Yeah, I wasn't referring to the quality problem (I'm in full agreement with you on that). I think they are in a better position that Digg at the Digg-bar point (even with low qual participation, engagement still seems deeper than Digg at that time), but the quality is decidedly Eternal September (lower, really).
This is a movie plot. Seriously. Condé Nast is the government. They are largely incompetent and mostly concerned about political infighting and palace intrigues.
The reddit team is the hodge podge group of geeks that happened to be (insert constrained environment here):
* on a cruise ship with the worlds top nuclear scientists (and a bomb!)
* touring an underground viral research facility on a school outing during which there is a "containment breach!"
* orbiting earth in an experimental space plane they built in their barn when the entire GPS sat system FAILS!
The government (condé nast) can do nothing to assist them other than sit uncomfortably on the edge of their chairs, wrinkling their expensive suits, waiting to see if our intrepid developers succeed.
Unlike a Hollywood production, however, we don't know if this plot has a happy ending. I'm rooting for our plucky team, but the clock is ticking.
Tick.
Tock.
(I'll leave the rest of you to imagine the movie poster)
If you don't weed out your counter-productive citizens you end up with Digg. If you do, if you keep it tight, you might be lucky enough to have a metafilter.com which after a decade is still an amazing place.
Strangely, Something Awful is actually a great model for a community. A great case-study in how to keep a community from imploding.
Hah really? Something Awful is site where everyone rehashes five-year-old in-jokes, has a weird cult-like mentality towards the rest of the internet, and makes money by repeatedly banning a small number of people over and over again. I'm a member there, and the place is clearly dying out.
This is a movie plot. Seriously. Condé Nast is the government. They are largely incompetent and mostly concerned about political infighting and palace intrigues.
The reddit team is the hodge podge group of geeks that happened to be (insert constrained environment here):
* on a cruise ship with the worlds top nuclear scientists (and a bomb!)
* touring an underground viral research facility on a school outing during which there is a "containment breach!"
* orbiting earth in an experimental space plane they built in their barn when the entire GPS sat system FAILS!
The government (condé nast) can do nothing to assist them other than sit uncomfortably on the edge of their chairs, wrinkling their expensive suits, waiting to see if our intrepid developers succeed.
Unlike a Hollywood production, however, we don't know if this plot has a happy ending. I'm rooting for our plucky team, but the clock is ticking.
Tick.
Tock.
(I'll leave the rest of you to imagine the movie poster)