They also don't have a designer which makes the usability bad. I've heard this repeated a number of times, and I completely disagree with it. Reddit may not be

They also don't have a designer which makes the usability bad. I've heard this repeated a number of times, and I completely disagree with it. Reddit may not be the prettiest site on the block, but it's damn functional. There is very little unnecessary stuff on the screen, and I quite like it that way. I tend to turn off custom subreddit styles because they takae away from the minimal, functional interface. I've heard people talk about "improving reddit and HN's design", but I've never seen any clear examples of where they think it's bad. I still count 4chan as an underground site, but maybe they are the third player. They're niche though, so let's say there's still room even then. 4chan's an entirely different category. They're less about linksharing, and more about...well, whatever the hell they are. I don't think I'd put them anywhere near Digg or Reddit except for the fact that they both have memes. That's pretty much the only comparison.