What are the goals of Slashdot? What do you intend with it? Is there a cause behind? Some sort of ideology, philosophy?

Rob: I like to think it's simply News for Nerds. Stuff that Matters. What that really means is that a dozen times a day, I share something I think is worth knowing. And then we can all talk about it. The stuff that matters to me is Linux, Open Source, Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Information, Technology, Gadgets, Toys, Video Games.

What interests have you in a collaborative platform? The amount of people you can reach, the speed?

Rob: Honestly I don't think it's really anything lofty. I powerful one-to-one connection is very important to me. The ambitious goal is to try to use a community to sift through a mountain of information and try to come up with common themes and ideas that can be used to spur on discussion. But all of that really comes down to just trying to get a cool idea across the net.

There are hundreds of thousands users of Slashdot. How to you attract/achieve collaboration? What do you do to captivate people to participate? Press you’ve gotten can be an answer?

Rob: I've never actively sought it. It just has always happened as a part of what we do on a daily basis. People are interested in the news we cover. And people like to talk. Over the last 8 years we've had some press, but that is just part of it. Press gets someone to the URL, but it takes something else to get them to share their opinions with strangers.

Are you happy with the level of contributions in Slashdot? Did you expect more or less interviews? Is that effective in your opinion?

Rob: There can always be more contribution, but I don't think it really matters. I'd rather 10 good ideas come from a hundred people then 5 good ideas from a thousand.

How long do you plan to be on the net with Slashdot? Is there a fixed time for its duration or not? I say that in a way because an active website is time consuming (you said you spent 20 to 30h per week reading emails about Slashdot), so do you plan to be involved with the project forever? Project lifetime is something that matters for you? How do you see the future of Slashdot?

Rob: I lack a crystal ball, but I enjoy my work. I created the site as a hobby and am now paid to do it. Not a lot of people are so lucky. As long as I continue to find pleasure in my work, I'd like to keep doing it.

The future of Slashdot involves new developments in improving discussions. New ways of bridging the ideas of individuals back to the masses.