This paper focuses on extending the concept of forgiveness to online communities. It begins with an overview of common online interaction problems, and practical ways that the offenders are punished. Examples include reputation on Slashdot and eBay, as well as moderation and page-locking on Wikipedia. Problems arise when a user inadvertently offends someone or has a momentary lapse of judgment. In these cases, users often desire a reparation system, which could allow their status in the community to be restored. The three researchers listed above, believe that this would best be implemented through a system of forgiveness.
In their paper, they borrow the following definition: "Forgiveness is the victim's prosocial change towards the offender as s/he replaces these initial negative motivations with positive motivations." They extend this to state that:
- Forgiveness cannot be mandatory
- Forgiveness is not unconditional
- Forgiveness does not necessarily repair trust or remove accountability
This paper felt a little vague and unscientific, even though they constantly referenced other sources. While I agreed with almost everything they said, I found it to be less than enlightening. Rather, it seemed to reiterate what most people could put together off of the top of their heads (albeit without sources). It would have been nice for them to conduct a user-study of an actual online community, using an actual forgiveness system. I believe this is a great idea for many online communities, but it would need to be tested in the real world, not just talked about on paper.
That's certainly an odd topic for a paper. More often than not, the violators are simply ignorant of the rules. In the community that I participate in, we using a warning system. Users are typically given an informal warning to point them to the rules, then it's an official warning, and then temporary ban, and then permanent ban.
ReplyDeleteVery rarely does someone get enough warnings for a ban. It's typically the two extremes. They do it on accident and get reminded or do it on purpose and get banned outright.
The problem with blocking a user from using a site is that it only keeps out those who allow themselves to be blocked. The violators who are abusing the system purposely will be back with a vengeance.
I agree with Patrick on this, but I think this paper mostly focuses on rude comments on ebay or some other site that you buy items from. A buyer or seller may say something that the other person interprets incorrectly and they can start badmouthing them all over the site through comments. I think this would "maybe" help avoid that, but there is always going to be misinterpretations when it comes to people talking on the internet.
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