In what approximates a "user revolt" against editors at the Slashdot.com online community, a moderator-critical threat has become one of the most popular in history despite the editorial "bitchslap of the century".
The phenomenon derives from the particular qualities of /.'s moderation system, which is emulated
(with /.'s software) across the net. The system allows moderators to cast votes on posts and
comments using predefined categories. The users then recieve "Karma Points" - prestige - based on
the rating of their posts which gives advanced rating credibility to their future posts. Users may
browse threads and sections based upon the rating of the message (e.g. "don't show me anything less
than a 3"). A post which is rated -1 has essentially plummeted into the muck with "Goat Boy's anus"
and David Horowitz commentaries and is unlikely to be heard from again.
As of 16:50 01/18/02 http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=26315&cid=2850660">The first
Slashdot troll post investigation is over 48 hours old, is ranked -1, and is still growing in
length and moderator votes. Indymedia.org visitors who imagine a 48-hour old hidden newswire
article with 648(and counting) comments will get an impression of what this means to /.
Current moderator votes:
Offtopic=164,
Flamebait=4,
Troll=10,
Redundant=3,
Insightful=31,
Interesting=93,
Informative=26,
Funny=4,
Overrated=7,
Underrated=29,
Total=371