I&#x27;d propose most successful social sites are successful list-based services, although the default filtering&#x2F;ordering is not by author, which seems to be the specific case that the article contemplates.<p>HN, for example, allows me to go see a list of things that a majority of people in my demographic think is interesting today.<p>Reddit, as one example of a topical social site, takes it a step further and allows users to choose their &quot;vertical,&quot; as the author would likely state it.