What makes a great hostel? (A backpacker's perspective)

There's a new article in the the new hostel articles section called A Traveller's Viewpoint on What Makes a Great Hostel. I've asked a few experienced travelers to share their perspectives of hostels and that article is the first in the series.

This first article from the traveler's perspective was written by Craig Martin of the Indie Travel Podcast (which is one of the 5 candidates for Best Travel Podcast in the 2009 Lonely Planet Travel Blogger Awards -- download a few podcasts and vote if you like it :)).

They're also putting together a hostelling guide -- there's more info here:
http://www.hostelmanagement.com/forums/hostelling-guide.html