact that the comments of someone who tries to be polite are generally not rejected by the community.
All this is to say that today is a first. I corrected a link to a comment by an AC here making it easier for folks to follow his intended direction to this project. When I did this, my comment was downmodded OT into oblivion.
I don't claim to know who's doing this OT downmodding, but if even my little comment (which was on topic for its GP) was downmodded then we should expect it to continue. Your comments may no longer be welcome on Slashdot.
Many thanks, but it's not my idea (though I've offered to do what I can to help). The original post may be found here. It is time indeed.
Very well. I won't post on the beta. If they don't want to hear about it, that's okay. It's their site, not the users'. But I might mention how fascinating comments on interesting topics like [this article's topic] will one day be discussed on this website.
Ah. Thanks. I don't need to do so since you've just jogged the memory beer had suppressed.
Yeah, it might not have all the features you want. As a matter of fact, it might be the opposite of what you want and what you actually like in a car. But, hey, it's a beta. Which means nothing will change and your input will be ignored.
Will you will actually leave if Beta is implemented?
A) Yes.
B) I'm already working on a Slashdot alternative/competitor.
C) I'm not even here now. I left when it was clear user feedback would be ignored.
D) Rage has limited my response to a constant and inarticulate, "Fuck Beta." Ask me nothing more.
E) I'll say I will but force of habit will prevent it.
F) No.
G) Ever notice how there are no longer any Cowboy Neal options? Guess what made Cowboy Neal leave.
Fr. Jack? Is that you? I didn't know you posted on Slashdot. Well, a hardy DRINK! GIRLS! to you.
Indeed. But crunching a few football stats is hardly something that's going to occupy such a machine for long. Plus, the thing isn't always used and wasn't built to be only used to solve the world's problems. It was built to do the calculations necessary to solve problems people care about. It's doing that.
As for "claim to have changed the world", you've something of a point there. But I'd offer two replies. First, the most spectacular pieces of technology are often used in a popular or workaday context as a demonstration to the public. This is no different and it's pretty harmless as such things go. Second, that's just Steven Wolfram for you. Have you ever read the beginning of his book? They guy's a bit of a megalomaniac. You walk away from reading that thing with the distinct impression that he believes every advancement of science over the past decades is due to the (oft uncited) application of his ideas and every failure to advance is due to a failure to understand his ideas.
Good for you. You have different tastes than some other people. That makes you better.
Do you expend CPU time on video to watch television or movies? Do you employ computers whose resources might be better spent elsewhere to post on Slashdot? Do you play video games? If so, you could be putting your efforts and computers toward predicting terrorism, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions or whatever using the relevant data sets. As a matter of fact, why are you even reading this comment? You've got work to do, the world needs saving, hop to it.
Meanwhile, the rest of us are merely human. We can fight hard, even heroically, to solve the world's problems. But we need downtime. Even God showed us it was okay to take the day off once in a while.
Ack. "You're" not "your." I blame reading too much on the internet.
Your probably right. Between Victorian literature and biology, he probably was talking about sexual preference.
Yes, I do know that. But I'm not asking that the appointment be blocked. Not only do I think that in most cases a president should have a staff of his choosing (again, excepting serious circumstances), but in this case I don't expect that anyone better or worse would be nominated in his place. Indeed, I know little about the nominee himself. What I want is for the opposition to complain loudly in front of the whole Senate, putting themselves on the record doing so. Then I should like the Democrats to save face by putting themselves on the record as ever more pro-civil rights and liberties (i.e. pro-4th amendment). I should like any chance for all these cynical opportunists to get caught in a loop, outdoing one another in their claims to be support the bill of rights, to be increased.
Above all, I want more news cycles to be consumed with the NSA, even if that requires some grandstanding and filibustering. Election cycles are far longer than new cycles, as the continual presence of the TSA demonstrates. And once people begin to forget about the Snowden revelations, they'll be no more angry at them than they were about the Patriot Act.
Yeah, I don't understand the mods sometimes. In point of fact, Democrats did not filibuster so often in the past but, then, neither did Republicans under former Democractic presidents. And, yes, Democrats will come to regret the rules change but politics is a short term game (too short, indeed, for consideration of the common good). Even so, I agree with GP's sentiments. Even if I didn't, they aren't unreasonable. The mod was unfair and should be corrected.
This suddenly makes me rather sad that the filibuster rules were changed for appointment confirmations. The Republicans had been using the filibuster against appointments far too frequently (traditionally one only goes after appointments if there is a serious problem), but this is precisely the kind of appointment where it might be useful. Even if I think most of them are cynical opportunists, I should very much like the opposition use this chance to put more pressure on the security state.
Intelligence is not a function of one's beliefs. I have very different beliefs about religion, philosophy, and politics from a great many people, including people on Slashdot, but I would be rather stupid to assume that they were stupid on this account. Indeed, someone could have views diametrically opposed to my own on the all most important questions and I wouldn't think them less smart for the fact.
Now, how one arrives at beliefs, that can tell a thing or two about intelligence. But that's not what you asked about. If you'd honestly like to know my views on Russia, and aren't just making an assertion in the form of a question, then the old article I linked comes close.