Trolls and spammers are not the problem. They can be dealt with by brute-force moderation. The real tragedy: the triumph of mediocrity. People with time on their hands drown out more valuable contributors. We've all designed discussion systems with the most avid commenters in mind. We've given them stars and moderating powers and allowed them to develop cliques and a sense of ownership that shades into entitlement. They are not the only readers. They are not even the smartest of our readers.
"I am glad to say, Mr Deputy Speaker, that the requirement not to be rude about judges applies only to judges in this country. It does not apply to judges in the EU, so let me be rude about them. Let me indulge in the floccinaucinihilipilification of EU judges."
It seems like Hollywood is eyeing two business models in order to preserve their precious DVD sales (which are tanking more each day):
1) Make it basically impossible to rent a film. It used to be that you could rent a movie the day it came out for sale on DVD. Then it was 30 days later. Now it’s 56 days later. And you can’t eventhink about renting the films for 28 days.
As a reminder, torrents currently have no such window.
2) Hope and pray that big time stars die to temporarily boost sales.
The Hurricanes' pre-season has been 'meticulously planned', other than their failure to win anything.
my jaw dropped when I saw that VEVO, a property jointly owned by some of the biggest record labels in the world, was showing a pirated stream of an ESPN football game at its Sundance PowerStation venue last month — on no fewer than two televisions, and a pair of laptops.
The total global ice mass lost from Greenland, Antarctica and Earth's glaciers and ice caps [2003-2007] was about 4.3 trillion tons (1,000 cubic miles), adding about 0.5 inches (12 millimeters) to global sea level. That's enough ice to cover the United States 1.5 feet (0.5 meters) deep.
Emphasis added.
A person's risk of death in a given year doubles every eight years of age. It is a phenomenon that holds up across nations and over time.
If you read political blogs, you probably read ones you disagree with as much as those that confirm your prejudices.
Despite the fears of some scholars and pundits, most political partisans don't avoid news and opinion sources that contradict their own beliefs, according to a new study.
In fact, the more that self-described liberals and conservatives visited online sources supportive of their beliefs, the more likely they were to also view opposition websites, as well as general news sites.
John Pagani