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I think the invite only aspect of it can be a problem. The invitee needs to get the invite from someone that they either know in real life or someone who can v
by slg 7y ago
I think the invite only aspect of it can be a problem. The invitee needs to get the invite from someone that they either know in real life or someone who can vouch for them online.
The former isn't a great solution because it requires users to be linked to their real identity by at least one person. Real identities have some advantages, but requiring it bars a lot of good discussions that people don't want linked to their real name. Allowing pseudonyms gives people freedom to publicly say something they would traditionally only say privately or sometimes not at all. If it is paired with strong moderation, like HN is, it can prevent the greater internet fuckwad theory from going into effect which is a common problem with anonymous communities.
If you have people inviting people that they don't know the real identity of, the invite system isn't really adding anything beyond making it slightly more complicated to join. I could understand a theory that a higher barrier to entry means that only people with a high desire will join resulting in a better community. It is possible that results in better discussion, but I'm not sold because there are plenty of bad users like spammers and bots that are also highly motivated.
- Defenestresque 7y agoI have to disagree with the false dichotomy you are presenting wrt to the invite system. Specifically, being forced to reveal your real identity to at least one other user vs. "inviting people that they don't know the real identity of" which you say means that "the invite system isn't really adding anything beyond making it slightly more complicated to join." There are many people online whose real identities I don't know whom I consider thoughtful individuals more than capable of engaging in meaningful and respectful discourse. I'd be happy to vouch for them in an invite-only board.
- slg 7y agoIt is much easier to compartmentalize and hide things online when your true identity is unknown. I have enough karma here on HN, that I am sure I could get someone on Lobste.rs to vouch for me without personally knowing me. But maybe my karma is only high here because I have a cabal of other accounts upvoting me and the mods haven't caught on yet. Or maybe this is my one authentic account and on Reddit I run a swarm of bots that hits /r/politics to support my chosen presidential candidate. Appearing to be a good user on one site doesn't guarantee that a person will be a good user everywhere. Personally knowing someone and having that real life connection to provide consequences is a much stronger deterrent to bad behavior.