[erebrus]

I've been active in CS since 2008. I can pay for a hotel, but the experience of the experience of getting to know a place like a local is priceless and that - as well as meeting really cool people - has been what I've loved about CS. Yes, there are risks, that exists everywhere, but a bit of common sense goes a long way, and references plus the verification mechanism takes it a step further. Another beautiful thing is that: there is no quid-pro-quo. Just cos I've been hosted, it doesn't mean that I have to host anyone, and vice versa. However, I've been hosting less and less, just because the community has been watered down by its huge growth. Now 90% of the requests I guess sound like hotel reservations and I got used to having a template no response handy. The article got it right, the focus on numbers instead of community is the main culprit. Just as an example, they changed the sorting algorithm on the list exactly for that, so that different people kept coming up top on the list, not necessarily those more experienced or with better references. When asked about it, they told me it is because this increases the number of requests accepted. I'm sure it does, but I doubt it increases the overall quality of the experiences people have.