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I've always wanted to ask the HN community about this problem, what exactly can be done from a technology standpoint? I feel we're already at a point where too

by asenna 5y ago

I've always wanted to ask the HN community about this problem, what exactly can be done from a technology standpoint? I feel we're already at a point where tools are available to make a censorship resistant social network. The main challenges would be: - Kickstarting a network is a difficult problem - A way to ensure sane content moderation (child porn / abuse, etc) while still keeping the decision-making decentralized enough - Easy enough for the first time mobile internet users to onboard Would love to hear your thoughts. In my opinion a blockchain based solution seems appropriate (I know there's a lot blockchain-hate on HN but requesting for constructive comments). I know something needs to come up soon because the situation on the ground is actually quite bad.

lucasmullens 5y ago
I think Mastodon might be similar to what you're describing?
- asenna 5y ago
  Yeah I've heard about it and will be looking into this. But I haven't actually ever seen it in the wild anywhere online which makes me wonder why it hasn't gained traction much. For a country like India, the solution needs to be dead simple. Exploring a mastadon server a bit, it doesn't feel like it would cut it.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
219b2d67-b38e 5y ago
>A way to ensure sane content moderation (child porn / abuse, etc) while still keeping the decision-making decentralized enough - Easy enough for the first time mobile internet users to onboard You can't. It's like asking for a printing press that does not allow heresy. The technology is content neutral and any society that does not use it to its full potential will be buried by it. We can have the same tired discussion that evidence of a crime, e.g. photographs and videos of child rape are not a crime any more than photographs and videos of murder are, but as a society we have decided this is not the case. As such Anglophone civilization in its current guise will not the be society that harnesses distributed digital media to its true potential. Anyone trying to do this will have the predictable result of getting burned at the stake. Keep in mind that you have the potential for ridiculous profits because of centralization. So enjoy the ride and have an exit strategy.
lindy2021 5y ago
> Kickstarting a network is a difficult problem Crypto networks can solve this through incentivising early adopters, e.g. https://bitclout.com https://bitclout.com > A way to ensure sane content moderation (child porn / abuse, etc) while still keeping the decision-making decentralized enough Subscribable mute and block lists. This allows each user to tailor moderation to their comfort level.
lovecg 5y ago
What’s a “censorship resistant social network”? Would Trump be allowed on this platform? Would it be hosted on AWS? One person’s censorship is another person’s moderation.
- xienze 5y ago
  Exactly, we already have the “censorship resistant social network” (gab), but for reasons completely unrelated to not restricting speech third parties seem hell bent on nuking it from orbit. Such is the fate of any similar social network.
pax 5y ago
If just enough celebs could be convinced to adopt & evangelize a new platform. The last time I remember being excited about a new social platform was Quora. I was quite amazed by the quality of answers in the early days. I wonder how they managed to gather their first settlers.

by asenna 5y ago

lucasmullens 5y ago

I think Mastodon might be similar to what you're describing?

asenna 5y ago
Yeah I've heard about it and will be looking into this. But I haven't actually ever seen it in the wild anywhere online which makes me wonder why it hasn't gained traction much. For a country like India, the solution needs to be dead simple. Exploring a mastadon server a bit, it doesn't feel like it would cut it.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]

219b2d67-b38e 5y ago

>A way to ensure sane content moderation (child porn / abuse, etc) while still keeping the decision-making decentralized enough - Easy enough for the first time mobile internet users to onboard You can't. It's like asking for a printing press that does not allow heresy. The technology is content neutral and any society that does not use it to its full potential will be buried by it. We can have the same tired discussion that evidence of a crime, e.g. photographs and videos of child rape are not a crime any more than photographs and videos of murder are, but as a society we have decided this is not the case. As such Anglophone civilization in its current guise will not the be society that harnesses distributed digital media to its true potential. Anyone trying to do this will have the predictable result of getting burned at the stake. Keep in mind that you have the potential for ridiculous profits because of centralization. So enjoy the ride and have an exit strategy.

lindy2021 5y ago

> Kickstarting a network is a difficult problem Crypto networks can solve this through incentivising early adopters, e.g. https://bitclout.com https://bitclout.com > A way to ensure sane content moderation (child porn / abuse, etc) while still keeping the decision-making decentralized enough Subscribable mute and block lists. This allows each user to tailor moderation to their comfort level.

lovecg 5y ago

What’s a “censorship resistant social network”? Would Trump be allowed on this platform? Would it be hosted on AWS? One person’s censorship is another person’s moderation.

xienze 5y ago
Exactly, we already have the “censorship resistant social network” (gab), but for reasons completely unrelated to not restricting speech third parties seem hell bent on nuking it from orbit. Such is the fate of any similar social network.

pax 5y ago

If just enough celebs could be convinced to adopt & evangelize a new platform. The last time I remember being excited about a new social platform was Quora. I was quite amazed by the quality of answers in the early days. I wonder how they managed to gather their first settlers.