Ask HN: A Reddit alternative only for humans; how would you do it?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40910378

by punkpeye • 2 years ago

10 10 2 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

I keep thinking about this idea of figuring out a forum format that has checks in place to ensure that every participant is an actual human, as opposed to an automated bot.

I have had a ton of crazy ideas for how I would execute it, ranging from simply requiring to have government ID to requiring to have webcam on while using the website (to collect biometrics).

I am interested to hear from the community if (however crazy or restrictive, sci-fi) ideas that would allow to create a forum online that's only for humans.

nullindividual• 2 years ago

Biometrics are a non-starter. Part of the appeal of reddit is anonymity. You can post in your city's sub while getting your rocks off in some 18+ sub, from pornography to watching Russian dismemberment.

Removing gamification would be a big one. Karma farming is a big part of the bot network.

jonahbenton• 2 years ago

What problem do you think ensuring every participant is an actual human would solve?

TheAlchemist• 2 years ago

How does HN do it ?

I have the feeling that there are close to 0 bots on HN, as opposed to any other online social media / forum.

1oooqooq2• 2 years ago

bunch of nerds moderating for free.

reddit have geeks, so it doesn't work.

realityfactchex• 2 years ago

Only provision accounts to users you actually know and who agree to not run bots.

This works for me, but only for tiny forums.

1oooqooq2• 2 years ago

all your solutions are red state boomer stereotype level. sorry.

al_borland• 2 years ago

Bots exist because there are incentives. Remove the incentives.

wruza• 2 years ago

Breaking that would be an interesting task indeed. I like projects with elements like this because when you finished, you just unlocked a whole branch of ops.

While this is mostly spam and abuse related, I think this is the only way for societies to pull their head out of a dark place and start to make changes that aren’t band-aid on a corpse, which internet practically is.

romerocarlos• 2 years ago

I understand perhaps with the validation of the identity of each user or something similar to a KYC. This would imply the handling of personal data in addition to all the legal barriers that such a measure would entail.

whelchel• 2 years ago

I've wondered this myself. I would love a version of reddit only with real people. I'd also love it if the anonymity was a gradient, and not a binary.

E.g. you could join a California based subreddit and verify you are a California resident, but not go further than that, etc., without cross-tying with other claims you've made about yourself in other forums/sub-reddits.

I've thought about using the various crypto-decentralized options here, such as Proof of Humanity or BrightID.

I'd be curious if you've made any progress here thinking about this, feel free to DM me via profile.

Ask HN: A Reddit alternative only for humans; how would you do it?

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