I have a slightly different take on the cause for this phenomena - I called it a pond theory because it reminded me of ripples in a pond. Essentially, a small,

I have a slightly different take on the cause for this phenomena - I called it a pond theory because it reminded me of ripples in a pond. Essentially, a small, founding group have a lot in common, though each individual has diverse interests. The community expands, and while new ripples will continue to have things in common with the centre, they will increasingly have interests that are more diverse than other new members on the other side of the pond. Eventually the community grows too large, there are too many interests for the original core to remain strong, and (like the ripples in a pond) the energy dissipates and the group fails. [1] Thoughts - http://www.shirlawsonline.com/blogs/197-my-pond-theory-or-why-social-networks-must-fail http://www.shirlawsonline.com/blogs/197-my-pond-theory-or-wh... [2] Possible Solutions - http://www.shirlawsonline.com/blogs/199-my-pond-theory-or-how-social-networks-avoid-failing http://www.shirlawsonline.com/blogs/199-my-pond-theory-or-ho... And for the record, I don't think HN is already too much like Reddit / Digg / Slashdot / Whatever.