Editing Slashdot (section)

==Traffic and publicity==
{{See also|Slashdot effect}}
[[File:SlashdotEffectGraph.svg|thumb|right|This graph shows the sudden surge in web traffic that a popular news story on Slashdot can cause.]]

In 2006, Slashdot had approximately 5.5&nbsp;million users per month.

The primary stories on the site consist of a short synopsis paragraph, a link to the original story, and a lengthy discussion section, all contributed by users. At its peak, discussion on stories could get up to 10,000 posts per day. Slashdot has been considered a pioneer in user-driven content, influencing other sites such as [[Google News]] and Wikipedia.<ref name="naughton_john">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2006/aug/13/observerreview.onlinesupplement|title=Websites that changed the world|last=Naughton|first=John|date=August 13, 2006|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=January 7, 2010|location=London|archive-date=September 4, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140904192711/http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2006/aug/13/observerreview.onlinesupplement|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Tapscott_Williams">{{cite book|author1=Tapscott, D. |author2=Williams, A.D. |title=Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything|publisher=[[Penguin Books|The Penguin Group]]|location=New York City|date=2006|pages=144|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DVomiOeBg_YC&q=slashdot&pg=PA144|access-date=January 12, 2010 | isbn=978-1-59184-193-7}}</ref>
There has been a dip in readership as of 2011, primarily due to the increase of technology-related blogs and Twitter feeds.<ref name="Gaudin_Sharon">{{cite news|last=Gaudin|first=Sharon|title=Rob Malda, a.k.a. CmdrTaco, leaves Slashdot.|url=http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9219503/Rob_Malda_a.k.a._CmdrTaco_leaves_Slashdot|access-date=September 6, 2011|newspaper=ComputerWorld|date=August 25, 2011|archive-date=October 27, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111027070006/http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9219503/Rob_Malda_a.k.a._CmdrTaco_leaves_Slashdot|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2002, approximately 50% of Slashdot's traffic consisted of people who simply check out the headlines and click through, while others participate in discussion boards and take part in the community.<ref name="Lemos_Robert">{{cite news|url=http://news.cnet.com/2008-1082-938615.html|title=Newsmaker: Behind the Slashdot phenomenon|last=Lemos|first=Robert|date=June 24, 2002|publisher=[[CNET Networks]]|access-date=January 7, 2010|archive-date=May 10, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510075504/http://news.cnet.com/2008-1082-938615.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Many links in Slashdot stories caused the linked site to get swamped by heavy traffic and its server to collapse. This was known as the "Slashdot effect",<ref name="naughton_john"/><ref name="Lemos_Robert"/> a term first coined on February 15, 1999, that refers to an article about a "new generation of niche Web portals driving unprecedented amounts of traffic to sites of interest".<ref name="Tapscott_Williams"/><ref name="slashdot_effect_coined">{{cite web|url=http://news.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=99/02/15/1249237&mode=thread&tid=124|title=Beware of the Slashdot Effect|last=Malda|first=Rob|date=February 15, 1999|publisher=Slashdot|access-date=January 7, 2010|archive-date=December 5, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101205183052/http://news.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=99/02/15/1249237&mode=thread&tid=124|url-status=live}}</ref>

Slashdot has received over twenty awards, including [[Webby Awards|People's Voice Awards]] in 2000 in both of the categories for which it was nominated (''Best Community Site'' and ''Best News Site'').<ref name="webby_2000">{{cite news|url=http://www.webbyawards.com/press/press-release.php?id=33|title=Stars Turn Out to Honor the Best Web Sites of the Year at the Webby Awards 2000.|last=Mulligan|first=Judie|date=May 11, 2000|publisher=[[Webby Awards]]|access-date=January 13, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090422050535/http://www.webbyawards.com/press/press-release.php?id=33|archive-date=April 22, 2009}}</ref> It was also voted as one of ''[[Newsweek]]''{{'}}s favorite technology Web sites and rated in [[Yahoo!]]'s Top 100 Web sites as the "Best Geek Hangout" (2001).<ref name="Rappa_Michael">{{cite web|url=http://digitalenterprise.org/cases/slashdot.html|title=Case Study: Slashdot|last=Rappa|first=Michael|publisher=digitalenterprise.org|access-date=January 13, 2010|archive-date=June 12, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100612204723/http://digitalenterprise.org/cases/slashdot.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The main antagonists in the 2004 novel ''[[Century Rain]]'', by [[Alastair Reynolds]] – The Slashers – are named after Slashdot users.<ref name="century_rain">{{cite web|url=http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2006/06/review-century-rain-by-alastair-reynolds-1/|title=REVIEW: Century Rain by Alastair Reynolds|last=Shaffer|first=Scott|date=June 8, 2006|publisher=sfsignal.com|access-date=January 13, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100422203400/http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2006/06/review-century-rain-by-alastair-reynolds-1/|archive-date=April 22, 2010}}</ref> The site was mentioned briefly in the 2000 novel ''[[Cosmonaut Keep]]'', written by [[Ken MacLeod]].<ref name="MacLeod_Ken">{{cite book|last=MacLeod|first=Ken|title=Cosmonaut Keep|publisher=Tom Doherty Associates, L.L.C.|location=[[New York City]]|year=2000|pages=29|isbn=978-0-7653-4073-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WZ79SvQOhPQC&q=Cosmonaut+Keep+slashdot&pg=PA29|access-date=January 13, 2010}}</ref> Several tech celebrities have stated that they either checked the website regularly or participated in its discussion forums using an account. Some of these celebrities include: Apple co-founder [[Steve Wozniak]],<ref name="WozniakSteve">{{cite book|last=Kahney|first=Leander|title=The Cult of Mac|publisher=No Starch Press|date=November 18, 2006|pages=[https://archive.org/details/cultofmac00kahn/page/50 50]|isbn=978-1-59327-122-0|url=https://archive.org/details/cultofmac00kahn/page/50}}</ref> writer and actor [[Wil Wheaton]],<ref name="WilWheaton">{{cite web|url=http://www.wilwheaton.net/2003/01/hoo_boy_3.php|title=Hoo boy!|last=Wheaton|first=Wil|date=January 14, 2003|publisher=wilwheaton.net|access-date=January 12, 2010 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061004200239/http://www.wilwheaton.net/2003/01/hoo_boy_3.php |archive-date = October 4, 2006}}</ref> and [[id Software]] technical director [[John D. Carmack|John Carmack]].<ref name="carmack_thread">{{cite journal|last=McDonald|first=Tom|date=March 2002|title=Romero vs. Carmack|journal=Maximum PC|pages=15|issn=1522-4279|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0gEAAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA15|access-date=January 12, 2012}}</ref>{{dubious|date=February 2022}}