3 ms·
I helped build a (acquihired and now defunct) startup in this space. Totally agree that if you care about kindness / civility, you have to bake it into the desi
by Ozzie_osman 6y ago
I helped build a (acquihired and now defunct) startup in this space. Totally agree that if you care about kindness / civility, you have to bake it into the design from the get-go.
We ended up sticking with a real-name policy, which does have some downsides (examples like the one in OPs post where someone can come out as gay in a country where it's illegal obviously wouldn't fly), but having people use their real names meant less ability to hide behind anonymous identities.
Obviously, that wasn't enough on its own, so we tested a few other dynamics that also helped. For example, you had to commit to a pledge before writing anything. It did end up being really civil and thoughtful, but we never got beyond thousands of active users and never figured out a business model.
- searchableguy 6y agoReal names have little effect imo otherwise why my dad's facebook feed is so crazy. Compare github/hn/discord to places where people use their real names. It's a moderation problem. As networks grow, moderating them becomes harder and why popular things end up becoming toxic. They just don't have enough people to set a community expectation or tone.
- Ozzie_osman 6y agoYes, on its own real-name policy doesn't work. But in connection with other choices, it can help a lot.
- marban 6y agoI'm currently working on a new thing that works invite-only and if a user tries to game the system, the one who invited them will be banned as well.
- TobTobXX 6y agoSomething like https://lobste.rs/ https://lobste.rs/ ?