As I recall, the allocation - or otherwise - of mod-points is based on an account's karma level, which in turn is determined by positive/negative moderation of the user's own posts.

So, if you don't post, or no-one thinks anything you do post is worthwhile, then no mod-points for you.

I suppose the system could be gamed if one were to create enough sock-puppet accounts, as I don't think there is enough under-the-hood analysis to prevent it, but I can't think of any good reason to do so - it's not like anyone is TikTok-ing about modding rsilvergun as Troll.

Slashdot's comment moderation system was introduced, IIRC, in 1999.

I suppose a system designed to limit the effect of bots and morons could be regarded as a relic, as it doesn't "monetise engagement."

On the other hand, "tell me you've never had mod points without telling me you've never had mod points."

The show was Top Gear (Clarkson/Hammond/May era).

They started by buying a high-mileage second-hand Hi-Lux, drove it into walls and trees, then chained it to a slipway and let the tidal bore of the River Severn attack it - the chains broke, but they pulled it out of the sand when the tide went out and got it running "...with hammers and spanners and WD-40."

They then hit it with a wrecking ball and set it on fire. After the fire was out they drove it into the studio to much applause.

In a subsequent episode of the show, they took the same truck and put it on the top of the tower block, which was then blown up.

The truck still ran, was put on a plinth in the studio, and at one point Slash played their outro "Jessica" standing on it.

In another episode, two more Hi-Lux trucks - this time new - were driven to the magnetic North Pole.

Finally, they took one of those two and drove it up an active Icelandic volcano... which shortly after erupted and broke aeroplane travel for a while.

This is from memory, so I might have missed some details. One the other hand, I can't remember most of what I said at work today.

Anyway, I can't imagine doing the same with an F-150... at least, not successfully.

No, they stopped because it increased their profits. Apple justified it by claiming a reduction in e-waste, and knew that their fan-base would unquestioningly accept it. Note that they didn't reduce the retail price of their products. Also, not everyone has a drawer-full of the right chargers and cables for their new phone.

You think incorrectly. The EU mandated commonality in phone charging ports, so that switching brands didn't require consumers to have to replace proprietary cabling and chargers with all-new proprietary cabling and chargers, thereby reducing e-waste.

FWIW, my last three phones have all included USB power bricks & cables, but sadly no earphones in the last two.

Either it will be in conjunction with a manufacturer liaison team of hookers bearing bags of coke, or brown envelopes stuffed with cash stuck to the inside of the packing crates.

Because Wall St demands growth, and the C-suite only keep their jobs if they provide it.

Of course, after a point, the only way a company can meet the growth expectations is by absorbing other companies.

Eventually, the company can't meet the growth expectations, so the share price falls and the company either fails and/or is bought up by another to meet their own growth expectations.

Welcome to capitalism.

€15.95 a month? Why not just install a good, free ad-blocker into your browser?

I haven't seen an advert on YouTube for years...

The don't use what comes back.

Instead, edit your original to incorporate the fixes identified by your tool-of-choice.

If the tool doesn't give you a list of changes made, just an amended version of the document, then diff them.

You have misunderstood the term "locked down" in the context I used it.

During the engineering design process of a new vehicle, which can be as long as 10 years, every element at some point becomes fixed and immutable, hence "locked down", so that designs can be submitted to the fabricators - often sub-contractors. For example, while Ford might stamp the body panels in-house, production of the injection-moulded rear light clusters will be out-sourced to specialists.

No vehicle maker fabricates their own infotainment systems, but instead provides the design specs to 3rd-parties sufficiently in advance to bid on, then tool-up to manufacture in quantity. This is usually several years before the vehicle goes on sale.

As such, the infotainment hardware in a brand new new-model vehicle will not only already be several years out-of-date, but will by no means be the best possible hardware available when the fabrication contract was signed.

In my own three-year-old vehicle, switching from BlueTooth to DAB radio can mean up to three seconds of silence before the process completes, all because the hardware that underpins it was the cheapest available 10 years ago... and this is the issue that standardised, plug-in replacement hardware would ameliorate.

It doesn't help that the hardware it runs on needs to be both as cheap as possible and locked down quite early in the vehicle development cycle, which means that it's going to be old and slow on day one of sales.

It would make sense for the infotainment/vehicle UI box to be treated as a "wear part" like brakes and tyres, with a standardised, plug-in interface so it can be replaced and upgraded over the life of the vehicle.

Of course, because it would make sense - and cost a fraction more per unit to produce - it's unlikely to happen.

They've created the first tasp! Wireheads rejoice!

It ultimately won't cost the companies anything.

Their customers, however...

Or coffee ice-cream.

For a factory making instant coffee granules, huge.

Not only will they save the energy from not having to boil water, they'll also save it when freeze-drying the room-temp output.

Of course, that won't make it any cheaper to actually buy...

Actually, SlashDot will give you 15 mod-points at a time, as long as you've got good karma.

I'm not surprised you didn't know...