17 ms·

Slashdot.org is a bit quieter, but better moderated and in general a higher level of knowledge.

by evook 11y ago

jeremysmyth 11y ago
Slashdot is differently moderated, but the overall comment quality (and s/n level within threads in general) is considerably lower than here. The editorial policy is also very different (in that it exists): Submissions are curated rather than solely bubbled by user moderation, so the submission s/n ratio is perhaps better (if you get article by feed rather than just surf the respective front pages), but we don't just come here for submitted links, do we? Here, you can find expert level commentary on pretty much any field from philosophy to economics to law enforcement (aside from the technology experts that are a given), whereas in /. you generally have to dig deeper in a comment stream to find anything approaching the same value.
onion2k 11y ago
Slashdot was brilliant about 15 years ago.
- danieltillett 11y ago
  It is kind of sad to see the decline of slashdot - I hope hn does not go the same way.
  - onion2k 11y ago
    First post! :(
    - danieltillett 11y ago
      I hope you have a 4 digit id making that joke :P
      - onion2k 11y ago
        Sadly not. I was #203094. One of the funniest things I remember about /. were the times someone would post that they had a lower ID than a previous commenter, and that would spark a chain of decreasingly low ID posters replying to say theirs was lower still. You probably had to be there. It was a simpler time.
      - mutagen 11y ago
        #4669 checking in with some hot grits.
mahranch 11y ago
"better moderated"? Isn't that a bit subjective? I left slashdot.org because I found their moderation to be horrible. Hell, in my opinion, the vast majority of reddit's mods are better than slashdot's mods. The issue is something everyone overlooks when making these kinds of judgements: adaptability. You have to be able to evolve and adapt to the changing times and, most importantly, adapt and evolve with your user base. This is where reddit really shines and one of the big reasons why places like Fark, mefi and slashdot stagnated and quit growing (relatively speaking). Large online communities are highly dynamic. There is user churn, as well as the obvious cultural evolution that takes place. Places like fark and slashdot never evolved and adapted with their users and the changing times so people eventually get bored and leave. It's one of the reasons for their stagnation. Mods have to be adaptable and evolve with their communities. Reddit is evolution and adaptability personified. It's the culture itself running the show over there (anyone can create a subreddit), so the new users with their new ideas, interests, memes, etc all have a place. When something gets boring, old or loses popularity (like FFFUUU comics) it doesn't hurt the site, just the subreddit. People just move from one subreddit to another instead of moving from one website to another. And that's the problem with slashdot's mods (and fark's mods too). They're the same people and rarely do they let new blood in. And the new blood instantly conforms to the old guard's way of thinking and policies. The way content gets moderated always remains the same. This might be good short term (some people don't like change) but people do eventually get bored of the same old, same old.
twsted 11y ago
Slashdot is different. It has (had?) much more variety in subjects and people often write more articulated comments. Ten or more years ago it was a great site, then I noticed a gradual and general decline. Nowadays I follow it just sometimes.

Slashdot.org is a bit quieter, but better moderated and in general a higher level of knowledge.

by evook 11y ago

Slashdot.org is a bit quieter, but better moderated and in general a higher level of knowledge.

Slashdot is differently moderated, but the overall comment quality (and s/n level within threads in general) is considerably lower than here. The editorial policy is also very different (in that it exists): Submissions are curated rather than solely bubbled by user moderation, so the submission s/n ratio is perhaps better (if you get article by feed rather than just surf the respective front pages), but we don't just come here for submitted links, do we? Here, you can find expert level commentary on pretty much any field from philosophy to economics to law enforcement (aside from the technology experts that are a given), whereas in /. you generally have to dig deeper in a comment stream to find anything approaching the same value.

onion2k 11y ago

Slashdot was brilliant about 15 years ago.

danieltillett 11y ago
It is kind of sad to see the decline of slashdot - I hope hn does not go the same way.
- onion2k 11y ago
  First post! :(
  - danieltillett 11y ago
    I hope you have a 4 digit id making that joke :P
    - onion2k 11y ago
      Sadly not. I was #203094. One of the funniest things I remember about /. were the times someone would post that they had a lower ID than a previous commenter, and that would spark a chain of decreasingly low ID posters replying to say theirs was lower still. You probably had to be there. It was a simpler time.
    - mutagen 11y ago
      #4669 checking in with some hot grits.

mahranch 11y ago

"better moderated"? Isn't that a bit subjective? I left slashdot.org because I found their moderation to be horrible. Hell, in my opinion, the vast majority of reddit's mods are better than slashdot's mods. The issue is something everyone overlooks when making these kinds of judgements: adaptability. You have to be able to evolve and adapt to the changing times and, most importantly, adapt and evolve with your user base. This is where reddit really shines and one of the big reasons why places like Fark, mefi and slashdot stagnated and quit growing (relatively speaking). Large online communities are highly dynamic. There is user churn, as well as the obvious cultural evolution that takes place. Places like fark and slashdot never evolved and adapted with their users and the changing times so people eventually get bored and leave. It's one of the reasons for their stagnation. Mods have to be adaptable and evolve with their communities. Reddit is evolution and adaptability personified. It's the culture itself running the show over there (anyone can create a subreddit), so the new users with their new ideas, interests, memes, etc all have a place. When something gets boring, old or loses popularity (like FFFUUU comics) it doesn't hurt the site, just the subreddit. People just move from one subreddit to another instead of moving from one website to another. And that's the problem with slashdot's mods (and fark's mods too). They're the same people and rarely do they let new blood in. And the new blood instantly conforms to the old guard's way of thinking and policies. The way content gets moderated always remains the same. This might be good short term (some people don't like change) but people do eventually get bored of the same old, same old.

twsted 11y ago

Slashdot is different. It has (had?) much more variety in subjects and people often write more articulated comments. Ten or more years ago it was a great site, then I noticed a gradual and general decline. Nowadays I follow it just sometimes.