use case

Peer moderation on Slashdot

Slashdot's iterations for improved collaborative moderation were among the first examples of this kind in Internet governance. The karma points mechanism, along with meta-moderation and other features, found their place in subsequent social platforms over the next decade.

source of visual

Global, Slashdot, Online
- Where did this use case occur?
1997-2003
- When did this use case occur?
Slashdot
- Who were some of the key collaborators
At the height of popularity Slashdot had ~5 million users.
- How many people participated?
Social Platform
- What are some keywords?

What was the problem?

Slashdot emerged as a news site for “nerds” where comments were allowed from anyone visiting the site, without the need for them to become users. In time, as the user base expanded, there were people claiming to be site moderators, quarrels and decreased harmony. This expansion of the community size demanded the founding team to distribute moderation work.

How does the community approach the problem?

The first moderators were the co-founders, then they took in their good friends from high school and university. They experimented with different add-ons to the moderator structure to enforce rules to maintain a safe, secure and respectful environment.

Process

Peer / collaborative moderation

Technique

There were meta-moderators who evaluated how fair the moderators acted. Users receive karma points based on their activity to get a chance to become moderators or meta-moderators.

Tool

No Specified Tools

What were the results?

For many years, Slashdot continued to be a trusted source of curated news for many professionals in the technology space. As newer platforms like Reddit slowly dethroned the platform, they made use of the many features like karma points and meta-moderation in their governance. This way, Slashdot’s governance experimentations shaped a culture reaching far beyond the single platform’s realms.

In Our Opinions

How participatory was it?

Empower

Active members of the Slashdot community may choose to take on moderating and meta-moderating duties to make sure their community remains safe and with high-quality, correct information.

What makes this Use Case unique?