Would the open day each month counteract this? Would making it more frequent counteract it more? Is it a bad thing for people to have to wait? What if there were no invites at all, but you could only sign up on the first of the month, or the first day of the week?
The thing is, people aren't going to wait. They come to the site, see that if they want to join they'll have to do it in three weeks, and promptly return to whatever forum they came from. Prospective members aren't invested in the site enough to wait. I suspect the result of such a restriction would be only people who found the site on a sign-in day would join, lowering the number of recruits but not having much of an impact on their quality.
I'm not sure I agree. At least personally, I would wait. I recall insomniasexx said that Designer News had a sign up window that was pretty narrow, and that people waited for it. In all honesty, if they aren't interested in waiting, maybe that's not a terrible thing. As for the circle jerk thing, it's a tough one. I'm not convinced that it comes from like-mindedness as much as it does from a lack of depth. For example, a discussion of climate change isn't a circle jerk if everyone agrees it is man-made. However, it is a circle jerk if people aren't willing to critically discuss aspects of climate change, or solutions, prevention, economics of it, etc. Usually a circle jerk can only occur if the treatment is very shallow. I get no joy out of mindless endorsement of my opinions. In fact, it bothers me and I seek critique. I expect that is the goal of thoughtful people.The thing is, people aren't going to wait.
All good points. What if on a day when you cannot create an account you can sign up for a reminder, this way on an enrollment day you get a notification from Hubski?