7 ms·

I founded an anonymous social media platform in the past. It can be a real pain because once identity/accountability is removed, people tend to act very poorly.

I founded an anonymous social media platform in the past. It can be a real pain because once identity/accountability is removed, people tend to act very poorly. On paper, I like your idea of helping people to form risk-free connections, but it is very possible for your platform to spin out of your control. The small radius location nature of your app will likely mean a lot of negative press and/or police inquiries about stalking, harassment, threats, bulling, maybe even rape or murder in the extreme. Not trying to be negative; I know your intentions are good, but be please be prepared. When the police call you in the middle of the night, and they will, make sure you can provide whatever information you can to identify the users. I am actually surprised you would be able to get into the Apple store without being able to do so.

SamBam 10y ago
Indeed. Yik Yak is a huge platform for bullies: https://www.google.com/search?q=yik+yak+bullying https://www.google.com/search?q=yik+yak+bullying Basically, if you use this near a school, then the school will be the main topic of conversation. And in that case (assuming students using this), half the conversations may be "So-and-so is a ____" Is there any thought of community moderation?
- fucking_tragedy 10y ago
  Law enforcement and schools are all over Yik Yak as well for this reason.
- jandrese 10y ago
  I was about to comment that this is just YikYak again, and the primary use of YikYak is for kids to anonymously harass one another.
- JoeDaDude 10y ago
  Yik Yak removed user anonymity in recent releases. All users now have a unique handle.
denzil_correa 10y ago
Secret.ly an anonymous messaging app, also shut down due to similar concerns. https://medium.com/secret-den/sunset-bc18450478d5#.7bzsu8ut6 https://medium.com/secret-den/sunset-bc18450478d5#.7bzsu8ut6 http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/30/technology/a-founder-of-secret-the-anonymous-social-app-shuts-it-down-as-use-declines.html?_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/30/technology/a-founder-of-se...
fatdog 10y ago
Authorities of all sorts love the bully narrative because it legitimizes their demands for compliance. Social media is undermining to them because people don't want to be supervised. The real reason social media sites die without moderation is not because it alienates people who take bullying, it is that when there is no way to become a moderator, people seek status and power elsewhere. Reddit survives because it is a status pyramid scheme. HN survives because of similar aspiration to be seen as that smart person in front of a VC audience, a kind of Enders Game fantasy. Facebook and Twitter are waning not because of trolls, but because they have signaled a nannying supervisory role that reduces overall user optionality, and takes away the thing that drew people in in the first place: Hope.
- dcre 10y ago
  I don't think Facebook is waning.
  - fatdog 10y ago
    read reports of rate of user growth slowing down, teenagers switching to other platforms, and my own view that it is a millennial demographic phenomenon, like a pop genre. They can make more money, but imho it will be through value added services on their graph and service diversification, not on user growth against todays advertising model.
- Torgo 10y ago
  I don't really see Facebook waning, but it did effectively disprove that removing anonymity reduces bullying. I maintain a minimal presence there and most of the time report mobbing and harassment and I've never had anything removed. If you want your post removed, say something minimally racist. If you want impunity, post the address of somebody that shot an animal, inviting people to "get them."
- narrowrail 10y ago
  If any of what you claim is true, I am an idiot and you are a genius. >when there is no way to become a moderator, people seek status and power elsewhere This is such an odd way to look at the world, I would need quite a bit more explanation. Not everyone is ambitious and competitive. >HN survives because of similar aspiration to be seen as that smart person in front of a VC audience Many of us (you included) participate here without any connection to our 'real' identities. >Facebook and Twitter are waning not because of trolls, but because they have signaled a nannying supervisory role I haven't seen this study, and my own anecdotal evidence says the novelty is wearing off.
theveloped 10y ago
Thanks for the heads up. I was hoping this would be an ideal system to have the community moderate/flag messages/users. Being a little paranoid about privacy myself I tried to build the platform with as little logging etc. as possible. This of course also makes it harder to avoid misuse of the platform.
water42 10y ago
I was wondering about this. How do you handle people using the platform as a means to purchase drugs or coordinate crime?
NoGravitas 10y ago
Inasmuch as there is actual research, it seems to show that requiring real names or real world identities does not reduce trolling, and can even make it worse[0][1]. My experience as a page admin on Facebook seems to confirm this -- the comment sections there are at least as nasty as anywhere I've been with anonymous comments. [0]: https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20160729/23305535110/study-trolls-are-even-worse-when-using-real-names.shtml https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20160729/23305535110/study... [1]: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0155923 http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal....

SamBam 10y ago

Indeed. Yik Yak is a huge platform for bullies: https://www.google.com/search?q=yik+yak+bullying https://www.google.com/search?q=yik+yak+bullying Basically, if you use this near a school, then the school will be the main topic of conversation. And in that case (assuming students using this), half the conversations may be "So-and-so is a ____" Is there any thought of community moderation?

fucking_tragedy 10y ago
Law enforcement and schools are all over Yik Yak as well for this reason.
jandrese 10y ago
I was about to comment that this is just YikYak again, and the primary use of YikYak is for kids to anonymously harass one another.
JoeDaDude 10y ago
Yik Yak removed user anonymity in recent releases. All users now have a unique handle.

denzil_correa 10y ago

Secret.ly an anonymous messaging app, also shut down due to similar concerns. https://medium.com/secret-den/sunset-bc18450478d5#.7bzsu8ut6 https://medium.com/secret-den/sunset-bc18450478d5#.7bzsu8ut6 http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/30/technology/a-founder-of-secret-the-anonymous-social-app-shuts-it-down-as-use-declines.html?_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/30/technology/a-founder-of-se...

fatdog 10y ago

Authorities of all sorts love the bully narrative because it legitimizes their demands for compliance. Social media is undermining to them because people don't want to be supervised. The real reason social media sites die without moderation is not because it alienates people who take bullying, it is that when there is no way to become a moderator, people seek status and power elsewhere. Reddit survives because it is a status pyramid scheme. HN survives because of similar aspiration to be seen as that smart person in front of a VC audience, a kind of Enders Game fantasy. Facebook and Twitter are waning not because of trolls, but because they have signaled a nannying supervisory role that reduces overall user optionality, and takes away the thing that drew people in in the first place: Hope.

dcre 10y ago
I don't think Facebook is waning.
- fatdog 10y ago
  read reports of rate of user growth slowing down, teenagers switching to other platforms, and my own view that it is a millennial demographic phenomenon, like a pop genre. They can make more money, but imho it will be through value added services on their graph and service diversification, not on user growth against todays advertising model.
Torgo 10y ago
I don't really see Facebook waning, but it did effectively disprove that removing anonymity reduces bullying. I maintain a minimal presence there and most of the time report mobbing and harassment and I've never had anything removed. If you want your post removed, say something minimally racist. If you want impunity, post the address of somebody that shot an animal, inviting people to "get them."
narrowrail 10y ago
If any of what you claim is true, I am an idiot and you are a genius. >when there is no way to become a moderator, people seek status and power elsewhere This is such an odd way to look at the world, I would need quite a bit more explanation. Not everyone is ambitious and competitive. >HN survives because of similar aspiration to be seen as that smart person in front of a VC audience Many of us (you included) participate here without any connection to our 'real' identities. >Facebook and Twitter are waning not because of trolls, but because they have signaled a nannying supervisory role I haven't seen this study, and my own anecdotal evidence says the novelty is wearing off.

theveloped 10y ago

Thanks for the heads up. I was hoping this would be an ideal system to have the community moderate/flag messages/users. Being a little paranoid about privacy myself I tried to build the platform with as little logging etc. as possible. This of course also makes it harder to avoid misuse of the platform.

water42 10y ago

I was wondering about this. How do you handle people using the platform as a means to purchase drugs or coordinate crime?

NoGravitas 10y ago

Inasmuch as there is actual research, it seems to show that requiring real names or real world identities does not reduce trolling, and can even make it worse[0][1]. My experience as a page admin on Facebook seems to confirm this -- the comment sections there are at least as nasty as anywhere I've been with anonymous comments. [0]: https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20160729/23305535110/study-trolls-are-even-worse-when-using-real-names.shtml https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20160729/23305535110/study... [1]: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0155923 http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal....