When the hive mind works, it's a beautiful thing.

Again proof the moderating the posts is the secret. The hive mind does NOT work. Moderation is vital. pg does it here, and no one does it on reddit, the difference is obvious.

Slashdot is semi-dying due to lack of moderation, the karma system is not enough. Thery still have traffic and good stories, but you can read pages of comments and they are all junk.

Ask MetaFilter works not because of a hive mind, but because it's strictly moderated.