When in doubt go higher brow.
Ask HN: How to keep an online community from downgrading to Reddit like quality
31–40 of 40 posts
Re: Ask HN: How to keep an online community from downgrading to Reddit like quality
#32Earlier quoted context omitted.
"here" meaning off-topic in HN, for other topics. I've been penalised for my posting behaviour across HN in the wide. I don't wish to complain, I only observe it for completeness' sake. Most recently I was accused of being ChatGPT. I found it both amusing and chilling: If we're that close to banning people who "look like" a robot, I think we're in a bad place but that said, I would hate to think I'm responding to GPT…
If I had to guess why you were accused of being ChatGPT, its probably because of your tendency to write longer form answers which tends to be the style ChatGPT uses.
This is when, on Reddit, you'd see a bottomless thread of the very first joke that comes to mind, posting an obvious GPT output. Then, reply after reply with the exact same premise. Maybe a link to a sub called UnexpectedChatGPT, which is a place that curates screenshots of entirely predictable GPT responses.
Re: Ask HN: How to keep an online community from downgrading to Reddit like quality
#33I'll provide a different view to the "it's the moderation" answer that I typically hear... Honestly, I think it's mostly IQ. I remember a time when Facebook was good, but that was back when the average user was a university student. I remember when Reddit was good, but again, that was back when the average user was probably a nerdy 18-30 year old. I saw a similar trend with the internet more generally too... My first…
I've also come to a parallel realization recently, as someone who wasn't born in an English-speaking country. Not about the eternal September but about how trashy the internet is. Whenever I go to YouTube and forget to use my VPN, I get recommended content from my country, and it's inevitably trashy and vulgar, stuff I would never engage with. Then I go to the English-speaking internet and swallow it all up like it's…
Elitism is not necessarily classist. It can apply to pretty much any ingroup.
Re: Ask HN: How to keep an online community from downgrading to Reddit like quality
#34I’ve never moderated, but participated a lot in forums and boards. First thing to know is that bad players are a lazy impulsive attention-seeking mob, so if you want them to back off, then restrict their abilities and feedback. Old users (even if sometimes misbehaving) are the core that is (1) conscious of their role and status, (2) assimilated and can decide what’s right or wrong for themselves. For example, if a fo…
"Most active neet users"
If that's a typo... no, it isn't.
Re: Ask HN: How to keep an online community from downgrading to Reddit like quality
#35The answer is dang.
The rules he crafted and his moderation style is the secret recipe.
Just clone dang, copy and paste him to other communities, problem solved.
Re: Ask HN: How to keep an online community from downgrading to Reddit like quality
#36The answer is dang. The rules he crafted and his moderation style is the secret recipe. Just clone dang, copy and paste him to other communities, problem solved.
There is probably enough corpus on HN given the 16 years he's been on this site to train up a DangGPT.
Re: Ask HN: How to keep an online community from downgrading to Reddit like quality
#37There is no solution for the problem you are trying to solve.
The issue is structural and is consistent with any other one to many structured communications system.
All implementations that have this structural deficit will get bad actors creating multiple accounts to amplify and de-amplify narratives and sow disinformation or irregular warfare activities/narratives/active measures.
Reddit's subreddits that offer technical support and other similar help from volunteers are a perfect case study of how volunteerism fails. Primarily because bots seek to constantly discredit, dispute, and target those that provide value (as a resource drain).
In the past you could ask questions in places like /r/linuxquestions and get a decent answer, in recent years most of the experts have left because 70% or more of the responses aside from the occasional person asking the question were from third-parties who sought to muddy the water, discredit and dispute what was being provided, the value of which was often based on professionally tested methodology from the trenches.
Volunteer psychology says you stop doing it when it starts costing you. This is relevant on all current platforms.
Re: Ask HN: How to keep an online community from downgrading to Reddit like quality
#38It's a growth issue. Essentially Reddit and other growth-focused sites aim for the lowest common denominator of user.
Re: Ask HN: How to keep an online community from downgrading to Reddit like quality
#39I’m pretty happy with Reddit. The voting system keeps the best posts at the top. The mods are a bit overzealous sometimes, one click and you can create your own Subreddit.
Some of the more popular Subreddits say upfront, “This is a very heavy moderated subreddit.”
It’s not perfect, but workable.
Re: Ask HN: How to keep an online community from downgrading to Reddit like quality
#40Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've also come to a parallel realization recently, as someone who wasn't born in an English-speaking country. Not about the eternal September but about how trashy the internet is. Whenever I go to YouTube and forget to use my VPN, I get recommended content from my country, and it's inevitably trashy and vulgar, stuff I would never engage with. Then I go to the English-speaking internet and swallow it all up like it's…
Elitism is not necessarily classist. It can apply to pretty much any ingroup.
The examples the GP gave were related to class, "good neighborhood", "good school", ...