Are you also afraid of the day on which nostr is going to turn as toxic as Twitter because the problem isn't the social network, it's the human psyche?
Discussion
I'm hoping zaps will help incentivize friendly behavior
I'd like to believe that were true but I'm sure we'll end up with tribal behaviour on here just like on all social media. I think the lack of algorithms that are geared towards optimising engagement can help with that to some extent but people will still enjoy arguing with their enemies. That probably means a good put-down or attack on said enemies will be rewarded in zaps by their tribe.
To err is to be human. We will never have a purified experience because it's simply not in our nature.
That said, I'm not sure there's a better way to promote good behavior than to be able to incentivize it, so I'm optimistic we'll have an overall better experience than on the existing legacy platforms.
I would argue that the pure mind is the base layer of your nature. It's just that many are blown about by mental inertia and cling to fixed views and beliefs. When that is the case your mind is not flexible and open and the Self identity feels easily attacked by ideas/ thoughts that challenge its world views.
I'd agree with that. Will financially incentivizing for good behavior promote to curb negative & unproductive dialog? Time will tell.
I think it will drastically change human behavior through incentives, because up until now the incentive has been to exploit others for self gain but bitcoin creates a cooperative game. Whatever you do to add value to the network increases the value for all of us in equanimity as the network increases in value because it has 0 entropy.
So the incentive to do what is unhelpful, unwise, and unkind will over time go to 0. This is probably on a multi century scale though. Yet these incentives are sorely needed in a world that has the technological capacity to destroy itself with nuclear war due to not being sociologically advanced enough or wise enough to handle its technological capacity.
Humans. What can you do?
I think mostly the best we can do is to be mindful and self aware of our own nature so that we can avoid getting caught up in such dynamics ourselves. And also to lead by example in rewarding more pro-social behaviour.
Like I said, I do think nostr changes the incentives as compared to centralised social media, but I see that more as removing an amplifier rather than really affecting human nature itself.
We'll see how it plays out here as adoption grows and a more diverse set of people join, connect, and clash with each other. I do think its great that such a positive and friendly culture has developed so far.
Yup. Its human nature.
That’s what paid relay is for
no
Yes i said the same the other day. I want nostr to stay as is as long as possible. The vibe is great atm.
Yes, but I anticipate we'll have tools to help us navigate the toxic seas by then.
Will be smaller communities on nostr, more niche. Not everyone screaming about everything in one forum
True 🧡
I am still believing that most of the people are good. Just they are manipulated and steered by almighty 'Algorithm' on Twitter
I am hopeful that the incentives are just different enough that the network naturally resists.
The only aspect I can see that would lead us to that same toxic place is ppl willing to pay to doomscroll. IOW they actively spend their funds directly on ppl that feature (and even stage) train wrecks for attention (and funds). Time will test just how committed human nature is to seeking this when it has a cost.
I think people disassociate themselves from their “social media personality” hence toxicity.
But it does depend on how much impact the algorithm really has on Twitter too because arguably on Nostr, people are just creating the same echo chambers through which relays they connect to and who they follow (global is pretty unusable on free relays).
Naaaah. Here we have Pura vida. Proof of PV is incorruptible 💜
If/when that happens - we’ll have conceived of something even better.
It's why I constantly talk to people about decrying the ability to witness the mechanations of their own mind without resistance or attachment. Because it's our awareness that changes our individual world view and as a consequence the value systems and world views of civilization over time.
Subjective, but I feel I've already seen it tending that way. Not so much toxic blah blah blah, don't care about that. Just people coming and acting like it's the bird app blasting everything in a negative manner. Keep the PV flowing y'all and keep building.
If and when the magical thinking, pseudo science and conspiratorial/political outrage seeps in here, you’ll know nostr has been infiltrated by the bullshit peddlers.
My fingers are crossed for the better angels of human nature.
yes 😢
I'm hopeful that the incentive structure will help good people get positive changes developed/implemented, and that those changes will be the foundation of a new culture. Pv
Afraid, no. Individually, people are great. Collectively, people suck. Toxicity is an unavoidable side effect of when people gather and share competing ideas. Inevitable.
In day to day happenings there is a cost associated with bad behaviour which is the deterent.
That’s why people in cars get more angry and shout because they are in metal cages protected from cost.
Bring in the cost for bad behaviour!
I ain't scared. But yeah, there are a ton of toxic assholes in the world. they'll show up and try to ruin things.
Yes. I’m afraid. But I own my own profile, if a client gets toxic I can leave it, if a fellow user is toxic I may unfollow, there’s no need to “monetize” a decentralized system, so advertising, in theory is unnecessary. If there’s no advertising there’s no need for algorithmic manipulation. I’m not forced to see things I haven’t followed. I see a chance at a social network without toxicity. A network that doesn’t demand engagement. That has no shareholders to remunerate. No alterior motive other than to enable communication and expression.
People could keep their shadow side on Twitter and nostr could stay same/sane…
Your post is being widely read.
Added to the https://member.cash/hot feed
My concern is centralization, not toxicity.
For the moment, I choose to enjoy and bask in the camraderie.😁
I'll also choose to be optimistic about the ability and skill of the community to conceive of and leverage ways to minimize those tendencies going forward...🙏😁👍
Zaps fixes this
It's the combo of human psyche + the environment.
In the Stanford Prison Experiment, the environment is what turned normal people into brutal sadistic guards and defeated self-imprisoned prisoners.
On nostr, the environment (i.e. the clients, constructs, concepts) people interact with can have more influence on the outcome than people imagine.
Because they guide behavior and frame the user's thinking. You need to expend effort to escape bad framing, or to re-frame.
Fortunately, on nostr no one one person or group is in charge, so different clients (with different built-in expectations, framing) can compete and coexist.
TL;DR: bullish on nostr