It really is appreciated AC.:)
Everyone is a critic, so we do like to know when we get something right once in a while. (Even as rare as that may be:P)
kdawson mistakenly put it in politics and had to leave the office. I appreciate you pointing this out though. I have correctly placed it in YRO which is where most of this discussion is headed anyway.
Rest assured that there are many ideas being tossed around to make the site itself much more interactive which I'm sure you will be noticing in the near future. I can't go into much detail right now but the changes are coming and I am very excited about the direction that Slashteam is taking us.
As CmdrTaco stated, we are human, errors are bound to happen from time to time. Any author can be reached via their name@slashdot.org for specific questions. However, the most efficient means of communication with a live body who can fix something immediately is daddypants@slashdot.org this will notify whomever is currently watching the site and can be corrected as soon as possible.
We always appreciate assistance in making Slashdot a better place to be, and are all hoping to see much more admin/user participation in the near future.
Thanks for the heads up.
~SM
This has certainly been discussed, however, the tremendous amount of people who continue to abuse Slashdot make this a very difficult proposal. So far, it seems to me that the temptation for abuse when things don't go a particular way has far outweighed the implementation of a feature like this. With some of the new changes on the way this feature might be possible, I will pass along your idea to those who are more directly in charge of such decisions.
I should also add that I have not been a part of the administration of this site very long, so most of my observations/opinions about site operations should generally be taken w/ the requisite grain of salt since many of my opinions were formed as a reader just like anyone else.
CommandoB (and many others who share your sentiments),
I appreciate you taking the time to elaborate on your frustrations, but let me assure you that no one feels your frustration more directly than the editors of Slashdot. Granted, there have been _many_ things that the editors have missed/screwed up. I made one yesterday (perhaps I can chalk it up to being new to the editing biz, but probably not) but what can I say, we are still human.
However, the main point that I would like to make is that Slashdot is only as good as the users submitting stories make it. I, for one, would love to see more submissions by users who have taken the time to investigate all of the angles and make a good writeup about a newsworthy story (I know, my job, but the easier you make it the more time I have for really selecting the best stories). Unfortunately this is not the case. Most of the time the editors (especially in slow news times, which I'm sure you can recognize from mainstream media running inane stories also) are presented with the choice of yet another Google speculation story, a shameless plug to some homepage hosted on a cable modem, or a speculative piece that isn't really well founded but has interesting implications for those who choose to look past the surface. Now, **none** of these options are very appealing so generally we try to at least make the crap that gets posted varied in nature but we would so very much love to actually have great news to post.
As an editor, I have found that many times even crap can result in a very animated and worthwhile discussion if the correct spin is placed on the story to distract the major trolls. This spin is what I am learning through feedback like yours (and others) and hopefully my posts will continue to evolve in quality. It has been a hard switch to go from one of the readers who complained about so many things to the other side of the coin, but also a very informative journey.
There are many things going on behind the scenes here that could very well increase the overall quality of the site, so stay tuned and hopefully your prayers will be answered. I'm sorry that you have decided to take a leave of the site but come back every now and then so that at the very least I can help to make my posts more of 'what the people want'.
As an afterthought, also keep in mind that inflamatory posts will generally be ignored, but the thoughtful and measured responses do not generally fall upon deaf ears. (even though it may seem that way to you sometimes)
Since you worded your question so politely I thought that I would take a moment to make my first registered post in many years of reading Slashdot. There are a couple of things that I would like to address regarding this and many other questions like it.
First, the wording of an individual news post and the slant/position that the post takes does not necessarily reflect my views and opinions (nor that of anyone else associated with the administration of Slashdot). The submission is from a reader just like you who decided to take the time to share something that they felt was newsworthy and put their own particular spin on in. I may have editorial control but I am a pretty firm believer in anti-censorship so I try to keep the submissions general 'look and feel' the same. This means that the wording or particular approach to a headline is that of the authors and usually the author (because they took the time to read/submit it) knows more about the subject material than I would anyway.
Second, the topics that I try to post are usually ones that I feel would interest or impact the open source/linux/IT/geek/etc population as a whole. Some are more relavent for your interests than others as I try to keep the topics spread out over time. That being said, the article by itself may not have the strength to stand on its own but I usually hope that the underlying topic/issue is one that will generate a meaningful discussion. This is one of the many things (imho) that makes Slashdot what it is. Being able to pontificate on any/all subjects and get a meaningful response from other (generally) smart people as opposed to most of our daily lives can be a welcome release, even for those trolls who no doubt will flame this reponse into oblivion.:)
Getting back to the article, what I had hoped would be addressed (while I agree with you there is very little chance that Macromedia would ever go after the laptop market, that would be suicidal) is the fact that they expressly outlaw many devices that could "benfit/use" flash. While many feel that flash is not a helpful tool there are usefull applications. In addition to this the line between a "PC/Laptop" and that of a PDA or Handheld of some sort is becoming very blurry (ala PSP, Ipaq, etc) so where are they "allowed" to draw the line?
Well, enough of my soapbox, just wanted to get a few things that have been nagging at me over the last couple weeks out in the open. Flame away!
Slashdot Mirror
It really is appreciated AC. :)
Everyone is a critic, so we do like to know when we get something right once in a while. (Even as rare as that may be :P)
Thankfully our tank is a monster, making it much easier.
Mostly the reason we run on heroic is for the increased rep reward.
kdawson mistakenly put it in politics and had to leave the office. I appreciate you pointing this out though. I have correctly placed it in YRO which is where most of this discussion is headed anyway.
Rest assured that there are many ideas being tossed around to make the site itself much more interactive which I'm sure you will be noticing in the near future. I can't go into much detail right now but the changes are coming and I am very excited about the direction that Slashteam is taking us.
As CmdrTaco stated, we are human, errors are bound to happen from time to time. Any author can be reached via their name@slashdot.org for specific questions. However, the most efficient means of communication with a live body who can fix something immediately is daddypants@slashdot.org this will notify whomever is currently watching the site and can be corrected as soon as possible.
We always appreciate assistance in making Slashdot a better place to be, and are all hoping to see much more admin/user participation in the near future. Thanks for the heads up. ~SM
This has certainly been discussed, however, the tremendous amount of people who continue to abuse Slashdot make this a very difficult proposal. So far, it seems to me that the temptation for abuse when things don't go a particular way has far outweighed the implementation of a feature like this. With some of the new changes on the way this feature might be possible, I will pass along your idea to those who are more directly in charge of such decisions.
I should also add that I have not been a part of the administration of this site very long, so most of my observations/opinions about site operations should generally be taken w/ the requisite grain of salt since many of my opinions were formed as a reader just like anyone else.
CommandoB (and many others who share your sentiments),
I appreciate you taking the time to elaborate on your frustrations, but let me assure you that no one feels your frustration more directly than the editors of Slashdot. Granted, there have been _many_ things that the editors have missed/screwed up. I made one yesterday (perhaps I can chalk it up to being new to the editing biz, but probably not) but what can I say, we are still human.
However, the main point that I would like to make is that Slashdot is only as good as the users submitting stories make it. I, for one, would love to see more submissions by users who have taken the time to investigate all of the angles and make a good writeup about a newsworthy story (I know, my job, but the easier you make it the more time I have for really selecting the best stories). Unfortunately this is not the case. Most of the time the editors (especially in slow news times, which I'm sure you can recognize from mainstream media running inane stories also) are presented with the choice of yet another Google speculation story, a shameless plug to some homepage hosted on a cable modem, or a speculative piece that isn't really well founded but has interesting implications for those who choose to look past the surface. Now, **none** of these options are very appealing so generally we try to at least make the crap that gets posted varied in nature but we would so very much love to actually have great news to post.
As an editor, I have found that many times even crap can result in a very animated and worthwhile discussion if the correct spin is placed on the story to distract the major trolls. This spin is what I am learning through feedback like yours (and others) and hopefully my posts will continue to evolve in quality. It has been a hard switch to go from one of the readers who complained about so many things to the other side of the coin, but also a very informative journey.
There are many things going on behind the scenes here that could very well increase the overall quality of the site, so stay tuned and hopefully your prayers will be answered. I'm sorry that you have decided to take a leave of the site but come back every now and then so that at the very least I can help to make my posts more of 'what the people want'.
As an afterthought, also keep in mind that inflamatory posts will generally be ignored, but the thoughtful and measured responses do not generally fall upon deaf ears. (even though it may seem that way to you sometimes)
Since you worded your question so politely I thought that I would take a moment to make my first registered post in many years of reading Slashdot. There are a couple of things that I would like to address regarding this and many other questions like it.
:)
First, the wording of an individual news post and the slant/position that the post takes does not necessarily reflect my views and opinions (nor that of anyone else associated with the administration of Slashdot). The submission is from a reader just like you who decided to take the time to share something that they felt was newsworthy and put their own particular spin on in. I may have editorial control but I am a pretty firm believer in anti-censorship so I try to keep the submissions general 'look and feel' the same. This means that the wording or particular approach to a headline is that of the authors and usually the author (because they took the time to read/submit it) knows more about the subject material than I would anyway.
Second, the topics that I try to post are usually ones that I feel would interest or impact the open source/linux/IT/geek/etc population as a whole. Some are more relavent for your interests than others as I try to keep the topics spread out over time. That being said, the article by itself may not have the strength to stand on its own but I usually hope that the underlying topic/issue is one that will generate a meaningful discussion. This is one of the many things (imho) that makes Slashdot what it is. Being able to pontificate on any/all subjects and get a meaningful response from other (generally) smart people as opposed to most of our daily lives can be a welcome release, even for those trolls who no doubt will flame this reponse into oblivion.
Getting back to the article, what I had hoped would be addressed (while I agree with you there is very little chance that Macromedia would ever go after the laptop market, that would be suicidal) is the fact that they expressly outlaw many devices that could "benfit/use" flash. While many feel that flash is not a helpful tool there are usefull applications. In addition to this the line between a "PC/Laptop" and that of a PDA or Handheld of some sort is becoming very blurry (ala PSP, Ipaq, etc) so where are they "allowed" to draw the line?
Well, enough of my soapbox, just wanted to get a few things that have been nagging at me over the last couple weeks out in the open. Flame away!
Best Regards,
SM