I think the larger context is being missed. Any sort of open-to-the-masses forum will be gamed by people trying to get more out of it than you. More karma, more exposure, more information, whatever. Every system like this is eventually taken over by people who increasingly amass more power or influence, drowning out the "little" guy. It's probably easiest to see the direct actions taken by marketers and promoters, and you can say that all the voting and influence is just the way the systems work, but it's all politics and wrangling, in every platform, including this one. The key is to find ones that do a good job mitigating this gaming, as I believe HN does. It's ironic. If you have something to say, you want to do it at a place that can help amplify you, but if a place is good at that, it will attract bad actors, and it becomes self-limiting.
EDIT: I think this is why I continue to use Reddit. I created an account to subscribe to only a sub-section of subreddits, and none of them are defaults. It's what Reddit intended to be before it became what it is today. I get most of the benefit of "the platform," while avoiding _most_ of the bad actors.
> EDIT: I think this is why I continue to use Reddit.
I struggle to find good subreddits in the same way as subject specific forums can be (i.e physicsforums.com). Even those related to science and tech have huge chunk of crap floating around. Can you suggest how one could filter reddit content better?
Unfortunately, no. I've built my list of 50 subs by clicking links, using existing subs' sidebars, and, honestly, a lot of clicking the "random" button. I've winnowed and added and winnowed for years now. Like you, I find many subs that SHOULD be interesting, just aren't, and I scratch them and move on.
EDIT: I think this is why I continue to use Reddit. I created an account to subscribe to only a sub-section of subreddits, and none of them are defaults. It's what Reddit intended to be before it became what it is today. I get most of the benefit of "the platform," while avoiding _most_ of the bad actors.