I was hoping 'respectify' could mean respect for the users.
This is a very important problem space. Maybe the most important today - we desprately need a digital third place that isn't awful. But I think these attempts are misled.
The core issue seems to be that we want our communities to be infinite. Why? Well, because there is currently no way to solve the community discoverability problem without being the massive thing. But that is the issue to solve.
We need a lot of Dunbar's number sized communities. Those communities allow for 'skin in the game' where reputation matters. And maybe a fractal sort of way for those communities to share between them.
The problem is in the discoverability and in a gate keeping that is porous enough to give people a chance.
Solve that, and you solve the the third place problem we have currently. I don't have a solution but I wish I did.
Infinite communities are fundamentally what causes the tribalism (ironically), the loneliness, and the promotion of rage.
No one wants to be forced to argue correctly. Forcing people into a way to think via software is fundamentally authoritarian and sad.
Thoughtful comment, thanks. I appreciate it.
The notion of "Limit the community to the Dunbar number" is a fascinating idea. I guess "infinite" isn't going to quite work. Keen observation.
We tried very hard to not "force" anyone to argue correctly. We are shooting more for "nudge in the right direction" and "educate". Many people don't know that they are arguing in bad faith, I think.
The perfect outcome here is that a community/blogger can, with minimal effort, have engaging, interesting conversations without much effort and without having to worry about things getting hijacked by unpleasant commenters.
From gp:
> Forcing people into a way to think via software is fundamentally authoritarian and sad.
Completely agree.
I understand the problem, and while I see this as a good faith attempt to solve it, something doesn't quite sit right about the framing for me. Really, what's happening is just that certain rules of behavior and language being enforced. And that's fine! That's what communities are. You're allowed to do different kinds of things in different places.
I'd frame it that way rather than the current, more paternalistic framing. There isn't a universal way to be respectful, or to argue. People have different thresholds for aggression, sarcasm, and so on.
Just like signs at the library say "No talking" or "No eating", you might think of this as a way to put up certain signs for your particular community. Configurable knobs to create the kind of place you want. But it's not about "teaching" people anything. It's about saying, "Here, we do things this way. If you like that, come and play. If you don't, this place is not for you."