Slashdot was great back in the first few months and years. Like many other aggregation sites, it degraded in forum quality as the user base grew exponentially.

Slashdot was great back in the first few months and years. Like many other aggregation sites, it degraded in forum quality as the user base grew exponentially. See Usenet's Eternal September. The Well has intelligent discussions, but it can be dry and academic, not to mention it is subscription based. Digg and reddit are just overrun with lunatics and youtube-esque banter. On HN, I can read a few interesting articles and comments and feel satisfied. I am learning a lot. I hope I can contribute in the future.