Seems to be starting from a technical place to replicate slashdot. Slashdot is a great site and the new beta sucks, however I would try and take what works (Curation & community (and historically moderation)). Slashdot kept its relevance for many people because of the community and the curation. I read hacker news for the most up to date feed, But I read sites like slashdot for their insight and summarisation. Not be…
The irony I find with the recent beta backlash is that Slashdot hasn't been relevant in my life in close to 10 years. The last redesign was a mess too ... and that's the nature of the audience Slashdot has. The site was always doomed to irrelevance eventually because 1) impermanence 2) their geeky audience hates change. Always have, and apparently, always will.