Hugo Gameiro
| Format | online chat |
|---|---|
| Language | portuguese |
| Context | Administrator of masto.pt, a Mastodon instance |
The English version is a translation of the original in Portuguese. This is not a literal translation, any incongruence is most likely my fault.
RITA Hello Hugo! As part of my Master studies, I’m researching online communities that try to reduce online hate on social media in unofficial ways, informal but organised. More concretely, voluntary users that manage networks using Codes of Conduct.
I’m curious about the moderation process on masto.pt! Did the rules appear as an answer to a specific need or as common practice on Mastodon? Do you have to suspend people regularly?
Any help would be great!
HUGO Hello Rita,
Masto.pt is a small instance with few active users. It’s moderated mostly by myself and Eloísa, who does that voluntarily.
For a long time, we kept registrations open. Still, one day we had an invasion of Brazilian “teens” which forced us to start approving manually new applications as it was too difficult to moderate thousands of users in constant activity.
As for the rules, we adapted from other instances what made sense for us. Still, it’s a continuous work that we keep doing as we need. For me, without a doubt that moderation is one of the most significant challenges of decentralised networks. This structure brings new situations to the table. However, for us, it hasn’t been too draining as Masto.pt continues to be a small community (as a result of our decisions). If I can help you with anything else, let me know.
R Of course, it makes sense. A small community is easier to regulate. I remember the situation with Gab when there were a lot of users putting pressure on the platform to ban this instance. As Mastodon is decentralised, nothing could be done.
Thank you a lot for the answers. Would it be ok to mention them in my work?
H Of course, no problem.
