"Eternal september" isn't really new. We've had nearly 20 years experimenting this, we've seen usenet declining, slashdot, digg, reddit and whatever other net c

"Eternal september" isn't really new. We've had nearly 20 years experimenting this, we've seen usenet declining, slashdot, digg, reddit and whatever other net community you want to. Even HN is on the downward slope nowadays, I'd say. There's an nice article on lesswrong about this : http://lesswrong.com/lw/c1/wellkept_gardens_die_by_pacifism/ http://lesswrong.com/lw/c1/wellkept_gardens_die_by_pacifism/ What's interesting in this analysis is the second drawing. It looks like one of the best "well kept garden" out there, Perlmonks.org ; it never devolved thanks to its users and moderators dedication, but it's probably losing steam and users to stackoverflow and al., I think because of its 1999 look and feel.