Do you have feelings/thoughts on striking a balance between getting new blood and maintaining the old charm?

LOL do you really need to ask?

My thoughts and feelings, though, aren't so much about the demographics of Hubski as they are about the greater internet community. This place was started as a refuge of thoughtful discussion as Hacker News became more and more tech focused and Reddit became more caustic and trivial. The refugees we tended to get were looking for "old Reddit", a place that could credibly claim to be semi-intellectual.

The people seeking that sort of discussion tend to not be settled into their lives. They're seekers. They have questions and they don't know who to ask. Being surrounded by others who are struggling with the same thing makes you feel less alone. Getting an opinion from someone who's been through what you're going through counts for a lot.

My involvement in online communities has always been different.

For me, "The Internet" since about 2006 has been a place where people younger than me ask for advice. That's the human connection I value. And what I think has changed is that there isn't enough representative Internet where "advice" is something you can ask for anymore. So nobody's coming to Hubski because it's better than Reddit; anybody looking to figure their shit out is no longer going to get a credible answer anywhere else on the Internet.

The landbridge has submerged. We are the Galapagos. And really - the people who needed advice have gotten it and have moved on while the people who built an online community where they could hang out are too busy with real life. Really, we're a victim of our own success - this place has been a part of lots of people getting their shit together but once their shit is together there are better communities than online ones.