I love the fact that hubski people have personalities and I know many of us and I too would not like it being a massive site, so thank you for being dedicated to keeping it thoughtful. However, it's a very quiet website and I think more people would be good. Years ago when there were more people, there was more discussion and I miss the deep, complex, long-lasting discussions. I think making the sign up process more difficult would reduce the number of spam, but it'd also drastically reduce the number of potential newbies coming in. And speaking of newbies, I know there's been discussion from newbies (Daffodil that I can think of recently) that because the lack of action on Hubski, earning a hubwheel is a lot more difficult, and since there is functionality attached to that, being a new person is that much more difficult. It's already daunting since we've all been here for years. Are there plans to fix that should you change the sign up process, or even leaving the sign up process how it is?
We have very few newbies coming in, and I doubt changing the signup in that way will reduce the numbers. In fact, I suspect it might have the opposite effect. Also, spam is a massive pain in the ass. Just three regularly engaged users can have a significant impact on this place. Signaling from the outset that Hubski is clearly more interested in users than growth might be beneficial. I can definitely tweak the rate at which a hubwheel is earned.
mk, c_hawkthorne mentioned to me in passing that the chat function isn’t visible when logged out. I recall older lurkers not being logged in when lurking. Is this a possible change that can occur?