Ooh, these are interesting comparative notes on Usenet culture. Thank you.
I think there are strengths and weaknesses to that kind of moderated community approach. One the one hand, it's easy for communities to be overrun by people with the same inflammatory takes that are supported by bad arguments, and having some way to weed that out is good. People who have spent a long time engaging in discussions around an issue may have a better sense of what topics to treat as radioactive waste dumps that should be deemed Not A Place of Honor or the common "baby's first hot take" type opinions people will espouse, and be able to present good counterarguments to those as well. Plus, mods can clear up confusing terminology and explain how words are used in that space. Good modding is awesome.
On the other hand, some people have the patience and zest for moderation but lack discernment for what is/isn't a valuable contribution to the discussion, and what feels like a simple and settled matter to them that only clueless or malicious people dissent from may not be. Bad modding sucks.
But I guess if you think a mod has bad taste you can just make your own community (though network effects are going to be a pain in the ass).
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branchandroot
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Date: 2025-09-10 05:38 pm (UTC)I think there are strengths and weaknesses to that kind of moderated community approach. One the one hand, it's easy for communities to be overrun by people with the same inflammatory takes that are supported by bad arguments, and having some way to weed that out is good. People who have spent a long time engaging in discussions around an issue may have a better sense of what topics to treat as radioactive waste dumps that should be deemed Not A Place of Honor or the common "baby's first hot take" type opinions people will espouse, and be able to present good counterarguments to those as well. Plus, mods can clear up confusing terminology and explain how words are used in that space. Good modding is awesome.
On the other hand, some people have the patience and zest for moderation but lack discernment for what is/isn't a valuable contribution to the discussion, and what feels like a simple and settled matter to them that only clueless or malicious people dissent from may not be. Bad modding sucks.
But I guess if you think a mod has bad taste you can just make your own community (though network effects are going to be a pain in the ass).