The Onion quits print • Hacker News Board

Re: The Onion quits print

#31

Post by donretag » Fri, Nov 08, 2013, 8:05 PM UTC

I remember in the late '90s when the latest edition of The Onion would show up on the website every Tuesday (correct me on the date if I am wrong, it's been awhile). The server could not handle the load and would be extremely slow for the rest of the day.

I was excited to finally read The Onion in print when they debuted in NYC many years later. Glad they are still alive in some fashion.

Re: The Onion quits print

#32

Post by thirtyseven » Fri, Nov 08, 2013, 8:10 PM UTC

Passersby will never again be amazed by the unusually large amounts of blood.

Re: The Onion quits print

#33

Post by jlgreco » Fri, Nov 08, 2013, 8:12 PM UTC

rfnslyr wrote: post #13

I never even knew the Onion did print. Hell I never even knew they were alive since what, 1988? Damn, I really thought the Onion was just a small little website with funny articles I saw on Reddit once in awhile, but not a widely known website. Sucks, I'd have loved to read a print version of the Onion.

I know they at least use to have a few coin operated newspaper vending machines on street corners in Philadelphia. Not sure about elsewhere, I only ever noticed them in Philly.

Re: The Onion quits print

#34

Post by alttag » Fri, Nov 08, 2013, 8:12 PM UTC

The only time I every read the print version was in Chicago, where a street hustler gave everyone in my party free copies, and then followed us asking for money.

I don't expect that's the most common use case of a free paper, but were I _The Onion_ I would find it irksome.

Re: The Onion quits print

#35

Post by devindotcom » Fri, Nov 08, 2013, 8:21 PM UTC

jaysonelliot wrote: post #28

Reading The Onion every Saturday morning at the diner was one of my favorite habits. Their brand of satire works so well in the context of a traditional newspaper. Since they shut down print in New York City, I missed that a lot. I tried looking at the web site on a tablet over breakfast, but the presentation ruined it for me. While I was an avid reader of The Onion since college in the '90s, I've moved on. The web s…

I think it's pretty disingenuous to compare The Onion to the Chive and the Oatmeal, with which it has almost nothing in common, and say they're "going out with a whimper." 20 years ago, newspapers were how people got their news, so the Onion imitated it. Now, people get their news via the web and cable news channels, both of which they are also imitating. They've shifted their priorities away from your preferences — that's not the same as surrendering.

Re: The Onion quits print

#36

Post by colanderman » Fri, Nov 08, 2013, 8:23 PM UTC

jaysonelliot wrote: post #28

Reading The Onion every Saturday morning at the diner was one of my favorite habits. Their brand of satire works so well in the context of a traditional newspaper. Since they shut down print in New York City, I missed that a lot. I tried looking at the web site on a tablet over breakfast, but the presentation ruined it for me. While I was an avid reader of The Onion since college in the '90s, I've moved on. The web s…

Their videos are great, especially their series genre parodies. Sex House and Onion Talks are my favorites. Their brand of surreal/sardonic humor translates well to television.

Re: The Onion quits print

#37

Post by jevinskie » Fri, Nov 08, 2013, 8:26 PM UTC

b1daly wrote: post #27

I live in Madison where reading the Onion in print was just sort of something one did! It was a sublime experience, and a lot of its satirical focus came from the newspaper form. The articles would be cut out and put on refrigerators or bulliten boards. The website is just not the same!

Yup, I was floored when the waitress at the Marigold Kitchen downtown brought me my meal and a copy of the Onion!

Re: The Onion quits print

#38

Post by hafichuk » Fri, Nov 08, 2013, 8:29 PM UTC

Print version?!? Wow - who knew. I guess Chicagoans.

Re: The Onion quits print

#39

Post by rayiner » Fri, Nov 08, 2013, 8:30 PM UTC

It's just a matter of time before someone starts a service to print out all of these online-only sites so you don't have to read them on a screen.

Re: The Onion quits print

#40

Post by smacktoward » Fri, Nov 08, 2013, 8:34 PM UTC

rfnslyr wrote: post #13

I never even knew the Onion did print. Hell I never even knew they were alive since what, 1988? Damn, I really thought the Onion was just a small little website with funny articles I saw on Reddit once in awhile, but not a widely known website. Sucks, I'd have loved to read a print version of the Onion.

It started out in print, founded back in the late '80s by a couple of students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. They were smart and jumped on the web very early (the mid-90s), which helped them build a national audience instead of just a local upper-Midwest one.