"The medium is the message." Twitter-like systems are prone to failure modes: emotionally unpleasant or intellectually barren interactions.
So how do you foster civilized online communication? This is primarily a social problem, not a technical one, although the structure of a system (like the Fediverse) is defined by technology.
The two online forums I know of personally that are pleasant and productive (HN and Permies.com) both have strong and consistent moderation by small, highly-dedicated teams, which then fosters a self-reinforcing culture that values, protects, and promotes norms of civil interaction. Interestingly, both were started by "big men"* (Paul Graham and Paul Wheaton, respectively) who rapidly gathered a critical mass of community. They also both have an entrepreneurial aspect. HN is paired with YC, of course, and Wheaton runs a kind of Permaculture incubator in Montana.
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*Big man
> A big man is a highly influential individual in a tribe, especially in Melanesia and Polynesia. Such a person may not have formal tribal or other authority (through for instance material possessions, or inheritance of rights), but can maintain recognition through skilled persuasion and wisdom.
So how do you foster civilized online communication? This is primarily a social problem, not a technical one, although the structure of a system (like the Fediverse) is defined by technology.
The two online forums I know of personally that are pleasant and productive (HN and Permies.com) both have strong and consistent moderation by small, highly-dedicated teams, which then fosters a self-reinforcing culture that values, protects, and promotes norms of civil interaction. Interestingly, both were started by "big men"* (Paul Graham and Paul Wheaton, respectively) who rapidly gathered a critical mass of community. They also both have an entrepreneurial aspect. HN is paired with YC, of course, and Wheaton runs a kind of Permaculture incubator in Montana.
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*Big man
> A big man is a highly influential individual in a tribe, especially in Melanesia and Polynesia. Such a person may not have formal tribal or other authority (through for instance material possessions, or inheritance of rights), but can maintain recognition through skilled persuasion and wisdom.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_man_(anthropology)