Reflecting on my conversations in NYC w/ today who discussed his work with Civil Servant. How can we flourish online & construct spaces for productive dialogue? Often platforms are not invested in cultivating respectful engagement - what if we target communities?
Conversation
Communities of practice & shared interest are mediators between the rigid structures of platforms & individuals. Mobilizing their interest in respectful engagement might be a way to bypass platform disinterest & make real change even if localized
1
2
In his experiments on just reminding people of the rules reduced rule breaking by first time comments. But interestingly it also increased their engagement by 70%! Perhaps bc 1) they were confident their comment was OK to post 2) they felt safe participating.
1
2
How else can we cultivate positive online engagement especially around science & society? Can we tap into shared values? Mobilize allies & community authorities better? This is an ongoing Q but it is important to think about emerging media as a tool - not just a problem.
1
2
Replying to
Aggressive moderation for users who actively and purposely spread disinformation, attack other participants instead of debate ideas and people who spread sexist, racist or other toxic comments within the community.
Replying to
Yes clear community guidelines that result in actual enforced consequences seems necessary for any community over a certain size. is somewhat infamous for this but we also have 2,000 mods. This is harder for less staffed communities esp when platforms don't care
2