• 7 Posts
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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: June 11th, 2023

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  • Having moderated a number of online spaces over the years, sort of. It’s usually the harshest thing a moderator can do, but it does not have very much real world impact on most people. In many parts of the internet, it isn’t even very effective at keeping the same person from coming back with another account, which isn’t a big deal if they don’t come back with the same behavior.

    I’m not particularly shy about reaching for the permanent ban if it seems like someone is being an asshole on purpose. I’m not getting paid for it, and I do not have much patience for dealing with people who don’t want to be respectful toward their fellow humans. There’s usually a way to appeal if it’s a misunderstanding. That’s especially true in systems like Lemmy and unlike traditional web forums where one account and UI provides access to many communities, leading to drive-by comments.

    I’m also fond of somewhat ambiguous rules like “be excellent to each other” or “don’t be an asshole”. Without that, if a community gets active enough, someone will show up, act like an asshole, and argue about the rules when they get banned.




  • In the context of ad-supported algorithmic social media, offensive is the wrong question. It’s about brand damage.

    Showing an ad next to something that actually offends people can damage a brand, but even something a little edgy might turn off customers of a brand with a more formal or conservative audience. The algorithm’s ultimate goal is to get people to watch ads, so something a little edgy might reduce the reach of that content. Censoring it prevents the algorithmic downrank.