I work for a public relations company that deals with large clients (can't say who) and I welcome this change. It should bring more interesting discussions to Slashdot. Those "omg astroturfer" guys heads are going to implode.:)
My upcoming sarcastic comments aside, I actually kinda agree. Most (not all but most) ask slashdot questions have been along the lines of "I can't use google or afford a consultant, please do my job for me". This might bring some interesting discussion... as long as the "sponsors" are labeled and the questions don't become obvious marketting.
I want to ask slashdot what kind of clothes I should wear.
Nike has an extensive range of comfortable footwear and clothing for all basement dwelling geeks. For the active geek, Nike's offers footwear specific to activities such as Sneaker Net, and non-stick clothing suitable for Dumpster Diving.
I have a Nike T-shirt (St Louis Cardinals logo on it). Paid seventy five cents for it at a garage sale five years ago.
Anyone who pays full price for fashion is no nerd. In fact, if you care about fashion at all you probably aren't a nerd. If you just want to meet women, ask women what to wear.
This advice comes from personal experience. After my divorce I couldn't get as much as a dinner date for 3 years, until one night in a bar a woman suggested I cut my beard into a goatee. So I did an informal survey of women 18 to eighty seven, and seventeen of eighteen respondants said "goatee" (the eighteenth was standing next to her boyfriend, who was wearing a full beard).
The dry spell ended almost immediately. I guess women don't like the RMS look.
So I did an informal survey of women 18 to eighty seven, and seventeen of eighteen respondants said "goatee"
Haha! You cracked the problem with a survey. Indeed thou art a genuine nerd!
Women are biologically programmed to seek guys that look groomed. When I was younger and cooler (my 20s) I occasionally studied magazines like GQ, FHM, Qui, Vogue Hommes etc and identified themes. You become sensitized to what looks good and what doesn't (called "taste"). This can be learned. Notice what the cool guys (that score with hotties) are wearing. Look for identified themes in good stores (I did second hand shops for
When are you guys going to fix the extremely broken, gamed, and unworking moderation system?
Let's face it, Slashdot moderation has severe holes in it, as analyzed over here [slashdot.org]. There are exploits with a desperate need for fixes - people with multiple accounts made solely to harvest mod points via the random lottery, the ability to go back weeks into a commenter's history to stage assault raids on their karma, and of course a moderation system that encourages people who play by the rules NOT to moderate because
Hey look - the slashdot overlords WERE watching. They shit-tanked a real question rather than let it interfere with the corporate astroturfing that they're trying to turn Ask Slashdot into!
Isn't that, essentially, the quintessence of any successful (as defined by hit count & posted comments)/. story? TFS that says something patently ridiculous in a way as inflammatory as possible, and preferably on a topic on which enough people here hold strong opinions.
I work for a public relations company that deals with large clients (can't say who) and I welcome this change. It should bring more interesting discussions to Slashdot. Those "omg astroturfer" guys heads are going to implode.:)
The questions is if we'll see more experts or more sales staff. I've seen some attempts at this before and the results have sounded more like a sales pitch than anything resembling a real discussion of pros and cons. Then again, many of the questions have been utterly lame in the past so I don't expect it to get much worse than it is. It's been on my "maybe" list of categories to block before, if it does then it's a checkbox away from being gone anyway.
On the other hand, when the tech guys from those companies do come on slashdot (admitting it, i'm sure lots of them browser anyway), the bitching they get is something unbelievable.
For good example, see this story [slashdot.org] about MS open source programmers asking Slashdot's opinions on how to improve their Python IDE. It's full of hate, stupid comments and crap.
Well the guy did say spare no punches as such he got what he asked for and gets no sympathy from me. To expect a paid employee to ask Slashdot for their help is kind of stupid. The guy should have gone to any of the python forums or irc channels.
As for your fist statement; that may well be true on Slashdot as it can get way more rowdy than I have seen in other forums.
Why is asking here different from asking on IRC or the Python forums? At least here, the people who don't agree with the party line can air their comments.
Either he should be asking questions on a public forum or he shouldn't. Once he made the decision to go to the public forums, he is perfectly entitled to ask on Slashdot as much as on the Python forums. And I guess he'd get the vitriol on either of them.
...he is perfectly entitled to ask on Slashdot as much as on the Python forums. And I guess he'd get the vitriol on either of them.
Both of those statements are true, but where there are appropriate forums for specific topics, it is a good policy to use them. A generalised question like "what do you guys reckon is the best smartphone for non-urban use at the moment?" might generate useful responses, but picky details on coding have a habit of degenerating into redundant or off-topic rambling or flamewars, since many readers seem to have a problem with sticking to the topic.
Thing is, the "tech guys" from those companies are already here on Slashdot, so why do anything special. We're talking about companies employing tens of thousands of developers - even just statistically, you'll get a few from each. Observation seems to confirm this - about the only major company for which I haven't seen an "I work at X, and..." post on/. is Apple - and even then there are a few people here who are ex-Apple, and they can often offer insightful commentary on related stories.
The questions is if we'll see more experts or more sales staff.
Most experts in IT fields already know to hang around StackOverflow for helping others, and getting help as well. The sales staff have been poking at everything from Slashdot to Faceschmuck to Digg for years, never getting quite as well established. So, which group is on the lookout for new fora? Which company recently bought/. and what is their goal?
Not that I see this necessarily as a bad thing. For precedent, see the vendor forums on Geekhack.org. Very productive for both the consumer and the vendor, so long as it is properly labeled.
I am a student who likes <i>x</i> what major should I take? I work in a business <i>x</i> and I need to do <i>y</i> what open source <i>/cheap</i> tools are available to me? I see product <i>x</i> is in violation of the GPL. How can I make these evil evil people pay? My boss declared <i>A policy I do not like</i> how can I fight him to the bitter end and not end fired (the bitter end)? Why is life difficult and who should I vote for to make
We know one of those clients is Microsoft; no need to be coy. We've been having interesting discussions for a while now; this appears to be "slashvertisement" which few here who are not being paid to direct the discussion would support. This is supposed to be an intelligent community-driven news site.
Slashdot editors: if you need to do a funding drive a la Wikipedia, you will find strong community support. You should be doing everything you can to promote that sense of shared community, and find ways to rew
I'm glad you at least copped to the fact that you're a PR monkey who takes orders from MS. Makes your posts on Google and MS topics no more valuable, but at least it now comes with the equivalent of a "Sponsored by MS" tag.
Wait, how is this different than the failure that was vendors.slashdot.org [archive.org] back in 2006/2007?
Surely I'm not the only one who remembers when they invited Intel, AMD, Microsoft, and I forget who else to participate in tech discussions, and it turned into a total flop? I can't find the original Slashdot story talking about it (pulled down?), but I think it was somewhere around here [slashdot.org].
interlard - vt., to intersperse; diversify
-- Webster's New World Dictionary Of The American Language
I for one welcome this change with open hands (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:I for one welcome this change with open hands (Score:4, Interesting)
So this is slashdot bowing to its corporate overlords, then? How long have you been working to slip that one through, eh?
Re:I for one welcome this change with open hands (Score:5, Insightful)
My upcoming sarcastic comments aside, I actually kinda agree. Most (not all but most) ask slashdot questions have been along the lines of "I can't use google or afford a consultant, please do my job for me". This might bring some interesting discussion... as long as the "sponsors" are labeled and the questions don't become obvious marketting.
Re:I for one welcome this change with open hands (Score:4, Funny)
Re: (Score:1)
I hear there's a hot new fashion line [wikipedia.org] coming out this spring.
Re: (Score:1)
I want to ask slashdot what kind of clothes I should wear.
Nike has an extensive range of comfortable footwear and clothing for all basement dwelling geeks. For the active geek, Nike's offers footwear specific to activities such as Sneaker Net, and non-stick clothing suitable for Dumpster Diving.
Nike. Just. Don't. ;-)
Re:I for one welcome this change with open hands (Score:5, Funny)
I have a Nike T-shirt (St Louis Cardinals logo on it). Paid seventy five cents for it at a garage sale five years ago.
Anyone who pays full price for fashion is no nerd. In fact, if you care about fashion at all you probably aren't a nerd. If you just want to meet women, ask women what to wear.
This advice comes from personal experience. After my divorce I couldn't get as much as a dinner date for 3 years, until one night in a bar a woman suggested I cut my beard into a goatee. So I did an informal survey of women 18 to eighty seven, and seventeen of eighteen respondants said "goatee" (the eighteenth was standing next to her boyfriend, who was wearing a full beard).
The dry spell ended almost immediately. I guess women don't like the RMS look.
Re: (Score:2)
Anyone who pays to wear corporate advertising is a fool. The company should be paying you to advertise for them.
I tried that but every time I said "pay me" the negotiations broke down into hysterical laughter
Re: (Score:2)
RMS is single!? WTF is wrong with this world?! I think I just peed myself.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
So I did an informal survey of women 18 to eighty seven, and seventeen of eighteen respondants said "goatee"
Haha! You cracked the problem with a survey. Indeed thou art a genuine nerd!
Women are biologically programmed to seek guys that look groomed. When I was younger and cooler (my 20s) I occasionally studied magazines like GQ, FHM, Qui, Vogue Hommes etc and identified themes. You become sensitized to what looks good and what doesn't (called "taste"). This can be learned. Notice what the cool guys (that score with hotties) are wearing. Look for identified themes in good stores (I did second hand shops for
Re: (Score:2)
Nike, eh? I know a guy who posts on here who can get it cheaper. Like, way cheaper.
Re:I for one welcome this change with open hands (Score:5, Funny)
Yes, and does anyone know where I can get cheap replica handbags?
Re: (Score:2)
China?
http://www.alibaba.com/showroom/designer-replica-handbags.html [alibaba.com]
http://www.alibaba.com/showroom/quality-replica-handbags.html [alibaba.com]
Re: (Score:2)
I want to ask slashdot what kind of clothes I should wear.
Sorry, there is no expert on slashdot for these type of questions!
Re: (Score:2)
I want to ask slashdot what kind of clothes I should wear.
"Pants are optional..."
Here's my major question: (Score:1, Insightful)
When are you guys going to fix the extremely broken, gamed, and unworking moderation system?
Let's face it, Slashdot moderation has severe holes in it, as analyzed over here [slashdot.org]. There are exploits with a desperate need for fixes - people with multiple accounts made solely to harvest mod points via the random lottery, the ability to go back weeks into a commenter's history to stage assault raids on their karma, and of course a moderation system that encourages people who play by the rules NOT to moderate because
Re: (Score:1)
Hey look - the slashdot overlords WERE watching. They shit-tanked a real question rather than let it interfere with the corporate astroturfing that they're trying to turn Ask Slashdot into!
Re: (Score:3)
Astroturfing doesn't mean what you think it means. A discussion with identified corporate sponsors certainly doesn't fit the definition.
Re:Here's my major question: (Score:5, Funny)
When are you guys going to fix the extremely broken, gamed, and unworking moderation system?
You got modded down. Looks like the moderation system works to me!
Re:I for one welcome this change with open hands (Score:5, Funny)
"Dear Slashdot readers, Why does Linux suck so much?"
(sponsored by Microsoft).
Re: (Score:2)
Isn't that, essentially, the quintessence of any successful (as defined by hit count & posted comments) /. story? TFS that says something patently ridiculous in a way as inflammatory as possible, and preferably on a topic on which enough people here hold strong opinions.
Re: (Score:2, Flamebait)
I fail to see how trying to link everything back to MS and Facebook makes for "more interesting discussions".
Re:I for one welcome this change with open hands (Score:5, Insightful)
I work for a public relations company that deals with large clients (can't say who) and I welcome this change. It should bring more interesting discussions to Slashdot. Those "omg astroturfer" guys heads are going to implode. :)
The questions is if we'll see more experts or more sales staff. I've seen some attempts at this before and the results have sounded more like a sales pitch than anything resembling a real discussion of pros and cons. Then again, many of the questions have been utterly lame in the past so I don't expect it to get much worse than it is. It's been on my "maybe" list of categories to block before, if it does then it's a checkbox away from being gone anyway.
Re:I for one welcome this change with open hands (Score:5, Insightful)
For good example, see this story [slashdot.org] about MS open source programmers asking Slashdot's opinions on how to improve their Python IDE. It's full of hate, stupid comments and crap.
Re: (Score:2)
As for your fist statement; that may well be true on Slashdot as it can get way more rowdy than I have seen in other forums.
Re: (Score:2)
Why is asking here different from asking on IRC or the Python forums? At least here, the people who don't agree with the party line can air their comments.
Either he should be asking questions on a public forum or he shouldn't. Once he made the decision to go to the public forums, he is perfectly entitled to ask on Slashdot as much as on the Python forums. And I guess he'd get the vitriol on either of them.
Re: (Score:1)
...he is perfectly entitled to ask on Slashdot as much as on the Python forums. And I guess he'd get the vitriol on either of them.
Both of those statements are true, but where there are appropriate forums for specific topics, it is a good policy to use them. A generalised question like "what do you guys reckon is the best smartphone for non-urban use at the moment?" might generate useful responses, but picky details on coding have a habit of degenerating into redundant or off-topic rambling or flamewars, since many readers seem to have a problem with sticking to the topic.
Re: (Score:2)
Thing is, the "tech guys" from those companies are already here on Slashdot, so why do anything special. We're talking about companies employing tens of thousands of developers - even just statistically, you'll get a few from each. Observation seems to confirm this - about the only major company for which I haven't seen an "I work at X, and ..." post on /. is Apple - and even then there are a few people here who are ex-Apple, and they can often offer insightful commentary on related stories.
The only differ
Re:I for one welcome this change with open hands (Score:5, Interesting)
The questions is if we'll see more experts or more sales staff.
Most experts in IT fields already know to hang around StackOverflow for helping others, and getting help as well. The sales staff have been poking at everything from Slashdot to Faceschmuck to Digg for years, never getting quite as well established. So, which group is on the lookout for new fora? Which company recently bought /. and what is their goal?
Not that I see this necessarily as a bad thing. For precedent, see the vendor forums on Geekhack.org. Very productive for both the consumer and the vendor, so long as it is properly labeled.
Re: (Score:2)
That will be my reply if I feel like trolling. Actually it wont, but I imagine a lot of posts along those lines.
Modding the expert down will also happen more often than not.
"You must be new here" will make a great comeback.
It'll be fun until it's cancelled.
Re: (Score:2)
I work in a business <i>x</i> and I need to do <i>y</i> what open source <i>/cheap</i> tools are available to me?
I see product <i>x</i> is in violation of the GPL. How can I make these evil evil people pay?
My boss declared <i>A policy I do not like</i> how can I fight him to the bitter end and not end fired (the bitter end)?
Why is life difficult and who should I vote for to make
Re: (Score:2)
You forgot, I have router hardware, what software should I put on it? And, I want to run this router software, what hardware should I buy?
What I first saw the headline, I thought the change would be a new section just for DD-WRT questions.
Re: (Score:2)
I'm a total /. fanboy and I HATE ask slashdot questions. I have stopped reading them, totally lame.
Re: (Score:3)
Is it true that the refreshing taste of Coca Cola is a great thirst-quencher on a hot day?
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
We know one of those clients is Microsoft; no need to be coy. We've been having interesting discussions for a while now; this appears to be "slashvertisement" which few here who are not being paid to direct the discussion would support. This is supposed to be an intelligent community-driven news site.
Slashdot editors: if you need to do a funding drive a la Wikipedia, you will find strong community support. You should be doing everything you can to promote that sense of shared community, and find ways to rew
Re:I for one welcome this change with open hands (Score:4, Informative)
I'm glad you at least copped to the fact that you're a PR monkey who takes orders from MS. Makes your posts on Google and MS topics no more valuable, but at least it now comes with the equivalent of a "Sponsored by MS" tag.
Re: (Score:3)
Wait, how is this different than the failure that was vendors.slashdot.org [archive.org] back in 2006/2007?
Surely I'm not the only one who remembers when they invited Intel, AMD, Microsoft, and I forget who else to participate in tech discussions, and it turned into a total flop? I can't find the original Slashdot story talking about it (pulled down?), but I think it was somewhere around here [slashdot.org].