If hubski becomes "exclusive" I'm gone in a heartbeat. ESPECIALLY if invites are done based on shares, so the most popular users can invite others who agree with them? There will be a serious lack of ideological diversity as the majority base grows and minority thoughts (which receive fewer shares) does not at a comparable pace. Hubski would become a giant circle jerk. Edit:
Nowaypablo's idea sounds good to me, though
Take off your tinfoil hat, son. A community where everyone agrees with me sounds like the least fun community possible. Do you know any people IRL whose friends are based on whether or not those friends agree with them? To add to that, do you know any 2 people IRL that will agree unilaterally across-the-board on every topic? Those people aren't real and don't exist. Edit: Also, just going to say - by removing yourself from the userpool if this happened, you'd be contributing to the problem. Why not welcome yourself as having a place on the inside where you could help offset these potential drawbacks by inviting whatever disagreeing mo-fo you can? the most popular users can invite others who agree with them?
I've got to say, I completely and wholeheartedly agree with you. This whole "circle jerk" thing doesn't exist in my world. I am throwing a birthday party tomorrow night for my wife, it's a surprise, and we will have about 15-20 people over. These people range from being extremely liberal to extremely libertarian, with maybe two right wing conservatives. The point is, there will be no shortage of varying ideas, thoughts and belief systems present and all of them are people I would provide Hubski invites to. They all have different careers too and different areas of specialty. I think the whole "circle jerk" thing exists in a younger demo, honestly. When I was 15-20, I was pretty die hard "X" and wore it on my sleeve, now a days I know better. As steve is fond of saying, only a sithe deals in absolutes.
I like passionate people. One of my favorite people to talk with is my uncle Bill. He's a DIE HARD libertarian and has been since John Stossil was a much younger man. Still, he's a really smart guy and I learn a ton when we talk. He's passionate about his beliefs and as such he's way more fun to talk to than someone I might be lock step in belief with that is less passionate. I like to surround myself with people that are doing things. My wife is the same way. I feel like Hubski has cultivated a similar group of people that I would actually hang out with in real life. I've disagreed with you, with cgod, with many people on this site a lot, but I know that if we were all in a room together, having a beer, it would be a blast. Dissenting opinion is the bedrock for growth, I'd welcome 10 people with differing views from my own to Hubski gladly, in a heart beat. I'm not sure why anyone wouldn't? You, no doubt, have friends that have varying views etc. too.
Because statistically they don't. People are most comfortable amongst those with similar beliefs. This is why political parties and religions exist. Mad props for pushing for diversity - and you aren't the only one. However, it is not the natural behavior of groups and if you aren't cognizant of the statistical mean you're going to be disappointed in the results.I'd welcome 10 people with differing views from my own to Hubski gladly, in a heart beat. I'm not sure why anyone wouldn't?
No, it's not a conspiracy thing, it's a human nature thing. People are going to invite people they know, and people know people through similar interests and ways of thought. While I'm not saying people are going to scrutinize invites to make sure they're not against their opinions, must of the people they invite will be people they know, who are biased to agree with them. The trend will not be absolute, of course, but it will be significant. As to why I would remove myself from the user pool, I have all of one hubwhell in the five months I've been here and feel no obligation to the community.
Please see my response to refugee. I like your suggestions here, so thank you, but I have to point out that as of right now, much of Hubski exists because people have invited their friends, acquaintances, co-workers etc to the site and I don't think it has suffered as a result. So, I don't quite buy in to the circle jerk theory. However, I am 100% with you in that I don't think we need to be actively turning interested people away. What I'm totally okay with is turning away people that would create an account, make a bunch of bullshit comments/posts for the ONE DAY they were here and never return.
Would the open day each month counteract this? Would making it more frequent counteract it more? Is it a bad thing for people to have to wait? What if there were no invites at all, but you could only sign up on the first of the month, or the first day of the week?
The thing is, people aren't going to wait. They come to the site, see that if they want to join they'll have to do it in three weeks, and promptly return to whatever forum they came from. Prospective members aren't invested in the site enough to wait. I suspect the result of such a restriction would be only people who found the site on a sign-in day would join, lowering the number of recruits but not having much of an impact on their quality.
I'm not sure I agree. At least personally, I would wait. I recall insomniasexx said that Designer News had a sign up window that was pretty narrow, and that people waited for it. In all honesty, if they aren't interested in waiting, maybe that's not a terrible thing. As for the circle jerk thing, it's a tough one. I'm not convinced that it comes from like-mindedness as much as it does from a lack of depth. For example, a discussion of climate change isn't a circle jerk if everyone agrees it is man-made. However, it is a circle jerk if people aren't willing to critically discuss aspects of climate change, or solutions, prevention, economics of it, etc. Usually a circle jerk can only occur if the treatment is very shallow. I get no joy out of mindless endorsement of my opinions. In fact, it bothers me and I seek critique. I expect that is the goal of thoughtful people.The thing is, people aren't going to wait.
All good points. What if on a day when you cannot create an account you can sign up for a reminder, this way on an enrollment day you get a notification from Hubski?