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I think the fact that you don't allow downvoting posts contributes to this. I get that you want to keep things positive. But when you don't provide an outlet
by robbrown451 15y ago
I think the fact that you don't allow downvoting posts contributes to this. I get that you want to keep things positive. But when you don't provide an outlet for people who want to simply disagree without forcing them to come out of the woodwork and defend their position, it is inevitable that some people will come out with a lot of ugliness.
I think there are a whole lot of reasons internet forums are different than real life communication. I think there are technical solutions that can change the balance. We all know there is a big difference between, say, the comments on YouTube and the comments on Slashdot. Do you think it is all "culture"? I don't. I think it is mostly that Slashdot has technical solutions that discourage trolling (and substanceless posts, etc), while YouTube doesn't. If the culture is different, it mostly because of the karma system (or lack thereof).
- scott_s 15y agoUsers can downvote posts, but only users with karma above a certain threshold. No user can downvote a submission, though - you can only flag them.
- robbrown451 15y agoYeah, well probably most trolls don't ever get that karma, so they troll instead. Also karma doesn't count for a lot here (that being one exception). Ultimately, a good karma system should simulate the what happens in the best real world environments....where there is a very complex feedback loop that reinforces the sort of behavior we want and suppresses that which we don't want. In my opinion Slashdot comes kind of close, but it has huge flaws itself.