I'll re-tell you the above story as I would experience it:
I've been using Slack for a while. [Whooho, Slack rocks.] A friend who had been using Windows asked me about it, and soon enough he decided it was the most absolutely horrible thing in the world and never, ever wanted to have anything to do with it at all, so soon enough I was over at his house on a saturday morning covertly installing Slackware without his knowledge.
The installation was a snap (as always) [Slackware has THE BEST install in my opinion], but he had a massive brain deficiency, so trying to convince him to not kill me after he found out about it was a bit more difficult. I had to leave, so I left him alone with the remainder of the fiddling to get it removed. (Haha, good luck, I thought. Guy couldn't remove the wrapper from a new CD.)
The next morning he appeared bleary eyed. "I hate you. I can't figure anything out. So I gave up." I thought he was going to dump Slack and go back to Windows when he continued, "I learned more about how evil you are last night than I did in the previous two years with you in that satanic cult. I think you are a nut and if you ever touch my computer again I'll kill you."
So, that's my sad story. People resist change, even when you know it's good for them. Why can't they just give in? Sigh.
I think I'm going to go install Slack onto my crappy old Red Hat box now. And then maybe onto some of the school's computers. And then maybe onto my Grandma's computer. And after that...
In my book, working for nothing is exactly the same as slavery. For this reason alone open source must be stopped, by Federal Law if need be.
I was originally going to write a nice little reply to this, but then I decided by your logic it would be in the best interest of society for me to keep my mouth shut. Afterall since I'm not being paid for it I must be doing something wrong. I mean, Karma isn't really a worthwhile substitute for cold hard cash, right?
So, in the interest of Freedom, I will silence myself now and insist that others pay for the privelege of my opinion. I will be charging for my response to your attack on open source. If you are interested in obtaining a copy of my reply, kindly contact me and I will quote you a price.
Just one thing; your comment was supposed to be a joke right? At first I thought you were serious, but now I can't possibly believe that your weren't making a joke.
They say that they reward those that can disclose the location of a video copying lab with more than 30 VCRs. One might imagine that this would be, on average, the number of VCRs they would find and conviscate were they to raid the lab.
They then go on to say that they have "assisted law enforcement in more than 3,000 raids" and recovered 6,163 VCRs in these raids.
I get an average of 2 VCRs seized per raid. That just seems a little low. They say their largest bust was 817 VCRs. The must have an extraordinary failure rate if the average is only 2, though I imagine that some of those raids were not on labs, but on distributors of illegal video cassette copies.
I also find it interesting that they estimate 10 percent of all video retail outlets deal in illegal copies. Why aren't they cracking down on them more?
They say nothing about making copies of videos being illegal. They say only that it is illegal to distribute these copies. Supposedly, I can make a single copy of a MPAA movie, right? Can I make two? 500? What's the difference if I'm not going to distribute them?
Oh well, just rambling off topic. I spelt incompetant wrong, didn't I? Ah well.
www.digitalspace.net - very reasonable pricing, but they are not always picking up their phone and they are quite slow answering technical issues. Fairly recent start-up.
I've done some hosting with digitalspace.net and found them to be very reliable. I've never had to call them, but they answer their email fairly speedily. Hosting starts as low as $2 a month.:)
--neil (posting anonymously because unpopular opinions are discouraged on slashdot)
Unpopular opinions aren't themselves discouraged. But pointless, malicious attacks agaisnt people are. Basically the above can be summed up 'Malda doesn't know what he is doing.' Thats not a nice thing to say.:)
Maybe you could have tried something like this:
In my humble opinion, I don't think that the #1 Grand Prize should be given in the 'Most Improved' category. I think this because [insert reason here]. Perhaps the Grand Prize should be given in the [insert category here] category.
Rules for good karma:
1. Don't insult people. 2. Support your opinions. 3. Think before you post. 4. Think during your post.
I think your post does deserve a (Score:-1, Flamebait) marker. It adds absolutely nothing of value to the thread.
I never post Anonymously. Why bother? If you've got something contructive to say, there is no reason I should need to hide my identity. If ever I was going to say something that was going to be a waste of time, I wouldn't do it anonymously; I just wouldn't do it at all.
That said, I'm not sure what purpose articles that try to play fortune teller serve.
People who are making decisions have to base these decisions on SOMETHING. Reports like this give them something credible to fall back on when they are trying to explain their actions.:)
Inventors, financial analysts, etc., like to know this stuff so they can more accurately predict whats going to happen in the future, and maximize their profits.
Business owners and those in change of deploying IT solutions like to know this sort of thing so that they can plan for the future, and maximize their profits.
Basically, it all comes down to money, but hey, doesn't everything?
Oh, and I love the source of this article: The E-Commerce Times. Ahahahaha. I love it.
We represent the interests of CrashDot.org Inc. & Co. It has come to our attention that your site, slashdot.org, may be willfully infringing upon our trademark(s) and intentionally misleading the public.
CrashDot.org Inc. & Co. is an established e-commerce firm (as of Dec. 30th, 1999) with market capitilization of over $259.6 billion USD. As the premiere retailer of konkey widgets online, we have an obligation to our shareholders to protect our intelectual property from unlawful individuals such as yourself.
We request that you take your website, slashdot.org, offline immediately and delete any and all files relating to the site in any manner whatsoever. You will also be responsible for removing each and every link on the Internet that points to slashdot.org or any of its pages. Failure to comply will result in a mega-huge monster of a lawsuit -- don't fuck with us, we've got more money than you do.
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Please contact your legal department if you have any questions. (Don't bother with the PR department, they know nothing. Buncha monkeys think we've been keeping good relations with you folks for months, and have even offered to buy your domain name for a huge sum of cash. Ha, what morons.)
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, The CrashDot.org Inc. & Co. Legal Team.
2 million is absolutely rediculous. I'd say at most they'll get a hundred thousand.
I really wish someone had some decent figures on the number of Linux users. I don't trust that standard 10 million answer. Nor do I trust the 40 million that someone proposed.
I didn't read the article, so I hope I'm not repeating anything they said.:)
In my opinion, the problem isn't documentation for newbies, its documentation for intermediate users. There is a ton of documentation aimed at the complete newbie, the home/office Windows user that has only just recently heard of Linux and decides to give it a try. Most of it is good enough. Its not perfect, but it will get most people through to the next stage.
And this is where they get lost. Fine, Linux is installed, they've got pretty little things to click on and maybe they're even on the Net. Now what? Here is where there is a lack of documentation.
For example, I don't think I've ever seen a clear set of intructions detailing how to download and install an arbitrary software package off the Net. I haven't really looked for one, I will admit, but I've never noticed anything like that over at the LDP or anything.
Also, most documentation breaks down when the user wants to do anything 'adventuresome' -- more than just word processing, emailing, and surfing the Net. Its assumed that a "Linux for Dummies" (please don't sue me IDG) book is for Dummies, and that these Dummies are unwilling to learn anything that don't need to, that reading makes their brains hurt. But what about the people that do want to learn? Where is the documentation for them? I'm not talking about the "The Linux Kernel Hackers' Guide", "Beowulf HOWTO", or other high-end specialty topics. I'm talking about wannabe geeks that want to read clear, concise, complete documentation about everything they can get their hands on. Sure, they could learn everything by experimentation, or asking questions, but wouldn't some decent docs save alot of time and anguish?
You can divide most documentation into two groups:
1. Dumbed down, simple howto instructions that give no depth to the subject. Great for absolute newbies who are unable to think on their own.
2. Exceedingly complicated, jargon-filled monstrosities on obscure technical topics that leave anyone who isn't a regular Linux hacker scratching their head.
Perhaps this is a slight overexageration. I don't think all docs suck. I find some (most?) of the LDP's HOWTOs to be decent references. I've got a couple Linux books that aren't absolutely horrible. Mailing list archives can provide startling insights.
Oh, and a point about man pages. These are obviously not geared towards the novice. Perhaps a different set of man pages would be helpful. Instead of a long listing of options, how about a longer description of the command, details on common uses, and examples of all of the options? To a newbie, that is alot more useful than set of confusing switches he'll never use.
Another thought I've just had: What about a collaborative (Open Source? heh) documentation project that can be easily updated as it is proved to be inadequate? Even something like the PHP manual where people can pose questions and have them answered. Its cool because you can post a question directly following the description of a function, and people will answer that question.
This is the lazy way to go, but it might be the best way. The other way is to have writers update the documents based on input from readers. The problem is finding people knowledgable enough to cover any given subject that have enough free time to keep the material updated.
I'm a big fan of the OSWG, even though they hate me.:) They've got some good people and some good ideas, and the work is starting to flow. They've got a few newbie guides in the works, including "Linux for Starters", "Migrating from Windows to Linux", and "Non-Condescending Guide to Linux for New Users". Unfortunately, all of these are in their 'early planning stages' and won't be available for along time.
A central resource with all of the available Linux documentation easily accessible would be nice. A searchable, linkable, browsable archive containing each and every last gem would be invaluable, methinks. Of course, it would have to be kept up to date. The OSWG is rumored to be working on something along these lines.
The real problem with getting people to write documentation is that its not 'sexy' enough. People would much rather be playing Quake, or coding some killer app then spending their time trying to write interesting documentation on something most see as a boring topic. I really don't think that documentation (or its authors!) get the attention is deserves. So here I'm going to give a great big THANK YOU to all of the worlds Linux and Open Source documentation writers and the FAQ and HOWTO maintainers. You guys provide an invaluable service. Keep up the good work.
I'd better stop on that note, before I think of something else to say.
Am I the only one that hasn't made any special preparations? I haven't bought food, water, ammo (no gun, see) or anything like that. Well, actually, I do have a little bit more orange juice in the house than usual. But that's mearly a conincidence.
My biggest worry on Y2K is that all you rampaging nutcases with guns will come out of the word work and run amok causing chaos in the streets. If you do, I'd just like to offer one piece of advice: go for the drunk partygoers first, they are easy prey. Don't come after me, I have a baseball bat and I'm not afraid to use it.
I don't know about the rest of you, but I sent a couple of e-mails indicating that I was not buying from eToys because of this, as I'm sure plenty of other slashdot readers did.
You did WHAT? Don't you see etoys' true evil plan? To collect thousands of un-spam-proofed email addresses? What have you done? All is lost...
Now that etoys' has your email address, and the email address of every other proactive slashdot reader, they will unleash unto this world a tidal wave of SPAM. This is horrible! We're all gonna die! Ahhhhhhh!
I'm not a US citizen myself, but I don't think anyone but Bush, Gore and Bradley has a chance to win. So, while it's great to be informed about the other more exotic people in the race, choose the candidate of these three that has the least idiotic views in your opinion. That's the way I usually vote, because you'll never find a person that perfectly matches your point of view.
Awww. Thats why the "top" candidates always win. Because people don't have the courage to vote for someone they know will lose.
The last Provincial election we had in Canada was full of "strategic voting". There are 3 real parties in Canada, and everyone was trying to vote for the one that thought would do the worst. Not the best, but the worst. It was widely agreed by most people that all three parties did not meet their needs. But since there was no one else to vote for (in the voters mind), everyone voted for one of the three top parties.
Of course, it was hard to tell the three apart, since they were all saying basically the same thing. But people were so concerned about "wasting their vote" that they, well, wasted their vote on parties that they did not fully support, in an effort to prevent the parties they really didn't like from being elected.
On an interesting note, the Green party got about 3% of the total votes. No seats of course, because that 3% was scattered around. Personally, I think they should have gotten 3% of the seats, or 3 seats out of the 106 that there are. That more fairly represents what people voted for. Oh well
American politics suck. (I would change this to my sig, but I don't wanna overwrite my geekcode.)
Hey, are there any candidates with like, political science degrees or anything? Or are they all professional atheletes, businessmen and actors? Just curious.
Oh, hey, cool. I just found out who Ralph Nader is. I didn't know you guys even had a Green party in the US.:)
I've a big fan of the Green party. Some of their members have brains, unlike most other political parties. Unfortunately, they never get elected.:)
If I were voting, I think I'd vote for Nader, based on the 5 seconds of research I've done. (most of it found on http://www.selectsmart.com/PRESIDENT/results.php3? more=now&mid=15).
Hum, and now I read that he "has not officially announced his candidacy for President." He's gonna be drafted, it says. How nice. Can anyone be drafted? Does he have time to flee to Canada before he is drafted? If he refuses, will they send him to jail? Would they draft someone his age, and with his poor eyesight? What if he has flat feet? What if he dies while overseas? Oh, the horros.
76Ralph Nader 74Bill Bradley 64David McReynolds 63John Hagelin 61Albert Gore Jr. 53Warren Beatty 42Harry Browne 40John S. McCain 35Howard Phillips 34Donald Trump
Being Canadian, I know almost nothing about American politics. A few of the names on the list caught my eye though.
Warren Beatty? The actor? What's with the US electing actors/wrestlers etc. to public office? If I were cynical, I would say that's all the President is anyways -- a front man. I hate politics. Especially American politics.
Now then, Donald Trump. Mmm hmm. At least he'll have a flashy campaign. Lots of TV ads I suppose. It's not like he's going to run out of money. Why doesn't he just pay off all the other candidates and get them to drop outta the race? People these days have no imagination.
Al Gore's up there. First he invents the Internet, and now he wants to be president? Awfully ambitious little guy.
Bill Bradley, is that the African-American? If so, I'm afraid he doesn't stand much of a chance. I can't imagine you people electing anyone but a white, Christian man President. That would just be un-American, wouldn't it? Grr, I don't like American politics at all.
Who the hell is Ralph Nader anyways? I keep hearing that name, but usually in sentences next to "that nutcase", "he'll never get elected", and "the consumer advocate".
BTW, I've always found it funny that the US is a two party system. At least in Canada, we got 3 parties. We feel special about this. Choice is good.:)
Chess RULES. I don't know about meshing Slashdot and Chess tho. Mebbe a Chess box? But I wouldn't want to see regular Chess stories posted. There just isn't enough relevant Chess news.:)
I think a puzzle section period would rock. Have a mix of all different sorts of puzzles. Mebbe and art section as well. Diversification is cool.:)
Slashdot Mirror
So now I feel compelled to get this book and read it over the summer... Thanks, /.
Hope you learn something.
Oh, that be poetic. :) Mind if I make that my new sig? :)
I'll re-tell you the above story as I would experience it:
I've been using Slack for a while. [Whooho, Slack rocks.] A friend who had been using Windows asked me about it, and soon enough he decided it was the most absolutely horrible thing in the world and never, ever wanted to have anything to do with it at all, so soon enough I was over at his house on a saturday morning covertly installing Slackware without his knowledge.
The installation was a snap (as always) [Slackware has THE BEST install in my opinion], but he had a massive brain deficiency, so trying to convince him to not kill me after he found out about it was a bit more difficult. I had to leave, so I left him alone with the remainder of the fiddling to get it removed. (Haha, good luck, I thought. Guy couldn't remove the wrapper from a new CD.)
The next morning he appeared bleary eyed. "I hate you. I can't figure anything out. So I gave up." I thought he was going to dump Slack and go back to Windows when he continued, "I learned more about how evil you are last night than I did in the previous two years with you in that satanic cult. I think you are a nut and if you ever touch my computer again I'll kill you."
So, that's my sad story. People resist change, even when you know it's good for them. Why can't they just give in? Sigh.
I think I'm going to go install Slack onto my crappy old Red Hat box now. And then maybe onto some of the school's computers. And then maybe onto my Grandma's computer. And after that ...
But honestly, I love Slackware. Good stuff.
I was originally going to write a nice little reply to this, but then I decided by your logic it would be in the best interest of society for me to keep my mouth shut. Afterall since I'm not being paid for it I must be doing something wrong. I mean, Karma isn't really a worthwhile substitute for cold hard cash, right?
So, in the interest of Freedom, I will silence myself now and insist that others pay for the privelege of my opinion. I will be charging for my response to your attack on open source. If you are interested in obtaining a copy of my reply, kindly contact me and I will quote you a price.
Just one thing; your comment was supposed to be a joke right? At first I thought you were serious, but now I can't possibly believe that your weren't making a joke.
I was reading the MPAA Anti-piracy subsite and found some interesting numbers.
They say that they reward those that can disclose the location of a video copying lab with more than 30 VCRs. One might imagine that this would be, on average, the number of VCRs they would find and conviscate were they to raid the lab.
They then go on to say that they have "assisted law enforcement in more than 3,000 raids" and recovered 6,163 VCRs in these raids.
I get an average of 2 VCRs seized per raid. That just seems a little low. They say their largest bust was 817 VCRs. The must have an extraordinary failure rate if the average is only 2, though I imagine that some of those raids were not on labs, but on distributors of illegal video cassette copies.
I also find it interesting that they estimate 10 percent of all video retail outlets deal in illegal copies. Why aren't they cracking down on them more?
They say nothing about making copies of videos being illegal. They say only that it is illegal to distribute these copies. Supposedly, I can make a single copy of a MPAA movie, right? Can I make two? 500? What's the difference if I'm not going to distribute them?
Oh well, just rambling off topic. I spelt incompetant wrong, didn't I? Ah well.
I've done some hosting with digitalspace.net and found them to be very reliable. I've never had to call them, but they answer their email fairly speedily. Hosting starts as low as $2 a month. :)
There are alot of deserving people out there, but I think this award should definately go to Bruce Perens.
Besides, his last name looks sorta like the word 'Penguins'. Admit it, it does.
Unpopular opinions aren't themselves discouraged. But pointless, malicious attacks agaisnt people are. Basically the above can be summed up 'Malda doesn't know what he is doing.' Thats not a nice thing to say. :)
Maybe you could have tried something like this:
In my humble opinion, I don't think that the #1 Grand Prize should be given in the 'Most Improved' category. I think this because [insert reason here]. Perhaps the Grand Prize should be given in the [insert category here] category.
Rules for good karma:
1. Don't insult people.
2. Support your opinions.
3. Think before you post.
4. Think during your post.
I think your post does deserve a (Score:-1, Flamebait) marker. It adds absolutely nothing of value to the thread.
I never post Anonymously. Why bother? If you've got something contructive to say, there is no reason I should need to hide my identity. If ever I was going to say something that was going to be a waste of time, I wouldn't do it anonymously; I just wouldn't do it at all.
In fact, they already have a device that can show people people on the other side of walls. Uses body heat to detect people, I think.
It was posted on /. awhile back.
I'm just passing through there myself as well. :)
I'm glad someone actually read this. I was getting worried because it was still stuck down at (Score:1) and I known I don't often read that low. :)
I hope you find some good docs. :)
People who are making decisions have to base these decisions on SOMETHING. Reports like this give them something credible to fall back on when they are trying to explain their actions. :)
Inventors, financial analysts, etc., like to know this stuff so they can more accurately predict whats going to happen in the future, and maximize their profits.
Business owners and those in change of deploying IT solutions like to know this sort of thing so that they can plan for the future, and maximize their profits.
Basically, it all comes down to money, but hey, doesn't everything?
Oh, and I love the source of this article: The E-Commerce Times. Ahahahaha. I love it.
We represent the interests of CrashDot.org Inc. & Co. It has come to our attention that your site, slashdot.org, may be willfully infringing upon our trademark(s) and intentionally misleading the public.
CrashDot.org Inc. & Co. is an established e-commerce firm (as of Dec. 30th, 1999) with market capitilization of over $259.6 billion USD. As the premiere retailer of konkey widgets online, we have an obligation to our shareholders to protect our intelectual property from unlawful individuals such as yourself.
We request that you take your website, slashdot.org, offline immediately and delete any and all files relating to the site in any manner whatsoever. You will also be responsible for removing each and every link on the Internet that points to slashdot.org or any of its pages. Failure to comply will result in a mega-huge monster of a lawsuit -- don't fuck with us, we've got more money than you do.
If slashdot.org is not disabled within 12 seconds of this posting, we will contact Network Solutions Inc. and have them pull the plug. Then we will procede with the lawsuit.
Please contact your legal department if you have any questions. (Don't bother with the PR department, they know nothing. Buncha monkeys think we've been keeping good relations with you folks for months, and have even offered to buy your domain name for a huge sum of cash. Ha, what morons.)
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year,
The CrashDot.org Inc. & Co. Legal Team.
2 million is absolutely rediculous. I'd say at most they'll get a hundred thousand.
I really wish someone had some decent figures on the number of Linux users. I don't trust that standard 10 million answer. Nor do I trust the 40 million that someone proposed.
In my opinion, the problem isn't documentation for newbies, its documentation for intermediate users. There is a ton of documentation aimed at the complete newbie, the home/office Windows user that has only just recently heard of Linux and decides to give it a try. Most of it is good enough. Its not perfect, but it will get most people through to the next stage.
And this is where they get lost. Fine, Linux is installed, they've got pretty little things to click on and maybe they're even on the Net. Now what? Here is where there is a lack of documentation.
For example, I don't think I've ever seen a clear set of intructions detailing how to download and install an arbitrary software package off the Net. I haven't really looked for one, I will admit, but I've never noticed anything like that over at the LDP or anything.
Also, most documentation breaks down when the user wants to do anything 'adventuresome' -- more than just word processing, emailing, and surfing the Net. Its assumed that a "Linux for Dummies" (please don't sue me IDG) book is for Dummies, and that these Dummies are unwilling to learn anything that don't need to, that reading makes their brains hurt. But what about the people that do want to learn? Where is the documentation for them? I'm not talking about the "The Linux Kernel Hackers' Guide", "Beowulf HOWTO", or other high-end specialty topics. I'm talking about wannabe geeks that want to read clear, concise, complete documentation about everything they can get their hands on. Sure, they could learn everything by experimentation, or asking questions, but wouldn't some decent docs save alot of time and anguish?
You can divide most documentation into two groups:
1. Dumbed down, simple howto instructions that give no depth to the subject. Great for absolute newbies who are unable to think on their own.
2. Exceedingly complicated, jargon-filled monstrosities on obscure technical topics that leave anyone who isn't a regular Linux hacker scratching their head.
Perhaps this is a slight overexageration. I don't think all docs suck. I find some (most?) of the LDP's HOWTOs to be decent references. I've got a couple Linux books that aren't absolutely horrible. Mailing list archives can provide startling insights.
Oh, and a point about man pages. These are obviously not geared towards the novice. Perhaps a different set of man pages would be helpful. Instead of a long listing of options, how about a longer description of the command, details on common uses, and examples of all of the options? To a newbie, that is alot more useful than set of confusing switches he'll never use.
Another thought I've just had: What about a collaborative (Open Source? heh) documentation project that can be easily updated as it is proved to be inadequate? Even something like the PHP manual where people can pose questions and have them answered. Its cool because you can post a question directly following the description of a function, and people will answer that question.
This is the lazy way to go, but it might be the best way. The other way is to have writers update the documents based on input from readers. The problem is finding people knowledgable enough to cover any given subject that have enough free time to keep the material updated.
I'm a big fan of the OSWG, even though they hate me. :) They've got some good people and some good ideas, and the work is starting to flow. They've got a few newbie guides in the works, including "Linux for Starters", "Migrating from Windows to Linux", and "Non-Condescending Guide to Linux for New Users". Unfortunately, all of these are in their 'early planning stages' and won't be available for along time.
A central resource with all of the available Linux documentation easily accessible would be nice. A searchable, linkable, browsable archive containing each and every last gem would be invaluable, methinks. Of course, it would have to be kept up to date. The OSWG is rumored to be working on something along these lines.
The real problem with getting people to write documentation is that its not 'sexy' enough. People would much rather be playing Quake, or coding some killer app then spending their time trying to write interesting documentation on something most see as a boring topic. I really don't think that documentation (or its authors!) get the attention is deserves. So here I'm going to give a great big THANK YOU to all of the worlds Linux and Open Source documentation writers and the FAQ and HOWTO maintainers. You guys provide an invaluable service. Keep up the good work.
I'd better stop on that note, before I think of something else to say.
Am I the only one that hasn't made any special preparations? I haven't bought food, water, ammo (no gun, see) or anything like that. Well, actually, I do have a little bit more orange juice in the house than usual. But that's mearly a conincidence.
My biggest worry on Y2K is that all you rampaging nutcases with guns will come out of the word work and run amok causing chaos in the streets. If you do, I'd just like to offer one piece of advice: go for the drunk partygoers first, they are easy prey. Don't come after me, I have a baseball bat and I'm not afraid to use it.
You did WHAT? Don't you see etoys' true evil plan? To collect thousands of un-spam-proofed email addresses? What have you done? All is lost...
Now that etoys' has your email address, and the email address of every other proactive slashdot reader, they will unleash unto this world a tidal wave of SPAM. This is horrible! We're all gonna die! Ahhhhhhh!
And how many people now refuse to shop at etoys.com because of the lawsuit agaisnt etoy.com? Doesn't that count as a loss of business as well?
I'm in Ontario. At the provincial level, we have 3 major parties: Liberal, NDP, PC. No Reform here. :)
What's he going to do, radiate goodwill and make all the worlds problems go away?
Awww. Thats why the "top" candidates always win. Because people don't have the courage to vote for someone they know will lose.
The last Provincial election we had in Canada was full of "strategic voting". There are 3 real parties in Canada, and everyone was trying to vote for the one that thought would do the worst. Not the best, but the worst. It was widely agreed by most people that all three parties did not meet their needs. But since there was no one else to vote for (in the voters mind), everyone voted for one of the three top parties.
Of course, it was hard to tell the three apart, since they were all saying basically the same thing. But people were so concerned about "wasting their vote" that they, well, wasted their vote on parties that they did not fully support, in an effort to prevent the parties they really didn't like from being elected.
On an interesting note, the Green party got about 3% of the total votes. No seats of course, because that 3% was scattered around. Personally, I think they should have gotten 3% of the seats, or 3 seats out of the 106 that there are. That more fairly represents what people voted for. Oh well
American politics suck. (I would change this to my sig, but I don't wanna overwrite my geekcode.)
Hey, are there any candidates with like, political science degrees or anything? Or are they all professional atheletes, businessmen and actors? Just curious.
I've a big fan of the Green party. Some of their members have brains, unlike most other political parties. Unfortunately, they never get elected. :)
If I were voting, I think I'd vote for Nader, based on the 5 seconds of research I've done. (most of it found on http://www.selectsmart.com/PRESIDENT/results.php3? more=now&mid=15).
Hum, and now I read that he "has not officially announced his candidacy for President." He's gonna be drafted, it says. How nice. Can anyone be drafted? Does he have time to flee to Canada before he is drafted? If he refuses, will they send him to jail? Would they draft someone his age, and with his poor eyesight? What if he has flat feet? What if he dies while overseas? Oh, the horros.
I still say American politics suck.
76Ralph Nader
74Bill Bradley
64David McReynolds
63John Hagelin
61Albert Gore Jr.
53Warren Beatty
42Harry Browne
40John S. McCain
35Howard Phillips
34Donald Trump
Being Canadian, I know almost nothing about American politics. A few of the names on the list caught my eye though.
Warren Beatty? The actor? What's with the US electing actors/wrestlers etc. to public office? If I were cynical, I would say that's all the President is anyways -- a front man. I hate politics. Especially American politics.
Now then, Donald Trump. Mmm hmm. At least he'll have a flashy campaign. Lots of TV ads I suppose. It's not like he's going to run out of money. Why doesn't he just pay off all the other candidates and get them to drop outta the race? People these days have no imagination.
Al Gore's up there. First he invents the Internet, and now he wants to be president? Awfully ambitious little guy.
Bill Bradley, is that the African-American? If so, I'm afraid he doesn't stand much of a chance. I can't imagine you people electing anyone but a white, Christian man President. That would just be un-American, wouldn't it? Grr, I don't like American politics at all.
Who the hell is Ralph Nader anyways? I keep hearing that name, but usually in sentences next to "that nutcase", "he'll never get elected", and "the consumer advocate".
BTW, I've always found it funny that the US is a two party system. At least in Canada, we got 3 parties. We feel special about this. Choice is good. :)
Rich CEO's, business gurus and ... a geeky open source celebrity? What a strange list.
I think a puzzle section period would rock. Have a mix of all different sorts of puzzles. Mebbe and art section as well. Diversification is cool. :)