Let me begin by apologizing for the rash of downtimes and general weirdness over the last 24 hours. We are making some significant changes behind-the-scenes, and it has been a bit more interesting than we hoped for.
But, on to other interesting things…
Tags are back!
That is, you can now follow tags again. In fact, if you were previously following some tags, you are following them again.
I’d be happy to talk about our rationale for doing this below. However, the short version is that people really missed following tags, and we think our filtering mechanisms can make up for most drawbacks that can come with it.
Happy birthday, <span><a class="ajax" href="at?id=kleinbl00">kleinbl00</a>. :) In addition, we have split the ignore function into two. You can now ignore and/or mute a user. If you ignore a user, you don’t see that user’s posts anywhere. If you mute a user, that user cannot comment on your posts. You can ignore, mute, or both. Finally, posts that are in your feed also show up in the global pages. Many of you requested this, including <span><a class="ajax" href="at?id=Seal">Seal</a>
As always, feedback is much appreciated.
p.s. It’s been a busy month for Hubski in a number of ways. Thanks for the time and interest that you all have put into making this the best place it can be. We will keep working at it on our end.
I'm interested to see where this goes. My biggest worry about tags is avoiding "Subreddit"-like behavior. That is, things like "Hey #programming, check out this function I wrote!" or "So what does #guncontrol think of..." Blocks of users interested in a tag should not be of one mind, nor should they be assumed to be of one mind on any topic.
Ideally, following tags should be a way of saying "I am interested in #_____ and have strong opinions about it", and not just "I love #_____!" For example, if you're following #atheism, you shouldn't be doing it because you want to say "Hey, fuck religions man!" and get a million nods in solemn agreement. Rather, following #atheism should be a signal that you think there's a lot to talk about on the subject, whether you yourself are atheist, interested philosophy surrounding it, or the sociological implications of it. A Christian who is worried about the growth of irreligion among the youth of America would be someone who could be interested in that tag, for example. (Not meaning to harp on atheism, but merely putting it out there by way of example).
Hopefully, the users of Hubski see it the same way and follow anything meaningful to them, whether they love it or hate it! Keeps discussion more interesting that way.