Thread by @EngineOrg

Our launch event for our new content moderation game is starting. You can follow along here as we explore the challenges of content moderation with @aprystai of @eventvesta, @Ashkhen of @StandTogether, and @ahookz of @Etsy.

Content moderation is difficult. And the best way to show that is by putting yourself in the shoes of a content moderator. That's why we built our new game, #ModeratorMayhem. moderatormayhem.engine.is

We're playing along! Here's a piece of content and the rules. What would you do? Leave it up or take it down?

61 percent of attendees voted to leave it up, while 39 percent voted to take it down. If you left it up, the local school district decides to ban the app on school wifi. Students reviewing library books were a main segment of your user base & now they can't use the app at school.

If you took it down, the donut shop starts a viral protest. Turns out they call that donut the wink wink. Oops. There's hundreds more tough hypotheticals in the game—you should go try your hand there: bit.ly/44Pzkb3

Now we're turning to the panel to discuss content moderation!

.@aprystai of @eventvesta explains what moderation looks like at a startup: We're a team of seven and we don't have a dedicated team member to moderate events on our site. "We all fill that duty."

By contrast, @ahookz of @Etsy explains that they have 2,800 employees and have recently devoted $50 million to moderation technology, and they use a mix of dedicated human moderation and tech tools as well.

.@aprystai explains that after recent news coverage, their service was inundated with spam and illegitimate content, and they have had to make some significant investments to counter that tide and remove that content.

Without tools to help moderation at scale, the Internet wouldn't be usable and would be a terrible user experience @Ashkhen says. But each platform needs the freedom to make decisions about what's best for their services.

Part of what tools startups can use for content moderation is based on their limited resources. @ktummarello highlights that on average, seed-stage startups are operating with $55k per month. $10K to build a new tool for moderation would be a significant expense.

When it comes to specific content, @Ashkhen explains that what constitutes hate speech, for example, can vary based on region. What's a slur in one country might be used in common parlance in another. Culture and context matter.

.@aprystai explains that section 230 is critical so that they don't have to worry about if event organizers on the platform accidentally run afoul of local regulations and that the DMCA works well if the organizer doesn't own the rights to the content they've uploaded.

.@Etsy sees content moderation in the physical sense too. "We call this speech on a t-shirt." A shirt with ACAB would not violate their rules but the same slogan with a picture of a burning police car would run afoul of the rules, @ahookz explains.

Companies have free speech rights themselves. @Ashkhen explains that allows companies to create unique communities online and creates beneficial competition online.

.@aprystai agrees—context is crucial. "What's acceptable for us might not be acceptable for other sites and vice versa since our platform often brings people together in person. @eventvesta needs the ability to curate that content, something that is enabled by Section 230."

.@ahookz says there are lots of implications for search algorithms if intermediary liability were to change. We want to show people what they're looking for, so if we had to change that, relevance would diminish.

To wrap up the conversation, here's a final word from each of our panelists:

.@Ashkhen of @StandTogether wants to emphasize that the Internet is just a magnifying glass of society.

.@aprystai of @eventvesta reiterates changing Section 230 would force lots of startups to close their doors permanently.

And @ahookz of @Etsy explains that context is crucial for content moderation and there will always be unintended consequences.

And that's a wrap! be sure to go play #ModeratorMayhem and try your hand at moderating content at a startup.