Last week, I proposed an unpopular change to Hubski.
In short, I suggested that we only see comments from those users we follow, or until the comments have been shared with us. I also suggested that your feed be a result only of what tags you follow. No one liked the idea.
In the interim, I've arrived at a less-draconian version of the experiment. It is live now. Here are the changes we are testing:
1. When a user makes a comment, the person replied to and people that follow the user, can see the comment.
2. If you share a comment, everyone that follows you can see the comment.
3. If you reply to a comment, everyone can see the comment.
4. After 12 hours, everyone can see the comment.
5. Everyone can see all comments on Pubski.
6. User promotion is gone. New users can post or comment immediately.
In short, sharing a comment reveals it to everyone that follows you. Replying to a comment reveals it to all. 12 hours passing also reveals a comment to all.
I'm happy to discuss the rationale behind this, however I am going to be afk for a few hours, so it might take a short while to respond. Also, this is an experiment. It is likely that we do not adopt this functionality, and if we do, it will likely be modified by what we learn. I do hope you'll keep an open mind to see how it plays out.
As always, feedback is appreciated!