Planner Reads

As far as communities on the web go, I think Metafilter takes the cake. So it was with great interest that I read this interview with the founder, Matt Haughey (via rc3.org). In it he says pretty much everything I’d expect him to say (but as those brands building “communities” never think of).

In my mind the most brilliant feature of the site is the five dollar signup fee. Haughey explains the rationale:

It’s mostly just putting a huge hurdle in front of having to deal with new users. ‘Cause it’s such a pain. The last ten years have shown that any time there’s press, like the New York Times writes something about us, 300 people sign up and then wreak havoc for a while, and then go away. [Without barriers to entry] it would just be a nightmare.

On size, growth and just how much work it is to maintain:

It grew naturally over first few years. I never sort of advertised the site anywhere. It just sort of grows all the time. Just sort of randomly. I’m not doing anything to goose that or anything. Because [the site] doesn’t work if it’s big. Metafilter is actually run by me ...