Slashdo's and Slashdon'ts.

August 23, 2006 2:14 PM

How is selection/positioning on the front page determined for Slashdot?

Is there any Digg-like element where mod points or popularity influence story placement on the front page (both it showing up in the first place and how long it stays there)? Or do the editors just choose the stories and then they stay until a certain number of more recent stories bumps them off? I've read the FAQ and as far as I understand, users can only use mod points to "mod" comments up or down, not the stories themselves. But I've heard some conflicting reports. Anyone know how it works?

posted by EnormousTalkingOnion to computers & internet (9 comments total)

Users submit stories, editors choose them. The front page is strictly reverse-chron.
posted by jjg at 2:17 PM on August 23, 2006

Stories appear in reverse chronological order on the front page of Slashdot: you just see the most recent stories. Logged-in users can edit their preferences to change how many stories are shown at once, or show or hide stories based on category and author.
posted by mbrubeck at 2:18 PM on August 23, 2006

As far as I've ever heard or seen the editors have sole discretion in selecting submissions for addition to the front page (or any of the other pages, for that matter). I'm certain they have access to the submitter's account data and that the individual's status (length of membership, activity, karma etc.) has an impact on the editors' decisions, but there's nothing formal. From everything I've ever seen that placement remains fixed from there on, and when a new story appears the oldest story drops off.
posted by nanojath at 2:21 PM on August 23, 2006

You're probably thinking of a place like Kuro5hin, where the users votes the stories up/down/sidebar. Slashdot is just like everyone else says.
posted by unixrat at 2:47 PM on August 23, 2006

I haven't been on Kuro5hin in a while, but there it's a queue and stores get voted out of the queue onto the front page, but after that it's reverse chron, like Slashdot. The only difference between K5 and /. is how stories are selected to get on the front page. Once a story sinks on K5, it stays down. Unlike the shitty zombie-like links on Digg which keep coming back up like a Romero movie.
posted by GuyZero at 2:52 PM on August 23, 2006

Is there any Digg-like element where mod points or popularity influence story placement on the front page...

No.

Or do the editors just choose the stories and then they stay until a certain number of more recent stories bumps them off?

Yes.
posted by cribcage at 3:34 PM on August 23, 2006

Read about The Slashdot Omelette.

Slashdot sucks.
posted by autojack at 3:43 PM on August 23, 2006

autojack-beats the hell out of digg. Yes: the story selection leaves much to be desired, the editors don't actually edit anything and let blaring typos and rookie grammar mistakes onto the front page, and the non-stories based on sheer speculation and no facts that end in a question mark are way too frequent.

However, I don't go to Slashdot for news. I go there to read the comments, which are among the most interesting you can find anywhere (I browse at 4+ with Insightful +1, Funny -1). The conversation on digg is high-school level, for the most part.
posted by evariste at 3:52 PM on August 23, 2006

evariste: I must be reading the other slashdot.

Not that I'd waste my time reading comments on digg, either.

(There's a serious discussion to be had about how moderation systems tend towards broken as community size increases, but this isn't the place.)
posted by Leon at 4:52 PM on August 23, 2006