Hacker News is overtaking Slashdot (according to Google Insight for Search)

This doesn't surprise me. I used to primarily go on Slashdot however my viewing has been steadily decreasing, in part due to the content - much of what is on Slashdot is found on HN - however also as the community fairly recently has gone downhill dramatically.

Long time Slashdotter here, I can't say I'm surprised. I think Slashdot has had a number of problems contributing to its steady decline:

* In an attempt to modernize the site's design, the folks at slashdot have now made their site very confusing to use. Its a disorganized mess. Which is sad really, their old convuluted commenting system was actually really good at carrying on threads and threads of discussion. (Think real life mailman archives.)

* It used to be the source for a mix of all things technical, open source, copyrights/lefts, patents, etc. But in recent times many sites have popped up that cover particular areas in far greater detail (Groklaw, OSNews, Phoronix, Undeadly, etc)

* In the mid-2000's the editors somewhat alienated their hardcore linux-loving fan base by being very pro-Apple. While I'm sure that brought on new traffic (as all things Apple tends to). I don't think it was sustainable traffic. Those Apple fans have no emotional attachment to Slashdot. They'll just move on to the next thing.

* It no longer attracts the young, Reddit pretty much does that.

* People today care greatly about being involved in the front-page news placement process. Having a bunch of editors sit around, and do a terrible job of editing is not something that attracts them anymore. (The editors of Slashdot are famous for terrible editing.)

I could go on and on, but I think its safe to say that there was a time when Slashdot was needed, and those of us who used it are thankful for that. But now the Internet has evolved, and today Slashdot isn't so needed. Life continues.

But does Netcraft confirm it? ;)