With the redesign and their further forcing of it on users with the giant text and ads all over, it’s tipping away from even tolerable now - looking for the next minimalist aggregator (HN too specific)
https://blog.tildes.net/announcing-tildes
I've been on it for a few months and would recommend it.
Tildes prioritizes quality over quantity.
> How to avoid being popular driving it into trash like most other aggregators?
It's currently invite-only to limit its growth and keep its userbase from being polluted. Later, a trust system will be added for active and trusted users to help moderate it. When it gets opened to the public, it might also limit signups to prevent overwhelming floods of users taking over.
Also see https://docs.tildes.net/overall-goals.