Saito Modtools – Decentralized Moderation

Traditional Moderation

Decentralized Moderation (DeMod) brings the social dynamics the regulate in-person relationships to Web 3. What does this mean?

On the traditional networks, your exposures and affiliations with others are governed primarily by a platform’s universal moderation policies. This is largely in contrast to how relationships form in real life. In real life, the individual makes their own decisions on who they interact with.

The reason most platforms work this way is because they are responsible for all of the content. They therefore become liable, to varying degrees, for what they decide to show you. They also do it for power: by manipulating which content is amplified or is banished to the shadow realm, big tech controls our perception of the world.

DeMod – Decentralized Moderation

DeMod works on the level of individuals. As a sovereign user, you decide the content policies you want to subscribe, and when you want to subscribe to them; it’s all open source and modifiable on the user-level. Decentralized Moderation is both a requirement and a boon of a true P2P network.

Because messages are sent P2P, rather than client-to-server, there is no central server truly capable of content curation or moderation. This is great for the overall health of free speech on the platform, but also a significant challenge for everyday use in the face of socially destructive content.

Our Saito Node will give users our content policy to filter basic spam, smut and invectives, but won’t enforce it. You can decide in real-time whether you want a civil, or unruly experience, or anything in between.

DeMod takes the shadowy power away from algorithms or manipulative power hiding behind those algorithms. It is a necessary pillar for an internet where people’s choice is restored – you’re seeing it first on Saito. Fully open-source policies and user choice; enjoy the content policies of mainstream platforms with the transparency of a noble instantiation of Web 3. It’s the best of both worlds.

Participate

Though these tools have application beyond social media, we will be rolling them out and adjusting our node’s configuration for Red Square this week. Feedback is always appreciated.