Hacker News is overtaking Slashdot (according to Google Insight for Search)

This doesn't surprise me. I used to primarily go on Slashdot however my viewing has been steadily decreasing, in part due to the content - much of what is on Slashdot is found on HN - however also as the community fairly recently has gone downhill dramatically.

Long time Slashdotter here, I can't say I'm surprised. I think Slashdot has had a number of problems contributing to its steady decline:

* In an attempt to modernize the site's design, the folks at slashdot have now made their site very confusing to use. Its a disorganized mess. Which is sad really, their old convuluted commenting system was actually really good at carrying on threads and threads of discussion. (Think real life mailman archives.)

* It used to be the source for a mix of all things technical, open source, copyrights/lefts, patents, etc. But in recent times many sites have popped up that cover particular areas in far greater detail (Groklaw, OSNews, Phoronix, Undeadly, etc)

* In the mid-2000's the editors somewhat alienated their hardcore linux-loving fan base by being very pro-Apple. While I'm sure that brought on new traffic (as all things Apple tends to). I don't think it was sustainable traffic. Those Apple fans have no emotional attachment to Slashdot. They'll just move on to the next thing.

* It no longer attracts the young, Reddit pretty much does that.

* People today care greatly about being involved in the front-page news placement process. Having a bunch of editors sit around, and do a terrible job of editing is not something that attracts them anymore. (The editors of Slashdot are famous for terrible editing.)

I could go on and on, but I think its safe to say that there was a time when Slashdot was needed, and those of us who used it are thankful for that. But now the Internet has evolved, and today Slashdot isn't so needed. Life continues.

I look at Slashdot, and all I see is organization.

I look at HN, and all I see is information.