DICE, the community is trying to tell you something. We hope you are listening. This Slash Beta idea you all got obsessed with rolling out is a REALLY bad idea. You obviously tried pencil whip the user feedback portion of your launch plan otherwise the comment system wouldn't have devolved into an outright revolt against the Beta in EVERY. SINGLE. STORY. you have posted today.
Additionally, you should keep in mind that while we love Slashdot, we recognize all good things must come to and end. If this is what you want to do, then do it. However, don't expect a large portion of the community to follow you down that path. I know this because they have told you ALL DAY. I know this because this community, unlike many others, is made up of the people who have the skills and abilities to REPLACE you. I know they will replace you because you've made them passionate about the cause. Even I, a 4 digit UID and pro-lurker, am fired up enough to post! Fix this guys or the community will fix it for you.
I still remember when the original Athlon came out. That was the first time in quite awhile that AMD gave Intel a serious challenge. It is just too bad that they rested on their laurels for too long and let Intel power on ahead. The day Intel gave prerelease samples of Core 2 to be benchmarked by the tech sites was the day I knew AMD was pretty much never again going to seriously contend in the x86 CPU space.
I agree. You are correct about this and it would be regrettable to lose it. Hopefully DICE is sensible and starts treating the community with more respect and comes up with a solution that makes everyone happy.
The biggest challenge here is being willing to lose that historical treasure trove. If you are not willing to lose it then you have no power over the changes others are making that affect you. I would have been quite happy to stay lurking as I normally do. However, the unanimity of the response from our fellow members showed me that this was something I should not stay quiet about.
If there is one thing I know about this community it is that, unlike the vast majority of other communities out there, we have a huge concentration people with the knowledge, skillset, and passion to create and preserve our community without need for a corporate minder. Perhaps Slashdot beta was the kick in the pants we needed to find out how much we truly valued it. I am already looking into how I can assist in creating a new home for our community if Dice decides that they are not going to listen the community.
I don't know about him but I'm trying to figure out whether I am shouting at the kids to get off my lawn or if it is a valid concern. So far, I appear to be a voice of reason. I'll let you know what the other voices in my head say.
Try us Slashdot.... if you want to proceed with Beta then let's do the following test:
1.) Disable comments for a day 2.) Post stories that are "more accessible" for your "wider audience" to consume 3.) Watch your stats (we know you are obsessing over them.) 4.) Tell us how you like your numbers
Don't screw this up DICE... I've enjoyed Slashdot as a community for 16 years but I am not afraid to move and it sounds like much of the community feels the same way.
Sorry guys... your PR heavy "response" isn't going to cut it. We, the COMMUNITY, are the one's that provide you with content and allow you to earn a living from our debates all in exchange for simple access to a site that we can use and like. Your Beta site has broken the implicit contract you had between your community and the business. In the end you are responsible for all hell breaking loose and people rioting in the comment threads. We are trying to provide you the opportunity to correct this situation but you seem to have received crisis response training from the Apple people who came up with "you're holding it wrong." Only you can fix Slashdot. If the community has to fix it, then the solution will be a new home. The clock is ticking.
It is nice that you speak about what YOU want. However, in the scheme of things, what you want is diametrically opposed to the community you claim to cherish. The appeal of Slashdot is the pedantry, the technical nature of things, and the overall level of the discussion. If I want to interact with a "wider audience" I can go talk on the Disqus comments that litter CNN, CNBC, etc. Short of having Wiki articles linked to every single in depth commenter's response I don't know how you are going to make things more "accessible" to a "wider" audience.
Also, please stop with calling us your "audience." It is demeaning. If you value our contributions to the functioning of your site so little that you consider us passive players, then I hope you press forward with your train wreck of a beta so that you can see just how much the "audience" actually contributes.
Lastly, tell the MBAs and PR guys/gals to lay off the BS and have a straightforward honest conversation with us. We are far from the drooling idiots you seem to think we are.
DICE, the community is trying to tell you something. We hope you are listening. This Slash Beta idea you all got obsessed with rolling out is a REALLY bad idea. You obviously tried pencil whip the user feedback portion of your launch plan otherwise the comment system wouldn't have devolved into an outright revolt against the Beta in EVERY. SINGLE. STORY. you have posted today.
Additionally, you should keep in mind that while we love Slashdot, we recognize all good things must come to and end. If this is what you want to do, then do it. However, don't expect a large portion of the community to follow you down that path. I know this because they have told you ALL DAY. I know this because I this community, unlike many others, is made up of the people who have the skills and abilities to REPLACE you. I know they will replace you because you've made them passionate about the cause. Even I, a 4 digit UID and pro-lurker, am fired up enough to post! Fix this guys or the community will fix it for you.
I don't know what DICE was thinking (perhaps they weren't) but it doesn't take a genius to figure out they need to stop the beta site and stop it now. Unlike every other news aggregator, the majority of the people are here FOR the discussion forums. We also submit the news, vote on what should be published, comment on the news, moderate the comments, and moderate the moderators. DICE you don't do a damn thing compared to what the community gives to you in exchange for access to the site.
Pull your collective heads out of your various orifices and fix this while you have time. Without the community you have NOTHING to sell. Want proof? Look at comments on stories from a week ago versus comments today... with the community protesting you have nothing of value to sell other than a niche already covered by CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, Fox, and God knows how many other sites that now aggregate the news. Slashdot will NEVER be a mainstream site... Fix this NOW or the community will fix it for you.
BETA is nowhere near the ridiculousness of these governments censoring their citizens but DICE is certainly a menace to their own community. I'm sorry DICE, I meant audience. Who cares if we submit the news, comment on the stories, and moderate the comments while you collect the ad revenue.
Interesting idea. I also propose that it should have a posting system that allows selected users to increase or decrease the visibility of posts that the community finds interesting, funny, off topic, etc. To ensure that system is not abused, I would propose a second system that rates the validity of scoring given to user posts. This would provide the community an effective way to communicate during the boycott.
Like you, I signed up for my account and then was happy to lurk for years... After this beta stuff popped up I decided I should voice my opinion. If Beta is the direction they intend to go then I do not intend to follow.
As another poster has stated, we submit the news, we comment on the news, we moderate the comments. We are the community and we are the product that DICE has been selling to advertisers. DICE should pay attention because without the community they do not have a product. At this point, they cannot say the community did not give them fair warning.
It is a sad day that Intel's big news is having to slash prices to compete with the likes of MediaTek. I'm surprised no one has complained to the ITC yet if they are effectively "dumping" these chip. While I recognize mobile's importance, the nerd in me yearns for the good ol' days when AMD and Intel were fighting it out in the x86 space. Kinda like Slashdot...
Bitcoin mining is a boat I missed and I have no intention of trying to swim halfway across the channel to catch it. If KnC can actually over deliver and under promise then the more power to them. It would sure beat the Butterfly Labs debacle. Like any gold rush, I wonder if the only people getting rich are the ones selling the shovels.
Speaking of shovels... can someone help me bury Slashdot Beta?
lol. I would completely agree with you but the Feds always think the rules apply to us and not them. I doubt we will see a precedent shift here since the band's request for remuneration obviously has political tones to the damage "calculation." Plus, I don't know if I would *want* people to know the Feds considered my music so horrendous that it would induce severe mental stress.
All Amazon needs to do is look at Ouya. It basically targeted the same space. Perhaps Amazon thinks their marketing and distribution engines will make it successful where Ouya has struggled but I doubt it. The problem with these "consoles" is that they target casual gamers and casual gamers are more than happy with their cell phones and tablets. Up selling them to an Android console would be an interesting sales job.
I fully agree with you. I have been a member of/. since at least 1998. Hard to believe I was here for almost the entire life cycle of Slashdot. If they push through Beta like they seem intent on doing then all I have to say is, "Slashdot is dead. Long live Slashdot!"
I don't know who this new site is for but it was not designed for the community that made/. successful in the first place. It is too bad because it was always interesting to read the musings of influential people in the tech community who posted here. It looks like I will likely have to find a new place to lurk... tech news aggregation sites are a dime a dozen but none were quite like Slashdot. Oh well all good things must come to an end.
Slashdot Mirror
I believe he would say, "Mr. Gorbachev tear down this beta."
#IamSlashdot
DICE, the community is trying to tell you something. We hope you are listening. This Slash Beta idea you all got obsessed with rolling out is a REALLY bad idea. You obviously tried pencil whip the user feedback portion of your launch plan otherwise the comment system wouldn't have devolved into an outright revolt against the Beta in EVERY. SINGLE. STORY. you have posted today.
Additionally, you should keep in mind that while we love Slashdot, we recognize all good things must come to and end. If this is what you want to do, then do it. However, don't expect a large portion of the community to follow you down that path. I know this because they have told you ALL DAY. I know this because this community, unlike many others, is made up of the people who have the skills and abilities to REPLACE you. I know they will replace you because you've made them passionate about the cause. Even I, a 4 digit UID and pro-lurker, am fired up enough to post! Fix this guys or the community will fix it for you.
#IamSlashdot
I still remember when the original Athlon came out. That was the first time in quite awhile that AMD gave Intel a serious challenge. It is just too bad that they rested on their laurels for too long and let Intel power on ahead. The day Intel gave prerelease samples of Core 2 to be benchmarked by the tech sites was the day I knew AMD was pretty much never again going to seriously contend in the x86 CPU space.
I agree. You are correct about this and it would be regrettable to lose it. Hopefully DICE is sensible and starts treating the community with more respect and comes up with a solution that makes everyone happy.
The biggest challenge here is being willing to lose that historical treasure trove. If you are not willing to lose it then you have no power over the changes others are making that affect you. I would have been quite happy to stay lurking as I normally do. However, the unanimity of the response from our fellow members showed me that this was something I should not stay quiet about.
If there is one thing I know about this community it is that, unlike the vast majority of other communities out there, we have a huge concentration people with the knowledge, skillset, and passion to create and preserve our community without need for a corporate minder. Perhaps Slashdot beta was the kick in the pants we needed to find out how much we truly valued it. I am already looking into how I can assist in creating a new home for our community if Dice decides that they are not going to listen the community.
I don't know about him but I'm trying to figure out whether I am shouting at the kids to get off my lawn or if it is a valid concern. So far, I appear to be a voice of reason. I'll let you know what the other voices in my head say.
Try us Slashdot.... if you want to proceed with Beta then let's do the following test:
1.) Disable comments for a day
2.) Post stories that are "more accessible" for your "wider audience" to consume
3.) Watch your stats (we know you are obsessing over them.)
4.) Tell us how you like your numbers
Don't screw this up DICE... I've enjoyed Slashdot as a community for 16 years but I am not afraid to move and it sounds like much of the community feels the same way.
#IamSlashdot
Sorry guys... your PR heavy "response" isn't going to cut it. We, the COMMUNITY, are the one's that provide you with content and allow you to earn a living from our debates all in exchange for simple access to a site that we can use and like. Your Beta site has broken the implicit contract you had between your community and the business. In the end you are responsible for all hell breaking loose and people rioting in the comment threads. We are trying to provide you the opportunity to correct this situation but you seem to have received crisis response training from the Apple people who came up with "you're holding it wrong." Only you can fix Slashdot. If the community has to fix it, then the solution will be a new home. The clock is ticking.
#IamSlashdot
I am not into hash tags etc... but you are right. We should start tagging everything as #IamSlashdot.
It is nice that you speak about what YOU want. However, in the scheme of things, what you want is diametrically opposed to the community you claim to cherish. The appeal of Slashdot is the pedantry, the technical nature of things, and the overall level of the discussion. If I want to interact with a "wider audience" I can go talk on the Disqus comments that litter CNN, CNBC, etc. Short of having Wiki articles linked to every single in depth commenter's response I don't know how you are going to make things more "accessible" to a "wider" audience.
Also, please stop with calling us your "audience." It is demeaning. If you value our contributions to the functioning of your site so little that you consider us passive players, then I hope you press forward with your train wreck of a beta so that you can see just how much the "audience" actually contributes.
Lastly, tell the MBAs and PR guys/gals to lay off the BS and have a straightforward honest conversation with us. We are far from the drooling idiots you seem to think we are.
DICE, the community is trying to tell you something. We hope you are listening. This Slash Beta idea you all got obsessed with rolling out is a REALLY bad idea. You obviously tried pencil whip the user feedback portion of your launch plan otherwise the comment system wouldn't have devolved into an outright revolt against the Beta in EVERY. SINGLE. STORY. you have posted today.
Additionally, you should keep in mind that while we love Slashdot, we recognize all good things must come to and end. If this is what you want to do, then do it. However, don't expect a large portion of the community to follow you down that path. I know this because they have told you ALL DAY. I know this because I this community, unlike many others, is made up of the people who have the skills and abilities to REPLACE you. I know they will replace you because you've made them passionate about the cause. Even I, a 4 digit UID and pro-lurker, am fired up enough to post! Fix this guys or the community will fix it for you.
I don't know what DICE was thinking (perhaps they weren't) but it doesn't take a genius to figure out they need to stop the beta site and stop it now. Unlike every other news aggregator, the majority of the people are here FOR the discussion forums. We also submit the news, vote on what should be published, comment on the news, moderate the comments, and moderate the moderators. DICE you don't do a damn thing compared to what the community gives to you in exchange for access to the site.
Pull your collective heads out of your various orifices and fix this while you have time. Without the community you have NOTHING to sell. Want proof? Look at comments on stories from a week ago versus comments today... with the community protesting you have nothing of value to sell other than a niche already covered by CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, Fox, and God knows how many other sites that now aggregate the news. Slashdot will NEVER be a mainstream site... Fix this NOW or the community will fix it for you.
BETA is nowhere near the ridiculousness of these governments censoring their citizens but DICE is certainly a menace to their own community. I'm sorry DICE, I meant audience. Who cares if we submit the news, comment on the stories, and moderate the comments while you collect the ad revenue.
Just say "NO" to beta.
Can we declare Slashdot Beta to be VAPRware?
fuckbeta
Even my '72 Ford Pinto was better for my health than Slashdot Beta!
I dug out my old 4 digit UID from an ancient yahoo mail account because of this crap.
Interesting idea. I also propose that it should have a posting system that allows selected users to increase or decrease the visibility of posts that the community finds interesting, funny, off topic, etc. To ensure that system is not abused, I would propose a second system that rates the validity of scoring given to user posts. This would provide the community an effective way to communicate during the boycott.
Oh wait that sounds like Slashdot Classic...
fuckbeta
Like you, I signed up for my account and then was happy to lurk for years... After this beta stuff popped up I decided I should voice my opinion. If Beta is the direction they intend to go then I do not intend to follow.
As another poster has stated, we submit the news, we comment on the news, we moderate the comments. We are the community and we are the product that DICE has been selling to advertisers. DICE should pay attention because without the community they do not have a product. At this point, they cannot say the community did not give them fair warning.
It is a sad day that Intel's big news is having to slash prices to compete with the likes of MediaTek. I'm surprised no one has complained to the ITC yet if they are effectively "dumping" these chip. While I recognize mobile's importance, the nerd in me yearns for the good ol' days when AMD and Intel were fighting it out in the x86 space. Kinda like Slashdot...
fuckbeta
Bitcoin mining is a boat I missed and I have no intention of trying to swim halfway across the channel to catch it. If KnC can actually over deliver and under promise then the more power to them. It would sure beat the Butterfly Labs debacle. Like any gold rush, I wonder if the only people getting rich are the ones selling the shovels.
Speaking of shovels... can someone help me bury Slashdot Beta?
fuckbeta
+1 for pedantry... I stand corrected! ;)
lol. I would completely agree with you but the Feds always think the rules apply to us and not them. I doubt we will see a precedent shift here since the band's request for remuneration obviously has political tones to the damage "calculation." Plus, I don't know if I would *want* people to know the Feds considered my music so horrendous that it would induce severe mental stress.
All Amazon needs to do is look at Ouya. It basically targeted the same space. Perhaps Amazon thinks their marketing and distribution engines will make it successful where Ouya has struggled but I doubt it. The problem with these "consoles" is that they target casual gamers and casual gamers are more than happy with their cell phones and tablets. Up selling them to an Android console would be an interesting sales job.
Almost forgot... fuck beta.
So are they considering interrogations a "performance" that needs to be licensed? I'm sure the guys in black vans will show up shortly to assist them.
fuckbeta
I fully agree with you. I have been a member of /. since at least 1998. Hard to believe I was here for almost the entire life cycle of Slashdot. If they push through Beta like they seem intent on doing then all I have to say is, "Slashdot is dead. Long live Slashdot!"
I don't know who this new site is for but it was not designed for the community that made /. successful in the first place. It is too bad because it was always interesting to read the musings of influential people in the tech community who posted here. It looks like I will likely have to find a new place to lurk... tech news aggregation sites are a dime a dozen but none were quite like Slashdot. Oh well all good things must come to an end.
#fuckbeta