lol @anti-corporate what planet are you from? That normally is a good thing.

I have also been along-time Slashdot reader (UID: 12314), who has noticed recent trends, but believe the sensationalism and intellectual decay on the site occurred without malice or conscious consideration.

At the same time, I believe the feeling the editors have recently come to realize something is not right with their current direction (with stories asking about the future of the site). I think we’ll continue to see more Slashdot stories of decent quality (such as the current one, which will introduce some younger readers to a high quality science blog).

I have also been along-time Slashdot reader (UID: 12314), who has noticed recent trends, but believe the sensationalism and intellectual decay on the site occurred without malice or conscious consideration.

At the same time, I believe the feeling the editors have recently come to realize something is not right with their current direction (with stories asking about the future of the site). I think we’ll continue to see more Slashdot stories of decent quality (such as the current one, which will introduce some younger readers to a high quality science blog).

Yep. I gave up on it.

We get “nerd nerd geek dork nerd geek dork dork dork nerd geek nerd dork” followed by “Huh… how come no one wants to go into math and science anymore?”

Time for an episode of Let’s RetCon The Questions!

1) Do you hate your life?

Yes, I’m married.

2) Which space assets did you actively try to sabotage when working as an Evil Astronomer?

I worked on Hubble for ten years, but now I write about it.

3) Do you actually believe in AGW?

No.

4) What’s up with stuff like “click to engorgenate”?

When I write about not wearing pants most of the time, I’m not kidding.

5) How’s it hangin’ and for how long?

13.73 +/- .12 billion years.

6) A sniper rife. A high power scope. One bullet. Choose your target.

It’s a tough choice, but I’d have to say either Wil Wheaton or George Hrab.

8. XYZZY

In response to #3′s answer “No”: Really? Why?

Easy…

Just because.

In response to #3′s answer “No”: Really? Why?

There’s a healthy bit of skepticism (among other things) on their message boards. And the ‘Slashdot public’ rarely, if ever, takes a story at face value. The site is read by a LOT of people (hence the “Slashdot effect” noted after the above story). Generally highly intelligent people, many of which are experts in their fields. Some genuine insight can be gained by reading the comments. Of course, being on the internet, you get all types, but the comment moderation is usually excellent.

I’m excited to hear (read) the questions they come up with. Be prepared Phil, it may get tough You’ll likely be answering some very thoughtful questions you’ve never considered.

Zyg

The real irony in the BA working with Slashdot, IMO, is the rampant anti-AGW crowd that trolls the forums. It’s actually one of the reasons I had to get out… the denialist streak in the Slashdot crowd (and particularly the moderators) is really remarkable.

Slashdot is really a case study in the effect whereby engineers, physicists, etc, knowledgeable in one subject, feel they’re sufficiently brilliant to understand everything. Any time a study is published, the “correlation is not causation” meme pops up. Every time an article supporting AGW comes out, the denialist meme pops up. It’s pretty fascinating, in an incredibly frustrating, hair-pulling sort of way.

Not that it surprised me, the community was basically founded by 90′s-era internet geeks, so a strong showing of pseudo-libertarians and/or open-source-everything types and the crazy was crystallized by 9/11 and associated issues.

Good stuff, Phil.

Yeah… I’m gonna have to dispute that.

Slashdot *used* to be a fantastic website. Then the editors realized they could get way more page hits by trolling the userbase. As a result, it’s now awash in poorly written trollbait designed only to enrage and enflame.

Combine that with a horribly broken moderation system that encourages groupthink and censorship, and a community that dominated by libertarian wackos and open source zealots who like to abuse said moderation system, and it’s become a cesspool of stupidity.

Honestly, I was one of the last of my friends to cling to my old Slashdot ID. But earlier this year, I finally gave up, after a string of horrible articles hit the front page. I now rely on subreddits, Engadget, Ars Technica, and a number of blogs (like this one) to get my tech/science news fix, and the result is higher quality content that arrives sooners (Slashdot is often very much behind the times… occasionally the editors even post articles that are multiple years old, probably because they couldn’t be bothered to click the link and see what the authorship date was).

In short: Slashdot is what happens when curators of a community get lazy. It’s like a yard so overgrown with weeds that you’re better off just razing the earth and starting from scratch.

sorry, I’ve been a prof. for 30 years and although I am one, and I sympathesize with nerddom, even have grown to like them; I really wish ALL types of people went into science and not just them. That long ago I choose a community college instead of university environment, ; because then I could teach and work with students and administrators (who have different backgrounds), not scientists ; versus a university where prof. of science have to work with other nerdy scientists.

I know stuff like this falls with a BIG THUD on this type of blog; but this is an excellent blog, and I just wanted to present the other side of the story.