I'm not interested in my moderation score or what you would have modded me given the chance. You'll notice nothing about my 'bitching' was regarding the subject matter, it was in the complete lack of editorial control that Slashdot exhibits. I feel like it's getting worse but that might just be nostalgia, after all Slashdot editors have never been renowned for being thorough or professional.

I haven't used the firehose lately; in fact I haven't done much of anything on Slashdot in a while since most visits don't last more than a few seconds. I read a couple of headlines, decide I don't care about this stuff and move on. Even when a story would interest me it's usually something I read yesterday on some other site. It's really only habit and a serious procrastination problem that keep me coming back at all. And that's really not enough, is it? I was actually thinking about this very thing this morning when making my previous post. Perhaps the site really has gone downhill, perhaps it's simply shifted focus, or maybe my own interests and wants have subtly changed; it doesn't really matter, what does matter is that I don't enjoy visiting this site anymore. When I do comment it is usually to complain about something I perceive as a failing in Slashdot, but I don't honestly expect it to change, experience has taught me that much at least. So I agree with you completely in that respect: I'm not adding anything to the community. Moaning doesn't help those who agree with me and it's annoying for those who don't. Instead of complaining that Slashdot isn't what I want it to be I should find a site that is.

I realise that sounds passive aggressive, like I'm running some melodramatic gambit in the hope that Slashdot will come chasing after me begging me to stay and promising to change. I'm really not, it's just feels a shame to walk away from a site I've visited more-or-less daily for over a decade. But it just isn't working out anymore.

I think we should see other people.

The problem isn't that the story is (necessarily) irrelevant to Slashdot readers, it's that you are in no position to make an unbiased look at the subject at hand and report about it to readers who are on what is ostensibly a news site. This doesn't make you a bad person and you were not the intended target of my rant because, as we both mentioned, you made no attempt to obscure the fact that you were tied to the subject matter. My issue is that Slashdot editors and/or firehosers (I don't even know how that works anymore) should have noted that link and either rejected it or re-written/re-submitted a new summary from their own opinion.

Obviously you have a product you're excited about and you want to tell people about it, there's nothing wrong with that. That's why press releases exist - you write what is essentially an informative advert, which by the nature of all PR is 90% bullshit and hyperbole, and send it out to various news source, bloggers and other interested parties. They then read it, ignore the aforementioned bullshit, then decide whether the remaining 10% is worth theirs and their readers time to make it into a story formed from their own words and opinions.

In short, the problem here isn't that your thingie isn't relevant to Slashdot, I honestly don't know whether it is or not, the problem is that there is a degree of abstraction --a level of objectivity-- missing from the process here. That objectivity is the difference between a legitimate news source and a pin-up board for advertisers, and it's a distinction that I expect^H^H^H^H^H^H want Slashdot to adhere to.

So the founder and president [of] Taodyne submits a "story" extolling the virtues of Taodyne's latest program/thingie and this actually makes it onto Slashdot? Am I really expecting too much of Slashdot by thinking that this shouldn't happen? I mean the entire summary is blatantly written like an advert -- perhaps you could say the guy isn't trying to deceive anyone since it's obvious to anyone looking (eg. me) what's going on, but is that really a good direction to go in? Is even the barest of journalistic integrity a lost cause on this site?

You've certainly got the absence of copyediting down.

Except you have to use a pretty twisted definition of 'ancestor' for a protoplanetary disc to be a valid example. Do I have to explain the joke word for word for you or shall we just accept your pedantic knob-jockeying is just making you look like a fucking idiot?

You're not familiar with sarcasm are you?

So rocks on Mars, when coloured to look as they would if on Earth, look like rocks on Earth. Obviously this must mean that Martian rocks and Earth rocks share a common ancestor! Once again, Slashdot tackles the tough science questions that other media don't dare touch.

I don't see much sci in his fi.

Nearly two. He was writing the 'sequel' to A Canticle for Leibowitz when he died. Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman was then completed by Terry Bisson. Unfortunately it's out of print now so I had to buy it second hand.

When it comes to computer work, if you're high enough in the department to be expected to follow a dress code you're high enough to not have to adhere to said dress code.

Problem solved.

I didn't realise FunnyJunk was in the GM business.

Finally, the Fedora guys have listened to its customers and fanbase! People have been clamouring for years to be able to restart their computers needlessly after updating and now these long years of loyalty have been rewarded. Bravo, Fedora. Bravo.

In what way will your photo on an ATM card stop a thief using your card to retrieve money from an ATM? Do ATMs have facial recognition where you live?

So... you're saying he uses his gun for transport?

its*

I hereby hand in my Grammar Nazi ID card and matching lanyard. Oh, the humiliation.