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Explanation for the site being invite only: "Not for exclusivity, but rather, invitations will be used as a spam-control mechanism. New users must be invited b

Explanation for the site being invite only: "Not for exclusivity, but rather, invitations will be used as a spam-control mechanism. New users must be invited by a current member and invitations will be unlimited (unless scaling problems temporarily prevent new accounts). If spammers are invited to the site and banned, the user that invited them may also be banned, going up the chain of invitations as needed." Seems basically sane, though I imagine the site would be pretty cliquish at first. You do have a pretty strong disincentive for inviting people you don't know. Any member want to break up the cliquishness by inviting me? If you trust metrics, my high average karma means I'm probably less of a risk. Probably.

veyron 14y ago
"my high average karma means I'm probably less of a risk. Probably." If anything all this means is that you conform to the culture of HN, precisely what (it would seem) Lobsters is trying to break from.
- roryokane 14y ago
  https://lobste.rs/s/bkeYe9/about_lobsters https://lobste.rs/s/bkeYe9/about_lobsters says nothing about trying to break from the culture of HN. Lobsters differs from HN in features, moderation transparency, and spamming-prevention techniques, but it doesn’t say it tries to have a different user culture. So rauljara conforming to HN culture would not be a reason to avoid inviting him to Lobsters.
JohnsonB 14y ago
Seems like the cost of slower adoption isn't worth the upside to spam control, given that that's a relatively small problem for sites like these with proper IP control and user moderation. Lower quality comments is the bigger problem and that wouldn't easily be solved by being invite only.
- jsnell 14y ago
  Slower adoption? By default a site like this is going to have no traction, since there are a gazillion other reddit clones around. But make it appear exclusive, and you immediately have people begging for invites. (Edit: I don't mean to imply that hype-generation was the real reason to make it invite-only. I'm sure that the stated reasons are the real ones. The interest generated by exclusivity is just a nice byproduct.)
  - JohnsonB 14y ago
    However people are hearing about the site to even care about getting an invite, or know what it is, those are the same circumstances that they could happen upon the site and want to register. I don't think I've ever heard of a principle that stated invite only leads to greater adoption for a new site than open register, it's rather done to retard growth so the new infrastructure can keep up, or in this case to control spam. I believe slow growth, in absence of traction, is a perfectly valid way for many sites to grow and eventually gain traction.
SoftwareMaven 14y ago
I can't imagine that making an echo chamber at all. The likelihood of me getting an invite is next to nil, as I don't really fraternize with people around here. Guess I'll stick around here.
roryokane 14y ago
I’ll invite you, but you’ll have to put your email address in the “about” section of your HN profile first. (The address in the “email” section of your profile is not publicly viewable.) Or you can just write your email in a comment reply if you’d prefer.
- mtarnovan 14y ago
  I'd like an invite. My email address: mihai dot tarnovan at cubus dot ro. Thank you
- losvedir 14y ago
  I'd be grateful for an invitation, too. My email is in my "about" section. Feel free to peruse my comments here to see if you think I'd add any useful perspective. (I say this without reviewing my recent comments first, but my impression is that I generally say relevant things...) Thanks.
- mquander 14y ago
  I'd appreciate an invite. My email address is in my profile for the moment.
- rauljara 14y ago
  I updated my profile. Many thanks. You are a scholar and a gentleman.
- eloisius 14y ago
  May I? zgstewart from gmail dot com
- Hates_ 14y ago
  Anyone able to invite me?
  - Hates_ 14y ago
    Thank you, I now have an invite :)
- 14y ago

veyron 14y ago

"my high average karma means I'm probably less of a risk. Probably." If anything all this means is that you conform to the culture of HN, precisely what (it would seem) Lobsters is trying to break from.

roryokane 14y ago
https://lobste.rs/s/bkeYe9/about_lobsters https://lobste.rs/s/bkeYe9/about_lobsters says nothing about trying to break from the culture of HN. Lobsters differs from HN in features, moderation transparency, and spamming-prevention techniques, but it doesn’t say it tries to have a different user culture. So rauljara conforming to HN culture would not be a reason to avoid inviting him to Lobsters.

JohnsonB 14y ago

Seems like the cost of slower adoption isn't worth the upside to spam control, given that that's a relatively small problem for sites like these with proper IP control and user moderation. Lower quality comments is the bigger problem and that wouldn't easily be solved by being invite only.

jsnell 14y ago
Slower adoption? By default a site like this is going to have no traction, since there are a gazillion other reddit clones around. But make it appear exclusive, and you immediately have people begging for invites. (Edit: I don't mean to imply that hype-generation was the real reason to make it invite-only. I'm sure that the stated reasons are the real ones. The interest generated by exclusivity is just a nice byproduct.)
- JohnsonB 14y ago
  However people are hearing about the site to even care about getting an invite, or know what it is, those are the same circumstances that they could happen upon the site and want to register. I don't think I've ever heard of a principle that stated invite only leads to greater adoption for a new site than open register, it's rather done to retard growth so the new infrastructure can keep up, or in this case to control spam. I believe slow growth, in absence of traction, is a perfectly valid way for many sites to grow and eventually gain traction.

SoftwareMaven 14y ago

I can't imagine that making an echo chamber at all. The likelihood of me getting an invite is next to nil, as I don't really fraternize with people around here. Guess I'll stick around here.

roryokane 14y ago

I’ll invite you, but you’ll have to put your email address in the “about” section of your HN profile first. (The address in the “email” section of your profile is not publicly viewable.) Or you can just write your email in a comment reply if you’d prefer.

mtarnovan 14y ago
I'd like an invite. My email address: mihai dot tarnovan at cubus dot ro. Thank you
losvedir 14y ago
I'd be grateful for an invitation, too. My email is in my "about" section. Feel free to peruse my comments here to see if you think I'd add any useful perspective. (I say this without reviewing my recent comments first, but my impression is that I generally say relevant things...) Thanks.
mquander 14y ago
I'd appreciate an invite. My email address is in my profile for the moment.
rauljara 14y ago
I updated my profile. Many thanks. You are a scholar and a gentleman.
eloisius 14y ago
May I? zgstewart from gmail dot com
Hates_ 14y ago
Anyone able to invite me?
- Hates_ 14y ago
  Thank you, I now have an invite :)
14y ago