3 ms·

To me, it's on the boring side...doesn't have much on a webforum.

karjaluoto 18y ago
It's interesting that you say that. It seems that people who use it tend to get rather addicted, with some online for eight-hour stretches and such. That being said, it could be that the fun of it doesn't translate that well on a first glance yet. One thing that we're working on aggressively is the ability for users to showcase specific lists they've created as a bigger part of their profile. Our feeling is that this may help us better appeal to the individual who likes to broadcast what they think. (i.e. blog as personal diary, Twitter for brief snippets, MakeFive as a way to list all of the things they love/hate, etc.) Are there specific things that turned you off about the site?
- thomasmallen 18y ago
  I prefer discussion and elaboration to simple lists, so a site that shares abbreviated opinions to me is a poor man's forum. Again, this applies to me only, and I know that the internet by its breadth fosters simple, microscopic content.
  - karjaluoto 18y ago
    I agree with you and I feel that this is something that we haven’t quite remedied yet. The nice part with the brief lists is that it allows almost anyone an easy entry point to a discussion. Plus, the nature of these list forces users to condense their choices, which we feel is helpful. (It does make the site nice to browse and information easy to digest.) But as I noted, we do recognize the need to make the dialogue more involved. The element that we’re adding next week asks users to explain why they made their selections, which we’re hoping adds to the amount of content as well as the depth of conversation. For some this won’t appeal at all; however, for people as obsessive and particular as me, it will be nice to compile my list of the best entrepreneurial books I’ve ever read, alongside extended notes on why I enjoyed them. :-)
Spyckie 18y ago
I think HN people just aren't your audience (or they'd be on digg, reddit, etc.) so I don't think you should take this particular feedback seriously. On the plus side, I think its has potential to be another nice social hub on the internet. Have you thought about what kind of community you want to foster, and the impacts of what you're making them do? For instance, if you're making them flame each other over whether zelda or mario is better, make sure you enact some policy that forces the community to do so politely! Also, keep searching for how your users talk to each other, and add functionality that enables them to talk more easily.
- karjaluoto 18y ago
  I suppose so, but I really appreciate all of the feedback that’s been given nevertheless. The weird part about this project is that our users continue to surprise me--coming from all walks of life. As such, and suggestions we can get are helpful! “Nurturing” the community is something we’re still really struggling with. We try to stay out of the way as much as possible, but do have to pop in every once in a while when things are taken in the wrong direction. It’s a pretty organic process, and we’re certainly not “there” yet, but I think we’re learning some things as we progress with this. We do have a fairly loyal group of users who are taking a lead in keeping an eye out on behavior, and we’ve urged them to ask people to just be decent. It seems that we’re building a good relationship with a lot of the users, and it’s nice to have them working with us to make the environment a positive one. I like the idea of finding better ways for them to interact. We’re working on a chat system that I think might work well here. It’s a feature that I find intrusive on something like Facebook, but we think will work better here as the users don’t have other more traditional means of communicating. (i.e. I’d rather talk to a close friend on the phone than chat on Facebook, but I might have a brief question that I’d like to ask someone I don’t know as well on MakeFive, without the bother of sending an email.) As noted, we really appreciate the feedback. If you have an opportunity, please do join up and tell us what you think of the site--particularly the parts you find to not work as they should. :-)

It's interesting that you say that. It seems that people who use it tend to get rather addicted, with some online for eight-hour stretches and such. That being said, it could be that the fun of it doesn't translate that well on a first glance yet. One thing that we're working on aggressively is the ability for users to showcase specific lists they've created as a bigger part of their profile. Our feeling is that this may help us better appeal to the individual who likes to broadcast what they think. (i.e. blog as personal diary, Twitter for brief snippets, MakeFive as a way to list all of the things they love/hate, etc.) Are there specific things that turned you off about the site?

thomasmallen 18y ago
I prefer discussion and elaboration to simple lists, so a site that shares abbreviated opinions to me is a poor man's forum. Again, this applies to me only, and I know that the internet by its breadth fosters simple, microscopic content.
- karjaluoto 18y ago
  I agree with you and I feel that this is something that we haven’t quite remedied yet. The nice part with the brief lists is that it allows almost anyone an easy entry point to a discussion. Plus, the nature of these list forces users to condense their choices, which we feel is helpful. (It does make the site nice to browse and information easy to digest.) But as I noted, we do recognize the need to make the dialogue more involved. The element that we’re adding next week asks users to explain why they made their selections, which we’re hoping adds to the amount of content as well as the depth of conversation. For some this won’t appeal at all; however, for people as obsessive and particular as me, it will be nice to compile my list of the best entrepreneurial books I’ve ever read, alongside extended notes on why I enjoyed them. :-)

Spyckie 18y ago

I think HN people just aren't your audience (or they'd be on digg, reddit, etc.) so I don't think you should take this particular feedback seriously. On the plus side, I think its has potential to be another nice social hub on the internet. Have you thought about what kind of community you want to foster, and the impacts of what you're making them do? For instance, if you're making them flame each other over whether zelda or mario is better, make sure you enact some policy that forces the community to do so politely! Also, keep searching for how your users talk to each other, and add functionality that enables them to talk more easily.

karjaluoto 18y ago
I suppose so, but I really appreciate all of the feedback that’s been given nevertheless. The weird part about this project is that our users continue to surprise me--coming from all walks of life. As such, and suggestions we can get are helpful! “Nurturing” the community is something we’re still really struggling with. We try to stay out of the way as much as possible, but do have to pop in every once in a while when things are taken in the wrong direction. It’s a pretty organic process, and we’re certainly not “there” yet, but I think we’re learning some things as we progress with this. We do have a fairly loyal group of users who are taking a lead in keeping an eye out on behavior, and we’ve urged them to ask people to just be decent. It seems that we’re building a good relationship with a lot of the users, and it’s nice to have them working with us to make the environment a positive one. I like the idea of finding better ways for them to interact. We’re working on a chat system that I think might work well here. It’s a feature that I find intrusive on something like Facebook, but we think will work better here as the users don’t have other more traditional means of communicating. (i.e. I’d rather talk to a close friend on the phone than chat on Facebook, but I might have a brief question that I’d like to ask someone I don’t know as well on MakeFive, without the bother of sending an email.) As noted, we really appreciate the feedback. If you have an opportunity, please do join up and tell us what you think of the site--particularly the parts you find to not work as they should. :-)