Interesting, I don't ever check it. I guess I don't really see it as a competition. We DEFINITELY wouldn't want the most people, but perhaps the best people. Not sure if google can offer up that stat, but based on the conversations I've been having, my guess is we are way out in front of the pack. I'm digging the new crew and our already established community was, hands down, the best on the internet. -I'm definitely biased though.
Thanks. We are definitely not interested in changing that either.
Slow growth is sustainable growth. When your influx happens over time such that it doesn't overwhelm the existing culture, the influx will assimilate to the existing culture. When the influx is large and vocal, there's more of a chance for the immigrants to destroy that very thing that attracted them. Reddit effectively became Digg when Digg imploded; once /b/ got a taste for F7U12 cartoons, F7U12 effectively became /b/. There's also the mechanical aspects of managing growth with a small volunteer team on hobby equipment. Hubski has the theoretical architecture to handle large influxes of people but practically speaking, a big influx of users can test its limits to the breaking point. Hubski's is an imperfect system that is steadily tweaked to accommodate the desires and needs of its owners and its users. Whenever your operating platform is reliant on "tweaks" you want things slow and steady.
We built this site with one objective in mind, to have a place that fosters the thoughtful exchange of ideas and information. We want to cultivate quality discussions above all else. We aren't concerned with growth for the sake of growth. Regarding the content we host, mk laid it out here and if you have any questions about it, the below post would be a good place for them.
No matter what safeguards you use, it's still very possible to have the overall focuses of post shift over time, for better or worse. Whether you use tags, filters, or subreddits as a way to build "walls," noise and other unwelcome content still spills out, whether you want it to or not. As such, it's important to try to post mindfully, both in submissions as well as comments, to encourage and foster healthy dialogues as well as quality content. A few bad apples really can spoil the bunch. Trust me, I've been on forums of one type or another for fifteen years now. It doesn't take much, or a lot of time, to turn something that was once good into utter garbage.
Completely agree. I think that the culture we have here would be off-putting to the typical redactor we would like to avoid. That being said, whenever more people enter, I would like to think that it means more thoughtful "Hubski-like" people enter the community.
Considering that this site is totally not-for-profit, that it is out-of-pocket, that there is no donate button, and that they GIVE AWAY stickers and pay for the postage themselves - an increase in size means more storage, more costs, more fixes, and so on. So the goal isn't necessarily to maximize profit by maximizing usage. The actual goal of the site is for mk to look upon it and see that it is good. Consider this: I wonder if there is a way of measuring a website such as this. What is optimal for the maximum goodness that a website like this can provide? Edit I should probably take that thought to a post of its own and have the scientists go at it. b_bIncreasing your highway cruising speed from 55mph (90km/h) to 75mph (120km/h) can raise fuel consumption as much as 20%. You can improve your gas mileage 10 - 15% by driving at 55mph rather than 65mph (104km/h). Note how quickly efficiency drops after 60 mph.
What!? They give away stickers here!? Where do I sign up!? When you put it like that, it's pretty incredible how they keep this website running. I do agree with aeromill though; the owners paying out of pocket to run this place almost makes me feel guilty.