NASA Pondering Two Public Contests To Build Small Space Exploration Satellites 127
coondoggie writes "NASA today said it was looking into developing two new Centennial Challenge competitions that would let the public design, build and deliver small satellites known as Cubesats capable of operations and experiments near the moon and beyond. The first challenge will focus on finding innovative ways to allow deep space communications with small spacecraft, while the second focuses on primary propulsion for small spacecraft."
NO! (Score:3, Informative)
If you move me to the beta slashdot abortion i'll add this place to the block list and never visit again.
Too many other news sites regurgitate the exact same storys i see here. And all of them don't look as shitty as the beta slashdot.
Stop being stupid
Re:NO! (Score:5, Informative)
I have been reading
Filled in the survey, like many others did, it seems we are being ignored. I would rather go back to a monochrome 40 character width screen than to the
Agreed (Score:5, Insightful)
I hope Dice doesn't keep pushing this without substantial changes. Outside of outraging their user base it will cost them in destroying
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Well, if it were some other site I'd shrug my shoulders, but I like being able to see more information on a single view as is possible on Classic.
It feel claustrophobic. I'm out when Beta is in.
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Speaking as someone who has been visiting this site daily for over 10 years, honestly I don't know what the hell they are thinking. If they want different fonts than make the make the article title sans serif and the article body serif like the really old slashdot from the 90s, not this bullshit of two slightly different sans serif fonts that clash with each other.
Oh I almost forgot: They even got the wrong fucking green color!
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It's possible that the Dice has some ingenious plan to chase away all the old-guard Slashdot users, allowing them to claim the name and refashion it as a kind of "tech-cred" brand to sell products to Hipsters, Brogramers, and PHBs using the old Slashdot's reputation.
Though it's more likely that no-one at Dice knows or cares about wha
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Beta Haiku (Score:3)
Slashdot fartbiter
The Beta makes my clown weep
Oh God, more whiskey
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This is the end of slashdot
Haiku makes me sad
Burma shave
Name the person who ordered the redesign! (Score:2)
Seek out the guilty!
Who is he?
Beta (Score:5, Insightful)
I'll join the crowd and help post in every thread that pops up, and upvote all the other comments I can find doing the same.
Slashdot Beta is not fixable - it is trash code that should be abandoned as a "lessons learned" exercise. It's not even a close decision - it's pretty much unanimous amongst the users - the ones that provide 90+% of any meaningful content on this particular site in particular.
If this advice that everyone is giving isn't honored by the local 'beta' admins, I believe it's time to start communicating with the people in charge, and pulling the levers of power a bit - and hopefully get these folks a stern talking to about what they were throwing away.
Shorter version: THE BETA SUCKS. LOSE IT.
Ryan Fenton
Re:Beta (Score:5, Insightful)
Not to mention the new design just displays the same data more spaced out.
No, it doesn't. It hides much of the data, making it difficult to get to, and impossible to get to without losing the context.
It seems deliberately discussion-unfrendly, and like many others, I come here for the discussions.
I left when the last beta was forced on us a couple of years ago, and it took a while before I came back - and that was only because someone posted how to trick the settings into displaying the working format.
But the new beta is ten times worse - completely unusable, and in a format only an MBA and his designer girlfriend could love. It's not for nerds who like to discuss, and post more than 160 characters.
Sorry, DICE, but Slashdot's user base is what makes it attractive. Alienate the user base, and you end up with nothing. Then the advertisers won't like you either.
And no, you won't attract fresh blood. Fresh blood doesn't come to sites that don't provide anything special. What was special here was the userbase, and that userbase [b]will[/b] be gone, unless you fire the incompetent nincompoop who decided on deliberately alienating the one asset the site has.
Re:Beta (Score:5, Insightful)
I *LOVE* Slashdot. That's why I have spent so much time creating comments that I hope add value to the discourse, and put so much effort into my otherwise tenuous self-restraint regarding flaming. I come here to read comments, and to add value to the comment trees. I am happy for Dice to make a profit selling ads on the content our community creates by playing host.
That is a really good trade for all of us, Dice. Don't screw it up.
As for my personal #1 gripe: Don't require Javascript to read comments. OpenStreetMaps is content that begs to be browsed dynamically. Reading a comment tree is an almost entirely static endeavor. Keeping Javascript disabled on most sites is something I'm guessing a large portion of the audience here does. And remember: The audience creates the content. Lose one, you lose the other.
The Spirit of Mohdri Dragon [wired.com] Lives!
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The redesign was ordered by a human.
Who is he?
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The redesign was ordered by a human.
Let's not jump to conclusions here.
Who is he?
Nor that conclusion.
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I have seen more 3, 4, and 5 digit user IDs in the past 24 hours lambasting the beta. It's amazing. I even saw a 2 digit user ID throwing in his two cents. (I should have marked the spot but can't find it now.)
-- Common Joe
Slashdot Valentines Day Massacre: Boycott Slashdot because "Fuck Beta!": February 10 - 17
And Support Okian Warrior's Alternate Slashdot [slashdot.org] Idea!
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Agreed that beta blows chunks. It's nothing more than change for the sake of change. It doesn't add any more features, it nothing but eye candy. Well, it's intended to be eye candy, but the problem is that eye candy is in the eye of the beholder. I challenge anyone to find any actual change in beta that's not eye candy.
Having said that, I'm going to demand my money back. Oh wait...
Thinking about this situation, a bit: as much as it sucks, I see no reason to really get excited about it. It's not like I'm pay
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I gave my formal feedback on Beta and flat out pointed it was just awful all around in my replies. I don't mind promoting off-topic threads on the issue too as clearly the folks running Slashdot don't have a clue as to what it is that the site has been or what they can do to maintain the community.
If the beta becomes the standard interface, they will lose most of the traditional audience. I'm sure some folks will continue to stick around, but it won't be the same place. It sure is a hell of a gamble and
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Interestingly enough, Linux fanboys use the same argument when complaints about the state of various problems in Linux distros are raised... and then they wonder why not enough people use Linux.
Just because you're not paying for something doesn't mean it's beyond criticism and reproach. Not only that, but Slashdot's probably one of the longest-service sites that a lot of people here would have gone to over the years. A lot are concerned that thi
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It's eye candy as much as Spring Surprise is a nice bit of chockie. [youtube.com]
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srsly the beta sux
^ This comment looks ugly when viewed from the beta.
I assure you that it's BEAUTIFUL when viewed from the classic version though!
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That's how I will always remember Slashdot when this place is gone. It will be just a memory, but such memories they will be: people like OG and Taco and Ethanol and the GNAA, copypasta tolling about Obama and Al Gore, hot grits and the slashdot effect.
Good memories.
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It's not even a close decision - it's pretty much unanimous amongst the users - the ones that provide 90+% of any meaningful content on this particular site in particular.
Maybe we are not the customers any more. This is happening on cheezburger too. Every month they get rid of more sites with intelligent posting and replace it with something with fart jokes.
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The beta doesn't add any useful new features. All it doors is remove them and severely fucks up the best part of this site: the commenting and moderation system. If the commenting system goes out the window, why would I come here? The stories are always several days or a week old, the editors are terrible at their job, and all of the actual articles are on other sites I could browse instead.
What the hell, Dice?
Fuck Beta (Score:5, Informative)
Beta != Slashdot
Once there's only beta, slashdot will cease to be slashdot. FUCK SOULLESS BETA
Buck Feta (Score:5, Informative)
That's a dollar and a pound of cheese more than the Slashdot beta is worth.
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Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Slashdot Beta deals,
Like fetid monkey poo.
Tulips are pink,
Bumstains are brown,
Bury Slashdot Beta,
Deep underground.
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Glad to finally see someone finding a creative way to express the prevailing sediment. Though others may strive to be beta masters, you truly are the Master Beta.
Beta... (Score:5, Interesting)
Geez, when are they going to shit can this beta web site. It is total garbage.......
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They're gonna shitcan the beta by making it production. It won't be the beta.
Make Beta go away please (Score:5, Interesting)
I've been a Slashdot quite a while, been so long I can't remember. This new beta site needs to go. The current layout works just fine. The new one looks like one of those SEO spam sites used to get clicks. Please make it go away.
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This new beta site needs to go. The current layout works just fine. The new one looks like one of those SEO spam sites used to get clicks.
I thought it was an SEO spam site the first time I saw it. I checked my browser address bar while muttering, "Shiiiit, hijacked," under my breath. I assumed those giant columns of white space on either side were jammed full of advertising banners that AdBlock had gleefully expurgated for me. In fact, I still think that.
Come to find out it was real. I actually spent half an hour trying to use it. Found it not just stupidly ugly (if you're using fixed width on the web, you're DOING IT WRONG, ASSHOLES!),
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OK. I've been on here forever... but looking at your id.. damn. Forever and a few years. I really hope beta bites it. Send all the people who like it over to http://slashdot.org/topic/bi/ [slashdot.org]
And it would be nice if they didn't try to force me to use it on my ipad. I stay away from this site on mobile devices.
Romney Beta (Score:1)
The Beta is not appealing to your base. Don't make your base stay home like Romney did. They'll go to Reddit or something other good site and stay there forever.
DON'T ROMNEY SLASHDOT
There are only 47% of us left as it is.
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Yes, the trend is quite clear. Let's stay on it and see where it takes us. Who knows, by this time tomorrow, the editors might have explained the nature of dark matter, invented a better electric car battery, and brought back "Farscape". Either that, or their heads will have exploded. I see it as a win-win situation.
Beta. Suicide. Difference? (Score:3, Insightful)
I've been coming to this place for a while, mostly for the discussion.
I don't post much at all, but without an effective and easy way to consume/produce comments, this place is fucking worthless.
DOWN WITH BETA.
Boycott (Score:1)
On February 5, 2014, Slashdot announced through a javascript popup that they are starting to "move in to" the new Slashdot Beta design.
Slashdot Beta is a trend-following attempt to give Slashdot a fresh look, an approach that has led to less space for text and an abandonment of the traditional Slashdot look. Much worse than that, Slashdot Beta fundamentally breaks the classic Slashdot discussion and moderation system.
If you haven't seen Slashdot Beta already, open this [slashdot.org] in a new tab. After seeing that, click
Save Slashdot Classic! (Score:5, Informative)
I want all of you to get up out of your chairs. I want you to get up right now and go to the window. Open it, and stick your head out, and yell, "I'M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!" I want you to get up right now, sit up, go to your windows, open them and stick your head out and yell - "I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!"
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Yes, save the classic version. The beta has nothing going for it.
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I want all of you to get up out of your chairs. I want you to get up right now and go to the window. Open it, and stick your head out, and yell, "I'M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!" I want you to get up right now, sit up, go to your windows, open them and stick your head out and yell - "I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!"
I would love to support your cause, but I need to ask you a question. What is the linux equivalent of this "go to your windows" step?
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fvwm95 [xwinman.org]
(To remain on topic: fvwm95 is about as about as ugly and uninspiring as /. beta. NASA itself hates fvwm95 almost as much as it hates /. beta.)
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"What is the linux equivalent of this "go to your windows" step?"
The linux equivalent is, "... get out your shinebox, open it and stick your head in and yell - 'I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!'"
Yes, the linux equivalent of "window" is now "shinebox".
Hard to believe (Score:1)
Someone told me that slashdot beta was developed by al-qaeda operatives. I don't want to support terrorists.
Can anyone confirm this?
In other news... NASA says FUCK BETA! (Score:5, Funny)
"NASA today said it was looking into fucking beta that would let the public fuck, bugger and dickplow beta known as "fucking beta" capable of sucking and being fucked near the moon and beyond. The first challenge will focus on finding innovative ways to allow deep fucking beta with small spacecraft, while the second focuses on fucking beta for small spacecraft."
Logged In for Beta (Score:2)
Time for a slashdotting. (Score:5, Informative)
Here is Dice's "Contact Us" page. [diceholdingsinc.com] Everybody be sure to call them tomorrow using whatever numbers from that page you can get to ring. Tell every darn receptionist in every darn one of Dice's holdings, along with anyone you can get them to connect you to, that the Slashdot beta is terrible and you won't shut up until it goes away. Fax them a well-illustrated complaint or two or three. Send them a choice letter via snail mail, along with whatever memorabilia you wish.
They keep soliciting our feedback, they can get our feedback, right where it counts.
Spread the word by mentioning this in every article's comments.
The most obvious contact points are:
Dice Holdings Inc.
1040 Avenue of the Americas, 8th Floor
New York, NY 10018
T: 212-725-6550
F: 212-725-6559
Slashdot
594 Howard St Suite 300
San Francisco, CA 94105
Tel: +1-877-433-5638
www.slashdot.com
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Slashdot
594 Howard St Suite 300
San Francisco, CA 94105
So they are no longer in Michigan? Is that just an empty office/mailing address? That is right by the BART Montgomery station. I think I will stop by tomorrow and see if any actual people are there.
Beta blows (Score:5, Insightful)
Buying Slashdot (Score:5, Interesting)
What do you guys think a fair price for slashdot would be? I'm curious because I'm thinking about starting a kickstarter or something to buy slashdot and turn it into a community run forum.
This site is valuable because of the community it has. I don't come here for the articles, I come here for the discussions. I know that the majority of the people who come here do so for the same reasons. DICE doesn't get that, and once they kill the community there won't be any real way to rebuild it. I think that would be a shame since I love this place. For all its flaws I think the community here is awesome.
So, what do you guys think? Is it at all within the realm of reason to buy slashdot and make it ours?
--Cheers,
Greg
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It's too late by then. When Digg changed their site they destroyed most of the appeal of people going there and lost most of their audience. Soon enough a site called reddit was born which had the same level of simplicity and community interactive as the old Digg had and it took off like wildfire. Eventually Digg reverted some of their changes and morphed into a semi-decent return to its own styling, but by then the damage had been done, reddit had made its mark and the rest, as they say, is history.
Slashdo
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What do you guys think a fair price for slashdot would be? I'm curious because I'm thinking about starting a kickstarter or something to buy slashdot and turn it into a community run forum.
This site is valuable because of the community it has. I don't come here for the articles, I come here for the discussions. I know that the majority of the people who come here do so for the same reasons.
Couldn't agree more... Except they'd never let us buy it... We apparently need to create a NewDot....
DICE doesn't get that, and once they kill the community there won't be any real way to rebuild it. I think that would be a shame since I love this place. For all its flaws I think the community here is awesome.
Amen, Brother....
So, what do you guys think? Is it at all within the realm of reason to buy slashdot and make it ours?
Highly unlikely.... Unfortunately.... Soon there will be nothing left here to be worthy of even an occasional visit and I find that very sad. :(
Re:Buying Slashdot (Score:5, Interesting)
There's a discussion about a fork over here [slashdot.org].
somenickname (1270442) has registered some domain names [slashdot.org] that could be used (http://bangslashdot.org|.com|.net) (eg !/.)
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We apparently need to create a NewDot
Unfortunately slashnot.org is already registered. Maybe Matthew Strebe would switch it over from being a satire site (that he hasn't updated since 2006) to being a place for refugees.
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Damn fine idea. Dice bought it to fuck it up and doesn't have a mission, so they should be willing to sell it.
We could return it to its former glory.
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I'll wager 400 quatloos on the newcomer.
destroy beta. (Score:1)
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Everybody complains about how beta has lots of empty spaces and you send a link for a page on mobile wikipedia with... you guessed right, lotsa empty spaces when opened on non-mobile computer.
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Way to go, capt'n. Everybody complains about how beta has lots of empty spaces and you send a link for a page on mobile wikipedia with... you guessed right, lotsa empty spaces when opened on non-mobile computer.
similia similibus curantur
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Bis idem error numquam
Option to turn off advertising (Score:2)
Here's the funny thing. Out of appreciation of being given a choice, I chose to not disable. However, now that it's gone, I feel as if it's forced down my throat.
I haven't tried Beta, but I'm gonna go ahead and join the revolt simply because "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". I'm satisfied with Slashdot Classic.
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I'm still seeing it at the top of classic slashdot.
There will be no more real discussion here until.. (Score:5, Insightful)
This Beta garbage dies in a burning ball of galactic-temperature-infused inferno...
I should have seen this coming for months and set up a slashdot clone we could all move to... Hmm, shortsighted!
Shut it off... Turn it off NOW! Bad, BAD experiment!
Beta is to Slashdot as Windows 8 is to MS (Score:5, Insightful)
Nuff said. You're just pouring gas on a fire with your base. Slashdotters are apparently happy with the site as is and appreciate its familiar usefulness. Beta fucks it up. FUCK BETA.
Slashdot Beta is an MBA Nightmare (Score:5, Informative)
Beta (Score:1)
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Quisque a rhoncus dui. Quisque aliquam lorem commodo tincidunt dignissim. Morbi nunc est, dignissim quis ullamcorper eu, varius sed mi. Vivamus tempor vehicula feugiat. Fusce dictum est faucibus mauris adipiscing ullamcorper. Phasellus id erat pellentesque dui ultrices dapibus. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Etiam nibh ante, malesuada eget lacinia ut, commodo nec diam. Proin fringilla metus nibh, ac sollicitudin lorem congue
Use NoScript to block Beta (Score:2)
Try it.
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The argument can (and should) be made that I shouldn't have to use browser tools like NoScript to make a site "readable." And few people will:
This "new look" for Slashdot pretty much guarantees Slashdot continues down the path of irrelevancy, as another wave of people decide the downsides of (say) Reddit now aren't nearly as bad as the Microsoft Windows 8-inspired Slashdot.
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as another wave of people decide the downsides of (say) Reddit
At this point, https://news.ycombinator.com/ [ycombinator.com] starts to look appealing to me.
How long before we can no longer avoid the beta? (Score:5, Interesting)
Disable advertising (Score:2)
I generally left the advertisements enabled because i wanted to support slashdot, heck some were even interesting occasionally. but until they shove beta up their ass i will keep ads disabled and definitely wont give them a click
Leave the Betas in the aquarium. (Score:1)
Jon Katz (Score:2)
WHOA! We don't need to go that far! (Score:1)
Just because the Slashdot Beta site is remarkably shitty it does not mean we need to resort to something that drastic. Jesus Christ, son, be careful what you wish for!
In other news... (Score:1)
Nobody wants to talk about tiny spacecraft. :( (Score:2)
Fucking SlashBeta. Nobody wants to talk about tiny spacecraft. :(
Where will I go to talk about tiny spacecraft where I can read just the gems, without having to wade through all the dross in some bullshit forum format? For that matter, where can I go to read about tiny spacecraft where the people posting actually know anything? So much of WannabeSpace is jammed full of know-nothings who wouldn't recognize the rocket equation if it bit them on the ass. Sure, even on Slashdot, I'd only expect 100 or so po
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Beta is the current Charlie-Foxtrot the Slashdot community is dealing with, and we're nothing if not navel-gazing when it comes to change. Though usually that change isn't quite as damaging as Beta is in the current form. However, for /. to continue to be a useful source of information, the commentators should prove the necessity they are to the success of the site by actually posting useful content, along with the quite justified complaints about the new system being forced on the users.
That having been sa
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Just how much useful propulsion can you cram into a satellite that weighs 3 pounds? With cheap, consumer-level sensors and a few government waivers, I would think quite a lot. The potential of a swarm of mini-RTG-powered microsats zooming around the Solar System towards or around various planets could yield quite a lot of useful science.
I wonder just how well a cubesat can survive out beyond Earth's Van Allen belts. And transiting them, for that matter. Especially given such choices as consumer-grade sensors and other electronics. Such chips really don't like hard radiation, and that form factor makes it rather difficult to wedge in any sort of effective radiation shielding, or sufficient redundancy to maintain sanity when you take a particle to the knee.
And I suspect there's a minimum functional size for an RTG that is larger than a Cu
BETA Discussion (Score:2)
http://beta.slashdot.org/submi... [slashdot.org]
IT'S A TRAP (Score:2)
http://slashdot.org/submission/3320177/slashdot-beta-discussion [slashdot.org] To avoid having clicking on the beta-infested link.
Mugnyte (and others), clean your links. Most are going to be beta-ised now.
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having clicking
I'd fix that if there was a way to edit comments after submission. But that would mean creating a change users have asked for.
Beta? (Score:2)
Every attempt to improve Slashdot's display -except- for the Threaded view introduced by Taco well over a decade ago has been a dismal and utter failure that nobody actually likes.
Even those that thought they liked the previous round of UI "improvements" because they had never seen Slashdot in its glory breath a sigh of relief when shown how to enable "Classic" with the old D1 discussion system.
Seriously, Dice: We're all leaving once "beta" becomes the only reality. We'll build something else. And we'll
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That is if they didn't die of a cerebral hemorrhage after actually trying to read Stinkdot Beta.