The Digg blog does not get updated very often, but when it does it generally means something interesting is going to happen at the site. The most recent post was no different. After discussing, at length, the gaming of Digg and how the site has protections against it, Kevin Rose went on to note how the top users catch so much flak despite having put a considerable amount of time into Digg. To prevent these users from being blamed and because the original purpose of the top users page (to promote article submissions) has been accomplised, the top Diggers page is getting the axe. From the post:

So what does this all mean? After considerable internal debate and discussion with many of those who make up the Top Digger list, we’ve decided to remove the list beginning tomorrow. As for what’s next, we’re currently working on designing and refining the technologies required that will help enable our nearly 900,000 registered users to make real connections that we believe will greatly enhance the Digg experience – whether you’re brand new to the site or have been on Digg since the beginning...

What's next for Digg? Rose was pretty vague he but he points out that connections between users should ideally be made between people with similar interests and that making connections between the 900,000 registered users will be a focus in the upcoming months. With an alleged 900,000 registered users and just 5,000 or so content submissions a day I would think they would want to focus on user involvement, but I guess connections are good too...