Because Reddit is horrible. Everything about the way Reddit is designed obliterates any hope of reasonable discussion:
- Reddit segregates people into distinct forums of people who all agree with each other, inducing them to engage in groupthink and shift towards increasingly extreme views.
- It then establishes a set of "defaults" and entertainment subs and more or less forces multiple factions of increasingly radicalized people into them (otherwise they miss out on nice content), leading to a constant battle over the politics of the site, radicalizing people further, and drawing in people who just come at first to be entertained. It truly is, as PZ Meyers described it once, "a hate site with a thin veneer of entertainment".
- This process hooks you on the addictive joy of righteous indignation, further incentivizing conflict and de-incentivizing real discussion. This is why meta-subs have such a big draw.
- Upvotes and downvotes turn the comment section into a competition to control the message, and the way comments are organized buries thoughtful posts that came a bit late, after a period of reflection. It also emphasizes junk and fluff that is easy to process and hides effort posts.
Often when I'm browsing Hubski, I catch myself getting reflexively angry or defensive at someone who innocently disagrees with me, and I have to remind myself that conflict and emotion aren't conducive to thoughtful discussion, and that most Hubskians are awesome people and not trolls, bigots, or extremists at all. Are there other people who migrated from Reddit who can relate?
No. However I think the Reddit culture has had a negative influence on itself. I think that when you are posting on reddit, you self editorialise in order to make the post conform to whatever you think will be successful on the subreddit or thread, because otherwise you will find yourself downvoted to oblivion.
Posting elsewhere, I don't do that. The way hubski works is pure genius. If you disagree with me it's far more likely you're going to just say so and have a discussion with me, rather than squelch my posts (for you). And disagreement with me doesn't make my posts disappear for other people.
My ideas feel more valued here. And I see that in almost every post. People are respectful, because they know if they are not, people who actually make thoughtful posts and replies will just remove them from their view, like a pest.
For the most part this is true though certain celibrity posters do end up garnering upvotes even when their comment is contrary to the general sentiment.
But it's rare.
Look I get what you're saying. I don't think it's going to be a huge problem for hubski. I think people will very quickly work out that this is not a reddit clone, at all, things work differently here, and those that don't? Well ... if they have to, they can always start a new account and try again :-)
edit: this is a great question, btw.