There seems to be two issues being discussed here: the rise of spam, and negative users. Although the first issue can easily be solved with becoming invite-only, many of these negative users have been here a while.
I've folllowed DN for quite a while, even prior to starting an account. As DN grew, I feel like there was a sequential growth of users that only ever post negative, snarky, and thoughtless comments. This really changed the previously friendly, welcoming, "Be nice" aura of DN that existed before.
There seems to be two issues being discussed here: the rise of spam, and negative users. Although the first issue can easily be solved with becoming invite-only, many of these negative users have been here a while.
I've folllowed DN for quite a while, even prior to starting an account. As DN grew, I feel like there was a sequential growth of users that only ever post negative, snarky, and thoughtless comments. This really changed the previously friendly, welcoming, "Be nice" aura of DN that existed before.