> Are social news sites destined to devolve? ... How does one keep social news sites from sliding down that slope?
With moderators/editors who are responsible for the quality of content?
It seems that a social news site only stays relevant as long as the people in charge are interested in maintaining it. As it is, reddit's problem is that they put "everyone" in charge, and, as it gained popularity, "everyone" was therefore free to change their mind about what content is acceptable.
To use a successful example besides Slashdot/mefi, look at the n-sider forums (discussion community focused around Nintendo products). Although membership is free and content is provided by the community, the quality of the site has remained generally high for the 6-7 years I've been visiting it. Why? Simply because the moderators are quick to warn (and ban) members that don't contribute interesting discussion.
Basically, idealized sites such as reddit misunderstand where democracy exists regarding the internet--since the ability to found competing communities is cheap and unrestricted, it shouldn't be reddit's responsibility to give everyone a voice.
With moderators/editors who are responsible for the quality of content?
It seems that a social news site only stays relevant as long as the people in charge are interested in maintaining it. As it is, reddit's problem is that they put "everyone" in charge, and, as it gained popularity, "everyone" was therefore free to change their mind about what content is acceptable.
To use a successful example besides Slashdot/mefi, look at the n-sider forums (discussion community focused around Nintendo products). Although membership is free and content is provided by the community, the quality of the site has remained generally high for the 6-7 years I've been visiting it. Why? Simply because the moderators are quick to warn (and ban) members that don't contribute interesting discussion.
Basically, idealized sites such as reddit misunderstand where democracy exists regarding the internet--since the ability to found competing communities is cheap and unrestricted, it shouldn't be reddit's responsibility to give everyone a voice.