Kuro5hin
| Company type | Collaborative discussion platform |
|---|---|
| Industry | Internet forum, social networking |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Founder | Rusty Foster |
| Defunct | 2016-05-01 |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | User-submitted articles and diaries |
Kuro5hin (abbreviated as K5 and pronounced "corrosion") was a collaborative discussion platform created by Rusty Foster in 1999, drawing inspiration from Slashdot.[1] Members contributed articles to a submission queue where the community voted to either approve or reject the content. Articles that achieved a predetermined vote count were subsequently published or discarded.[2] The site was characterized as "an open forum for news and opinions authored by readers."[3] By 2005, the user base had grown to tens of thousands.[2]
On May 1, 2016, Kuro5hin ceased operations permanently and all material was removed from public access.[4] Foster suggested the possibility of relaunching the site later as a static archive.[5]
Overview
The majority of content originated from users, with the exception of official site announcements by administrators. Registered participants submitted articles into a submissions queue, where other users cast votes of +1 FP (front page), +1, 0, or −1. Articles that reached a specific score threshold were featured on the front page or appropriate sections according to their "FP votes". If an article did not meet these thresholds, factors such as the volume of comments and user ratings could still elevate it; otherwise, it was removed.
A notable functionality was edit mode, enabling authors to modify their submissions prior to voting. Comments made during this stage were categorized as either editorial or topical.
The diaries area consisted of unmoderated weblog entries and accounted for most of Kuro5hin’s content volume. Unlike curated articles, diaries were not broadly syndicated. Users could comment on diaries similarly but without distinguishing editorial from topical remarks.
History
Rusty Foster, the founder, coined the name Kuro5hin—pronounced corrosion—as a play on his own name. The platform operated on Scoop, a collaborative system developed by Foster himself, under the slogan "Technology and Culture, from the Trenches".
In July 2000, Kuro5hin experienced a temporary shutdown caused by comment spam and denial-of-service attacks that overwhelmed its servers and volunteer team.
In January 2002, SourceForge terminated its advertising partnership with Kuro5hin.