Politeness Index: How to Clean Up Social Media from Rudeness and Profit from It
Social networks have long needed a “politeness index” for each post and comment. The idea is simple: an algorithm directly ties displays to the tone of the message. Aggressive comments are not removed, but simply shown less frequently in the feed.
Write a calm and diplomatic comment — you gather a normal audience. Come to be abusive and quarrel — your comment will be seen by no more than three people.
How it works in practice. Technically, it’s all possible now: neural networks easily assess the tone of text in the background. The main thing in this system is to give the user clear feedback.
For example: A commentator gets personal. The social network sends him a notification: “Your text could have been twice as noticeable if you hadn’t used foul language towards the author and hadn’t belittled that woman in the white coat.”
People receive a clear signal: audience attention depends on how the thought is formulated, not on the loudness of the scandal. Initially, this function can be tested not on everyone, but only on a portion of posts.
Why do users and businesses need this? Would platforms themselves want to spend money on moderating tone if their business is built on views and endless emotional debates? It’s a complicated question.
But a solution could be a premium “clean feed” feature. Many would happily agree to watch additional advertising or pay a small subscription fee for an ecological information space. We pay cleaners to clean our houses — paying for cleanliness in social networks is no worse. In the long run, the habit of communicating politely for likes may change people beyond the internet. Or did I fall from another planet?
Hi, I'm Rauf Aliev. 