According to a link another slashdotter provided, these come down after three months.

Since, as others have pointed out, there is no possible way for this to be space junk the comment is not only way overrated but offtopic as well.

I know reading the article is seldom done, but if you're moderating you really should RTFA so you don't mod comments like the above badly.

Yes, but how do you know that MS hasn't inserted a nice big back-door for the spooks?

Microsoft wouldn't have to insert a backdoor. NSA spooks could easily infiltrate Microsoft's or any other company's programming staff and put them in themselves.

From a "security" perspective, you'll have to go with an open-source browser -- but even that's not a guarantee.

Turtles all the way down?

The haters are free to voice their opinions in their own blogs, where they will too be flamed.

I don't disagree with that. My problem with TFA was it looked like he wanted speech like that outlawed. My site didn't have a messageboard but I got a lot of email, and posted much of it and almost all of the negative mail, which I lampooned on the site.

There are plenty of offline trolls, too. Note some of the comments after the story, that's just how things are.

The same with my cats, cats can be trained, too. You just need to know the psychology and instincts of any species of animal to train it.

I don't say "excuse me" I say "Move!" Same thing, English is a foreign language (or second language) to an animal.

Excellent quote. I haven't read that book but it looks like he's making a statement about anthropomorphism. All I ever say to my computer (the one with Windows) is FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT!!! I said the same thing to my car this morning when it wouldn't start.

There are expensive restaurants with lousy food here, too. Location does matter, but here I can think of two who thrive. D'Arcy's Pint was always packed when it was in a strip mall. They built a new, very large building for it in a better location and you still have to wait to get in. Top Cats usually has a waiting line and they're in a strip mall. But both places have delicious but cheap food, which is why they're always packed.

It's how FireFox's spell checker thinks "caddycorner" should be spelled.

Well, of course. That cheap burger probably costs them fifty cents after wages and overhead.

Yes, that's true, but if you're going to advertize habaneros it should be spicy. There are a few here that do, a couple of Mexican restaurants that have employees who don't even speak English, and the Chile Den has a bowl they call "firebrand". If you can finish a bowl they put a carved plaque with your name on it up on the wall.

Part of it is the way most Americans are taught from birth to "clean your plate." My parents were more "take what you want but eat what you take."

Restaurant portions, not just fast food, are way too big. I usually wind up bringing half the meal home in a doggie bag.

Hmm, are one of those "You're either for me or against me" types?

No, that's just nonsense. I like KDE, think it's the best desktop environment I've tried and support his work. But the piece read like he wants trolling and fanboying outlawed. He's entitled to his opinion and entitled to express that opinion. There usually are shades of gray, even with censorship. If someone lies about you maliciously you should have recourse. But the only recourse you should have against someone expressing an opinion is to counter it with your own arguments.

we have to defend our values, like freedom and democracy against those that want to take them away. And yes, that also means restricting their freedom of speech.

You don't see the logical disconnect in that sentence? You're saying we have to give up freedoms to be free.

One may grow a thick skin naturally due to the harshness of the environment, however it should never be a requirement to grow a thick skin to get on the internet, or join a video game's forums, or to become a free software developer.

Someone who faints at the sight of blood is unsuited for a job as a paramedic. I have a fear of heights, which makes me unsuited for the job of roofer or window washer. If you have a blog, web site, or join a forum you're going to get flamed. If you can't handle flames, you're unsuited for blogs, forums, or running a web site. It's part of the job description!

This isn't censorship anyway. It's his personal blog.

Tell him, he's the one who spoke of censorship as if flaming and trolling should be illegal.

Some people act out of pure malice. There IS such thing as people who not only don't contribute, they have a SUBSTANTIAL net negative effect on a project, and they are doing it on purpose. This is destructive behavior and it should be eliminated.

The only way to deal with a troll is to ignore the troll. If he pisses you off, he's won.

Well good for you. What if it was 95% negative?

Then what I was doing probably sucked and I should listen to them. If it was 95% positive, I changed the content/presentation/whatever and then I got 95% negative (e.g. KDE4) I'd know I fucked up badly and try to fix it. Being a prima dona is counterproductive. You can't please everybody but if you're pleasing nobody you're doing it wrong.

How would you like to work with a dead, maggot-infested cat on your desk, or in a room with flickering lights, or with loud rap/country/ska/harpsichord/whatever music playing

I'd quit and do the same thing somewhere else.

What if you sat on a barstool and your boss kicked it out from under you every time he walked by?

I'd have him arrested for assault.

Ask any sociologist "do negative people have a negative effect on a group's performance?" and you will hear a "yes" EVERY FUCKING TIME.

It's not just science, it's common sense. If there's a group of devs on your team and one is negative, kick him out of the group. If he's not part of the group then ignore him. Feeding trolls is counterproductive.

If he's your fan, politely set him straight. If he's your competitor's fan, ignore him like you would a troll. If he's a fan that's complaining that you ruined his favorite feature you should reevaluate what you did.