Fuck it, back to lurking. Does the return key not actually fucking work here for creating paragraphs? God forbid I use try and post for the first time after years of lurking/reading the one time my input is solicited. God damnit.
Wow, mother fucker seriously. That took me a while to type and it WAS in multiple paragraphs what the fuck? I can't delete my own post to get it off of there in that ridiculous form?!?!?!
After years of lurking I finally created an account and this article was the reason. This post might run long but hopefully it provides at least one insight undiscovered so far. This will be rambling...iTired
First, I have read this site almost daily for years. So I have seen the pros and cons play out over time and understand most of the comments presented so far. Just keep it in mind that I am not a remotely new reader.
My focus here is my demographic. If you are a cynic, it is true - I am motivated solely by self-interest with this post but I can not be alone in my demographic and feel a sort of obligation to provide my meager feedback. I rarely see myself represented in the community here and those in my demographic typically get -1 because they post stupid shit, so here's my attempt at redemption for those of us that are stupid.
I am not a programmer and I have received little to no "higher" education (I do not possess a college degree). Obviously I do not understand every article posted. So let me tell you how I, the "I wish I was a nerd but I smoked too much weed in high school and now math is hard" guy views this site.
Overall I read a lot of stuff that is posted, so try not to take away the opposite of that from this paragraph. I skip articles about LAMP servers and SQL implementations (for example), as I obviously have no idea what the hell any of that is. Contrarily I do find myself testing whether or not I CAN understand some of those kinds of articles. Then again, I really do enjoy science and technology so I find that/. sets the bar a bit higher for me in some ways. Some posts are a welcome challenge.
I never got beyond HS Physics yet I love all of the posts regarding CERN and OPERA. I will take posts about anything related to space exploration all day every day, so thanks for those as well. Patent wars and the developments in IP impact nerds and idiots alike. So again, thank you. I could go on and on, but suffice it to say that I really do appreciate this website even if I will never understand some of the content. There IS a lot available here for people like me and I want to make sure that it stays that way!
The most important part of/. (to me) is the community. It makes all of the difference. I delve into comments and thoroughly enjoy the level of debate and commentary provided by a majority of this community. Some of the posters here are absolutely top notch. I have always said that if I had a million dollars I would spend all of it surrounding myself with smart people and forcing them to tell me everything they know./. is the closest I can get to that idea and it's free so I find myself satisfied at times. If some people think that reflects a depressing state of the internet, I don't really know what to say other than "where have YOU been and how can I get there?"
In all seriousness, when people take the time to type out paragraphs of well thought out articulate commentary I almost want to start masturbating. It is a welcome change to the world I normally inhabit. I don't care if someone is wrong in their analysis of a topic or an article. At this point? These days? I just appreciate that someone is actually THINKING about something and willing to put forward their individual view, right or wrong. I think this needs to be promoted a little bit more because... The best part about this process comes when I see people correct each other. To watch people actually converse in a civil manner and educate each other (and lurkers like myself) about a topic can be fascinating and even energizing. Sometimes slashdot makes me want to learn more, be better.
You make me want to be a better man.
I agree with a large number of the comments I have read so far regarding current moderation (both good and bad). While there are certainly injustices served by notching down posts that should survive, if not only for rebuttal,/. still has (by miles and miles) the best and most insightful community alive on the
Slashdot Mirror
Fuck it, back to lurking. Does the return key not actually fucking work here for creating paragraphs? God forbid I use try and post for the first time after years of lurking/reading the one time my input is solicited. God damnit.
Wow, mother fucker seriously. That took me a while to type and it WAS in multiple paragraphs what the fuck? I can't delete my own post to get it off of there in that ridiculous form?!?!?!
After years of lurking I finally created an account and this article was the reason. This post might run long but hopefully it provides at least one insight undiscovered so far. This will be rambling...iTired First, I have read this site almost daily for years. So I have seen the pros and cons play out over time and understand most of the comments presented so far. Just keep it in mind that I am not a remotely new reader. My focus here is my demographic. If you are a cynic, it is true - I am motivated solely by self-interest with this post but I can not be alone in my demographic and feel a sort of obligation to provide my meager feedback. I rarely see myself represented in the community here and those in my demographic typically get -1 because they post stupid shit, so here's my attempt at redemption for those of us that are stupid. I am not a programmer and I have received little to no "higher" education (I do not possess a college degree). Obviously I do not understand every article posted. So let me tell you how I, the "I wish I was a nerd but I smoked too much weed in high school and now math is hard" guy views this site. Overall I read a lot of stuff that is posted, so try not to take away the opposite of that from this paragraph. I skip articles about LAMP servers and SQL implementations (for example), as I obviously have no idea what the hell any of that is. Contrarily I do find myself testing whether or not I CAN understand some of those kinds of articles. Then again, I really do enjoy science and technology so I find that /. sets the bar a bit higher for me in some ways. Some posts are a welcome challenge.
I never got beyond HS Physics yet I love all of the posts regarding CERN and OPERA. I will take posts about anything related to space exploration all day every day, so thanks for those as well. Patent wars and the developments in IP impact nerds and idiots alike. So again, thank you. I could go on and on, but suffice it to say that I really do appreciate this website even if I will never understand some of the content. There IS a lot available here for people like me and I want to make sure that it stays that way!
The most important part of /. (to me) is the community. It makes all of the difference. I delve into comments and thoroughly enjoy the level of debate and commentary provided by a majority of this community. Some of the posters here are absolutely top notch. I have always said that if I had a million dollars I would spend all of it surrounding myself with smart people and forcing them to tell me everything they know. /. is the closest I can get to that idea and it's free so I find myself satisfied at times. If some people think that reflects a depressing state of the internet, I don't really know what to say other than "where have YOU been and how can I get there?"
In all seriousness, when people take the time to type out paragraphs of well thought out articulate commentary I almost want to start masturbating. It is a welcome change to the world I normally inhabit. I don't care if someone is wrong in their analysis of a topic or an article. At this point? These days? I just appreciate that someone is actually THINKING about something and willing to put forward their individual view, right or wrong. I think this needs to be promoted a little bit more because... The best part about this process comes when I see people correct each other. To watch people actually converse in a civil manner and educate each other (and lurkers like myself) about a topic can be fascinating and even energizing. Sometimes slashdot makes me want to learn more, be better.
You make me want to be a better man.
I agree with a large number of the comments I have read so far regarding current moderation (both good and bad). While there are certainly injustices served by notching down posts that should survive, if not only for rebuttal, /. still has (by miles and miles) the best and most insightful community alive on the