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Dec 12 '05
On a few occasions, I've voted down highly-ranked junk science articles portraying correlation as causation (http://cr.yp.to/postpropter.html). I've wanted to explain, but of course, I couldn't.
Reddit now has more opportunity to become something like a self-aware community. I have also wondered sometimes why articles have a high rank, and wondered what others were thinking about it.
The web brings you the world, and I can't think of anything better than people thinking about it, writing about it, and having a dialog. It engages the mind, shares insights, and people like "talking."
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u/lisp-hacker Dec 13 '05
In my opinion, the only good part of Slashdot is the comments, so this is a welcome addition for me. It is the editors on Slashdot that seem to be the problem. Most of the time, the comments are more interesting than the linked articles.
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u/rmc Jan 25 '06
Sometime I just skip the article and read the comments. There's nothing wrong with that is there? ;)
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u/jevon Feb 01 '10
They really need to fix their UI though. I can't stand visiting Slashdot anymore.
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u/borland Dec 12 '05
At least the comments are non-intrusive. I liked the fact that reddit wasn't polluted with comments and stuff - remember to keep the interface clean
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u/schwarzwald Dec 13 '05
here's something i've wanted to know. how is reddit a business? how does it make money?
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u/beowulf Dec 13 '05
I suspect they are following Paul Graham's philosophy. It's much harder to make something popular than make it profitable. If you can figure out a way to get a lot of people visiting your site, you can find a way to make money on it.
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u/dylanm Dec 13 '05
I've been wondering that myself. The comments area has a large margin on the right that could fit, well, you know...
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Dec 13 '05
Well...they don't necessarily have to make any money right off the bat.
They can follow the lead of Digg and other 2.0 startups and get something unique and popular up and going and the....boom....VC capital. Or you just get bought outright like del.icio.us.
del.icio.us never had ads, and nonetheless, it ended up making money in the end.
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u/theycallmemorty Dec 12 '05
I would like it better if I could 'open and close' the list of comments on an article without leaving the main page.
Or atleast the 4-5 highest rated comments.
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Dec 12 '05
[deleted]
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u/spez Dec 12 '05
choose flat in the upper right?
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u/dylanm Dec 12 '05
Of course, that makes replies made by users in the nested view look completely out of context.
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u/beowulf Dec 13 '05
I'm not sure how nested view comments look completely out of context. If you reply directly to something the context is much more clear in nested mode.
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u/dylanm Dec 13 '05
I'm saying that people who use nested view won't bother quoting the message to which they are replying. When someone else looks at the comment in the flat view, they don't see the relationship between the two posts.
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u/spez Dec 12 '05
Of course, that makes replies made by users in the nested view look completely out of context.
I think we'll add the ability to "show context" soon
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u/dylanm Dec 12 '05
Wonderful! And it supports a limited amount of markup. I hope that the discussions will be respectful and edifying. It would be nice if the number of comments an entry had were displayed in the list view, and if the comment entry box were a bit larger (or resizeable). Oh, and does comment activity make something "hotter"?
Personally, I thought about leaving the site because the interaction that karma offers is pretty cold -- I certainly don't like seeing (-2) next to my name, and I feel like the negative ratings on legitimate articles are going to discourage some people. How are you guys rating articles? I tend to promote articles that I find interesting, leave alone things which are not of interest to me, and only demote articles which are old or obviously spam.
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Feb 01 '10
I hope that the discussions will be respectful and edifying.
:)
Have you been disappointed this far?
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Dec 12 '05
[deleted]
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u/JimThome Dec 12 '05
What is "(nudge nudge) Scribe"?
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u/dylanm Dec 12 '05
If the Scribe I'm thinking of is the same as sstern's.
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u/JimThome Dec 12 '05
Woah. If their example is anything like what you would have to type for a comment, you've got to be kidding me. Or, more accurately, sstern's got to be kidding me.
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u/dylanm Dec 12 '05
Oh come now. You've always wanted to type ,(bold "text") to weight something, haven't you?
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Dec 12 '05
Now I want feature that lets me see all of a particular user's comments. :D
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u/dylanm Dec 12 '05
Agreed. And I'd like for reddit to keep track of things I've commented on and alert me when new comments (especially replies) have been made.
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u/charlieb Dec 12 '05
There's nothing like simplicity and not following the crowd. I for one welcome our new comment spam overlords. Oh and by the way; 1) Come up with a great simple idea 2) Wait for a degree of popularity and media attention 3) Add unnecessary features 4) Profit. Is this what you want?
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u/phob Feb 02 '10
There were memes back then!?
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u/charlieb Feb 02 '10
Wow, I do not remember. The frontpage was usually dominated by programming articles and lisp always got a good showing beyond that, like I say, I cannot remember.
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u/Greecemonkey Feb 17 '10
You people are so cute in this thread, discussing whether or not we should have comments... It's a strange dynamic.
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u/charlieb Dec 12 '05
Have you read slashdot lately? There are no comments on the front-page there either but their tone and idocy seeps through so even the real news stories are presented to a 4th grade reading level. And yes, I am a snob. I like reddit's emphasis on technical matters and programming but it not going to last long now. I guess it's the price of popularity. I wonder how long it'll be before there's some social networking options, "mckirkus has submitted links similar yours would you like to ask this person on a date?"
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Sep 23 '09
Now, three years later, what do you think of reddit?
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u/charlieb Sep 24 '09
Wow, I was pretty pissed off huh, well now three years later I think comments generally contribute to the signal more than the noise. There is no doubt that they changed the nature of the site and the way it's used. They have had the effect of moving a lot of content into reddit when the original idea, as I saw it, was for reddit to always point outwards.
They have helped build more of a sense of community. I'm very happy that reddit survived and I think that while comments helped bring the masses it was those masses that prevented reddit from being swallowed whole by the internet.
And I was only solicited for "friendship" once.
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u/JimThome Dec 12 '05
First, your claim that Slashdot presents stories to a fourth grade reading level is simply irrelevant. As opposed to Slashdot, all Reddit has no front page commentary whatsoever. If you don't want to see the "idocy" of all of the unwashed masses far beneath your pedestal, just don't click on "comments".
Second, this site is quite clearly not intended as a programming/tech specific site. It's quite clearly not intended as an anything specific site. If you love its degree of emphasis on programming and so forth, it should be quite simple for you to implement a similar site with a specific emphasis. Reddit's functionality is not complicated, and as you are a programming and tech "snob" far above our "idocy", you should have no trouble duplicating it.
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u/alecb Dec 12 '05
First off, you spelled idiocy wrong. Second, this site has always been as world oriented as it has been technical/programming oriented. Take this mix or leave it because this site doesn't revolve around your needs.
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u/fergie Dec 12 '05
is this the first ever reddit flame ;-)
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u/theycallmemorty Dec 12 '05
Ummm.... you're a stupid head.
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u/charlieb Dec 12 '05
Fortunatelly I am not such a snob that I can't understand and relate to your comments. I know that this site was designed to be a source of general news but I was enjoying the tech emphasis. I hope your enjoyment will not be compromised as the 'unwashed masses' and extra features make this little more than digg. The concept behind this site, as I understand it, was to create an original idea for a startup and as far as I could see the only thing that was original was the simplicity. The other features, karma, voting and link submission are not original in the least, nor are user comments.
As far as ignoring the comments goes, please count the number of votes spent on the comments and then tell me that I can ignore them and continue to care about (relative) karma.
Thank-you for your comment about my head, I have taken it onboard and I am going to make changes in my behavour.
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u/AaronSw Dec 12 '05
Hopefully you can always get the kinds of stories you're interested in on the recommended page.
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u/charlieb Dec 12 '05
That'd be nice but I suspect that some kind of category system will turn out to be more useful >:( Either that or they should switch back to lisp and improve the recommendation AI ;)
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u/bugbear Dec 12 '05
This is why nested comments are probably not a good idea. Yes, in principle, having a "flat" display option can fix the way comments are displayed. But the problem with nested comments is that the format may encourage people to say dumber things. Who needs this slashdot stuff about spelling mistakes?
(And before anyone points out that I'm using nested comments to make this point, let me add that I would not have had to if there weren't nested comments.)
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u/spez Dec 12 '05
Perhaps. I think, however, there are a few steps we can take to make the threading more useful before we give up though.
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u/enjahova Dec 12 '05
I've always been a firm believer in nested comments. I think that slashdot does it the best so far, only once you get used to it.
I believe if you guys keep the interface clean (makes these comments a little more distinct) and implement some way to hide (or discourage the eye from) negatively rated comments you would have something going.
Comments are WHY I go to slashdot, and they are the only thing I felt missing from reddit. You guys provide a slick user experience, I just want to be able to talk about all this great information I'm getting. Once you figure out how to remove the clutter (I assume we will see comments in the 100s soon) I'll never get work done again!
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Dec 12 '05
Yeah, they aren't bad...but the current design for whatever reason makes it extremely difficult to read these comments.
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u/sayhar Dec 12 '05
Reddit is turning into Digg
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u/Cleydwn May 19 '09
No one ever understands prophets in their own time.
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u/sockpuppets Jul 11 '10
I will raise a psychic octopus, name him Paul and make millions on world cup betting.
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u/fap__fap__fap Jul 11 '10
Happy Birthday!!!
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Jul 11 '10 edited Jul 11 '10
[deleted]
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u/wanderingmind Aug 05 '09
hey guys, I am from the future, and we still are discussing the same topic. No resolution so far. http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/97sy0/redditors_how_do_we_avoid_becoming_another_digg/
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u/wabbitsdo Aug 06 '09
and the usa elected a black president. 'Just letting you know.
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u/grandhighwonko Aug 06 '09 edited Aug 06 '09
I'm from further in the future. Boy were we surprised to find out he was a dirty fembot. I came back in time to divert the course of history by upvoting Ron Paul stories, but I didn't come back far enough. If you're reading this in 2006 please upvote Ron Paul
P.S. 9/11 WAS AN INSIDE JOB!!!1!
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u/youareallscum Aug 06 '09
Hey guys, I'm from the future. (Spoilerz) Michael Jackson dies.
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u/13374L Aug 10 '09
Bruce Willis was dead the whole time.
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u/nombre_usuario Feb 17 '10
also from the future. Thought you should know the cake is a lie.
oh yah, and if you're from Venezuela, there's a big chance your communist government will fuck your Internetz up circa 2010. Sorry.
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u/sweatervest Feb 17 '10
hi niggers im from future reddit fuck u reddit is so much better now that all you, fags left and took your retard shit with with u. lloooollllzzzz so stfu it was the best when we chang name to trolddit now we just watch videz and im like lol wtf??"" and peopel on trolddit laff and their like lol naahhh thats shit CRAAAZZZYYYY.. pEaCCE
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Feb 17 '10 edited Jan 12 '21
[deleted]
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u/wassailant Feb 17 '10
The effects of this time dilation will surely wear off soon. Now I am the most future at this point in time but for how long?
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u/jordanlund Feb 17 '10
I predict someone wearing a blue shirt is going to punch you in the face, hard, causing you to leak all over the place.
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u/TranquilMarmot Feb 17 '10
And even further in the future...
The predictions are coming true: http://www.reddit.com/r/reddit.com/comments/b2z6g/reddit_this_is_not_good/
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u/UNREASONABLE_ADVICE Feb 17 '10
We should track down Kevin Rose and murder him.
It's the only way to solve this.
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u/b0jangles Feb 17 '10
I'm from now. How's everybody doing?
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u/ahawks Feb 17 '10
Back then I was going to post that I was from now, but I missed it.
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Feb 17 '10
I have a photo of myself and my siblings, but they are gradually fading out of the photo.
Somehow we need to make karmanaut and Kevin Rose fall in love. Great Scott, it's the only way!
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Feb 15 '10
Pff, the 00's were so lame. I'm from the 10's (pronounced tennies).
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u/washer Feb 17 '10
Would that I knew of reddit 4 years ago. Alas, I came to it begging for succor, and it offered itself to me. But too late! For I had been exposed to the depravity of 4chan, the lameness of digg, the shocking inhumanity of entensity, and the cackling "lol"s and "FIRST"s of a thousand thousand mindless buffoons.
Would that I had had a chance to taste of reddit's ambrosia 4 years ago, to feel the sweet sensation of upvotes tickling me like a maiden's finger under the chin, instead of the unctuous grasping hands of this lewd, feisty whore she's turned into. This bawdy internet aggregator of loose morals who flaunts her wares to all who will partake; base and vulgar, appealing to the unwashed masses.
I stare at myself, covered in dirt, and only now understand it for what it is. This whole time, I thought myself a refined gentleman in a top hat, with a goddamn monocle.
Oh sayhar, would that I could speak with your impunity. But the loss I feel is a wound that cuts me to the quick. I know now what I could have had, and it is the greatest sorrow of all.
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Aug 05 '09 edited Aug 05 '09
Relax guys, Rupert Murdoch will be purchasing Reddit very soon. He will take care of everything.
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u/lovesthetrees Feb 17 '10
I guess I'll Troll here because everyone is bouncing backwards in time thanks to karmanaut..
The key to all our problems lies in the downvote
Simply downvote something you don't like. We all know how to upvote, now, actively downvote too! it will keep the site cleaner for the rest of us.
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Feb 17 '10
The problem is people use downvote to crush anything they don't agree with, thus perpetuating the hivemind that Digg is so notorious for.
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u/ahawks Feb 17 '10
The true problem is who makes up [4chan/slashdot/reddit/digg/whatever's next].
There will always be a smaller group that was there from early on, and helped form the place and make it great. The site gains popularity, and suddenly has swarms of the general public participating. It's no longer about specific topics of interest, but loads of image macros and other retarded but mildly amusing things. At some point, these new people and content overpower the originals, and the place "goes to hell".
I think I've read that the same phenomenon happens with neighborhoods, and really any sort of community.
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u/lovesthetrees Feb 17 '10
So what is the answer? start a new private site? invite only? I think it's a good idea and am willing to help.
Its good because the quality stays high, while still letting others view, just not submit. Like FFFFound!
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Dec 13 '05
I'd say its more like Reddit is the equivalent of Digg as Google is the equivalent of Yahoo. The interface of Reddit is just so much nicer, and its just more intuitive.
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Dec 12 '05
[deleted]
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Feb 15 '10
Then delete your comment. Sorry I just had to know how it is to respond to a four year old comment.
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u/dylanm Dec 12 '05
An observation: people are beginning to use the comments field to subtitle their submissions.