As someone who once enjoyed hate reading<\/a> comments sections, I thought I was prepared when, in 2011, I started moderating comments on social media at the ABC.<\/p>\n I was so wrong. My expected post-outrage glow was instead replaced with a desire to shower in scalding water \u2013 a lot.<\/p>\n This is largely because of the following:<\/p>\n As a moderator I\u2019ve dealt with the following: rape threats, racial slurs, hate speech against people who identify as LGBTI<\/a> or are non-Christian or immigrants or refugees, and that old staple \u2013 misogyny that makes the Middle Ages look enlightened.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve also been abused for not getting comments down fast enough, for deleting or hiding them, been called a left-wing ideologue, a right-wing apparatchik, a \u201cf\u2014ing moron\u201d and told to (insert sexual act of choice here).<\/p>\n Is it possible for moderators to simply ignore the abuse as the \u2018Haters gonna hate\u2019 meme advises? Flickr\/v i p e z, CC BY-NC-ND<\/p><\/div>\n But it\u2019s not like it was personal \u2013 \u201chaters gonna hate<\/a>\u201d as the meme goes \u2013 and I should probably just get over it, right?<\/p>\n It\u2019s very easy to think that trolling is only a problem for those who are specifically targeted. We, rightly, question the impact on their victims’ mental health as in the case of Charlotte Dawson<\/a> earlier this year. We talk about the personality traits of trolls<\/a> and offer advice on the best ways<\/a> to deal with them.<\/p>\n As recent articles on sites such as Salon<\/a> and Wired<\/a> note, there is a toll on moderators, and it\u2019s often high.<\/p>\n In an open letter<\/a> to parent company Gawker Media after months of inaction on their \u201crape gif problem\u201d, staffers from feminist site Jezebel explicitly noted:<\/p>\n In refusing to address the problem, Gawker\u2019s leadership is prioritizing theoretical anonymous tipsters over a very real and immediate threat to the mental health of Jezebel\u2019s staff [\u2026]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The problem is getting worse as organised groups targeting specific content get involved. When that occurs the constant river of comments can become a flash-flood.<\/p>\n Earlier this year, for example, a post (now deleted) on the ABC News Facebook<\/a> wall was targeted by an anti-Mosque group. Within minutes of their call to arms the comments were flooded with hate speech, much of it cut-and paste.<\/p>\n It was almost impossible to keep up with the flow of horribly racist, religiously intolerant rants in the comments. It was almost a week before things settled down.<\/p>\n For all the moderators involved it was exhausting and dispiriting.<\/p>\n Recently we\u2019ve seen heavy trolling of companies who make Halal food<\/a> by anti-Muslim groups. There\u2019s been similar targeting of posts on Gamergate<\/a>, and it\u2019s an expected feature of articles on feminist issues or climate change<\/a> or asylum seekers.<\/p>\n Most of the suggested solutions are aimed at trying to end trolling and incivility. Admirable though this is, it\u2019s doomed to failure.<\/p>\n Pandora\u2019s Box is well and truly opened on this one and that means we need to think damage control.<\/p>\n Tweaking the algorithms that automatically block offensive content, where you can, is a potential solution \u2013 but algorithms can be gamed. In the end, as a recent article in Mashable points out<\/a>:<\/p>\n [\u2026] new rules don\u2019t necessarily mean moderators will see less awful content.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Steering clear of posting troll-bait items, while tempting, is self-censorship and a very slippery slope indeed. We could get rid of comments<\/a> on those articles, but the jury\u2019s still out on that tactic.<\/p>\n I\u2019m sceptical about how well ending anonymity<\/a> will work. That assumes people don\u2019t do things like make fake Facebook profiles \u2013 I\u2019m looking at you the United States’ Drug Enforcement Agency<\/a>.<\/p>\n We need research into the potential psychological impacts of moderation on those who do it. It\u2019s very difficult to come up with effective strategies without it.<\/p>\n Platforms such as Facebook and, particularly, Twitter<\/a> need to be better about responding to and acting on concerns when raised.<\/p>\n Employers can take a proactive approach \u2013 have regular and open conversations with moderators and take their concerns seriously. Offer support and properly resource them. Track and appropriately address the volume of comments \u2013 when and on what sites and posts they occur and how they are enabled.<\/p>\n Still, for all the bile, there are the diamonds \u2013 comments that reaffirm your belief in humankind and leave you floating on air. For those, on behalf of moderators past and present, thank you.<\/p>\n By Vincent F Hendricks<\/strong>, Professor of Formal Philosophy at University of Copenhagen<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n If it\u2019s connected, it\u2019s vulnerable to hacking<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n How to spot fake photos online<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n What commercial aircraft will look like in 2050<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n
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<\/a>The moderator toll<\/h2>\n
What\u2019s to be done?<\/h2>\n
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More from The Conversation<\/h3>\n