I believe I have interesting insights to share on this matter. I used to post religiously on Reddit every day, specifically r/cryptocurrency in an attempt to find its in-house crypto called moons. Subsequently I got banned on this subreddit, so I moved on to r/ethtrader which also distributes its crypto called Donuts. But after i discovered the unique selling propositions of Stacker News, i have almost stopped posting on r/ethtrader.
I think what encourages me to spend more time here is:
  1. how polite Stackers are. Some people routinely begin their comments with a “Thank you for sharing”, which just warms this writer’s heart. It makes me feel respected and acknowledged. I also find that even when people have something critical to say to me, they are rather civil. Which makes me respect their opinions more because surely they have better things to do than risk incurring the displeasure of a random Internet stranger. But they still bother to type all these words to explain their perspective.
  2. how knowledgeable Stackers are. I think the thing that never ceases to impress me is the esoteric knowledge displayed so casually by Stackers. I have people quoting politicians, philosophers, poets like nobody’s business. Other places on the Internet behave like a boring echo chamber - you just come across posts that you find so familiar that you can almost write them yourself. This is certainly not so for Stacker News. And another amazing thing, people type incredibly looooooooong responses here. You can’t say that they are doing it in the name of shitposting - for there’s the risk of receiving petty sats. But Stackers go the extra mile by sharing their personal stories and professional take on matters. It humbles and inspires me.
So I feel that if we Stackers make a concerted effort to publicise these unique selling propositions of Stacker News, the people will come. Gradually, then suddenly. But the thing is, do we want to expand too fast too furious? SN feels like a hole-in-the-wall cafe that yields me more joy because I feel like an exclusive patron lol
Shitcoiner: oh wow the people here are so nice
The people here: fuck off shitcoiner
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Haha, no one asked me to F off, not even when I posted something about Monero. Though someone did ask what possessed me to think that it would be well-received here haha. Anyway I stopped posting about SHITCOINS!
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This is a really good depiction of how I feel about Stacker News, too. My concern about promoting growth is that the rest of the internet is worse than Stacker News on the points you listed and we don't want to turn it into another toxic echo chamber. I hope people will be somewhat selective in who they promote Stacker News to.
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Ya I agree. Organic growth may be the best option after all. There is no need to pursue speed all the time
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Especially while we're still establishing the culture that we want to perpetuate, the focus should be on inviting people who will definitely be additive.
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Quality over quantity, definitely
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