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I hate to be that guy, but over the years I've come to the conclusion that the only way to have good online conversations is to filter out 90% of the population

by mihaic 2y ago

I hate to be that guy, but over the years I've come to the conclusion that the only way to have good online conversations is to filter out 90% of the population, which is incapable of handling that complexity. This is not merely an IQ thing, but also requires self-control, empathy, effort and good technique in communication. Users that have those qualities can get by with a regular forum. The only marginal situation is users that almost fit this description, where better UX such as what this or Google Wave, can make a difference.

people_skills 2y ago
How do you filter? I.e. this sounds good, I'd like more actionable advice on this. I've noticed that we have started migrating more often than previously. Slashdot, some subreddits, now hackernews... It's becoming increasingly harder to identify any particular platform with potentially more interesting discussions.
freilanzer 2y ago
I think an enhanced forum with filters and graphs would be good. Give me all replies to this post I'm interested in and all following replies as well. Visualise the thread as a graph, so that I can easily follow the branches that are relevant to me. Something like Obsidian maybe? Classic forums are exhausting if dozens of people talk in parallel.
heresie-dabord 2y ago
> the only way to have good online conversations is to filter out 90% of the population Moderation is not an anti-pattern, but trying to do it at scale without robust tools and strong identity management is destined to fail. The real anti-pattern in communication is allowing destructive behaviour to undermine the discussion. So, to re-state your point: The only way to have good online conversations is to restrict participation to people who are actively willing to discuss, to learn, and to commit to making a constructive contribution. This implies strong identity management and moderation.

by mihaic 2y ago

people_skills 2y ago

How do you filter? I.e. this sounds good, I'd like more actionable advice on this. I've noticed that we have started migrating more often than previously. Slashdot, some subreddits, now hackernews... It's becoming increasingly harder to identify any particular platform with potentially more interesting discussions.

freilanzer 2y ago

I think an enhanced forum with filters and graphs would be good. Give me all replies to this post I'm interested in and all following replies as well. Visualise the thread as a graph, so that I can easily follow the branches that are relevant to me. Something like Obsidian maybe? Classic forums are exhausting if dozens of people talk in parallel.

heresie-dabord 2y ago

> the only way to have good online conversations is to filter out 90% of the population Moderation is not an anti-pattern, but trying to do it at scale without robust tools and strong identity management is destined to fail. The real anti-pattern in communication is allowing destructive behaviour to undermine the discussion. So, to re-state your point: The only way to have good online conversations is to restrict participation to people who are actively willing to discuss, to learn, and to commit to making a constructive contribution. This implies strong identity management and moderation.