Interesting thought...

I read this yesterday...

Got me thinking about Q&A sites...

I believe the author there has something - if you introduce a barrier to entry, it will have it so that only those that really want in - are in.  I don't know that metafilter is better/worse/same as reddit and digg - I do know that I used to follow digg, then it became a "not as good place" for me.  I follow reddit - but it is becoming very much the same.  I've never used metafilter (on my todo list now) so cannot compare it.  But the *idea* proposed, the concept - it does seem to have merit.

It would be neat to know if this has ever been studied before - does anyone know?  Thoughts?

 

ps: I'm not thinking about doing this in asktom.  I was asking in general for "social sites" like digg, reddit and the like.  Sites that start off nicely with a small focused community but then turn into a bit mess when they become 'cool'.