Lamenting the Loss of Reddit | Hacker News Reader

Lamenting the Loss of Reddit

onstartups.com

16 pointsJd16 comments

I agree that the main page of reddit has become pretty lame. However, I think that subreddits are still a good place to visit: http://programming.reddit.com/ or http://joel.reddit.com/.

I think if they had more subreddits it would help but a lot of people do not seem to know about them. I've heard many people complain about the same issue that did not know the existence of these subreddits.

Apparently the subreddit idea is gonna be taken to the next level when they release the new reddit.

There needs to be dynamic subreddit creation with distinct moderation systems for each. This would allow the creation of sub-communities, much as you see w/ the programming reddit.

I think this needs to be thought about more as community creation, not just news aggregation.

http://blog.reddit.com/2007/07/new-reddit-on-horizon.html

very cool. let's keep our fingers crossed.

Most news aggregation is a waste of time for readers. But I used to enjoy reddit much more than I do now. Another commenter's point about subreddits is totally right. I have so much fatigue when it comes to politics, that I just can't read reddit anymore.

Pictures of cats are ok though. My googleReader LOL folder is pretty big :)

reddit and digg, et al have often been called democratizing sites -- it seems like the tragedy of democracy in general also applies to these sites. Initially, the smartest people understand how different and better the system is than what's out there. As more people catch on, the quality decreases since new users aren't quite as interested in new, big ideas (and appear to be content with pictures of cats).

Once the quality of content slips a little, the early adopters leave and find a better place for content and a downward spiral begins. (see also: wikipedia circa 2004, US politics, etc)

I know for myself that Startup News has helped fill the void of interesting content I used to consistently get from reddit. Anyone know of new sites out there that might be more like old-fashioned reddit?

Somewhat self-serving, but I've launched a new social news site focused on business topics:

http://www.DailyHub.com

The content is good and the traffic is steadily growing.

Good -- now you just need to keep it from growing once it reaches a certain optimal zone :-)

Good point. We've already taken measures to ensure that:

1. Define a specific audience (business geeks)

2. Weight different users differently (so new users don't have the same authority as the regulars)

Yes, I made a similar point here: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33903

Unfortunately I don't know of any sites that compare well.

Perhaps it is true that profitability and quality content correlate inversely?

perhaps clearer if I wrote 'profitability and the quality of the content'

I find it interesting that the degeneration of these sites into 'mob rule' is the exact thing the founders of the constitution anticipated and put safeguards in place against. Who said,'The best argument against democracy is a conversation with the average person'? Maybe we can find some answers in the philosophy of government...

Apparently Winston Churchill.

Although the sentiment goes back to Cicero.

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