denise has said multiple times that she wants this to be the corner restaurant of the internet: sustainable, not looking for substantial growth. It's not going to be the amazing place for everyone, and that's okay.
If you rummage back through dw_news (and often the comments) over the past couple of years, there's comments on some specific pieces of this.
For example: hosting images has a significant cost increase in terms of hosting/delivery, but it also has a significant increase in terms of demand around Trust and Safety and Terms of Service issues. Having a little friction for images hosted on the site or having them embedded from other established sites has some benefits for both of those in different ways.
Similarly, having an app (and specifically an app that could be available on any of the main app stores) would mean changes to the site that the owners philosophically opposed to, in terms of permitted content, how some kinds of content are handled, etc. There isn't really a way to compromise on that one without compromising on the site principles.
My own experience (I've been here from the day it opened), there are ebbs and flows in activity. Because of how I use DW, I don't necessarily wave it around in specific as a 'here's my home on the Internet', but I do bring it up if people are looking for ways to make a space they would enjoy.
I do also talk about how - like any site without an algorithm - you're going to have to do some work to figure out how you want to use the site, and how to connect with people you're interested in. (And if someone's interested, obviously point them at some resources.)
The one thing I really miss from the LJ days is the community activity: while there are certainly some active ones, for a lot of topic-based stuff, in a lot of cases they never really caught on here or became super active.
no subject
If you rummage back through
For example: hosting images has a significant cost increase in terms of hosting/delivery, but it also has a significant increase in terms of demand around Trust and Safety and Terms of Service issues. Having a little friction for images hosted on the site or having them embedded from other established sites has some benefits for both of those in different ways.
Similarly, having an app (and specifically an app that could be available on any of the main app stores) would mean changes to the site that the owners philosophically opposed to, in terms of permitted content, how some kinds of content are handled, etc. There isn't really a way to compromise on that one without compromising on the site principles.
(The Guiding Principles give a pretty good overview there.)
My own experience (I've been here from the day it opened), there are ebbs and flows in activity. Because of how I use DW, I don't necessarily wave it around in specific as a 'here's my home on the Internet', but I do bring it up if people are looking for ways to make a space they would enjoy.
I do also talk about how - like any site without an algorithm - you're going to have to do some work to figure out how you want to use the site, and how to connect with people you're interested in. (And if someone's interested, obviously point them at some resources.)
The one thing I really miss from the LJ days is the community activity: while there are certainly some active ones, for a lot of topic-based stuff, in a lot of cases they never really caught on here or became super active.