zlacker

>>uuilly+(OP)
Some of this is because the HN demographic is young enough that many readers have never seen anything like this before, and thus think it's the Worst Thing Ever. I base this on the numerous counterfactual statements showing a lack of historical awareness in discussions on contentious topics.

Of course, I think this is partly the result of not teaching civics in schools.

>>anigbr+Q
It would be interesting to know who remembers the days when Slashdot was good

>>cpayne+r1
I have a 5-digit uid there and remember when it really was a great site. But the comments started to become pretty terrible almost immediately.

I still visit it every day just to skim the articles, but only about 20% of them are interesting/something I didn't see posted somewhere else.

>>karlsh+A2
Slashdot always had a large number of terrible comments (four digit UID here - right from the start the site had a huge troll contingent), however the moderation really did yield a better S/N ratio if you browsed the higher rated comments: On Slashdot you earned the occasional ability to moderate, with a limited ability to do so once you did. That resulted in more careful and considered moderation and I still believe it is an unmatched model.

>>corres+k4
I remember the days without trolls. (uid 872 here) The first one I remember showing up was meept. There's an entry for him on Everything2 dated Dec 05 1999, and it speaks of him in the past tense, so the troll-free days must have been few. I feel old.

Smarter moderation might work here in the short term, but ultimately the only thing that works is quietly sneaking off to a newer forum.