4 ms·

How about just removing likes altogether? Facebook is OPTIMIZED for petty flamewars, because that equals engagement and ad views, and the karma system is at the

How about just removing likes altogether? Facebook is OPTIMIZED for petty flamewars, because that equals engagement and ad views, and the karma system is at the heart of it. I participate in many rock climbing forums (MountainProject, various subreddits) and the climbing groups on Facebook have a unique level of vitriol. It is just a fun sport, not politics, not religion, but somehow FB foments vicious debate in spite of it. I actually saw one group for climbing partners in Canada that the admin shut down because he was sick of how it decayed. I've never seen anything like it.

koboll 7y ago
>Facebook is OPTIMIZED for petty flamewars, because that equals engagement and ad views, Political disengagement is the modal average political affiliation. Incentives that make partisans angrier and shoutier on your platform are likely to backfire with the politically disengaged. So maybe in the short run this is true, but over a longer time horizon, fostering an environment where "petty flamewars" proliferate is going to alienate a lot of users, to the point where attrition may outweigh any engagement benefits gained.
- zrobotics 7y ago
  I know I'm not the only one who doesn't use Facebook because of crap like this. I didn't go as far as deleting my account, but I haven't logged on in >1 year simply because it had gotten to the level of YouTube comments. I don't know what specifically Facebook did to encourage that level of vitriol, but for whatever reason I consistently saw more rudeness and bickering on Facebook than anywhere else I spend time online. For instance, I was in a group for vintage Ducati motorcycles, and half the comments were bickering about petty details, whereas posting on a forum would almost always lead to helpful information or compliments on the bike. Facebook may just be starting to reap what they sowed; petty flame wars definitely drive up engagement for a short period until they start driving other users away. The people involved in the argument definitely check back much more often to ensure they got the last word in, and users leaving isn't always as visible.

koboll 7y ago

>Facebook is OPTIMIZED for petty flamewars, because that equals engagement and ad views, Political disengagement is the modal average political affiliation. Incentives that make partisans angrier and shoutier on your platform are likely to backfire with the politically disengaged. So maybe in the short run this is true, but over a longer time horizon, fostering an environment where "petty flamewars" proliferate is going to alienate a lot of users, to the point where attrition may outweigh any engagement benefits gained.

zrobotics 7y ago
I know I'm not the only one who doesn't use Facebook because of crap like this. I didn't go as far as deleting my account, but I haven't logged on in >1 year simply because it had gotten to the level of YouTube comments. I don't know what specifically Facebook did to encourage that level of vitriol, but for whatever reason I consistently saw more rudeness and bickering on Facebook than anywhere else I spend time online. For instance, I was in a group for vintage Ducati motorcycles, and half the comments were bickering about petty details, whereas posting on a forum would almost always lead to helpful information or compliments on the bike. Facebook may just be starting to reap what they sowed; petty flame wars definitely drive up engagement for a short period until they start driving other users away. The people involved in the argument definitely check back much more often to ensure they got the last word in, and users leaving isn't always as visible.