
Eternal September - IgorPartola
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_September
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IgorPartola
I find that this phenomenon hits every online community I have been a part of
sooner or later, and HN does not seem to be immune to it. Every community that
forms online becomes enamored with the idea of growth. After all, the larger
the community, the more an individual's voice can carry. The core users love
seeing more and more people reading what they have to say.

However, at some point the core of the community can no longer maintain the
values. The site operators have to decide between micro-managing by creating
new rules for every social situation and keeping to the old standards that
everyone is supposed to know. The core users then move on, since their view of
the community is tainted, and eventually the influx of new users swallows the
community.

In the end the remaining members of the community recognize that it has become
an echo chamber and no longer fosters good discussion. This is when the
community implodes.

