cross-posted from: https://discuss.online/post/5772572
The current state of moderation across various online communities, especially on platforms like Reddit, has been a topic of much debate and dissatisfaction. Users have voiced concerns over issues such as moderator rudeness, abuse, bias, and a failure to adhere to their own guidelines. Moreover, many communities suffer from a lack of active moderation, as moderators often disengage due to the overwhelming demands of what essentially amounts to an unpaid, full-time job. This has led to a reliance on automated moderation tools and restrictions on user actions, which can stifle community engagement and growth.
In light of these challenges, it’s time to explore alternative models of community moderation that can distribute responsibilities more equitably among users, reduce moderator burnout, and improve overall community health. One promising approach is the implementation of a trust level system, similar to that used by Discourse. Such a system rewards users for positive contributions and active participation by gradually increasing their privileges and responsibilities within the community. This not only incentivizes constructive behavior but also allows for a more organic and scalable form of moderation.
Key features of a trust level system include:
- Sandboxing New Users: Initially limiting the actions new users can take to prevent accidental harm to themselves or the community.
- Gradual Privilege Escalation: Allowing users to earn more rights over time, such as the ability to post pictures, edit wikis, or moderate discussions, based on their contributions and behavior.
- Federated Reputation: Considering the integration of federated reputation systems, where users can carry over their trust levels from one community to another, encouraging cross-community engagement and trust.
Implementing a trust level system could significantly alleviate the current strains on moderators and create a more welcoming and self-sustaining community environment. It encourages users to be more active and responsible members of their communities, knowing that their efforts will be recognized and rewarded. Moreover, it reduces the reliance on a small group of moderators, distributing moderation tasks across a wider base of engaged and trusted users.
For communities within the Fediverse, adopting a trust level system could mark a significant step forward in how we think about and manage online interactions. It offers a path toward more democratic and self-regulating communities, where moderation is not a burden shouldered by the few but a shared responsibility of the many.
As we continue to navigate the complexities of online community management, it’s clear that innovative approaches like trust level systems could hold the key to creating more inclusive, respectful, and engaging spaces for everyone.
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Reddit moderation style is simply an extension of classic bulletin board style moderation. I think the real issue with moderation has to do with the rate of new user intake and lack of population control. These are things classic forms have found solutions for in the past as well. Something Awful for example charged money for the privilege of posting. I’ve seen forms require you to sign up with your ISP provided email.
If an instance isn’t properly managing intake volume, they will have moderation issues. Many Lemmy instances have questionnaires and approvals before an account is created. The aim being to ensure the user understands what the instance is about and for administration to ensure the user is the right fit. It’s only an issue of manpower of you’re trying to be a .world style instance, the biggest instance around.
I think that goal however is counter to federation on principle. Large instances create moderation problems and lack any real culture or cohesion as a result. Finding ways to encourage smaller but more numerous instances I think would go a long way to tackle moderation issues.
Right now, defederating is the only real way to avoid these problematic instances. Which at times can be like using a sledge hammer to cut a cake. If instance A has a community (1) explicitly brigading Instance B, there is no real way to quarantine users who are from A and active in community (1), you have to either ban each individual you come across or defederate the instance.
It might be more interesting to provide tools to allow for selective defederation. For example, preventing an instance from federating votes; A means of rate limiting an instances comments; Blocking post creation by users from a given instance; Read only federation settings.
Obviously this is limited by what activitypub is capable of, but I can’t imagine these ideas are impossible.