A multiplicity of pathways to accomplish a function or satisfy a need allows a flexible response to changing conditions. Multiple pathways are redundant systems that guard against overall system failure. Each important function in a design should be supported by several elements.
This should be pretty obvious to people on the Web. For the longest time people having been saying your home page is your most important page. Well sure it is IF people enter your site that way. What if they don’t though? What if they come in from another site or via a search engine to a specific page? What will they see? Click on a single one of your posts and what do you see? From that single page can you grasp what your website is about? Can you tell what type of discussions are going on upon it? Do you think that person will stay a while and visit or turn to leave immediately?