OK, I used to think it was worth the click. But these days, snarky articles, useless opinions, fluff by dillatante artistes–what does it all add up to? “Explainer” can be good at times, but am I wrong in asserting that this is a piece of toilet paper bound for the septic tank or sewer? Did not MS itself manage this shitter, I can’t imagine it surviving. Tell me what you think! I vote: FLUSH!
I don’t read much of Slate, but I love Ad Report Card and I would miss it if it disappeared. I also read the weeklong movie critics 2003 roundup. It was very self-congradulatory, but I stuck with it through the week because it was interesting to look into the minds of the critics.
I also like the “Here’s how a bunch of newspapers led their front page” feature, which probably has a catchier actual name. But yeah, overall it’s a love/hate kind of thing, and I only read it once in awhile.
I hate their tendency to post excepted messageboard musings from “the Fray” as genuine-ish articles. Who the hell wants to read what some dinks on an internet message board have to say about anything? 
I bop around over there every day, mostly because of the boredom factor at work. If I had a job that actually engaged some measurable amount of brain activity I probably wouldn’t frequent it, except to check for Dahlia Lithwick articles.
I visit from time to time, but have mostly been driven away by the despicable William Saletan, whose job description seems to be “get Bush elected in 2004 at any cost.” Naturally, he’s covering the Democratic candidates.
Not that this makes Slate unique…
They need to bring back Steven Landsburg. He was much fun, and a brought the same kind of economic academic wit that Krugman used to have in hsi old collumns.
I read Dear Prudence… mainly because I have this inexplicable love for advice columns. I also read Savage Love, Cary Tennis over on Salon, and a friend just turned me on to the Vine over on Tomato Nation.
I read it every day, but I haven’t read anything really good there since Robert Wright’s ideas about how to respond to 9/11 here last September. I had high hopes for the “liberal hawks” week that they just finished, and I read it all, but there were no really prescient things said in it that I haven’t read about a hundred times already.
It was much better when Robert Wright posted there more frequently. I also used to enjoy when Tuesday Morning Quarterback by Gregg Easterbrook was there – perhaps now that he has been booted from ESPN page 2 he will come back to Slate…
Spurious George
Unless of course it is the musings from the SDMB which as we all know are always golden nuggets of Internet wisdom.