What Happened to Slashdot?

I once visited Slashdot a lot but rarely these days. VA Software, once VALinux, bought them, so I expected to find a lot of GNU news. I think they have gone down hill. Also, the Slashdot effect has become a joke. We get higher visits from Digg.com.

Are you interested in the CIA or Fossil rising from the grave? How about the Orbiter around Mars? I like the article about Bottlenecks in PCs Built for Gaming. CNN wrote an article called Is Slashdot the future of media? The subtitle says: The most popular site for the tech cognoscenti is created entirely by its users and readers.

News for Nerds is created by its users and readers? You mean the posts are screened by people who have abandoned their roots and allowed the filthiest language on the planet. Others have created cute little jargon like puh-lease.

I suppose that's the reason people have flocked to Digg.com. Readers get to vote on news items. Now that's a site where "created entirely by its users and readers" really exists. CNN needs to ask around. Slashdot is old news, CNN.

If you don't know the meaning of tech cognoscenti then it means a connoisseur or some expert who has the ability to appreciate a field. It an also means people who have a more extensive and refined understanding of some area. Puh-lease. You have to be joking. Try Slashdot as the meeting place of readers with little understanding of much except defamation of others.

Flame bait

Some of the Internet's best vocabulary and mores or customs originated at the old Slashdot. People still use them and that's a serious contribution that one has to respect and admire.

I suppose people will classify this article as "flame bait". Puh-lease. I really wonder what happened to Slashdot and I know others that ask the same question. We had a post here that asked if we knew of another site similar to Slashdot that carried Linux news. The reader also mentioned that he doesn't see anything about Linux any more.

Call this flame bait if you wish. I still wonder what happened to the news organization that used to make a difference. Maybe we'll get some comments from our readers who have an answer.

The Slashdot Effect

I recall times when my articles got slashdotted (a verb contributed to the English language like Googled). You would see several hundred thousand hits. Now one is lucky to see a few thousand. Either the Linux readers have been overwhelmed by the Microsoft web site killers or the articles just don't interest the Free Software Crowd.

You should look at the comparison of Slashdot to Digg. You can find an Alexa chart comparing the two sites at this hyperlink. Notice how Digg came out of nowhere to challenge Slashdot. Digg is rated the 439th most trafficed web site on the Internet. Slashdot is ranked 265.

What Really Happened?