Don’t tell people “it’s easy”, and six more things KBin, Lemmy, and the fediverse can learn from Mastodon

https://privacy.thenexus.today/kbin-lemmy-fediverse-learnings-from-mastodon/

Reddit’s strategy of antagonizing app writters, moderators, and millions of redditors is good news for reddit alternatives like KBin and Lemmy. And not just them! The fediverse has always grown in waves and we’re at the start of one.

Previous waves have led to innovation but also major challenges and limited growth. It’s worth looking at what tactics worked well in the past, to use them again or adapt them and build on them. It’s also valuable to look at what went wrong or didn’t work out as well in the past, to see if there are ways to do better.

Here’s the current table of contents:

* I’m flashing!!!
* But first, some background

  1. Don’t tell people “it’s easy”
  2. Improve the “getting-started experience”
  3. Keep scalability and sustainability in mind
  4. Prioritize accessibility
  5. Get ready for trolls, hate speech, harassment, spam, porn, and disinformation
  6. Invest in moderation tools
  7. Values matter

* This is a great opportunity – and it won’t be the last great opportunity

https://privacy.thenexus.today/kbin-lemmy-fediverse-learnings-from-mastodon/

Thanks to everybody for the great feedback on the draft version of the post!

#kbin #lemmy #fediverse @fediversenews @fediverse@kbin.social @fediverse@lemmy.ml

  • Jon@indieweb.social
    2·
    2 years ago

    @SemioticStandard I agree that the larger a community gets the harder it is to moderate well (and the tools here are still much less advanced than Reddit, which is a big problem). But trying to deter bad actors by making it hard to sigh up doesn’t work. Spammers and other bad actors are typically more likely to make the effort than people who might well add a lot of value.

    • Leigh
      3·
      2 years ago

      Spammers and other bad actors are typically more likely to make the effort than people who might well add a lot of value.

      Why do you think this?

      • Jon@indieweb.social
        1·
        2 years ago

        @SemioticStandard experiences moderating forums and discussion groups on multipple platforms, helping to start two social networks, and what I’ve learned as part of Disinfo Defense League over the last few years.

        [And I have no idea why fediversenews is boosting this post!]

      • crank@beehaw.org
        11·
        2 years ago

        because spammers and bad actors are motivated exclusively to get something by joining the community. they are willing to put in the work in anticipation of attention, traffic, sales, whatever. it is their job. they will also try over and over to figure out what they need to do and then exploit their method of entry when discovered.

        on the other hand, a person who might have a more collaborative relationship with a community is considering both the benefits and the costs of joining. they are wondering if anyone will be interested in their contribution, and if they will get relationships, feedback, learning, good feelings, whatever.

        If you need to solve several puzzles to gain entry, and you aren’t a puzzle solver kind of person, it is a very loud message: “we are not interested”. A person who is receptive to social cues will pick up on that and draw the inference that their time is better spent elsewhere. and being receptive to social cues is one of the qualities that makes a person a good participant.

        Sounds like in your case, a person would be correct in that conclusion. All I can say is I think that is erroneous at the platform level. I think it’s good to have focused places to go that meet different needs and have various expectations set. and as a user you should spend your time where it suits. But there isn’t like a magic puzzle to determine how interesting a person is. Personally I find the nerd parts of reddit to be the most easily replaceable. Here we are, and on many other forums as well. But there are all kinds of little interest communities populated by people who can’t just spin up a server, who will not be so able to re-find each other and those were very cool and now they are gone. If reconstituted it will be on some walled garden proprietary service.