dh003i's Journal: Slashdot editor's priorites way out of wack

Ok, before I start, I want to ask you to decide. Small RNAs Make Big Splash, [free registration required] an article on Science, discussing what Science thinks to be the most important scientific break-through of the year (RNAi); or Kosmotras Launches Again ? Which one do you think is more deserving to be on Slashdot under the Science section?

I'll tell you: Small RNAs Make Big Splash. This is considered the most important scientific break-through of the year, and will have long-lasting implications in research, medicine, and our understanding of cellular biology. It's a 10 on the richter scale. Kosmotras launches again? Maybe a 1.

I submitted Small RNAs Make Big Splash to the Slashdot editors and they rejected it. Normally, I don't gripe about stories being rejected. My submissions get rejected all the time -- fine. In fact, only one of my submissions has been accepted, the one on Craig Ventor using his own DNA for Celera's human genome sequencing. That article, though interesting, was not significant at all, and did not compare to my latest submission.

Reject my stories? Fine. I don't care: alot of them aren't important. Reject the most important scientific break-through of the year in favor of some boring, worthless, and trivial announcment about man's latest banal voyages into space (which has not generated a lot of comment)? Not fine.

Well, tell me what you think. Am I right, or out of line?

PS: Even prior to reading this article, I've done some reading regarding RNAi, and now I'm doing a little bit more. As you will note from my previous journal post, RNAi may have many beneficial uses. I'll read a few more articles, and post a brief review of the RNAi phenomena, its role in cellular processes, its possible use in scientific experiments, and its possible use in medical treatments.

nothing new, I'm afraid

[Twirlip of the Mists]

There's an article in a recent JAMA about the reaerosolyzation of anthrax particles in an office environment. They put sensors in a Senator's office after last year's anthrax contamination and studied the degree to which the spores entered the air. They found that in a normal office environment, weaponized anthrax spores do, in fact, enter the air in sufficient quantities to produce massive infections. Did this get posted? No.

It's not a question of editors' priorities, I think. It's just a matter of their having different areas of interest.

Re:nothing new, I'm afraid

[dh003i]

That would make sense to me of the editors hadn't posted anything like what I submitted. But they've posted New Stem Cell Source - Your Bone Marrow, Out-of-Body Treatment For Liver Cancer, Got Sleep?, and 3000-year-old Microbes. All of these are interesting stories relating to biological phenomena, experiments, or medical treatments. RNAi relates to all three of these areas, and is obviously pretty important.

I mean, this is the most important scientific development of the entire year.

What bothers me more is that worthless crap stories like Kosmotras Launches Again (obviously boring, as it only has a few comments), Unintended Aural Consequences of MP3 Compression (total BS), NASA Deep Space 1 Mission Is Over (again, who cares about man's latest banal exploits into space), while important one's like the one on anthrax and RNAi are ignored.

Slashdot should start giving users control over what gets accepted as a story: sort of like the moderator system. Give certain users with excellent karma the occasional ability to vote on an occasional submission, and also allow metamoderators to meta-moderate those who vote on whether a story should be accepted or rejected. I'd suggest allowing people to vote on whether a story should be accepted/rejected with the same frequency that people are allowed to moderate, and like-wise with their meta-moderators.

Re:nothing new, I'm afraid

[Twirlip of the Mists]

I think the problem with that idea is that it's actually contrary to the owners' best interest to allow Slashdot to be autonomous and sell-supporting. If the readers picked the stories, the editors would be out of a job-- and don't forget that to them, it is very much a job. Which is kind of astounding, really.

Even a hybrid system is probably not in the cards, because it can be seen as the first step down a slippery slope.

Re:nothing new, I'm afraid

[dh003i]

Well, that depends on what owners your talking about. Its not in the editor's best interests (or might not be), but it is certainly in their bosses best inerests (if /. is entirely self-automated, that means they save money).

Not that I'm advocating we get rid of the people who run /. I kinda like these people, but just not always their editing decisions. I think they could make money doing other things on /. (maybe meta-editing).