We'll loop detect to end the mutual admiration society, but thanks from you makes my day :) I just tweeted a pointer to "Doing Terrible Things" and suggested people read all of the "Falsehoods Programmers Believe". I want "Falsehoods as a Service" - outsourced paranoia.
And yes, distributed discussions that preserve free speech and allow eliminating crap is definitely moon-shot hard.
distributed discussions that preserve free speech and allow eliminating crap is definitely moon-shot hard.
The way you just defined the problem, it's not moon shot hard; it's a logical impossibility. "Free speech" and "eliminating crap" are complete opposites. You can't have one with the other. If you want a high quality of discussions, some people are going to have to be deprived of their voice to make that happen, either through moderation or selective membership.
And yes, distributed discussions that preserve free speech and allow eliminating crap is definitely moon-shot hard.