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Title: Towards Intersectional Models: An Alternative Model of Moderation Build on Care & Power Abstract: Shortcomings of current models of moderation have driven policy makers, scholars, & technologists to speculate about alt models of content moderation. While alt models provide hope for the future of online spaces, they can fail without proper scaffolding. Community mods are routinely confronted with similar issues & have found creative ways to navigate challenges. Learning more about the decisions these mods make, the challenges they face, & where they are successful can provide insight into how to ensure alt moderation models are successful. In this study, I perform a collaborative ethnography with mods of AskHistorians, a community that uses an alternative moderation model, highlighting the importance of accounting for power in moderation. Drawing from Black feminist theory, I call this “intersectional moderation.” I focus on three controversies emblematic of r/AskHistorians’ alt model of moderation: a disagreement over a moderation decision; a collaboration to fight racism on Reddit & a period of intense turmoil and its impact on policy. Through this evidence I show how volunteer mods navigated multiple layers of power through care work. To ensure the successful implementation of intersectional moderation, I argue that designers should support decision-making processes & policy makers should account for the impact of the sociotechnical systems in which mods work.

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Title: Towards Intersectional Models: An Alternative Model of Moderation Build on Care & Power Abstract: Shortcomings of current models of moderation have driven policy makers, scholars, & technologists to speculate about alt models of content moderation. While alt models provide hope for the future of online spaces, they can fail without proper scaffolding. Community mods are routinely confronted with similar issues & have found creative ways to navigate challenges. Learning more about the decisions these mods make, the challenges they face, & where they are successful can provide insight into how to ensure alt moderation models are successful. In this study, I perform a collaborative ethnography with mods of AskHistorians, a community that uses an alternative moderation model, highlighting the importance of accounting for power in moderation. Drawing from Black feminist theory, I call this “intersectional moderation.” I focus on three controversies emblematic of r/AskHistorians’ alt model of moderation: a disagreement over a moderation decision; a collaboration to fight racism on Reddit & a period of intense turmoil and its impact on policy. Through this evidence I show how volunteer mods navigated multiple layers of power through care work. To ensure the successful implementation of intersectional moderation, I argue that designers should support decision-making processes & policy makers should account for the impact of the sociotechnical systems in which mods work.
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Sarah Gilbert (sarahgilbert@hci.social)'s status on Monday, 19-Jun-2023 02:41:35 JST Sarah Gilbert

Moderation often kind of sucks—there’s either too much, and marginalized folks are silenced, or there’s not enough, and things like hate, harassment, and disinfo spread.
But what if moderation could be empowering? There are lots of proposed alternative models to improve moderation. In my new paper, coming out in CSCW soon, I argue that moderation needs to account for power to help us understand where it works, where it breaks down, and why.
Pre-print available here: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2305.11250.pdf

In conversation Monday, 19-Jun-2023 02:41:35 JST from hci.social permalink

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