Reddit and the Struggle to Detoxify the Internet
So we&#x27;ve tried:<p>- Real identities (Facebook comments)<p>- Voting and self moderation (Reddit, HN, etc.)<p>- Strong moderation (Reddit, HN)<p>They all result in toxic comments, trolling, an echo chamber,or worse, a complete lack of participation. There&#x27;s no real solution to this problem. However, if you create consequences or a <i>cost</i> to commenting you&#x27;d eliminate toxic comments and trolling at the cost of less participation and an echo chamber (though, you could argue that not all participation is equal and you&#x27;re mainly removing poor participants).<p>There&#x27;s no perfect way to do this because even if you made a subscription necessary, for instance, you may just create an echo chamber. As part of the solution you&#x27;d need to prevent the creation of new accounts to circumvent any punishment received.<p>I&#x27;d say the most straightforward solution is that you have a forum and you get an account. Physical mail is sent to your house in order to get a <i>single</i> account. Then, regular moderation practices would be taken seriously as there&#x27;s no way to create another. The community would be left with those who care enough to not be banned. The problem is that the moderators themselves may be corrupt or wrong.<p>Thoughts?