Operating systems are not something to get that fanatical about. Neither are random idiots posting in boldface caps, who, incidentally, seem to have better spelling than you.
Going to school exclusively for intense computer training will make you pretty one-dimensional. There is life apart from computers, and you'll be able to survive much better if you have a broad education. Most languages you can learn outside school, when it's required for a job... companies don't look for someone who knows x, y, and z languages so much as they look for someone who knows how to think and learn.
Could an installation program that goes through your computer adding files, sticking things in your start menu, and changing your defaults settings be considered a virus?
How many times has something like the email tax hoax been posted? I read the comments because I know if an article posted is blatantly wrong, someone with direct firsthand knowledge of the subject will point it out. Without comments, Slashdot would just be a random smattering of news from various sources, reputable or non, with no way of verifying stories' authenticity.
First, CmdrTaco, this needed to be done. I think the flood of homophobic flames that followed a recent article shows that very clearly.
Why not post peoples' IP addresses next to their comments? In general, folks tend to behave a lot better when people know who they are. And since a lot of the trolls probably come from the same person, it would take away their ability to pretend to be more people. (If that makes any sense whatsoever.)
Another thing I'd like to throw out there -- perhaps extremely short posts should be moderated down? Most of the one- and two-line posts aren't really worth reading. Or maybe # of lines could be displayed alongside posts in the index.
Strong opinions there. Let me refer you to a reply a few posts back about how many homophobes are that way because of their repressed homosexuality.
I also notice that while you're perfectly willing to spout off anonymously, you don't seem willing to assume responsibility for your opinions by giving us your name, or even a handle.
My email address is mrgleep@hotmail.com, by the way. If you disagree with me, feel free to tell me. At least I can assume some responsibility for what I write.
I'm confused as to how a simple article about Alan Turing's thesis can spawn such a combination of operating system holy war and hate-fest. Are "buttmunch" and "Linux weenie" and the like really part of an intelligent dialogue? Not last time I checked.
Oh, and by the way, I really doubt all the "NT rulez" posts are part of a Microsoft anti-Linux FUD campaign. I strongly suspect Microsoft requires its employees to be able to read. Though I admit the sheer volume of anti-Linux posts is susprising. (What's next? Linus Torvalds gets a pie in the face?)
Anyway, on to more important issues. There was an "Ask Slashdot" not long ago that asked about the stereotypes of geeks, including openmindedness. From reading the trolls upon trolls upon trolls, it is obvious that certain readers of Slashdot are just as narrow-minded and bigoted as anyone else. I mean, lines like "gays ripping off other peoples' work"? Insinuations that gay people are somehow subhuman? This is the kind of talk you don't hear on even the most rabid of conservative talk-radio stations. Face it: that kind of hate is just not acceptable anymore. I realize some of you would have been perfectly at home in Germany or Italy during the 1930's, but this is the 90's, folks. Have a little tolerance.
I think this would be an interesting topic for discussion: Why, in a community supposedly filled with educated people, is the rabid homophobia we see in this discussion still present? Or has Slashdot simply been hit by a bunch of 31337 script kiddies with a penchant for neandrathal politics?
...to everyone who has pointed out how ridiculous this discussion is. No, the government is not going to tax e-mail. And, while we're at it, that "save NPR" petition you've been forwarding to half of North America has been out of date since the early 1990's, and even then was innaccurate.
By the way, I heard about this HORRIBLE NEW VIRUS which will claw its way into your computer through the power lines and appear on your desktop completely indistinguishable from your "My Computer" icon, and what's more it will do this NO MATTER WHAT operating system you use, that's right, Mac OS and Linux as well, and then it will ERASE your ENTIRE HARD DRIVE and cause your household appliances to SODOMIZE your PETS.
Everybody who's been responding to this with outraged statements like "the fedz cant do this they wil half to pry my keybaord out of my cold ded 31337 handz" should wake up and take a listen to some common sense.
Not to mention this cult of personality that everyone here seems to have built up around Linus Torvalds. To read the posts, you'd think "Linus" (what, everyone's on a first-name basis with somebody they've never met?) is every/.er's best friend, favorite uncle, and the Messiah to boot.
The man is not a political prisoner, and not being able to use a computer for 3 years does not constitute cruel and unusual punishment. Are they torturing him? Refusing him medical attention? No.
Don't waste your breath getting outraged about some advanced version of a script kiddie getting punished. You want a political prisoner? Try Leonard Peltier or Mumia Abu-Jamal. (Another site.)
My college's newspaper once ran a front-page banner headline reading "Students React to Descriminatory Incidents." Poor des-criminated copy editors... I wonder how long their jobs lasted?
This is indeed interesting, but... odd. First of all, the constitution on www.juga.com is not only vague, it is basically subject to change at the whim of the webmaster. This does not seem like a great idea. Second, while they may allow double or triple citizenship, do other countries? For example, the U.S.?
If someone has Cyber Yugoslavia as their only citizenship, what about the logistics problems this poses? They have to live somewhere. Do they still pay taxes in whatever country they live in? More importantly, if they commit a crime, can Cyber Yugoslavia try to prevent them from going to trial? Could CY become a shield for criminals?
A bunch of disposessed Yugoslavians banding together to form a virtual country is a nice idea. But I don't see how they can hope to be recognized as a country in their own right.
...Well, in any case... if you were from Alpha Centauri, wouldn't you want to hear all the latest developments in the wonderful world of hot slutty barely legal teen cheerleader nympho sex pics?
Damn, that's impressive. On the other hand, my belief is that no matter *how* big your hard drive is, you'll find a way to fill it up within 6 months of purchase...
All this The government is out to get you stuff bugs me in a big way. Yea the govenerment is not perfect and they do abit of stuff that I don't like, but plese the USA is not and never will be a facist state.
It's not so much that the government is out to get you, as that the government intends to do nothing to stop the private sector from ferreting out everything they possibly can. Now, whether this is because Congress is in the private sector's pocket, as many would believe, or simply because they're clueless, I don't know.
On the subject of electronic privacy, a lot of people simply don't seem to realize that what applies to paper or speech does in fact apply to the internet as well. The Internet (capital I, folks) is a scary, untamed, and completely different place in the eyes of most decision-makers.
A threat more dangerous than the ones this article mentions is Congress' continual encroachment on the first amendment, and the constant attempts to limit the civil rights of minors. (I'm just waiting for them to pass a law making it illegal to be under 18.) I know this is a shameless plug, but visit the slowly-being-constructed home page of the fledgling Student Civil Rights Campaign at http://www.crosswinds.net/~civilrights.
Slashdot Mirror
The poster makes a good point.
God, I hope you weren't serious. For your own mental health, that is.
From the kitchen in my dorm's basement. The sign on the microwave reads:
Do NOT leave microwave unattended when not in use.
Is anything you get from Microsoft a virus?
Anybody like to explain why that post merited a four?
How many times has something like the email tax hoax been posted? I read the comments because I know if an article posted is blatantly wrong, someone with direct firsthand knowledge of the subject will point it out. Without comments, Slashdot would just be a random smattering of news from various sources, reputable or non, with no way of verifying stories' authenticity.
First, CmdrTaco, this needed to be done. I think the flood of homophobic flames that followed a recent article shows that very clearly.
Why not post peoples' IP addresses next to their comments? In general, folks tend to behave a lot better when people know who they are. And since a lot of the trolls probably come from the same person, it would take away their ability to pretend to be more people. (If that makes any sense whatsoever.)
Another thing I'd like to throw out there -- perhaps extremely short posts should be moderated down? Most of the one- and two-line posts aren't really worth reading. Or maybe # of lines could be displayed alongside posts in the index.
... than a first-poster, is the person who *replies* to a first poster.
;-)
(And the person who replies to the replier, I suppose..)
Fine. But at least have the decency to tell us who you are.
I also notice that while you're perfectly willing to spout off anonymously, you don't seem willing to assume responsibility for your opinions by giving us your name, or even a handle.
My email address is mrgleep@hotmail.com, by the way. If you disagree with me, feel free to tell me. At least I can assume some responsibility for what I write.
- Erik
Oh, and by the way, I really doubt all the "NT rulez" posts are part of a Microsoft anti-Linux FUD campaign. I strongly suspect Microsoft requires its employees to be able to read. Though I admit the sheer volume of anti-Linux posts is susprising. (What's next? Linus Torvalds gets a pie in the face?)
Anyway, on to more important issues. There was an "Ask Slashdot" not long ago that asked about the stereotypes of geeks, including openmindedness. From reading the trolls upon trolls upon trolls, it is obvious that certain readers of Slashdot are just as narrow-minded and bigoted as anyone else. I mean, lines like "gays ripping off other peoples' work"? Insinuations that gay people are somehow subhuman? This is the kind of talk you don't hear on even the most rabid of conservative talk-radio stations. Face it: that kind of hate is just not acceptable anymore. I realize some of you would have been perfectly at home in Germany or Italy during the 1930's, but this is the 90's, folks. Have a little tolerance.
I think this would be an interesting topic for discussion: Why, in a community supposedly filled with educated people, is the rabid homophobia we see in this discussion still present? Or has Slashdot simply been hit by a bunch of 31337 script kiddies with a penchant for neandrathal politics?
Sorry for the length. But that had to be said.
- Erik
...to everyone who has pointed out how ridiculous this discussion is. No, the government is not going to tax e-mail. And, while we're at it, that "save NPR" petition you've been forwarding to half of North America has been out of date since the early 1990's, and even then was innaccurate.
By the way, I heard about this HORRIBLE NEW VIRUS which will claw its way into your computer through the power lines and appear on your desktop completely indistinguishable from your "My Computer" icon, and what's more it will do this NO MATTER WHAT operating system you use, that's right, Mac OS and Linux as well, and then it will ERASE your ENTIRE HARD DRIVE and cause your household appliances to SODOMIZE your PETS.
Everybody who's been responding to this with outraged statements like "the fedz cant do this they wil half to pry my keybaord out of my cold ded 31337 handz" should wake up and take a listen to some common sense.
Not to mention this cult of personality that everyone here seems to have built up around Linus Torvalds. To read the posts, you'd think "Linus" (what, everyone's on a first-name basis with somebody they've never met?) is every /.er's best friend, favorite uncle, and the Messiah to boot.
Don't waste your breath getting outraged about some advanced version of a script kiddie getting punished. You want a political prisoner? Try Leonard Peltier or Mumia Abu-Jamal. (Another site.)
My college's newspaper once ran a front-page banner headline reading "Students React to Descriminatory Incidents." Poor des-criminated copy editors... I wonder how long their jobs lasted?
First off, hi Chris. :)
This is indeed interesting, but... odd. First of all, the constitution on www.juga.com is not only vague, it is basically subject to change at the whim of the webmaster. This does not seem like a great idea. Second, while they may allow double or triple citizenship, do other countries? For example, the U.S.?
If someone has Cyber Yugoslavia as their only citizenship, what about the logistics problems this poses? They have to live somewhere. Do they still pay taxes in whatever country they live in? More importantly, if they commit a crime, can Cyber Yugoslavia try to prevent them from going to trial? Could CY become a shield for criminals?
A bunch of disposessed Yugoslavians banding together to form a virtual country is a nice idea. But I don't see how they can hope to be recognized as a country in their own right.
...Well, in any case... if you were from Alpha Centauri, wouldn't you want to hear all the latest developments in the wonderful world of hot slutty barely legal teen cheerleader nympho sex pics?
Oy, vey.
Logon failure: user not allowed to log on to this computer.
Huh?
Damn, that's impressive. On the other hand, my belief is that no matter *how* big your hard drive is, you'll find a way to fill it up within 6 months of purchase...
Traditional voting requires corrupt officials to be rigged.
It's not so much that the government is out to get you, as that the government intends to do nothing to stop the private sector from ferreting out everything they possibly can. Now, whether this is because Congress is in the private sector's pocket, as many would believe, or simply because they're clueless, I don't know.
On the subject of electronic privacy, a lot of people simply don't seem to realize that what applies to paper or speech does in fact apply to the internet as well. The Internet (capital I, folks) is a scary, untamed, and completely different place in the eyes of most decision-makers.
A threat more dangerous than the ones this article mentions is Congress' continual encroachment on the first amendment, and the constant attempts to limit the civil rights of minors. (I'm just waiting for them to pass a law making it illegal to be under 18.) I know this is a shameless plug, but visit the slowly-being-constructed home page of the fledgling Student Civil Rights Campaign at http://www.crosswinds.net/~civilrights.
That's all.