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points by evtothedev 2 days ago | 0 comments

Thanks for sharing this. I recall Salon being a competitor of Slate, and one thrived, and the other completely floundered. I'd wondered why.

[–] jeffhwang 2 days ago

yes, I remember reading both Salon and Slate back in the 90s. it was a big deal when Michael Kinsley, the founding editor Slate, moved from the east coast to what was then considered the hinterlands of the Pacific Northwest (compared to NY / DC / LA for media). He had had fancy jobs at The New Republic, etc.

it was also the era when Microsoft was trying to expand it's dominance in software into new realms as well as into media such as Slate and MSNBC.

See this 1996 cover of Wired Magazine: https://www.originalmagazines.com/products/wired-magazine-ju...

[–] flowerlad 2 days ago

> Microsoft was trying to expand it's dominance in software into new realms

I think it was more of a defensive play. Keep in mind that Microsoft saw the web as a threat. Gates was worried that the browser will undermine their OS monopoly (which it eventually did). Gates launched a bunch of web sites including Slate, HomeAdvisor, CarPoint, Sidewalk, Expedia, MSNBC and so on, and told the world that he didn't expect any of these sites to be profitable any time soon, which in my opinion, was intended to dissuade others from investing in the web.

[–] ralph84 2 days ago

The far superior 'S' from that era was Suck.com, but sadly it failed much earlier.

[–] ssl-3 2 days ago

I remember the suck.com freebies they sent out at one point.

A sticker, a suck-branded Gold Circle Coin condom, and something else that I can't recall right now. (I still have the sticker on an old ammo can.)

[–] Bluestein 2 days ago

> suck-branded Gold Circle Coin condom

Solid collectible, right there.-

[–] ssl-3 9 hours ago

It was in a semi-rigid aluminum clamshell, as I supposed was the style at that time for Gold Circle Coin condoms (and I'm guessing here, because I never bought any of them ever).

It was delivered in a regular business-sized envelope.

The clamshell got squished between themselves and myself, and the combination of squish-damage, sharp edges, paper abrasion, and otherwise-unadorned latex condom made me cast serious upon its efficacy in co-partner use.

The three parts were largely loose inside of the envelope: Front half of sharp clamshell (with suck logo sticker), rear half of sharp clamshell, and a condom just kind of hanging out in there somewhere.

I don't remember what teenager-me did with the actual (and seriously mostly-useless) non-lubricated latex condom that was inside of that tiny thin-metalled tin, and it may be likely that it would have been something that is positively inappropriate to discuss in polite company even today.

But I do know that its potential transport damage did not meet the much, much higher standards that were in-keeping of the rubbers that I was using with my girlfriend of that time.

So whatever came of it, I am quite sure in saying that its efficaciousness was untested by my behest.

And the tin was surely discarded. (I probably tried to keep the well-matched gold foil sticker with the suck logo, but I must have failed.)

All of the condom parts arrived, and none of the important ones were trustworthy. 1/10 on that particular freebie item.

(The orange-pink transparent is still holding on very well.)

[–] roryirvine 2 days ago

Yes! The weekly 'Filler' column with cartoons by Terry Colon was a real must-read in the early dotcom era.

And if you bend the rules a bit, Bianca's Smut Shack might sort-of count too - probably the first truly great website of any sort.

[–] euroderf 2 days ago

Do not forget Spy magazine !

FWIW they had it in for Trump from the start.

[–] tptacek 2 days ago

Slate has been on the same slippery slope Salon was on; so far as I know it never actually died and got reanimated like Salon, but it suffered a talent exodus and s sharp tilt towards optimization and fan service. Salon was literally a chum-box version of itself, and Slate isn't that yet, but it's still not good.

The big difference though is that Slate has always had corporate ownership, first by Microsoft and then by Graham Holdings. It's never really had to stand on its own feet.