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Ex-Reddit CEO on Twitter moderation

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Re: Ex-Reddit CEO on Twitter moderation

#901

Post by rglover »

etchalon wrote: post #797
rglover wrote: post #783

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. The reason a social network works is because of its brand, adoption, and network effects—not features (App.net sounds like a Boomer social network). Twitter is so well-established that introducing a premium paid version would be de-facto successful—if done properly, not like Twitter Blue—for producing revenue. Especially because so many people rely on it to communicate. A rough example: Twitter Basic = Free. Fol…

Social networks work because people enjoy using them. As people tell their friends about the network, they use it, and network effects allow it to grow. As it grows, its brand is established. Twitter is a distant fourth or fifth place network because, as it is, most people do not enjoy using it. Its Brand is wildly seen as synonymous with toxic parts of our culture. And your plan is to make it worse and then charge p…

It really depends on how you use it. Just based on your attitude it's clear you're engaging with bad stuff and then blaming that on the greater experience of the app/network as a whole. If you follow a bunch of politics stuff (which is inherently inflammatory) or seek out arguments with people you know you disagree with, yeah, you're not going to have a good time.

You can only follow bible quotes and motivation accounts and not once encounter any "toxic" behavior. It's 100% up to the user. Ignoring that is just ignoring reality (which like I said earlier in the thread, most people need to take responsibility for, but won't).

Re: Ex-Reddit CEO on Twitter moderation

#902

Post by numlock86 »

Reddit has terrible moderation. So bad that it's a literal joke/meme at this point, down to a personal level in some cases even. Why would anyone ask for moderation advice in that general direction? To get a script on what not to do?

Re: Ex-Reddit CEO on Twitter moderation

#903

Post by neves »

ufo wrote: post #586

In the US, where Twitter & Facebook are dominant, the current consensus in the public mind is that political polarization and radicalization are driven by the social media algorithms. However, I have always felt that this explanation was lacking. Here in Brazil we have many of the same problems but the dominant social media are Whatsapp group chats, which have no algorithms whatsoever (other than invisible spam filte…

And in WhatsApp groups there is no moderation to prevent the obnoxious behavior described in the thread. The far right fabricates militants to reproduce these bad behaviors and pollute every discussion group.

Re: Ex-Reddit CEO on Twitter moderation

#904

Post by CM30 »

kalekold wrote: post #78

I wish we could all go back to phpBB forums. Small, dedicated, online communities were great. I can't remember massive problems like this back then.

The problems didn't exist as much because people didn't usually come across communities they hated/disagreed with unless they were searching them out, and every community could set the standards it wanted to set. And I think that's where large social media sites can't work; they put a bunch of groups, many of which deeply disagree and dislike each other, on the same site/platform and have to try and keep the peace without said groups getting into flame wars and personal attacks 24/7.

Small, indepedently run communities could set their own standards, and those that who disagreed with any one set of rules could go and find somewhere more to their liking. Reddit and Discord have this to an extent, but even then, it's too centralised and too heavily controlled by one organisation.

Hopefully if Mastodon takes off, federated services will bring this style of community back, except with the ability to take part in other communities if people agree with that.

Re: Ex-Reddit CEO on Twitter moderation

#905

Post by neves »

lifeisstillgood wrote: post #629
ufo wrote: post #586

In the US, where Twitter & Facebook are dominant, the current consensus in the public mind is that political polarization and radicalization are driven by the social media algorithms. However, I have always felt that this explanation was lacking. Here in Brazil we have many of the same problems but the dominant social media are Whatsapp group chats, which have no algorithms whatsoever (other than invisible spam filte…

This to me is a vital point. One of the things rarely touched on about Twitter / FB et al are that they are transmission platforms and then a discovery / recommendation layer on top. The "algorithm" is this layer on top and it is assumed that this actively sorts people into their bubbles and people passively follow - there is much discussion about splitting the companies AT&T style to improve matters. But countries w…

Sorry, but this isn't "organically". There is a lot of money being spent to produce viral content and there a lot of mobile phone farms to spread this content. "Organic" is just the last mile.

Re: Ex-Reddit CEO on Twitter moderation

#906

Post by neves »

gverrilla wrote: post #885
ufo wrote: post #586

In the US, where Twitter & Facebook are dominant, the current consensus in the public mind is that political polarization and radicalization are driven by the social media algorithms. However, I have always felt that this explanation was lacking. Here in Brazil we have many of the same problems but the dominant social media are Whatsapp group chats, which have no algorithms whatsoever (other than invisible spam filte…

Brazilian here. This explanation is indeed lacking. You cannot look at social media platforms in an isolate manner: there is overlap between users, and it's not like all users are equal - a small minority (which accepts new entrants through viral tickets) is the one with more weigh on creating/disseminating content. Saying whatsapp is dominant is a little lacking: it has the greatest number of users, DAO, etc, yes...…

It is impressive how these are coordinated.

Re: Ex-Reddit CEO on Twitter moderation

#907

Post by specialist »

ufo wrote: post #586

In the US, where Twitter & Facebook are dominant, the current consensus in the public mind is that political polarization and radicalization are driven by the social media algorithms. However, I have always felt that this explanation was lacking. Here in Brazil we have many of the same problems but the dominant social media are Whatsapp group chats, which have no algorithms whatsoever (other than invisible spam filte…

Polarization predates social media.

Polarization, partisanship, and radicalization receive a great deal of academic attention. (I can't speak to the public mind, or political hobbyists.)

The book Why We Are Polarized [2020] by Ezra Klein surveys what was known at the time. Nationalization of politics, consolidation of media, death of journalism, election reform, campaign spending. TLDR: Politics used to have weird coalitions, where party was not strongly associated with positions. Then people sorted. Then people's identities (positions) fused into a kind of super identity. Now party is a strong predictor of position.

Rachel Bitecofer https://twitter.com/RachelBitecofer researched (negative) partisanship and used to talk about it. I don't know of an otherwise good intro.

People have always self-radicalized. Pamphlets and zines. Social media made it a self renewing pandemic. Root cause is probably a combo of algorithmic hate machines and social isolation. (People are increasingly anxious and isolated. These para-social relationships fill the void.)

Re: Ex-Reddit CEO on Twitter moderation

#908

Post by purplerabbit »

Karrot_Kream wrote: post #717
ufo wrote: post #586

In the US, where Twitter & Facebook are dominant, the current consensus in the public mind is that political polarization and radicalization are driven by the social media algorithms. However, I have always felt that this explanation was lacking. Here in Brazil we have many of the same problems but the dominant social media are Whatsapp group chats, which have no algorithms whatsoever (other than invisible spam filte…

The same kind of polarizing, brinkmanship-like content that people complain comes from social media algorithms is present on spades on every non-algorithmic community I've spent time on: from HN, to Usenet, to Matrix/Discord rooms, to 4chan. I used to agree with this consensus but even after trying to concertedly avoid these platforms I find this kind of content throughout every English-speaking community even on top…

Are you saying that you've come across non-English-speaking communities that don't have this problem? If so, could you elaborate?

Re: Ex-Reddit CEO on Twitter moderation

#909

Post by admax88qqq »

shadowgovt wrote: post #786
lifeisstillgood wrote: post #629

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This to me is a vital point. One of the things rarely touched on about Twitter / FB et al are that they are transmission platforms and then a discovery / recommendation layer on top. The "algorithm" is this layer on top and it is assumed that this actively sorts people into their bubbles and people passively follow - there is much discussion about splitting the companies AT&T style to improve matters. But countries w…

This explanation would also indicate why we had less of this issue in the pre-Internet era of broadcast media. Broadcast is centralizing the conversation, and to maximize viewership / listenership they are encouraged to talk about a broad variety of things... But they're the ones doing the talking. Apart from choosing to tune into specialized shows, there's less self-sorting possible when the channels and content are…

Did we have less problems in the pre internet era?

We had WW1 and 2, Vietnam. Civil wars, internment camps, genocide.

Lots of these were approved and even celebrated by the majority of the population when all they had was broadcast media telling them what to think about.

I think it's wild how much people romanticize "traditional media." Broadcast and print media is and always has been awful.

Re: Ex-Reddit CEO on Twitter moderation

#910

Post by ngcc_hk »

ufo wrote: post #586

In the US, where Twitter & Facebook are dominant, the current consensus in the public mind is that political polarization and radicalization are driven by the social media algorithms. However, I have always felt that this explanation was lacking. Here in Brazil we have many of the same problems but the dominant social media are Whatsapp group chats, which have no algorithms whatsoever (other than invisible spam filte…

Thought TikTok algorithm should be a concern.
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