Slashdot goes subscription

Undertoad · 03-01-2002, 02:00 PM

It's downright offensive, is what it is.

Not offensive that they'd go subscription. Offensive that they'd go subscription when it is just the next step in the downfall. Offensive that it is so obvious to everyone except Slashdot itself. Offensive that this site has been run so poorly. Offensive that there are no good ideas left in it.

You want to reward subscribers, right? This is not a reward system, it is a system wherein you pay to avoid punishment. You want to add value with subscriptions, right? This concept first subtracts value, and then gives that value back to those who pay.

This is a big step in the downfall, because the value of Slashdot is certainly not in its stories, its editors, its revolutionary status as a weblog... the current value of Slashdot remains where it has always been: in the contributions of the comments and the submissions of the users.

If I'm a subscriber, then, I want quality contributions and submissions; I in fact have a vested interest in it. Subscribers would be better community members than the rest of the lot, because after all, they're paying, which means they care harder.

But this model will have the opposite effect, I think. In this model, you aren't really a subscriber; you're someone paying to avoid ads. You may not have any special status in the comments or submissions. You're a dupe who hasn't figured out how to use a junkbuster-like system to do what all the 1337 people are doing for free.

So the subscribers won't necessary feel special about their "investment", and the NON-subscribers will have a very large and in-your-face reason NOT to write good comments, submit good submissions, or even moderate or meta-moderate. They will get the ads. They understand that committing time and wisdom in the authoring of good content is basically giving it away -- and now, giving it away to a site that will not return the favor.

Slashdot has an awful lot to give away to subscribers. The problem is that some of it will feel like a "poll tax" -- such as if only subscribers were allowed to moderate, or to customize their story selection, etc. But getting over that feeling, the one that tells you that people giving money aren't due any special status, is something we ought to do en masse. Subscribers are very special. They're due much more than your ordinary browser.

03-01-2002, 02:05 PM

Like I said, it's going the way of the buffalo. No doubt about it.

russotto · 03-01-2002, 02:54 PM

Sorta like those grocery discount cards where they jack up prices big time, reduce them (not as much) for cardholders, sell the discount card personal info, and claim this is a benefit.

Only I think most slashdot users aren't dumb enough to fall for it.

MaggieL · 03-01-2002, 11:59 PM

There 's something unique about a site that's inspired a digest site that monitors it's own posting rate and S/N ratio.

http://alterslash.org

SteveDallas · 03-05-2002, 11:16 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by dhamsaic
Like I said, it's going the way of the buffalo. No doubt about it.

Oh, cool... it's going to be chopped up, processed, dried, packaged, and sold to tourists at the Gateway Arch museum in St. Louis???

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Undertoad is 100% right. News is a commodity, even high-tech news. What's your favorite flavor? I myself usually look at InfoWorld, news.com, wired.com, theregister.co.uk, slashdot, the New York Times, and the Chronicle of Higher Education. With the exception of the Chronicle (which obviously covers a niche market), there's generally a very high level of overlap in the stories covered by these sites. Heck, slashdot not only relies on its readers to provide commentary, it relies on them to figure out what stores are interesting and submit them! The value a site like slashdot adds is strictly and exclusively in the quality of the opinions and commentary offered by its visitors. I could be wrong in my gut reaction that this payment stunt will drive down the quality of /. postings, but it's sure not going to drive it up.

russotto wrote:

Quote:

Sorta like those grocery discount cards where they jack up prices big time, reduce them (not as much) for cardholders, sell the discount card personal info, and claim this is a benefit.

Only I think most slashdot users aren't dumb enough to fall for it.

So what's dumber.. buying into this system and using a card, or not using a card and paying the higher prices? This annoys me to no end, but for the time being I'm choosing to save the $$$.

Undertoad · 03-05-2002, 12:21 PM

Come to think of it, there is one thing there that is not a commodity and not generated by readers:

Jon Katz's commentary and movie reviews.

russotto · 03-05-2002, 03:41 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by kbarger

So what's dumber.. buying into this system and using a card, or not using a card and paying the higher prices? This annoys me to no end, but for the time being I'm choosing to save the $$$.

I have a Genuardi's card with bogus information. The address doesn't exist, so they're sending their marketing to /dev/null. But my answer each time it happened was to switch stores and write a nasty letter for the circular file. First it was Giant, then Genuardi's. I'm currently going to Acme (they have a card, but most specials and sales do not require it). If all else fails there's Rednor's.

03-05-2002, 11:02 PM

Fucked up. Read it all.

Xugumad · 03-05-2002, 11:50 PM

I am going to believe <a href="http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=28972&threshold=2&commentsort=0&tid=111&mode=thread&pid=3114008#3116094">this</a> for the time being.

The hysteria surrounding the Slashdot subscriptions is downright frightening. Sure, news are a commodity. Sure, a comment system is a commodity. Sure, hardware is a commodity. Sure, geeks willing to keep the whole thing together are a dime a dozen. Sure, bandwidth is a commodity.

When you put all of the above together in one simple package, it ceases to be a commodity. It becomes a community, and a damn large one at that. VA Software isn't growing money on trees; in fact, it's losing money hand over fist. Someone has to pay for the hardware and bandwidth. If VA goes bankrupt, someone will snap up the assets that look profitable. If Slashdot looks profitable, it will continue.

If you still have issues, go to Kuro5hin for techy things, Plastic for politics, or Adequacy for flamebait. If you have interest in Slashdot as a community, think about what *you* are doing to preserve it.

Ah, fuck. I've already declared solidarity with Rob 'iPod is lame', 'Segway is a lame scooter', 'boycott the RIAA, MPAA and MS, but play lots of Windows games, watch lots of movies, and own all of The Who's albums' Malda, so I might as well say this: Do not ask what Slashdot can do for you; ask what you can do for Slashdot.

John Fucking Kennedy, alright? Now that I've paraphrased and desecrated a great quotation, go out there and do something useful with your life. Sure, everything's a commodity. But maybe the fact that we care this much about a goddamned website full of flamers and holier-than-thou wankers should make you think twice about dismissing it so lightly.

So there.

X. (Three thoughts for the day: Threshold 4. alterslash.org. The karma cap reduced my karma to less than a tenth of what it was)

Undertoad · 03-06-2002, 08:21 AM

I wrote this on /. in reply to the IRC story. Recycling!

There is a very serious disconnect between the /. editorship and the /. readership.

I suspect that the first 1000 "shots" in this disconnect were shot by the readership, because we are a serious pain in the ass. We carp. We moan. We complain. We whine. Nothing is good enough for us.

Such is the geek nature; our personalities cause us to question every system and complain without concern for the social niceties.

I would imagine that after a few years of dealing with such a readership, one might grow quite thick skin and have absolutely no concern for their whims and desires. In fact, one might even want to "punish" the group for whom nothing is quote good enough or free enough. ASK them what they want? No need; they speak up all the time and their concerns, so much that it's a constant, painful din.

---

Now having written this I do agree that it's much ado about nothing. The reason: I've seen the ads. They're not obtrusive. They're ignorable. /. will survive.

03-01-2002, 02:00 PM	#1
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	Slashdot goes subscription It's downright offensive, is what it is. Not offensive that they'd go subscription. Offensive that they'd go subscription when it is just the next step in the downfall. Offensive that it is so obvious to everyone except Slashdot itself. Offensive that this site has been run so poorly. Offensive that there are no good ideas left in it. You want to reward subscribers, right? This is not a reward system, it is a system wherein you pay to avoid punishment. You want to add value with subscriptions, right? This concept first subtracts value, and then gives that value back to those who pay. This is a big step in the downfall, because the value of Slashdot is certainly not in its stories, its editors, its revolutionary status as a weblog... the current value of Slashdot remains where it has always been: in the contributions of the comments and the submissions of the users. If I'm a subscriber, then, I want quality contributions and submissions; I in fact have a vested interest in it. Subscribers would be better community members than the rest of the lot, because after all, they're paying, which means they care harder. But this model will have the opposite effect, I think. In this model, you aren't really a subscriber; you're someone paying to avoid ads. You may not have any special status in the comments or submissions. You're a dupe who hasn't figured out how to use a junkbuster-like system to do what all the 1337 people are doing for free. So the subscribers won't necessary feel special about their "investment", and the NON-subscribers will have a very large and in-your-face reason NOT to write good comments, submit good submissions, or even moderate or meta-moderate. They will get the ads. They understand that committing time and wisdom in the authoring of good content is basically giving it away -- and now, giving it away to a site that will not return the favor. Slashdot has an awful lot to give away to subscribers. The problem is that some of it will feel like a "poll tax" -- such as if only subscribers were allowed to moderate, or to customize their story selection, etc. But getting over that feeling, the one that tells you that people giving money aren't due any special status, is something we ought to do en masse. Subscribers are very special. They're due much more than your ordinary browser.

03-01-2002, 11:59 PM	#4
MaggieL in the Hour of Scampering Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Jeffersonville PA (15 mi NW of Philadelphia) Posts: 4,060	There 's something unique about a site that's inspired a digest site that monitors it's own posting rate and S/N ratio. http://alterslash.org __________________ "Neither can his Mind be thought to be in Tune,whose words do jarre; nor his reason In frame, whose sentence is preposterous..."

03-01-2002, 02:05 PM	#2
dave Guest Posts: n/a	Like I said, it's going the way of the buffalo. No doubt about it.

03-01-2002, 02:54 PM	#3
russotto Professor Join Date: Jan 2001 Posts: 1,788	Sorta like those grocery discount cards where they jack up prices big time, reduce them (not as much) for cardholders, sell the discount card personal info, and claim this is a benefit. Only I think most slashdot users aren't dumb enough to fall for it.

03-05-2002, 12:21 PM	#6
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	Come to think of it, there is one thing there that is not a commodity and not generated by readers: Jon Katz's commentary and movie reviews.

03-05-2002, 11:02 PM	#8
dave Guest Posts: n/a	Fucked up. Read it all.

03-05-2002, 11:50 PM	#9
Xugumad Punisher of Good Deeds Join Date: Apr 2001 Posts: 183	I am going to believe <a href="http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=28972&threshold=2&commentsort=0&tid=111&mode=thread&pid=3114008#3116094">this</a> for the time being. The hysteria surrounding the Slashdot subscriptions is downright frightening. Sure, news are a commodity. Sure, a comment system is a commodity. Sure, hardware is a commodity. Sure, geeks willing to keep the whole thing together are a dime a dozen. Sure, bandwidth is a commodity. When you put all of the above together in one simple package, it ceases to be a commodity. It becomes a community, and a damn large one at that. VA Software isn't growing money on trees; in fact, it's losing money hand over fist. Someone has to pay for the hardware and bandwidth. If VA goes bankrupt, someone will snap up the assets that look profitable. If Slashdot looks profitable, it will continue. If you still have issues, go to Kuro5hin for techy things, Plastic for politics, or Adequacy for flamebait. If you have interest in Slashdot as a community, think about what you are doing to preserve it. Ah, fuck. I've already declared solidarity with Rob 'iPod is lame', 'Segway is a lame scooter', 'boycott the RIAA, MPAA and MS, but play lots of Windows games, watch lots of movies, and own all of The Who's albums' Malda, so I might as well say this: Do not ask what Slashdot can do for you; ask what you can do for Slashdot. John Fucking Kennedy, alright? Now that I've paraphrased and desecrated a great quotation, go out there and do something useful with your life. Sure, everything's a commodity. But maybe the fact that we care this much about a goddamned website full of flamers and holier-than-thou wankers should make you think twice about dismissing it so lightly. So there. X. (Three thoughts for the day: Threshold 4. alterslash.org. The karma cap reduced my karma to less than a tenth of what it was)

03-06-2002, 08:21 AM	#10
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	I wrote this on /. in reply to the IRC story. Recycling! There is a very serious disconnect between the /. editorship and the /. readership. I suspect that the first 1000 "shots" in this disconnect were shot by the readership, because we are a serious pain in the ass. We carp. We moan. We complain. We whine. Nothing is good enough for us. Such is the geek nature; our personalities cause us to question every system and complain without concern for the social niceties. I would imagine that after a few years of dealing with such a readership, one might grow quite thick skin and have absolutely no concern for their whims and desires. In fact, one might even want to "punish" the group for whom nothing is quote good enough or free enough. ASK them what they want? No need; they speak up all the time and their concerns, so much that it's a constant, painful din. --- Now having written this I do agree that it's much ado about nothing. The reason: I've seen the ads. They're not obtrusive. They're ignorable. /. will survive.

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