Universal Block List

Apps
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I’ve been thinking about what the most-needed features of a decentralized web will be. It’s been clear to me for a while that the Oldnet suffers from a tremendous lack of tools for preventing abuse and filtering unwanted messages (trolling). This is solved on most platforms by centralized moderation, but on a web where nothing can be deleted, this can’t be the way. The goal of SAFENet is for anyone to speak freely, but this is only sustainable if individuals can choose what to listen to. Otherwise it’s all noise, and a terrifically unsafe environment for marginalized people.

I’d like to propose a standard API for managing user blocking. Since SAFE has the wonderful advantage of one user account across all apps, we should have a plug-and-play API where blocking abusive users could also be shared across all apps, if developers choose to install the API on their sites. So all forums, comment sections, etc could forego the need for moderation, ever. In fact the API could provide for shared block lists, recommended block lists maintained by forums, etc.

Because that’s the thing about free speech: it doesn’t work without free listening/ignoring.

Edit: more background. I’m a coder and trying to gauge if there’s demand for this, or any flaws/suggestions in the idea. I would happily take the lead on this project if the community deems it worthwhile.

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This is a brilliant point @NatQuayle and I have no idea how one would put that together (I’m a rock bottom beginner), but your point resonates with my own thoughts about this new concept/network. A blocking tool that would encompass apps across the network when tackling abuse would be most useful, and I would believe there is a market for such a tool.

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Check out Project Decorum, particularly their talk at DevCon which is exactly what you describe - a standard protocol for groups of users to share block lists (actually more flexible than that).

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Hmm… would it be possible to block yourself from SAFEnet for certain period of time?

I used to have problems with excessive net use a while ago, and there was this Selfcontrol app, which enabled you to create un-circumventable black- and whitelists for a set period of time. Now with SAFE it could be done so that it works on every device, even if it is set up only from one device, no?

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ignoring “trolls”:
https://www.project-decorum.com/collaborative-moderation/

endorsing “good” content:
https://www.project-decorum.com/endorsements-sharing/

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Thanks for sharing that! Indeed it looks exactly like a fleshed out version of what I was envisioning, though I haven’t yet watched the videos or tried the demo. I’ll see about contributing to that project!

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