Don't Feed the Trolls: Substack's Content Moderation Punt Will Destroy the Platform.

Engagement with insincere interlocutors can and should be automated.

I got to meet a troll. They do not only live under bridges! They also spend time on poorly moderated social media. Which includes the comment threads of Substack.

I have turned my experience into a don't feed the trolls cautionary tale, for the rest of us. For

Substack Writers

and

Substack Reads

? Becoming a Nazi bar is a problem. This is your official notice.

In summary, the argument is as follows:

But, then you realize that beyond spam and content that breaks the rules, you end up with malicious users who cause trouble. And trouble drives away users, advertisers, or both. And if you don’t deal with the malicious users, the malicious users define you. It’s the “oh shit, this is a Nazi bar now” problem.

And, look, sure, in the US, you can run the Nazi bar, thanks to the 1st Amendment. But running a Nazi bar is not winning any free speech awards. It’s not standing up for free speech. It’s building your own brand as the Nazi bar and abdicating your own free speech rights of association to kick Nazis out of your pr…