After years of lurking I finally created an account and this article was the reason. This post might run long but hopefully it provides at least one insight undiscovered so far. This will be rambling...iTired
First, I have read this site almost daily for years. So I have seen the pros and cons play out over time and understand most of the comments presented so far. Just keep it in mind that I am not a remotely new reader.
My focus here is my demographic. If you are a cynic, it is true - I am motivated solely by self-interest with this post but I can not be alone in my demographic and feel a sort of obligation to provide my meager feedback. I rarely see myself represented in the community here and those in my demographic typically get -1 because they post stupid shit, so here's my attempt at redemption for those of us that are stupid.
I am not a programmer and I have received little to no "higher" education (I do not possess a college degree). Obviously I do not understand every article posted. So let me tell you how I, the "I wish I was a nerd but I smoked too much weed in high school and now math is hard" guy views this site.
Overall I read a lot of stuff that is posted, so try not to take away the opposite of that from this paragraph. I skip articles about LAMP servers and SQL implementations (for example), as I obviously have no idea what the hell any of that is. Contrarily I do find myself testing whether or not I CAN understand some of those kinds of articles. Then again, I really do enjoy science and technology so I find that /. sets the bar a bit higher for me in some ways. Some posts are a welcome challenge.
I never got beyond HS Physics yet I love all of the posts regarding CERN and OPERA. I will take posts about anything related to space exploration all day every day, so thanks for those as well. Patent wars and the developments in IP impact nerds and idiots alike. So again, thank you. I could go on and on, but suffice it to say that I really do appreciate this website even if I will never understand some of the content. There IS a lot available here for people like me and I want to make sure that it stays that way!
The most important part of /. (to me) is the community. It makes all of the difference. I delve into comments and thoroughly enjoy the level of debate and commentary provided by a majority of this community. Some of the posters here are absolutely top notch. I have always said that if I had a million dollars I would spend all of it surrounding myself with smart people and forcing them to tell me everything they know. /. is the closest I can get to that idea and it's free so I find myself satisfied at times. If some people think that reflects a depressing state of the internet, I don't really know what to say other than "where have YOU been and how can I get there?"
In all seriousness, when people take the time to type out paragraphs of well thought out articulate commentary I almost want to start masturbating. It is a welcome change to the world I normally inhabit. I don't care if someone is wrong in their analysis of a topic or an article. At this point? These days? I just appreciate that someone is actually THINKING about something and willing to put forward their individual view, right or wrong. I think this needs to be promoted a little bit more because... The best part about this process comes when I see people correct each other. To watch people actually converse in a civil manner and educate each other (and lurkers like myself) about a topic can be fascinating and even energizing. Sometimes slashdot makes me want to learn more, be better.
You make me want to be a better man.
I agree with a large number of the comments I have read so far regarding current moderation (both good and bad). While there are certainly injustices served by notching down posts that should survive, if not only for rebuttal, /. still has (by miles and miles) the best and most insightful community alive on the internet. This should be acknowledged and respected by most people here. If you disagree then you have been living in a bubble for far too long and best of luck to you in the rest of the world because Fox News is taking over and facts have no place anymore.
I would personally like to see more articles. Not that there aren't "enough". Just that there's not enough for people like me. I skip one out of every four articles on average (I completely made that up but it's probably accurate because I am awesome at making things up). A broader base of articles and more categories.
Anyway, I guess my feedback is really just "Thanks, us idiots read some of your articles too!" but maybe there's something else in there. I skimmed back through after I finished typing and I still don't know what i just wrote. Here's an additional random paragraph that had no place. Good night! ... or not. I hit preview and after about an hour it finally loaded my comment for submission in ONE paragraph!? If this shows up as one paragraph I am not fixing it....here we go with my second attempt at submitting....
The "no ideas" paragraph:
The minor things to me come with appearance and usability. As a user, reading the comments could flow better for sure. But I have no solution so I suppose that's moot and I defer to previous/future posts on this. My only suggestion is to not over-complicate things. Expansion isn't a bad idea, it's all about how it's done. I am NOT an apple fanboi but after watching CNBC run Steve Jobs specials all day I can't help but let some of that leak in and say something cheesy like "Think out of the box." While I have always seen slashdot as unique in the way I physically interact with it (it's not a php/vb bb, which is what I am used to for communities), I can't help but think that it could be done even better....I just don't know how. I HAVE NO IDEAS I AM SORRY.
