Could I offer a suggestion? Please don't make the website easier to use. No, for real. I don't even understand how to use it properly right now. I click hubski and it tells me I'm not following people, I have no idea wtf that means or how to do it. But I'm going to stick around because I appreciate the discussions I've had so far and what I've learned so far. I know a lot about running a website is attracting a userbase (I've ran a few websites and forums), but even more important is attracting the RIGHT userbase. So long as the website remains highly available only to those willing to learn and interact, rather than just throwing up an opinion without warrant, your userbase will remain quality. I'm not for nazi-like moderation (I've seen that happen too many times in forums I've been a part of or started), so I believe the best barrier that keeps good users in and crap-posts out, is the natural barrier of entry that is requiring to learn about a website/how to use it before being able to post your opinion. In this method, only those opinions worth hearing, those who've decided they understand the methods of discussion and believe they would like to contribute to discussion, are the ones who end up posting and end up as long time users. I appreciate the work so far, mods. Make sure you keep it up and expand the userbase while maintaining quality. It's a hard job to do, I'd know and I know you know because you've all likely experienced the balance between free opinion and moderation of standards that I have while running websites and forums.
I know where you are coming from, NOTORIOUS. In fact, I think the UI can have a very large effect upon the content of the site. Personally, I want Hubski to feel like a place where you want to have quality interactions, not just be a place where they can happen. It's something that we will guard. That said, as StephenBuckley mentions, it's our aim that Hubski not simply work as a commons for all comers. Using following and ignoring, every user should be able to build the version of Hubski that they want.
Well, I tend to disagree. Hubski can grow and you can still have your hubski, and I can still have mine because of how ignoring and following works. Which you should probably look up/figure out anyways (pm me if you need help!). (If you click on someone's name, a box will open, in the upper left of that box will be the words "follow [username]" and once you click that, your "feed" page -which is where Hubski automatically brings you when you type hubski.com- will have posts that that user made or shares. You share a post by clicking on the hubwheel to give it a spoke -those smaller circles around that bigger circle next to every post.)