December 19, 2001

12:03 PM

Slate.com moves to a blog mentality with On Other Web Sites. Some will certainly question the popup framing technique. (More inside.)
posted by rex (11 comments total)

From the front page of the site, you get to it via a DHTML navigation under the "News & Politics section" which spawns a framed popup. The preview note says, "And a technical note: On Other Web Sites uses 'frames.' Don't worry if you don't know what that means." Hm, I won't worry.
posted by rex at 12:03 PM on December 19, 2001

i liked inigo thomas' omnivore, which i think in its day rivaled aldaily, but alas it's been truncated to an idea a day. s'okay.
posted by kliuless at 12:32 PM on December 19, 2001

To me, this feels like Slate acknowledging that they will never be more than a subsidized entity of Microsoft. A good one, but an unprofitable one.
posted by ParisParamus at 1:41 PM on December 19, 2001

As much as I dislike Microsoft, I can't be too hard on Slate, it's just too pathetic. For a magazine that exists solely online, Slate remains (since 1996!) inordinately fascinated by this krazy Internet thing. The editorial voice re: the online world seems to be that of my grandfather showing his buddies his new electronic organizer. To wit:

"One important note: Some sites, such as washingtonpost.com, open a new browser window when you click them. Not to worry. Just close the new window once you're finished reading, and you'll see On Other Web Sites again.

Yeah, I remember my first popup window...
posted by luser at 1:45 PM on December 19, 2001

Yeah, Microsoft has done this for a long while with Hotmail, so it's not surprising that they're doing it with Slate now.

Methinks the simplistic language is to appease all the AOL-level MSNies. The idea with both AOL and MSN is to create a safe environment for the timid, so they can feel cutting edge without actually *being* cutting edge. Like people who go to the Canada exhibit at EPCOT Center because traveling abroad is too scary.
posted by me3dia at 1:55 PM on December 19, 2001

Like people who go to the Canada exhibit at EPCOT Center because traveling abroad is too scary.

Man that's a funny image. Thanks for the end-of-day brightener!!!
posted by luser at 1:58 PM on December 19, 2001

Glad to be of service.
posted by me3dia at 2:32 PM on December 19, 2001

"Mezines"?
posted by todd at 2:49 PM on December 19, 2001

Call me odd (or Old Fashioned) but I like it. I had always thought that a Blog on Blogs--a sort of anthology of the best picks from daily blogs would bring an audience to get good stuff at one sitting instead of fcrusing all over the place among the thopusands of blogs. Of course all depends on the "editor's ability to slect stuff that interests him as well as his readers--but the same thing takes place with music or book or film critics. You trust or do not trust this or that one. Slate no doubt will focus mostly on things political since that is their main thrust at their site.
So if you don't like too much politics you will avoid the Web pics but also Slate, no?
posted by Postroad at 2:49 PM on December 19, 2001

You know, looking around on the page, you gotta wonder how they came up with the categorizations. Drudge and Romenesco in Mezines (whatever that is), not in Gossip or Critics? Not to mention that nearly all of the "blogs" they list are not really blogs -- they're itemized outputs by traditional media folk. Where's Zeldman, Kottke -- hell, MeFi, for that matter?
posted by me3dia at 3:04 PM on December 19, 2001

The links are more than just targeted to a frame: they're in some Javascript thing. I usually right-click links in IE to open them in a new window. Because of the Javascript, you can't even do that.
Tsk tsk.
posted by ktheory at 8:25 PM on December 19, 2001