Tackling

TOXIC BEHAVIOUR ONLINE

WebSG Sept 2015

WHY
ARE PEOPLE BIGGER JERKS ONLINE THAN OFF?

Who is this masked man?

What is a Troll?

http://bit.ly/trollsv

TACTICS
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Real Name Policies

2004 Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins

Real Name Policies

Self Managed
Communities

Incubated Communities

Blocking & Banning

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Reporting Systems

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Feedback Systems

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Automated Intervention

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Its Hard

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Research

Bullyspace: http://bit.ly/bullyspace
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League of Legends

Riot Games
67 million players
12 million players daily
MASSIVE data gathering and
research

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Jeffrey Lin

Play Nice: the Science and Behavior of

Online Games
https://youtu.be/nbYQ0AVVBGU
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Insights

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Contagion
Toxicity spreads quickly - but so
does positivity.
Reform
Encourage good behavior
Stop Ripples

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Tribunal

Public & Transparent

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Penalties
Avoid banning
Time-outs
Limited privileges

It's about consequences, not anonymity."

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Impact

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Research
Most of our research is about how do
we get people to not be assholes.

Disclosed in advance
Work with Academics
Highly Experimental
Have avoided backlash

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Where to from here?

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Reflection

Technology is not neutral

Its a hard problem
Machines are getting smarter
Simple answers are not always the best
The problem has gotten worse, but
We are getting wiser
System designers play an important role

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References
Play Nice: the Science of Behavior of Online Games
- Youtube
How to Stop the Bullies The Atlantic, March 2013
Doing Something About the Impossible Problem of
Abuse in Online Games Recode, July 2015
More carrot, less stick: Jeffrey Lin on tweaking
League of Legends player behavior Gamesutra,
March 2015
Trolls v Trolls Robin Rheaume, May 2015

http://bit.ly/toxicrefs
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Thanks for listening