This started out as a comment I was composing for this post by Meriadoc in response to this comment by _refugee_
Many of our older users will recall the huge influx of circlejerkers that came over from reddit last December. It was amazing how many came over and how destructive some of them were. They were attempting to turn Hubski in to their version of reddit. It was a challenging time, but somewhat exciting too. Rather quickly, what happened is that they got bored and left. Some of them were great from the get-go and stuck around and our community grew and received some of my favorite hubskiers to date. -flagamuffin (I think), BLOB_CASTLE, and ButterflyEffect all come to mind. My point is, the group we have right now that just came over is WAY more civil and seems genuinely interested in knowing more about Hubski. How do you find out more about the new place you are at? You ask questions, thus the huge influx of #askhubski posts. Take in to consideration that the link on reddit was an askreddit post and it's no surprise that the new users are using the tag often. -This happened last december too and it will subside.
steve, ecib, cgod, b_b, insomniasexx, lil, theadvancedapes, mk and many others can attest that this has indeed happened before and that it will eventually become more stable and hopefully, the site will be better for it.
As for yours and others suggestion that people can't submit a post until they have a full hubwheel from comments isn't going to work. Some of my favorite hubskiers never or rarely comment. scrimetime posts some of my favorite links to the site but almost never comments. My suggestion is to use the tools we have in place. -Prior to last december I ignored nobody, after the influx I was ignoring 119 users. It took a little time, but it worked.
At the same time though, I wouldn't be too quick to "ignore." Many people will start by asking questions like "why is hubski better than reddit..." etc. It's natural to kick the tires, to ask hey, why is this place so great? and to behave in accordance from where you came. It takes time to assimilate, but have faith that with some help, guidance and time people will realize that this is Hubski and it is it's own thing.
So go forth and shephard these newbies, we were all once new to the site, myself included and it can be a bit overwhelming at first. Trust that most of the new people have only the best intentions.
- We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature
This post is meant to quell the anxiety of long time users regarding the latest influx. I for one am encouraged by the new users behaviors and would like to take this opportunity to welcome them.
Welcome delta! I saw that you are hosting the digital music exchange, that is awesome. Good luck with it and let me know if you need any help. Glad you're here.
That's a good question, that could be cool because you guys could post all of the mixes and let the rest of the community listen too. I'm not the right person to ask though, I think insomniasexx would have better advice.If not, what would you like to use?
-I'll not be in this round, I'm just a bit too busy to take on another project, but I LOVE the idea. If ike ever puts the physical exchange together, I'd take part in that one though. I'm old-school and love receiving a physical specimen. Still, I look forward to listening to some of the mixes if they're made public.
Yes, if you surround the username in @ symbols it turns up in your notifications just like a reply message. Anyways, I'm not entirely sure why thenewgreen passed the torch to me on this one. I'm a mediocre music listener and I mostly use Spotify. For the digital music exchange I think that you should do a post where people post all their mixes using whatever service works for them. Grooveshark comes to mind. Spotify has an in browser way to listen now (I think?) and youtube. Bandcamp or Soundcloud or whereever particular artists have their music available online. The only concern I would have is that some music is restricted by location which may be a pain for the international nature of Hubski. But I'm a big believer in dealing with problems like this as they arise. It really just depends on the artist selection that individuals make. Some aren't on Youtube, some aren't on Spotify, etc.
What a great response. That's why I turned it over to you. I literally use Spotify and that's it. Thanks insom.
I would add that perhaps the very best way to find out is to just ask the person you're paired with! They can tell you what works for them, and you can just adjust accordingly. For example, I'm paired with delta, and he mentioned Grooveshark or Youtube. I'm curating my playlist with that knowledge in the back of my head!
I like the idea of YouTube playlists but I'm concerned that I won't be able to find all the songs I want to share. Soundcloud would work best for me as that's where most of my music comes from. I think any open site should be allowed to create your playlist on. After all, we are trying to experience another persons taste in music. Getting it from a source that they feel comfortable with will only enhance the experience.
I'm a new wave user. We should think of names for the waves the way they do with generations. I'm a Generation Got-mentioned-in-Askreddit. I just wanna say that I absolutely love it here. I can't get off and its everything I want reddit to be. Discussion without mindless link after link. It's going to take some time I think to improve my attention span, I keep wanting to give up on certain long articles, but I feel like it is a much more.... intelligent?.... thoughtful? use of my time.
You've said it very nicely. Being new, I am still very confused half the time, and very pleased half the time, still figuring out how everything works here. But even though I am a bit confused, it's a positive kind of confusion. I know this site has lots of cool things and awesome people, so I will definitely be sticking around!
Glad you like it thus far. If there is anything you can't figure out on your own, feel free to PM me or ask the question here as there are likely others struggling with the same thing. Part of the fun of a new place, whether it be IRL or online is figuring it out and exploring. Enjoy the journey and welcome!
As I commented in the original post that thenewgreen mentioned above, everybody came from somewhere, including every founder. Let new users compare out loud Hubski to where they came from (wherever that may be) to their hearts content, if Hubski is different and its own animal (it is) they will come to that understanding through asking questions and engaging. In the meantime, there are more than enough tools to block repetitive, abusive, or otherwise low quality content and users (though really, this latest influx of people has been great). But again, regarding the influx of new users, I say welcome, and keep asking questions. If #askhbuski is overrun with newbie questions so be it. That's what it's for. Asking Hubksi. We can block it temporarily if we get sick of it ;)
And hopefully empty of all the stupid jokes that are usually in the gaming communities in reddit (like "your comment was posted 3 hours ago. Half life 3 confirmed" or that bullshit. Althought the "Unfortunately, I'm the High King of Skyrim" trend was pretty funny because the guy who made it has a really good sense of humor. I give it 5 days until it becomes a circlejerk). This would be like a small /r/Games where the discussion would be even more serious.
We've been saying hubskier but sounds_sound used another term... what was it?? A hubbie or some such nonsense :)
Yeah man. I've called us Hubbies before. But I also remember calling us all 'Skiers' - because we don't surf the web, we ski it. That makes zero sense. Or complete sense. You choose.
Ah, the "membership effect" we could piggyback on amex's marketing. edit: I do like "members" better than "users".
I'm starting to dig the idea of being a Hubski member. I think you can only call yourself that once your hub-wheel has made a full rotation. Only then can you wear the jacket.
I remember that conversation as well. It was inconclusive. Whenever I want to talk about something a hubski person said, I use the term "hubskiverse" as in, "I was lurking in the hubskiverse the other day and read that we will all be able to connect to the Global Brain via implants." What do you think? Kind of poetic, eh? Meanwhile, let's hope theadvancedapes did some magic at the Global Brain Institute.
I imagine it was a long, intricate, intelligent discussion going into the complexities of what each term implied. The debate probably lasted a couple months or so, and everyone walked away with their own opinion. Reddit's was more of: 5 seconds of bickering, and everyone agrees that the "smart" and "intellectual" move is to just put "or" at the end. Because that's how everything is, right?
Heh! Not I. (I would be a bit of hypocrite if I had.) I would tell you how I found hubski if I could remember. Maybe a conversation or an article or just searching around. --The better angels of our nature; I was just reading that speech. Did you know Seward wanted Lincoln to say something like "the higher angels above" or some such and Lincoln rendered it secular? One of the greatest lines ever written. Great post by the way.Rather quickly, what happened is that they got bored and left. Some of them were great from the get-go and stuck around and our community grew and received some of my favorite hubskiers to date. -flagamuffin (I think)
Thanks, I didn't know that about the speech. -Some people have fantastic intuition, from what I've read about Lincoln he seems to be one of them. Did you come to the community prior to that? Or possibly around the same time? I'm sorry I lumped you in with that occurrence but for what it's worth I've always thought of you as one of the best things to come of that influx :) -speaking of which, I miss fuffle. He's not been around for a while. Anyways, regardless of how you found the site, I'm very glad you did.
I think that while the influx might be tiresome to many, it will definitely pass. Those who don't suit the site will probably get bored after a week or two. Hubski has kept my attention for two months now exactly because people are at the center of the community. So those who try to care about the people behind the posts, are the ones who will stay. I really like the bar analogy. If you want to be a part of the regulars, you have to get to know them. Sooner or later those who sit alone and only talk to the barkeeper (who only come for the content) will go away, because there are better places for that.
I completely agree with everything you wrote. I'm glad you're around pal, but you'll always be asdveen to me :)
Actually, I appreciate it. @AnSionachRua@ Took a long time for me to figure out how to spell by memory. Edit: See what I mean, I actually have no idea how to properly spell that.
Aww. This is for me. (Whether or not you specifically meant it that way.) Sadly, in real life, I have not experienced that. I am willing to see what they do. I don't want to block anyone straight off. It seems unfair. I will tip my toes in the water of the new people and see what they have to offer - but cautiously. What is the temperature?-It has been my experience that when you let them, people will exceed your expectations.
D'aww. Thanks for lumping me in flagamuffin and BLOB_CASTLE, those two are great people and I appreciate being in a category with them (being serious). I haven't too much anxiety, so far just been trying to dispel some of the things I don't think people are going to find here (super-users, new top posts every hour, etc), things that present an unrealistic picture of what Hubski is. I truly hope that everyone that has come here from Reddit over the past couple of days have enjoyed what they have seen, and more so that they want to stay and be contributors or at least lurkers. Tis an exciting time indeed.
I have similar sentiments to ButterflyEffect. It is always an honor to be mentioned by name by Papa Hubski (thenewgreen).
Papa Hubski, huh? Alright, I guess I'm okay with that :)