Slashdot

Slashdot is a web site that allows people to post news items (which can include links to blogs etc as well as news reports). Essentially, however, its main use is that it allows comments, which in turn are rated. Some news items can get 1000s of comments in minutes after they are posted, causing enormous problems (and increased popularity) for whoever is the focus of the news report. Slashdot also acts as a social networking site, like MySpace, in that they allow blogs and various other features, while people can login to post. Essentially, however, it is a place to post news reports and to comment on them.

Slashdot is enormously popular, and was the main reason why Wikitruth became popular just days after creation. In that case, Andrew Orlowski wrote about Wikitruth in The Register, which was then posted to Slashdot, and suddenly Wikitruth was popular, with their own Wikipedia article.

Slashdot has also been important in raising the profile of Wikipedia Review, in relation to posts about the Snowspinner scandal and in particular the SlimVirgin scandal, but also the John Seigenthaler Sr. scandal and the Essjay scandal. This hasn't had as great an effect as in the Wikitruth example, but it has nonetheless helped to increase popularity of the site.