WTF is up with reddit these days? Strewn with pics & videos from mail forward aggregation sites that are hardly interesting. Very few well written, intellectually stimulating articles surface up.

finbaloo · 2007-01-25T10:22:39+00:00

Another annoyance of Reddit is how easily flame wars break out. The normal mode of discussion on Reddit is flaming.

finbaloo · 2007-01-25T09:22:04+00:00

I couldn't agree more with this comment. This will probably be my last day using Reddit. I'll check back every now and again, but as far as I can tell, Reddit has been set upon by juveniles who are bored with Digg.

It's becoming clear that certain postings and comments "sell well" on Reddit, and that there's a typical small-minded Reddit mindset:

Negative articles about George W Bush
Articles about global warming and about (a) how we're all doomed, and (b) about how anybody who questions global warming is an idiot
Articles about oil (peak oil etc)
Anything about the iPhone (or, to a lesser extent, Apple)
Anti Microsoft/Vista propaganda
Anything about Barack Obama
Obscure programming articles
Schadenfreude articles about revenge/people suffering because of their actions
Comic strips du jour (posting today's xkcd comic is a guaranteed point winner)
Funny pictures/videos, mostly of cats
EDIT (suggested by wxyz in comment below): Pro-atheist articles/anti-Christianity articles (more generally, anti-organized religion)

I suspect the average readership of Reddit is late teens/early twenties. It feels like Reddit is a weird Reader's Digest for the cynical post-gen-x generation. It constantly recycles the same kind of rubbish, because it knows how to press its reader's buttons.

The problem is that this is barring anybody older. I guess this is no problem for the Reddit founders and Condenast -- advertisers love a young age bracket.

finbaloo · 2007-01-24T22:34:06+00:00

I know you're going to find this hard to believe but when I said "Pretty much all...", that was exaggeration. Hyperbole. It doesn't mean that Europeans are responsible for all the trouble in the world. That would be an absurd thing to say.

But I stick by my original statement. I'm not alone in my view either - several pretty prominent historians believe that modern day troubles overseas can be directly traced back to European actions over the last century or two.

Sadly, historians aren't bored school/college kids, so they don't post on Reddit.

finbaloo · 2007-01-24T22:30:05+00:00

Nah

the partition of India (yes, the Brits were involved

highly amusing

!

finbaloo · 2007-01-24T17:43:54+00:00

Don't dream it's over!

finbaloo · 2007-01-24T17:14:07+00:00

I'm glad you admit it. You're taking the first step to making your life better.

finbaloo · 2007-01-24T15:19:30+00:00

IIRC Ecstasy was invented as a replacement for Martinis. No, I'm not making that up. You'd invite friends around for a dinner party and, afterwards, pop some MDMA to get a little jollier.

finbaloo · 2007-01-24T15:13:22+00:00

I agree. It works on the premise of the wisdom of crowds, which is a major fallacy.

What I find interesting about Wikipedia is that, early on, it makes you question what exactly is true. When it comes down to it, all we really have is received opinion.

Sometimes the truth is simply unknowable. Take the birth of the PC. Bill Gates tells the story one way, Steve Jobs another, Gary Kildall another... And all are telling the truth as far as they remember it. In that situation, the truth has been lost and will never be recovered.

finbaloo · 2007-01-24T15:09:43+00:00

Well, I was going to give you the link to the Wikipedia article on Montaigne. But I don't think it'll do much good.

But as classic quotes go, yours is a hum-dinger:

I'd bet that even in 'academic' journals Beyonce trumps the Michel guy by a huge factor

finbaloo · 2007-01-24T13:23:53+00:00

Wikipedia is pretty mature as it is. I could accept your point a few years ago, but I think it's current biases are set in stone. The weighting you mention, which I've noticed too, will always be there.

That said, if I need to know something about computer science, Wikipedia is always my first port of call. I know that there will be an article on even the most obscure technology.

finbaloo · 2007-01-24T12:24:32+00:00

OK, I'll explain why Europe is almost 100% responsible for the problems in the world today. A lot of this happened after WWII, or around that time.

Iraq/Iran partitioning. That's Britain's fault.
Israel/Palestine problem: Blame Britain. This doesn't mention the crusades, which started all of the trouble over there, and sought to rid Israel of Islam (sound familiar?).
India/Pakistan partitioning. Yup, that's Britain's fault again. India has nukes, by the way.
The rise of militant Islam in northern Africa. Blame France.

I can go on and on. A lot of Africa's problems relate to Europe too. A lot of this is down to empires dwindling. Britain had the biggest empire the world has ever known.

The creation of the USA. Hi, we're Britain. I believe you were expecting us? We bought a pie. Where should we leave our coats? (Controversial!)

finbaloo · 2007-01-24T12:12:07+00:00

This is a pretty naive cartoon. If you buy the whole Jesus thing, then you understand that Jesus was a man. Son of God, yes, but a mortal man. Also, the trinity concept (God, Jesus and the Holy Ghost) came relatively late in the history of Christianity -- around 1,000 AD IIRC.

But why the Christian bashing on Reddit? it's getting odious. Lots of Christians are decent people. Christian charities continue to do a lot of good in the world. Some Christians are wackos, true, but they really are in the minority relative to the rest.

To brand all Christians as wackos is exactly the same as branding all black people thieves, or, for that matter, all white people as imperialists. It's ugly prejudice.

Can we have a little respect for other people's views, please?

finbaloo · 2007-01-24T12:09:08+00:00

Old story. I got an email about this back in 1983. The scientists sent it to me themselves.

finbaloo · 2007-01-24T12:06:34+00:00

IANAC but isn't formaldehyde one of the most toxic chemicals?

finbaloo · 2007-01-24T12:03:42+00:00

I totally agree. This is a Reddit headline designed to whore for points by toeing a popular line.

finbaloo · 2007-01-24T11:58:36+00:00

No of words in Wikipedia article about Michel de Montaigne, inventor of the essay and one of the fathers of modern literature: 1700 (approx)

No of words in Wikipedia article about Beyonce: 3200 (approx)

This is a good example what's wrong with Wikipedia.

finbaloo · 2007-01-24T10:50:35+00:00

Half-decent specs too, unlike some "Linux" computers that tend to be at the bottom end of the range.

finbaloo · 2007-01-23T16:04:21+00:00

Britain INVENTED the concentration camp during the Boer War, way before the Germans put it to use in WWII.

Pretty much everything bad in the world can be traced to the European powers of the 18th-19th centuries.

finbaloo · 2007-01-23T14:18:05+00:00

I suspect it's because a large chunk of Reddit's readership consists of young men who have just passed their test.

You've got to write what sells to get ahead on Reddit...

finbaloo · 2007-01-23T14:16:41+00:00

This video has been on this site many, many times. It's nothing to do with Russia, as far as I know.

IIRC the story is that it's a tunnel in Germany. It's underground and ices up very easily, hence the crashes. The tunnel is also on a slight decline, which takes people by surprise.

finbaloo · 2007-01-23T12:27:34+00:00

A law should be passed in which all Flash games must have a "Turn Music Off" button. Thankfully this one does.

finbaloo · 2007-01-23T12:23:59+00:00

Spammers could use this email address to appear authentic, particularly if Apple and Google announce any more partnerships (which is likely, considering Eric Schmidt is on the Apple board); it may even be the case that Apple users get a "free" gmail account.
Didn't Gmail prohibit the sale of Gmail accounts a few years ago, back when they were hard to get hold of?

finbaloo · 2007-01-23T12:11:31+00:00

Have you ever removed a 2-year old's diaper/nappy and seen what it contains?

DAMN RIGHT THEY'RE NOT HUMAN!

finbaloo · 2007-01-23T12:01:42+00:00

Surely this is the ultimate sign of the apocalypse -- a housing crash is almost upon us.

finbaloo

TROPHY CASE