Hacker News is a platform with user submitted content and human moderation. It is still going strong. I am a reader of some hobby forums and subreddits that also use human moderation. They are going strong as well.
If I woke up next day and we had laws that made automated content platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok impossible as business models then it would be no great loss for me. I see zero issues standing in the way of human moderated replacements.
Personally, I use YouTube and Instagram similarly to how I use Reddit: I heavily curare who I follow/subscribe to anyway. I get a lot more enjoyment out of seeing new videos by people I’ve followed for years who don’t post very often than I do from some recommendation to a viral clickbait video.
So far all the responses to me have revolved around "well I don't care about it, so ban it"
Not a great argument. There is plenty of stuff you no doubt enjoy (like your hobby forums) that I don't care about. Should I advocate for banning them?
I didn’t say anything about banning any content whatsoever. The argument is whether social media platforms should be held accountable to the point where human moderation is necessary.
To that I say yes.
Human beings function best in small communities where light moderation, strong norms, and reputation are allowed to develop. These social media giants are trying to replace what has worked for millennia with unaccountable, automated, authoritarian systems. Is it any wonder that pathological behaviour would predominate?
