Running Weblogs with Slash

Becoming a Slash Guru: A Roadmap

The ideal place to start is to explore an existing Slash site. It will demonstrate the current possibilities, perhaps inspiring fresh ideas. There’s no shame in imitating a successful site, either. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and sincere flattery is usually good currency for the technical crowds.^[4] Being a user on another site gives a unique perspective. How does the site work? Who does it attract? How has its focus changed over time? How does it handle conflict and growth? You will probably also come up with a list of things you’d handle differently. They may be philosophical, or they may be as simple as a different color scheme or as complicated as a new moderation system.

Most users don’t get to see the seamy underbelly of Slash. Site administrators spend most of their time working with a special interface. The underlying metaphor of Stories comes into play. The essential mechanisms are exposed as pulleys and trapdoors. Slash has a staggering wealth of editorial tools, but just knowing what’s available returns things to manageable levels.

With theories and introductions out of the way, it’s time to install the beast. All of this power comes at a price--someone has to understand the underlying components well enough to put them together. The Slash team has spent a tremendous amount of time smoothing things out. Gone are the days of reading Malda’s mind. With a little Unix experience, a handy installation guide, maybe some ...