AltSlashdot
altslashdot.org
altslashdot.org
I wouldn't use slash code though. Slashcode is older style perl code, hacked as was required to keep slashdot running on modest hardware at a time (less powerful then your phone) where it composed of a significant portion of internet traffic. This means that your going to have a whole pile of technical debt that your going to have to deal with.
You would be better off with a new minimal interface + moderation system (hell make it look like old slashdot, just build it in <INSERT MODERN STACK> ). I would even say taking the HN interface and simply reducing the number of articles in half, and adding a blurb to each article would get you a quick start.
I really want the slashdot to be reborn, but I think this will be more a case of a spiritual successor shall succeed as opposed to a clone. Slashdot worked because Cmdr. Taco was strongly interested in journalism and technology and brought those two together to make Slashdot.
Slashdot has the best moderation system I've seen implemented on any forum (note: it is more than implemented, it's been grown, including the metamod culture).
The irony I find with the recent beta backlash is that Slashdot hasn't been relevant in my life in close to 10 years. The last redesign was a mess too ... and that's the nature of the audience Slashdot has. The site was always doomed to irrelevance eventually because 1) impermanence 2) their geeky audience hates change. Always have, and apparently, always will.
I think you are correct, though, that Slashdot probably peaked somewhere in the early 2000s.
some bad advice here based on bad assumption. You assume and suggest that going with another "modern stack" is somehow going to be worth the extra effort. Re-inventing the wheel is a recipe for wasting time and effort that can be better spent elsewhere - like on building and driving the community.
However if you don't, I think your going to be better rolling a minimal site as your able to tap a wider pool of volunteers. Slashdot isn't some technological marvel, yes it will take time to rebuild it, but you will be able to execute much quicker being able to tap existing resources that have developed since.
Nothing has really yet replaced it in quality, but that is only due to the stubborn userbase that clings around. Even us stalwarts will eventually give up the ship, though and say goodbye to our three and four digit UIDs after being thoroughly fed-up with the direction the site has taken.
I keep looking for a new home on the internet, after about seventeen years on slashdot. I haven't found one yet. Places have a user base that is too fleeting. Or a poor signal to noise ratio. Or a poor curation/submission process. Or a poor discussion system. Or awful moderation. Or too much moderation. Or they mix in too much non-tech/geek content.
Really, it is kind of sad. It was an almost daily part of my entire adult life, stretching back to late '97. That, usenet, and IRC have been the most enjoyable, content-filled, tools I've ever found and each filled with a great group of people.
Besides, Slashdot built it's model up in a digg, reddit and hnews-free world. To say nothing of Twitter and Facebook. Good luck in your endeavor, but I'm going to spend my limited mindshare elsewhere, thank you very much.
When I look at stories from today and yesterday, viewing all comments (including the ones that have been moderated down), I'm seeing at least 90% to 95% or more expressing outrage over the beta site.
Go back merely a week, and there are only a handful of such comments within the stories.
Although I rarely visit that site any longer, I don't think I've ever seen such a highly concentrated degree of anger from so many users over a website update.
I think the uniformity and the wide-spread nature of this displeasure is truly a testament to just how bad the beta site actually is.
Although I rarely visit that site any longer, I don't think I've ever seen such a highly concentrated degree of anger from so many users over a website update.
How do you mean? I've not encountered any similar community which isn't also a political echo chamber - unless you're talking about something more specific that I'm unaware of.
Hopefully they won't discontinue it when the classic design is eliminated. I hardly read Slashdot now but I find the continued existence of their Palm version neat.
This site has done a better job with content for me, but I'm not sure my college-age self would want to use the code for a personal site (I'm thinking about function, not language choice). It would be nice if the go-to place for content was also a great platform for learning; something akin to what a Ramones album is for a guitar playing teenager.
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2001/04/i_wann...
Couldn't agree more. Blitzkrieg bop is as infectious and fun to play as it is easy to pick up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnVeysllPDI
This is one of the best discussions I've ever found about what is the most important lesson in running a "social" site: you involve your user in everything (do NOT surprise them with forced changes), or your members will find a new place to go hang out.
If that name is temporary, why bother with more than one domain?
How many alternatives to HN spin up? How many last? I'd be confirming whether the interest was there before I got stuck on too many details like legal and load balancing.
I was once involved with an overly broad community-built site that jumped to details before core content. It started to breakdown round about when we got caught up voting on the voting process. That deterred the 'doers' who had practical skills and so not much was done after that.
Starting a wiki to help build a site to compete with Slashdot seems very retro. But maybe I'm just being cranky. I wish you the best of luck, though.