With the influx of new users from Reddit (I think mk mentioned it was around 650 new users for Hubski overnight a couple of days back), prompted by /r/truereddit and /r/theoryofreddit posts, I was wondering what you guys considered to be the death of a community content website, and what causes it.
I must admit, I am one of the Redditors who came here to see what the fuss was about. I found Hubski to be really interesting, a more close knit community. I think still has a small way to come before I can truly enjoy and use is as I did Reddit and (formerly) Digg. Admittedly though, I can see myself using this site more and more, as Reddit has become a bit of a guilty pleasure for me recently, I'm enjoying it less and going on it "just because".
I think, to put it bluntly, Reddit is dying a slow death.
There are too many users (8 Million unique users a day), there is a distinct lack of community, with people preferring to circlejerk or use puns than to have actual discussion (which is why I'm growing to like this site and have hence signed up), and finally every subreddit is plagued by memes, trolls and other bits of content that really draw away from what could still be a fantastic site.
I'm not sure if it's users that specifically kill the site. Digg now has 13,000 unique hits a day, not a massive number, but I don't feel it's recovered at all to what it used to be.
I'm kind of worried Hubski will soon see a massive Reddit migration and become Reddit v2.0. Hopefully this site will stay as it is now, a place for discussion and good content. I also hope that if we do see a migration, we don't all turn into "those people", you know, the "we were here before it was cool / it was so much better when..." people.
Apologies for bringing up Reddit again, I know it's been done to death recently but I believe it is valid to examine this question, to see if we can prevent it or change the game. Plus it is kind of interesting.
So what do you guys think causes a Community Content Site to die out?