1) We think they need a better tutorial so they can figure shit out, and we think they need to lurk moar. Unfortunately the Reddit DDOS made search non-functional and they were left groping in the dark without a flashlight. As a consequence I've unsubbed from askhubski, and had to fight the instinct to call it /r/askhubski. 2) We expect to have to adapt to ignore them until they a) figure it out or b) grow bored and leave. As per usual, it will take approximately a week. 3) We're totally cool with a larger community, so long as it's a larger community gradually acquired. 4) We think that in the future, new accounts in one day past a certain number should automagically be thrown into READ ONLY MODE so that the functionality of the site for the rest of us isn't crippled. This probably reeks of classism. Hey - I've been here two years. I know what I'm doing. If the new kidz have to watch me for a day or two before they can shout at me, it's good for everyone. 4a) FUCK EVERYTHING ABOUT THAT. 5) You ignore them. Bet you didn't realize that half of the Archangelles wandered over here last time. The time before that, most of the CIRCLEJERKERS. Culling the chaff from the wheat is much easier on Hubski, almost as if it were designed that way. 6) Get used to ignoring and muting people. Louts with no audience quickly leave. Contributors with no audience sulk and get plaintive. And hey - if you give them a few days, they might even figure it out on their own. This is the fourth time this has happened in my memory. The only thing that I've noticed changing is the staffing level. Speaking as someone who has publicly and verbosely lamented the fall of Reddit, allow me to say for the record: I'm unconcerned.
Yes! Yes. What's next, an IRC interview the answers to which you have to memorize in order to be accepted into the hubski fold? (By the way, hubski has an IRC channel if any of you were wondering! A guy I sort of know from Australia pays for the server for unrelated purposes. I might make an info thread on that if someone else hasn't minimum_wage.)4a) FUCK EVERYTHING ABOUT THAT.
I think the next thing Team Hubski should work on is a "new" mode. It sucks being hugged to death by reddit, but it's happened three times in my memory and we gripe and grumble because our experience gets borked. Considering the new users are going to come from Reddit, we ought to give new accounts one followed tag (#newhere) and tag a bunch of faq-like posts with it. We ought to make the tutorial hella easier to find. We ought to make it just as easy - if not easier - for new members to find popular TAGS and suggest they get followed as we do popular USERS. AND we ought to point out that a post on Hubski is good for DAYS, instead of being unmanageable after an hour.
I've argued with the fellas about this kind of thing a bit. I've always thought a new user should be defaulted to the tutorial but not suggested anything immediately. If they care enough to contribute, they'll figure it out, is my thinking. I'm in the minority (apparently with a voting bloc of one). But I don't hate the idea of "new mode". Will discuss further, for sure. Personally, I like a lot of the new contriubutors, and I hope many will stick around, but I don't really like talking about Hubski that much (although I see it a necessary sometimes). Already the huge traffic spike from the last two days is dying down.
Then you have become my congressperson, whom I now petition. Default them to the tutorial, suggest nothing, let them figure it out. Put it this way - if you give them your opinion, they're learning from you. If you let them poke around, you're learning from them.
I was kicking something similar to what kleinbl00 suggested above around in my head last night -- how about an account called announcements or (I would say hubski but that's taken) something that's mandatory for everyone to follow? Similar to reddit's mandatory subreddit, I guess, although their announcements are never relevant to me at all so let's do better there.
I think we should name it Tom, you know a little nod to myspace. Really that's what mk uses the Hubski account for. When he makes an update from it it goes in to everyones feed.
My former boss is a member and took me to dinner there once. It was alright. The golf course is amazing though.