That's a good question. Lets say that we're mostly ok with the manifestation of moderation acted out by dang et al here at HN, and less positive about the moderation in other places like FB/reddit.
Given that as a backdrop, how would you characterize the important variables that affect the relative perception of these moderation approaches?
I'll start: 1. Well articulated rules/ethic. 2. Transparent moderation actions. 3. Few "hard lines": dang may step in to remind people of the rules as they approach the line. The precedence of rules is flexible and depends on the context.
5. There is a way to get in touch with the moderators, appeal any censorship and have a civil conversation to clarify any misunderstandings. Just like the good old forums in fact, where moderation was benevolent and tried its best to resolve issues.
Compare that to mainstream social media where moderation is a cost center, outsourced to people in atrocious working conditions with no good understanding of the subtleties of the language at hand or the topic being discussed, and has no incentive to make the platform better. The platform itself has no incentive to encourage good discussions and mediate conflicts, its only incentive is to keep people looking at ads and the mediocre moderation is just there to keep the law at bay. Any "good discussions" that arise anyway are just a side-effect.
Given that as a backdrop, how would you characterize the important variables that affect the relative perception of these moderation approaches?
I'll start: 1. Well articulated rules/ethic. 2. Transparent moderation actions. 3. Few "hard lines": dang may step in to remind people of the rules as they approach the line. The precedence of rules is flexible and depends on the context.