Forums tend to become fragmented over time because as the number of active users increases, the diversity of the opinions of the community increases. Such incre

Forums tend to become fragmented over time because as the number of active users increases, the diversity of the opinions of the community increases. Such increased diversity results in an increase in opposing viewpoints, which drives users away and increases the frequency of political in-fighting. There are no moderation tools at present which can prevent this sort of in-fighting with blatant censorship. In the absence of such tools, the only viable solution is a fragmentation of the community. This is most apparent to HN readers with the rise of lobste.rs