Rob "CmdrTaco" Malda Resigns From Slashdot 1521
It was the summer of '97 and I was a college kid working part time as a programmer at an ad agency. I wrote a simple CMS: practically my first perl program (I was so happy to not have to write in anything Microsoft!). I got an old DEC Alpha Multia in exchange for some freelance Java work. I stuffed it under my desk at work and registered the domain name in October. Jeff "Hemos" Bates chipped in on the registration fee. Within months we were serving thousands of people per day on a system that looked remarkably similar to the Slashdot you see today. It was simple: I just was sharing stories that I stumbled on with a small group of friends.
When I wrote the essay "Simple Solutions" a few months later, we doubled in traffic almost overnight. New hardware had to be purchased. Soon we exceeded the bandwidth capacity of our ISP and had to start co-locating. This meant banner ads. I barely made it through the end of college, working night and day on a site that was growing so fast, it was all I could do to keep up. We started making a little money and I eventually was able to quit my job and dedicate myself full-time to Slashdot. I barely graduated. Soon my friends followed me, eventually forming our company Blockstackers.
As my little hobby became a full blown business, it became clear that we needed help. The burden of running Sales and Marketing and HR it was to much for us. Slashdot was sold to Andover in '99. Since Slashdot was founded, my business card has read Blockstackers, Andover, Andover.net, VA Linux Systems, VA Software, OSDN, OSTG, SourceForge, and finally Geeknet. My title has changed several times: from my first card which read "Lies and Misinformation", until today when my title read "Editor-in-Chief of Slashdot.org". During that entire time, my job has been some version of the same thing: Make Slashdot Great. I always did my best, and I'd like to think that I got it right more often than not.
In the last 14 years, Slashdot has covered so many amazing events: The explosion of Linux. The rise of Google. The return of Apple. The Dot Com Bubble. The DMCA. 9/11. Wars. Elections. Numerous successful Shuttle Launches and one Disaster. Scientific Breakthroughs galore. Cool toys. Web2.0! Social Networking. Blogging! Podcasting! Micro-Blogging! The Lord of the Rings being filmed and an entire trilogy of new Star Wars. OMG Ponies!! So many moments that I could run this paragraph for hours with moments where we shared something important, meaningful, or just stupid. But the most important to me was my marriage proposal to Kathleen. Slashdot has posted Over 114,000 stories so far. And there will be many more to come. I just won't be the one picking them.
Slashdot has been read by kernel engineers and billionaires. By sys-admins and CEOs. By high school kids and government bureaucrats. But what brings so many of them together is that we are nerds. It never ceases to amaze me the similarities that I find between us all when I climb out of my dungeon and go meet readers. From the inside of some of the most wonderful places on earth, to conference halls with useless wireless connections, to cube farms, you guys always reminded me of why I started this thing in the first place. We share something important and unquantifiable.
The internet has changed dramatically since I started here, and that's part of my reason for leaving. For me, the Slashdot of today is fused to the Slashdot of the past. This makes it really hard to objectively consider the future of the site. While my corporate overlords and I haven't seen eye to eye on every decision in the last decade, I am certain that Jeff Drobick and the other executives at Geeknet will do their best. I am unquestionably confident in the abilities of the Slashdot editors and engineers- some of whom have been here just short of forever. They have proven themselves in the best and worst of conditions to be capable and dedicated.
As part of my resignation, after this story appears I will lose the ability to post. For me, this is the most bitter pill to swallow. Posting stories has always been my favorite part of the job. I created Slashdot to share these stories with my friends from IRC and school. It was never 'work'. Now I will have to go cold turkey. I'm walking away from the soapbox I built. I wish I could continue to post stories forever, but those closest to me know that if I maintained the ability to post, I'd never move on. I'll continue to read Slashdot and hopefully my occasional story submissions will make the cut. My old mantra: News for Nerds, Stuff that Matters still holds true here today. Nobody does it better.
As for what's next, I really don't know. I don't have a job lined up. I have no plans. I'm gonna spend some time with my boys and my wife. Read some books that have been on my shelf forever. Maybe it's time to write a book of my own.
If you want to get ahold of me, my email is now malda at cmdrtaco dot net. Geeknet has graciously agreed to continue to forward malda at slashdot dot org forever, but you should still update your address books if you care. I'm available on twitter as @cmdrtaco and Google+. My homepage hasn't been updated in a decade, but it's still CmdrTaco.net. And since I'm going to have to find a job in a few months, I'm on LinkedIn as well.
Thanks to everyone who helped build Slashdot over the years: the list is far to long to fit in this textfield but you know who you are, and you all know that I've got your back in a knife fight. Lastly, thanks to every Slashdot reader for giving me your time all these years. I hope I've wasted it efficiently and enjoyably.
Pants are optional.
Simple (Score:4, Insightful)
Thanks. Really. Make sure you have a towel going forwards.
See You Rob, and thanks for the ride (Score:5, Insightful)
Wait, what? (Score:5, Insightful)
After the news about Steve Jobs I really had to check and double-check the date on this. Not April 1st?
Okay, okay... I think I believe it.
CmdrTaco, thanks a lot. I've spent a ridiculous amount of my formative years reading slashdot. It got me into Linux, Geeks In Space specifically got me in to Debian. Without Slashdot I'd be half the man I am today, easily.
Thanks for everything (Score:5, Insightful)
I could write a long rambling ode, but I think I'll just say thanks for the last 14 years. You did good.
So long and thanks for the OMG PONIES!!! (Score:5, Insightful)
Somehow this has hit me harder than Jobs stepping down. I've been coming to Slashdot for the news/commentary for about 13+ years...and still plan to do so.
Man, it's weird, I've never met Rob or corresponded with him...but it feels like I'm losing a good friend or family member. The internet can be weird sometimes.
Godspeed Taco!
Re:Given that... (Score:5, Insightful)
I know I shouldn't be feeding the trolls..
But truth is, for all I've griped about the "new" slashdot (and then the "new" one after that) ... and the dubious submissions... I still find myself active here quite frequently.
Slashdot isn't perfect.. but it's still a damn good thing.
Today ... (Score:5, Insightful)
Today a little piece of my inner nerd just died.
Please don't let me wake up and suddely find that I'm a responsible 40 year old IT professional/business person. I'll be repeating that as I stumble home drunkenly tonight.
Re:Given that... (Score:4, Insightful)
We need to continue our strengths. Being a platform where old guys can bitch about kids these days.
Re:Hemos Says: "So Long, and Thanks For All The Fi (Score:4, Insightful)
I think it's fair to say that the average uid in the comments on this post will be the lowest in the last few years... possibly the last decade.
Oh no! (Score:5, Insightful)
"The internet has changed dramatically since I started here, and that's part of my reason for leaving..."
I hope that doesn't mean that we're going to see some radical change in direction here. That reads like the money holders want to take the site in a direction that CmdrTaco isn't interested in. Hopefully I'm just being pessimistic.
I've been on since the late 90's myself and I've really enjoyed this site over the years in spite of the spelling and grammar issues. I hope it continues on even without Mr. Malda's influence.
Now watch as the low UIDs to take over the discussion on this post.
Best of luck (Score:4, Insightful)
As you can see from my uid, I've been with you since almost the beginning. At times I've been frustrated with the quality of the posts, especially the pseudoscience garbage, but /. has always been one of my go-to places, and always enough interesting content to make it worthwhile to visit. Plus, the format of the site, especially the moderation system, has proved to have enduring worth, even with all the other changes going on. I wish you the best of success in whatever you choose to do next.
Re:I have some difficulty understanding this (Score:5, Insightful)
It's like that. Mr. Malda, you'll be sorely missed. Thanks for all of your efforts. You've made this site a place where geeks of all stripe can find a good story and a good troll.
Virg
Fairewell (Score:5, Insightful)
Thank you so much for creating the best experience on the internet... when /. effect was what everyone feared and loved...
Re:Given that... (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm on /. every day but I have to admit that nowadays it is not because of the way the site is run but in spite of it.
Compared to a decade ago, the front page looks more like a yellow tabloid than a serious tech site. Slashvertisements, titles and summaries chosen for shock value rather than informative content, clueless submitters, incompetent editors.
It's like a good thought provoking series turning into a Brazilian soap opera.
Thankfully, the discussions are still worth it.
Re:Succession plan? (Score:4, Insightful)
If you notice, they both resigned at the same time. AND they have never been photographed together. This proves CmdrTaco IS Steve Jobs!