I found Hubski in a reddit alternatives thread, lurked for a few weeks, and made an account 365 days ago. In that time I've come to really appreciate this community for numerous reasons, I'll focus however on 3.

1. Hubski prioritizes civil discussion above all else

This is pretty self-explanatory, but it's important. Because of it's design, Hubski makes a typical flame war impossible, or at least impractical, and also fairly easy to contain. When a user spots another user, or topic that is particularly flame-riddled, they can be ignored/muted pretty easily.

2. Hubski encourages Original Content

As long as you're not putting anybody else down, and doing something genuinely creative, Hubski is all about the OC. Make music, a poem, a comic, an epic adventure in the creative style of D&D, a great meal or a treatise on technology. Hubski just wants you to make something original.

3. Community

Because of the nature of the hubweel, circledot and badge, Hubski does not allow for people to simply hunt for fake internet points. You can't just make posts hunting for badges, because a badge must be earned, and therefore is spent with some care. This means that everyone participating is doing so primarily because they are interested in the topic. Now this is important, because 'interested in' does not me 'supports.' Just like a circle-dot is not an upvote, a person following a tag on hubski does not, by virtue of following the tag, take a side on a controversial issue. They make take a side in the discussion, but the following #guncontrol does not of itself set you on one side of the issue. Whereas on reddit for example, each subreddit tends to create an acceptable vocabulary/grammar/opinion to have on the given issue, which is how dogma is created.

The effect of all of this is that your average hubski user is a lot more patient, and more committed to quality and manners than your average messageboard user. Hubski is a message board, because although yes you can just post images, they tend to be the exception rather than the rule, used for comedic value rather than main content.

A bit on personal development:

When I found Hubski I was in the process of beginning to come out of a dark season in my life, and I can proudly say that I have put that behind me for the most part. I have learned to recognize when I am reacting (Negatively) to something that has happened, rather than acting in a way consistent with the person I want to be. I recognize the effect of different negative stimuli, the feelings that I tend to create spontaneously as a result, like a body generating a fever to try and drive out an illness, but burning nerves in the process. I recognize the impulse to try and dull that feeling with a misuse of alcohol, THC or food. That's not to say that I have given up any of those things entirely, but I no longer use them to cope, and have learned better moderation. Death used to terrify me into inaction, but after long mediation I have 'died' and now I live like I've passed away and I'm trying to make up for lost time. I'm not so afraid of failure, because I have nothing but this one life's worth of time, and I have to make the best use of it that I can, and maybe enjoy some of it.

I'm incredibly grateful for Hubski. For it's perspective, for it's unique character (And characters!). For the goals it aspires to, and the priority it gives to order and reason in an internet of anarchy.

Cheers to the thoughtful web.