ThinkBlog

In the debate between Digg and Slashdot, Digg users are prickly about it … but both have their strengths. Here’s a comment I posted a few days ago in response to another comment.

Slashdot’s maturity and complex threaded/moderation model lends a greater feel of community.

That said, having been a long time (since about ‘99) lurker at Slashdot, I’ve hardly ever posted a comment, because I feel so underqualified. There ARE many more industry players there, and experts in every field. This means that “me too” posts get modded to oblivion, and you REALLY have to say something insightful, informative, funny, or what have you, in order to not be picked apart. And even then, you’ll say something from an expert voice and get +5 Insightful; the guy that comes up after you will counterpoint and make +5 Insightful himself, from an opposite point of view. The dregs, you don’t even see if you put your view level at +1 or +2.

That makes it more intimidating for lesser geeks like myself to post comments there–but it’s also wonderful, because the comments are so good that you come away from Slashdot discussion feeling more informed on the issue.

At Digg, it’s a little different. I feel qualified to post here. My experiences in comp sci, programming, psychology, and philosophy all combine to make me feel qualified to whatever extent to post on something like, for instance, this. The community itself is younger, more raw, less refined, and that’s a good thing for n00bs and even intermediates who want to climb the ladder of knowledge to expert level.

The difference is like that between a good Scotch on the rocks and a fruity mixed drink. Not everyone has a taste for the Scotch, and why wait? The refinement of Slashdot means déjà vu, having to wait for articles that Digg sometimes picks up, but it also means getting the inside track on expert opinions along with a smattering of inside jokes and community feel. The quick, democratic pace and tone of Digg means that there are duplicate stories, lots of “me too” comments, lots of misinformation, but that’s the cost of having more news, more quickly.

Hence, both Digg and Slashdot feeds remain in my RSS aggregator!

In the debate between Digg and Slashdot, Digg users are prickly about it … but both have their strengths. Here’s a comment I posted a few days ago in response to another comment.

Slashdot’s maturity and complex threaded/moderation model lends a greater feel of community.

That said, having been a long time (since about ‘99) lurker at Slashdot, I’ve hardly ever posted a comment, because I feel so underqualified. There ARE many more industry players there, and experts in every field. This means that “me too” posts get modded to oblivion, and you REALLY have to say something insightful, informative, funny, or what have you, in order to not be picked apart. And even then, you’ll say something from an expert voice and get +5 Insightful; the guy that comes up after you will counterpoint and make +5 Insightful himself, from an opposite point of view. The dregs, you don’t even see if you put your view level at +1 or +2.

That makes it more intimidating for lesser geeks like myself to post comments there–but it’s also wonderful, because the comments are so good that you come away from Slashdot discussion feeling more informed on the issue.

At Digg, it’s a little different. I feel qualified to post here. My experiences in comp sci, programming, psychology, and philosophy all combine to make me feel qualified to whatever extent to post on something like, for instance, this. The community itself is younger, more raw, less refined, and that’s a good thing for n00bs and even intermediates who want to climb the ladder of knowledge to expert level.

The difference is like that between a good Scotch on the rocks and a fruity mixed drink. Not everyone has a taste for the Scotch, and why wait? The refinement of Slashdot means déjà vu, having to wait for articles that Digg sometimes picks up, but it also means getting the inside track on expert opinions along with a smattering of inside jokes and community feel. The quick, democratic pace and tone of Digg means that there are duplicate stories, lots of “me too” comments, lots of misinformation, but that’s the cost of having more news, more quickly.

Hence, both Digg and Slashdot feeds remain in my RSS aggregator!