Journal D.A. Zollinger's Journal: Pot, meet Kettle 3
Talk about the pot calling the kettle black...
I saw a link in the signature of one of the discussion points here on slashdot point to playfullyclever.com with the link "fix slashdot." I know I have my problems with Slashdot, but what do others think is broken? Being the curious individual that I am, I thought I would see what kind of complaint this individual has about the site upon which I spend so much time. It linked to another slashdot style discussion site, mostly the interests of one individual and their soap-box from which to talk. Almost a page down, I found what I was looking for, a link to a page where the individual listed what they felt was wrong, and what they wanted done about it.
Their complaint? That slashdot discouraged open discussion, and encouraged group thought. The post encouraged moderators to mod up dissenting points, even if the moderator disagreed with what was being stated, and only mod down obvious trolls (like GNAA, FP, etc). Very admirable goals. But, what are you adding that isn't already in the moderation guidelines? Oh, did I mention? This link was in an article stating why they troll Slashdot, and ends with the remark, "bring back the slashdot we all knew and loved."
So let me get this right - you are actively trolling slashdot, increasing the amount of noise, just so you can make the site better? You are destroying what you like because you think it will fix the problem? It never ceases to amaze me how the minds of some people work. Maybe they watched one too many b-movies when they were young, and now think that all things can be fixed with violence, mayhem, and disruption. It reminds me of the guys from the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) who incite eco-terror in order to "protect" mother earth. Like the lodge in Colorado that they burned to the ground because the builders were giving it a log-cabin look, and ELF had a problem with them using tree trunks. Well, now, instead of cutting down X number of trees, the builders had to cut down 2X number of trees. Way to save the earth, guys!
So instead of finding like-minded individuals, writing a petition, and suggesting a real change to Cmdr Taco, and other editors of the site, they would rather shout out at the top of their lungs, ignoring all others (I tried to post my comments on the site, only to find out that they do not allow anonymous posts - score another for Slashdot and freedom of speech). To be honest, I don't think that the problems that they think are wrong with Slashdot are technical ones. I think they are sociological ones. They cannot be fixed by any technical development, and trolling will only make the problem worse. I think in truth, they are the very problem that they are bemoaning. Their action encourages others to act in an underhanded manner that makes people second guess whether a dissenting post is real, or an attempt to incite readers. Instead of thinking the problem through, and finding a real solution, they would rather yell "Look at me!" and hope that the chaos they are bringing somehow makes it all right again.
I saw a link in the signature of one of the discussion points here on slashdot point to playfullyclever.com with the link "fix slashdot." I know I have my problems with Slashdot, but what do others think is broken? Being the curious individual that I am, I thought I would see what kind of complaint this individual has about the site upon which I spend so much time. It linked to another slashdot style discussion site, mostly the interests of one individual and their soap-box from which to talk. Almost a page down, I found what I was looking for, a link to a page where the individual listed what they felt was wrong, and what they wanted done about it.
Their complaint? That slashdot discouraged open discussion, and encouraged group thought. The post encouraged moderators to mod up dissenting points, even if the moderator disagreed with what was being stated, and only mod down obvious trolls (like GNAA, FP, etc). Very admirable goals. But, what are you adding that isn't already in the moderation guidelines? Oh, did I mention? This link was in an article stating why they troll Slashdot, and ends with the remark, "bring back the slashdot we all knew and loved."
So let me get this right - you are actively trolling slashdot, increasing the amount of noise, just so you can make the site better? You are destroying what you like because you think it will fix the problem? It never ceases to amaze me how the minds of some people work. Maybe they watched one too many b-movies when they were young, and now think that all things can be fixed with violence, mayhem, and disruption. It reminds me of the guys from the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) who incite eco-terror in order to "protect" mother earth. Like the lodge in Colorado that they burned to the ground because the builders were giving it a log-cabin look, and ELF had a problem with them using tree trunks. Well, now, instead of cutting down X number of trees, the builders had to cut down 2X number of trees. Way to save the earth, guys!
So instead of finding like-minded individuals, writing a petition, and suggesting a real change to Cmdr Taco, and other editors of the site, they would rather shout out at the top of their lungs, ignoring all others (I tried to post my comments on the site, only to find out that they do not allow anonymous posts - score another for Slashdot and freedom of speech). To be honest, I don't think that the problems that they think are wrong with Slashdot are technical ones. I think they are sociological ones. They cannot be fixed by any technical development, and trolling will only make the problem worse. I think in truth, they are the very problem that they are bemoaning. Their action encourages others to act in an underhanded manner that makes people second guess whether a dissenting post is real, or an attempt to incite readers. Instead of thinking the problem through, and finding a real solution, they would rather yell "Look at me!" and hope that the chaos they are bringing somehow makes it all right again.
reacting to one's overreaction by overreacting... (Score:1)
You have a point, just much smaller than you're blowing it up to be. I hardly think the biggest problem with Slashdot, or even the biggest trollers here, is the guy who sincerely wishes Slashdot were better, with legitimate and largely unarguable specifics on how it's broken.
There are much more mindless party-line posts modded to +5 than troll posts, such that reading at a moderation filter is useless to me, because the moderation level of posts has become so generally useless. So I read at -1,
Re:reacting to one's overreaction by overreacting. (Score:2)
I wish I could read discussions at -1, but I have done too many moderations, and I do moderate at -1. I am glad I don't read at -1. Too much crap. (Yes, I have modded up -1 posts that I felt some other moderators unfairly mo
Re:reacting to one's overreaction by overreacting. (Score:1)
Similar to why people don't like to be compared to Hitler. I have a moustache. Hitler had a moustache. So one could say that I'm like Hitler. But I would cry foul. In that one isolated aspect we match, technically. But otherwise the comparison is