I started using Propeller about a week ago as a Digg alternative. My goal was to find a place that gave me the same functionality as Digg, but maybe offered more topical variety, gave a platform to undiscovered stories, and maybe even included a better interface for activity. What I found at Propeller was the exact opposite.

The landing page offers you really nothing much more than politics and top news stories of the day. There is very little content beyond that. Even worse, oftentimes the top content on Propeller will remain top content for several days. And with such little activity, I can see just why this is the case.

But nothing else tops the unapologetically abhorrent interface. It took me several minutes of hunting and pecking through the various stories, clicking on various headlines, buttons, and text links, before I finally discovered where the link to the actual article was located. Then, once I clicked the link, I wasn’t allowed to actually leave Propeller. I was presented with a slow-loading sidebar next to the story which offered me (equally slow-loading) options for removing it and performing various other Propeller-based activities. While I like the touch of having access to Propeller from another site, it isn’t implemented well in this case, and turned me off from clicking any further links.

So, I’m back to Digg. Even though it is inundated with a lot of stories that I don’t necessarily care to read, I like the ability to customize my landing page and available content. I just have to make sure I never actually accidentally read any of the hideous comments left behind by the Digg masses. Those have the power to kill.

Is there a Digg-clone out there that is fun and easy to use, has a lot of content variety, and doesn’t have an interface that will make me want to maim the designers? If there is, I’d love to hear about it.