I realize that my comment is negative. It is also honest. It is not my job to be yanyone's cheerleader. I am not on Hubski so I can smile, pretend I think things are going great, and make everyone feel like a warm fuzzy bunny. I am on Hubski to think and to talk. If I can't be honest about how I feel about Hubski while on Hubski, what's the damn point? I admit at the bottom of my post that there are new users that look like they might be good here. I admit at the top of it that it's negative. I am aware that I am being a pessimist in this situation. Hubski has been around for nearly three years, natch. Yes, it's relatively young compared to, let's say, 4chan, but I think users are confusing "new to me" with "new in general." You're not a bad guy. It's just an annoying choice of semantics. I am inviting you, and anyone else, to defy my expectations. I know that I need to sit back and wait and see how it's going and I am trying very hard to do so. I know that once upon a time I was a new user at this website and yes, I did even come in on a wave of users (I think). Before that I was a new user at Reddit; I came over at the fall of Digg. My username is not picked by chance or whimsy. This also means that when I came over to Reddit, I saw tons of comments like this. It made me curious as to what the site was like beforehand, and, as I expect will be the case here, I loved what I saw, became a member of the community, and thought it was great. It was only over the course of three years at Reddit that I began to be able to see the decline of the community. You have to be here beforehand to see the impact. And what's also true is that when you are there beforehand, you are probably going to be resistant to change, even if that change eventually turns to be for the better. My perspective is biased, flawed, and I acknowledge these things. I'm generally a pessimist and I've also seen the way this goes for other websites. Moreover, as a person and as a contributer to this website, my perspective is valued (admittedly, probably only by some) precisely because it is biased and flawed. That is the nature of having a personality. Don't be careful. Don't mind me. I would ask that you try to use this site with respect but then I come across like I am taking this website far too seriously: it is only a website, after all. I think the most valuable thing to remember when using Hubski is that the whole point of Hubski is fostering intelligent, thoughful discussion. That's what the two of us are doing right here and now. In that way, it's great. Don't take my comments personally. They are just my thoughts and they're not aimed at anyone in particular. As for Kafke, I've got my eye on you. You seem pretty cool. And zonk, I'll keep an eye out for you and see what you're doing as well. Please. Defy my expectations. I'm just often used to people merely living up to them.
And that is why you are one of three people I follow. Reddit started failing when the knuckledraggers in /b/ discovered they could get points for sharing f7u12 cartoons in /r/fffffffuuuuuuuuuuuu. They emigrated en masse. Most of the shit on Reddit is directly related to awkward teens and tweens herping and derping about poop and rejection in amongst the defaults. The Digg thing was a lot more seamless than most people really want to believe; it wasn't an erroneous data point at all.It is not my job to be yanyone's cheerleader. I am not on Hubski so I can smile, pretend I think things are going great, and make everyone feel like a warm fuzzy bunny. I am on Hubski to think and to talk. If I can't be honest about how I feel about Hubski while on Hubski, what's the damn point?
Before that I was a new user at Reddit; I came over at the fall of Digg.
Well, that's a refreshingly honest and open self-analysis. And it relativises the other post quite a bit. The first post just even made me afraid to post stuff under a new, not well established tag like for example #ps4 or #playstation, even though I'd love to play with some people here once it's released. Because what if the veterans are no gamers and don't like the r/gaming subreddit and fear it becomes the same here? And your comment had quite a few shares, so what if the majority agrees here with you?! As you pointed out, everything here seems to be more 'personal' and things are more tied to your nickname, because of your followers etc., so you have to be extra careful not to get into fights or contradict with the old guard and their vision or image of hubski they have. But as I said, your comment put it into another light and made some things sound less harsh ;) And I'm pretty sure I'm aware of the major differences between this website here and reddit, at least the very basics and that's why I commented here in 2 days probably more than on reddit in 2 months. So don't be afraid of new things, young users can bring refreshing new content that still resembles the spirit of the 'old' hubski!
I wouldn't be afraid to post, especially appropriately under tags. I - and everyone else - can always unfollow or mute a tag. Honestly, if you tag things, I think that's better. I'd rather mute a tag than a user. P.S. zonk - in re-read, you clearly read my entire super-huge-long text post about my opinions and biases, and I appreciate that. That's honestly the kind of user I'd like to see here. And thank you for the discussion. I'm glad my second reply tempered your worries a bit. I've been cranky because I haven't been able to get on Hubski, frankly.