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Slashdot's Disagree Mail 251

Posted by samzenpus from the sell-outs dept.
There is no shortage of comments about us selling out or running advertisements as stories. As you might expect there is no shortage of mail with the same theme. What I enjoy most about them is all the different corporate entities and sometimes political parties, that we are supposedly working for. If even half of them were true, I would have a stack of W-2s as long as my arm every year for the tax man. The truth of the matter is, nobody here sits in their Microsoft smart chair, talking on their minion iPhone, while playing in the Google money pool. (If someone knows how to get into the Google money pool, please send me a mail.) Conspiracy theories have been around as long as man, so I guess it should come as no surprise that Slashdot has a few of it's own. Read below to find out who is pulling our strings.

Traditionally the Slashdot community has had a harsh view of Microsoft, its software, and especially its management. All the more reason for us to become pawns in the evil Windows army, and it would have worked if it wasn't for this guy and his irrefutable statistics.

On Mon, 9 Oct 2006 ******* wrote:
"I can't understand how you managed to convince so many *smart* people that you support the open source and free software movement. It couldn't be more obvious that you sold out to Microsoft in 2004. I've kept careful records of your stories for many years and I've got the evidence. Pre-2004 showed a negative Microsoft story rate of 87% and a positive Microsoft story rate of 13%. From 2004 until today the negative story rate has crashed to a mere 62% while the positive story rate has climbed to 38%. Am I to believe that a 25% increase in positive stories is not significant. When i comment on this trend I get marked as a troll, nice. I suppose that is a coincidence to. Good work I'm sure the current political administartion will own you soon. I used to enjoy your message before it became Bill and Bush's."

With the failing health of Steve Jobs, we thought it would be the perfect time to get firmly entrenched into the Apple hierarchy. It's a shame that our rabid love for Apple and all its products made our actions so transparent.

On Fri, 2 Feb ******* wrote:
"Apple sure does pay good don't they! Is there anyone not on the Apple payroll at Slashdot? If you're going to become an Apple mouthpiece you might want to try and hide it better! How much does a frontpage Slashdot story cost anyway? I hope it's a lot. If you're going to become Apple whores you might as well get paid well. Just know that I know it's rotten to the core!"

I have to give him credit for the, "rotten to the core" Apple thing. Usually the rants I get aren't so poetic. Most of the time they are rambling and confused, like this.

On Wed, 23 Apr ******** wrote"
"I noticed today that many Slashdot stories are listed on Google. I thought you were supposed to be a neutral internet party? I can't believe what you have as "news" if you are in cahoots with the "do no evil" gang. Almost everything I used to believe in is on Google now I was hoping that Slashdot would be strong enough to resist the Google money pool but I guess I was naive. Google is going to slowly absorb everything is that ok with you? it doesn't seem so bad when your playing volleyball or bringing your cat to work but it is. A cat is no trade for integrity. Look back at what you used to stand for and not greed or I will have to find a news source that hasn't been swallowed by Google."

*

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Slashdot's Disagree Mail More

Slashdot's Disagree Mail

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  • Yawn (Score:5, Insightful)

    by sexconker ( 1179573 ) on Friday September 19, 2008 @12:28PM (#25073749)

    Yeah, this disagree mail segment thing has run it's course.
    Kill it.

    • Re:Yawn (Score:5, Insightful)

      by gardyloo ( 512791 ) on Friday September 19, 2008 @12:31PM (#25073809)

      Agreed. Either kill it or post the email addresses of the people who write the "disagree mail". That would at least make things interesting.

    • Re:Yawn (Score:5, Funny)

      by Austerity Empowers ( 669817 ) on Friday September 19, 2008 @12:32PM (#25073817)

      That's just what Google wants us to believe, since clearly someone has caught on to the conspiracy!

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by exabrial ( 818005 )
      This poster is obviously from microsoft.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by monsul ( 1342167 )
      Maybe you should write them about that

    • Re:Yawn (Score:5, Funny)

      by perdera ( 1175261 ) on Friday September 19, 2008 @12:40PM (#25073987)
      Seriously. A cat is no trade for integrity.

      • Re:Yawn (Score:4, Funny)

        by NeilTheStupidHead ( 963719 ) on Friday September 19, 2008 @12:52PM (#25074225) Journal
        What about an integra?


        ...cause I've always wanted a kitty.

      • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

        by Angus McNitt ( 542101 )
        Damn. What's a cat worth then? I have a few of the rascals running about, and am willing to trade!

      • Re:Yawn (Score:4, Funny)

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 19, 2008 @01:25PM (#25074827)
        Seriously. Like the time I caught the ferry over to Shelbyville. I needed a new heel for my shoe. So, I decided to go to Morganville, which is what they called Shelbyville in those days. So I tied an onion to my belt, which was the style at the time. Now, to take the ferry cost a nickel, and in those days nickels had pictures of bumblebees on them. 'Give me five bees for a quarter', you'd say. Now, where were we? Oh, yeah...the important thing was that I had an onion on my belt, which was the style at the time. They didn't have white onions because of the war; the only thing you could get was those big yellow ones.
      • wtf? I can't get a dime for my integrity - where do I go to get this cat that you speak of?

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by julesh ( 229690 )

        A cat is no trade for integrity

        No, but it's probably more fun [baconcat.com].

    • Re:Yawn (Score:5, Insightful)

      by mellowfish ( 1250468 ) on Friday September 19, 2008 @12:50PM (#25074177)
      If you don't like disagree mail, then by all means contribute to it. Your clever arguments for its demise should be enough material to get the rest of us through to the next posting. Or if you would rather remain out of the limelight STOP READING THIS and then commenting negatively. Go read about cutting edge technology and leave us troll haters alone.
      • LOVE the disagree mail.

        Yeah, we all know that /. is supposed to be "news" for nerds and stuff that "matters", but I think that we all need a good laugh every now and then. This seems to fit the bill quite nicely.

        • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

          by sexconker ( 1179573 )

          These aren't even funny.
          We get a handful of boring emails each update.

          Yes, the people who write them are dumb. But it's like reading 3 random /. posts, with 0 context, that got modded "+10, Idle".

          Anyone who's been on /. has probably seen far more outrageous/stupid complaint emails (some of which are bound to be real).

          These emails do not provide drama or comedy.

          In fact, I propose the following (and will submit it email!):

          Add a "+1, Idle" modifier for comments.

          Add a separate "IdleScore" field (so "+1, Idle"

      • If there was a way to disable it like sigs or anything else here, it would be one thing.

        Generally it could be argued that /. is about choice and provides a pretty decent set of tools to achieve this (user submitted stories/firehose/tagging/comments/comment rating and filtering/etc).

        So aside from the fact that disagree mail is stupid and mostly insulting to those of us who do this work (I do technical work; posting and commenting on help-desk emails seems unoriginal [rinkworks.com] and asinine) this seems like a rath
        • Weird. I had to click on the link to come in here. Normally I just "j" past it in the newsreader, or scroll on my merry way. I'd love to have this new-fangled Internet of yours automatically clicks on every link and pulls pages (and comments forms, too!) for me...

      • I don't think its that people dislike the idea. I think its that we've all been around long enough that the crap posted here is just not funny.

        I've had family members send me worse trolls, certainly far more amusing.

        I think you'd get less complaints about this crap if someone else decided what was 'the worst of the worst' because this stuff is just lame and only entertaining to those who have never actually seen a good troll.

        When the comments telling you to stop spewing the crap are better trolls than the

    • Re:Yawn (Score:5, Funny)

      by Jah-Wren Ryel ( 80510 ) on Friday September 19, 2008 @12:50PM (#25074181)

      Yeah, this disagree mail segment thing has run it's course.
      Kill it.

      I suggest that you mail this request in to the slashdot editors. I understand the read their email diligently.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by ultramk ( 470198 )

      Actually, I love it. In my opinion, it's the best and funniest thing on slashdot these days (kinda sad I know). I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one that gets completely nutso, hilarious emails.

      See, my random opinion completely cancels out your random opinion. Isn't it awesome how that works?

      Plus, my UID is a good bit lower, so my opinion is inherently more valuable. Checkmate.

      • Plus, my UID is a good bit lower, so my opinion is inherently more valuable. Checkmate.

        I sense an upcoming UID war. I love those.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by kisrael ( 134664 )

          DAMNIT why did I just lurk for so long? I could had 5 digits, easy.

          • I was reading /. from 1998. I only registered so I could get in on the 10th anniversary party at the Beacon Hill Amazon office here in Sea-Town. If only I had registered back in the day I could pwn all the n00bs in UID wars.

            At least the 10th anniversary party was cool. Met some people from my lab days I hadn't seen in half a dozen years.

            Also why is the great grandparent modded flamebait? Doesn't anybody have a sense of humor? (Yeah I know, I must be new here.)

          • DAMNIT why did I just lurk for so long? I could had 5 digits, easy.

            My heart bleeds. I was reading in 2000. Don't know what they were up to then. Then when I did get round to making an account I was listening to prog rock so I ended up with this stupid username.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Smauler ( 915644 )

        Disagree mail sure does pay good don't they! Is there anyone not on the Disagree mail payroll at Slashdot? If you're going to become an Disagree mail mouthpiece you might want to try and hide it better! How much does a frontpage Slashdot story cost anyway? I hope it's a lot. If you're going to become a Disagree mail whore you might as well get paid well. Just know that I know it's rotten to the core!

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by julesh ( 229690 )

        Plus, my UID is a good bit lower, so my opinion is inherently more valuable. Checkmate.

        No UID under 2^18 is low.

        Sorry.

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by steveo777 ( 183629 )

      The best way to accomplish that goal will probably be with an angry email or two.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by pdboddy ( 620164 )
      Yet you're still here reading it? :P Do you not see how hypocritical that is?
    • Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by MrZaius ( 321037 )

      Aie - There are far, far better ones out there:
      http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/us_elections/the_bugle/article3800682.ece [timesonline.co.uk]

    • Re:Yawn (Score:4, Informative)

      by melikamp ( 631205 ) on Friday September 19, 2008 @01:19PM (#25074721) Homepage Journal

      Please stop trolling. SECTIONS >> Deselect IDLE >> SAVE. 3 clicks is all it takes!

      • Agreed. Why is it when anything new comes to /. it's viciously attacked? OH NOES this new thing I don't have to read or pay attention to has shattered my existence into a thousand, tiny, pathetic pieces! KILL IT! RAAAAAH!

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by LarsG ( 31008 )

        Been there, done that.

        But how to kill in rss feed? thxinadvance.

        • It looks like you can follow this thread [slashdot.org] for some advice there. Or you could, you know, just take the, admittedly arduous, step of simply skipping the

          I thought this was a tech site, so I'm surprised someone hasn't implemented a technical solution of their own. It'd be much preferable to subjecting the rest of us to all this whining.

    • Yeah, this disagree mail segment thing has run it's course.
      Kill it.

      You're just upset that they posted your mail.

    • "FIRST POST" is soooo 1998. The new Slashdot meme is to post a "Kill it" comment on an Idle story.

    • Are you kidding?

      This is hilarious. I'm considering changing my sig to "a cat it no trade for integrity".

    • To say that it's run it's course would be implying that it was ever worthwhile, which is giving it far too much credit.

  • Also a harsh view of . . . (Score:5, Informative)

    by gardyloo ( 512791 ) on Friday September 19, 2008 @12:29PM (#25073767)

    white-on-green and mis-used apostrophes.

  • In Google's pocket (Score:4, Funny)

    by GiovanniZero ( 1006365 ) on Friday September 19, 2008 @12:30PM (#25073783) Homepage Journal
    It's obvious that anyone that doesn't have a robots.txt with Disallow: / is on Google's pay roll!

  • A cat is no trade for integrity. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by robkore ( 251928 ) on Friday September 19, 2008 @12:32PM (#25073841)

    I have to believe that people are now writing intentionally schizophrenic emails in the hopes to appear in this section, and as such still retain their cats.

    • No we're not! (Score:3, Interesting)

      by gardyloo ( 512791 )

      Meow, we are!

    • It's not as difficult as you simply believe to be listed in the rant sanctuary. A fervent rant against a yes comment is like turning around 360 degrees in the opposite direction, so it's clear as political speeches that you have no clue what they are talking about. Surely you have enough uncommon sense to surmise that to opine in the back alleys of slashdot is sublime when compared to posting on some other red comment news site. The evil underlords of slashdot have connived with trivial cunning to convince

    • I have no idea what A cat is no trade for integrity means but I think it's my new sig.

  • Getting into the google money pool (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Wee ( 17189 ) on Friday September 19, 2008 @12:33PM (#25073853)

    I was in the Google money pool for a few years. Getting in is easy, as long as you can pass 4 hellish interviews and wait 6 months for HR to respond.

    Having said that, what you really need is a time machine. Go back to August 2004 and get hired. Even if you get a meager grant back then, you'll make out pretty well. Getting hired now, well, they aren't as forthcoming with the stock as they once were, and the base pay is pretty terrible. Free food, though.

    -B

    • Pay is horrible? Horrible compared to the industry average, or horrible compared to what you'd expect if you made it through the damned interviews which are even worse than the bullshit microsoft makes you go through?

      Just curious... not bitter at all at the seemingly irrelevent brain teaser interview questions that have little to do with anything. Do they at least start out at a 6 figure salary if you make it through their mental maze?

  • Microsft own from 2004 (Score:3, Informative)

    by jellomizer ( 103300 ) on Friday September 19, 2008 @12:34PM (#25073863)

    Being by 2004, I think Windows XP SP2 came out and solved lot of the origional problems with XP. As well most modern computers can run XP smoothly and easilly. As well XP solved a lot of the problems that 95, 98 and ME had. Windows 2000 was still consiered Pro-Grade so not a lot of people used it. But XP being the first consumer focused using the NT Kernel. Also many of the virus and such started to clear up. Code Red and such... So yea there are less MS Bashing as they did fix a lot of the major problems they had.

  • Damn sellouts! (Score:4, Funny)

    by ganjadude ( 952775 ) on Friday September 19, 2008 @12:34PM (#25073865) Homepage
    You are working for the LHC too arent you.. I knew it the world IS going to end!!!!!!

  • Simple (Score:2, Funny)

    by tuxgeek ( 872962 )

    If even half of them were true, I would have a stack of W-2s as long as my arm every year for the tax man. The truth of the matter is, nobody here sits in their Microsoft smart chair, talking on their minion iPhone, while playing in the Google money pool. (If someone knows how to get into the Google money pool, please send me a mail.)

    Avarice is easy, just sell your soul to Balmer

  • Amusing read (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Reibisch ( 1261448 ) on Friday September 19, 2008 @12:35PM (#25073895)
    Judging from the comments that most Idle stories bring these days, I think I must be about the only one to find these segments worthy of at least a chuckle. Of course they're mostly groaners, but at least I know what I'm getting myself into when I open it :)

  • Okay, I get a lot of value out of this (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Xaedalus ( 1192463 ) <Xaedalys@yah[ ]com ['oo.' in gap]> on Friday September 19, 2008 @12:35PM (#25073901)
    Don't dismiss this disagree mail thing. I'm finding it valuable actually as a sociological study. Think about it: there are people out there who actually get inflamed enough to write in and post this stuff. What kind of mind honestly works this way? To me, it's a viewpoint into a perspective way different from my own. And that is useful, because it reminds me that the world is not filled with my clones who all perceive the world the same way I do. Plus it is funny.

    • Re: (Score:2, Troll)

      by bunratty ( 545641 )

      there are people out there who actually get inflamed enough to write in and post this stuff. What kind of mind honestly works this way?

      You must be new here.

    • Thinking that diverse opinions are limited to slashdot is a mistake. You might as well go read Conservapedia if you want to make a social study of various, erm... perspectives. I'd rather have this site be about news for nerds and stuff that matters.

    • You know, I agree with everything you just said. Makes me wonder .....

      Hey! Are you my Clone?

    • ...and then there's the concept that for every one person that actually writes in with an incomprehensible rant about anything, there are a thousand or more equally disturbed and marginally functional individuals, who, sitting in their parents' basement all day, sleep-deprived and sunshine-deficient, are just thinking about writing something oh-so-clever to them, but virtually unreadable to the normal world upstairs, if not even to their blogmates and fellow fraggers who are equally incomprehensible but hid

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by RLiegh ( 247921 )

      It would be a lot better if they specifically addressed the whole Roland Pipsqueel orwhathisnameis ( I can't be arsed to look for one of his stores) accusations.

      Sorry, it's obvious to anyone whose been here a while that certain stories are posted onto the front page because someone in the slashdot compound is getting compensation "above and beyond" the usual ad revenue. Roland's stories are an example of that -for more just browse through some of the stories tagged as slashvertisements.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Belial6 ( 794905 )
        I don't really have a huge problem if Slashdot gets paid to put things on the front page, as that is how most media works.

        That being said, I have to agree with you. There are 'stories' that make the front page that are obviously ads, and the mocking done by samzenpus actually argues that the slashdot editors DO get paid. I have a hard time believing that the people running slashdot are dumb enough to believe that payoffs come in W-2s. Saying that a lack of W-2s from companies is any indication as to

  • SHhow their names (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Wee ( 17189 ) on Friday September 19, 2008 @12:37PM (#25073925)

    Hate to comment twice in one article, but I have to say: Show the names of the people writing you! Maybe not their email (though that would be OK), but at least their slashdot ID, if they have one. Shit, make it a requirement that they have a slashdot account before they write in.

    It'd be much more fun if there was some accountability...

    -B

  • its not that bad (Score:5, Insightful)

    by smashin234 ( 555465 ) on Friday September 19, 2008 @12:38PM (#25073951) Journal

    No one makes you read these stories, if you don't like them, don't read them, that simple.

    Although this batch isn't funny, some of the stories were so random that I actually did laugh (of course after my headache stopped due to the bad coloring scheme.) Post more pointless stories imo, like the guy talking about racism...

  • Man, (Score:3, Funny)

    by IceCreamGuy ( 904648 ) on Friday September 19, 2008 @12:39PM (#25073953) Homepage
    Now I really want to bring my cat to work. "Kitty no! Get out of the AS/400!"

  • "I will have to find a news source that hasn't been swallowed by Google".

    You do that.

  • Here's some more disagreement: keep "idle" off the front page.

  • C'mon, /., is that all you got? All of these geeks on Red Bull, off their meds, raging on hormones, and this is all we get? Puhleeze. Do us all the favor and just pull this thread's plug. Now-- before you make the rest of us growl, gnash our teeth, and wail. Mod me incredulous.

  • There is no shortage of comments about us selling out or running advertisements as stories.

    I know, I know, because you are running advertisements as stories!

    Sometimes the answers are just so, right there for me.

  • People composing "Disagree" emails in an attempt to get them published here?

  • Why not publish the names of these folks? If they didn't write them as anonymous cowards, publish their names like every other slashdot post.

  • Misunderstanding (Score:3, Insightful)

    by dedazo ( 737510 ) on Friday September 19, 2008 @12:58PM (#25074335) Journal

    I think the reason most people bitch about the Idle articles is not due to the fact that there is an Idle section or what it's about, but rather because it kind of a let down. I can't believe that after more than 10 years of being on the cross hairs of every nutjob and bored teenager on the internet, these are the weirdest emails you've received or the strangest stories you can tell.

    If you're going to take up space on the front page with this, you better make it worth the while for people who read the site.

  • Keep up the good work.
    As for you whiners, just ignore it. It's not like you have to read it, or it is replacing some other discussion.

  • "There is no shortage of comments about us selling out or running advertisements as stories. As you might expect there is no shortage of mail with the same theme."

    There is also no shortage of people who find this "disagree mail" thing to be a complete waste of time and editor resources, especially when they STILL can't seem to make the reply box width more than some horribly miniscule value. Listen to the tags, guys. Make it stop!

  • It is foolish to believe that slashdot is in the pockets of MS or Google or Apple. Slashdot editors are above that. They equally and openly take ANYONE's money for a frontpage story. No questions asked other then HOW MUCH

  • I was just talking in IRC with a friend who is convinced "ALL THE MEDIA IS OWNED BY LIBERALS"

    Then visited the WOW forums where a CM pointed out that "If we had a poll for whether -your- class is the worst, everyone would vote yes".

    And here on Disagree Mail we have Slashdot being "obviously" owned by Microsoft, Apple, AND Google.

    People see whatever they want to see, truth be damned.

    Er, "Yarr, Truth be damned ta the scurvy pits o' hell! Us Pirates hav' tha roughest life of 'em all!"

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