One thing these types of tools also need to consider is online safety. I've seen others implement things like personal boundaries, hiding from others, and avoiding being boxed in by others. Just to name a few.
I couldn't see anythig on your website that addresses any of these sorts of concerns?
Please mind that the demo room is an open space to show off the features. Once you create your own flat, you are able to edit moderators, guest list, allowed email domains, banned list and keep the flat open and closed whenever you want. There is also ability to kick & ban.
I've seen others implement things like personal boundaries, hiding from others, and avoiding being boxed in by others.
I find this very interesting. After all, it's a space governed by a physics engine which can potentially bring another dimension of annoying things that one can do. In flat.social you can push other people, magnetise yourself to others and so on.
Nevertheless, users do not move with keyboard only - you can also move by "flying" yourself around with a mouse or a drag event. If you want to remain static, you can anchor yourself to a spot on the map and no one will be able to box you into a corner or to disturb a conversation by pushing around.
Or, presumably, people could box you in by anchoring themselves around you? Similarly, I give it 5 mins before magnetising to others makes people uncomfortable, or is used for downright harassment.
Ask any woman what it's like to go to a tech conference, and then try to guess if they would be comfortable using a tool like yours as it currently stands.
Ask any woman what it's like to go to a tech conference, and then try to guess if they would be comfortable using a tool like yours as it currently stands.
Why did you ignore their reply to you entirely?
Please mind that the demo room is an open space to show off the features. Once you create your own flat, you are able to edit moderators, guest list, allowed email domains, banned list and keep the flat open and closed whenever you want. There is also ability to kick & ban.
What would you do in a Zoom call with co-workers, friends, or attendees of a presentation who were disruptive? You'd kick them or leave.
I didn't ignore their reply. I responded to their expansion on the physical options for moving in the space.
The same argument for booting disruptive people could be made for conferences, too. Yes, it's much easier with smaller and more closely-knit teams, but it still happens. And your suggestion is _only_ any good for closely-knit teams. Once it starts getting used for more open-attendance events, that starts to fall apart.
We don't have to theorise about this stuff from first principles, we can see exactly this behaviour panning out for real in existing social systems today. Kick or leave as the two options doesn't cut it there, so why should it be sufficient here?
I could outline one for me, that I'd look for, but I was asking more about what the authors of the tool had thought about and catered for.
The dangers are all too real with online social spaces; douchebaggery, perving and harassment. The examples I gave are common mitigations (e.g. movement algos that prevent someone being boxed in to a corner can provide a way for somone to escape an uncomfortable interaction - without it, they can be stuck) already implemented by similar platforms.
Look up any metaverse review and they're full of this shitty behaviour. If spaces don't think about this aspect, then those that are targetted will just not come back.
If there's one thing builders of social platforms should have learned from the last decade it's that they can't ignore the downsides of how their tools are going to be used.
This looks like it was built for team social events. If you’re getting harassed and bullied on your team, you have bigger problems you need to take care of.
Which could be fine, as long as the tool is only ever used for social events within existing teams with an out-of-band channel for dealing with harassment or bullying. But we all know that this won't be the case.
So let's not pretend these problems can't exist, or can just be hand-waved away with "well you can just leave". That's not how real social interactions work, especially those with employee/employer externalities attached.
If it's used for non-team interactions with strangers: You can close the tab. No hand-waving here. You just click a button.
If it's used for team interactions: If you're being bullied by your teammates and/or boss, no amount of software moderation is going to fix that. Go talk to HR about it, quit, and/or go to the NYT with a juicy story.
That's not how real social interactions work
What are you talking about? Unless you're being physically stopped from leaving somewhere, you can leave. If you're being physically stopped from leaving somewhere, call the police and hopefully you've taken a self defense class and/or have pepper spray on you.
Comments
One thing these types of tools also need to consider is online safety. I've seen others implement things like personal boundaries, hiding from others, and avoiding being boxed in by others. Just to name a few.
I couldn't see anythig on your website that addresses any of these sorts of concerns?
Hey!
Please mind that the demo room is an open space to show off the features. Once you create your own flat, you are able to edit moderators, guest list, allowed email domains, banned list and keep the flat open and closed whenever you want. There is also ability to kick & ban.
I find this very interesting. After all, it's a space governed by a physics engine which can potentially bring another dimension of annoying things that one can do. In flat.social you can push other people, magnetise yourself to others and so on.
Nevertheless, users do not move with keyboard only - you can also move by "flying" yourself around with a mouse or a drag event. If you want to remain static, you can anchor yourself to a spot on the map and no one will be able to box you into a corner or to disturb a conversation by pushing around.
Or, presumably, people could box you in by anchoring themselves around you? Similarly, I give it 5 mins before magnetising to others makes people uncomfortable, or is used for downright harassment.
Ask any woman what it's like to go to a tech conference, and then try to guess if they would be comfortable using a tool like yours as it currently stands.
Why did you ignore their reply to you entirely?
What would you do in a Zoom call with co-workers, friends, or attendees of a presentation who were disruptive? You'd kick them or leave.
I didn't ignore their reply. I responded to their expansion on the physical options for moving in the space.
The same argument for booting disruptive people could be made for conferences, too. Yes, it's much easier with smaller and more closely-knit teams, but it still happens. And your suggestion is _only_ any good for closely-knit teams. Once it starts getting used for more open-attendance events, that starts to fall apart.
We don't have to theorise about this stuff from first principles, we can see exactly this behaviour panning out for real in existing social systems today. Kick or leave as the two options doesn't cut it there, so why should it be sufficient here?
Probably best to outline a specific threat model. What is the danger, which the tools you mentioned would make safer?
I could outline one for me, that I'd look for, but I was asking more about what the authors of the tool had thought about and catered for.
The dangers are all too real with online social spaces; douchebaggery, perving and harassment. The examples I gave are common mitigations (e.g. movement algos that prevent someone being boxed in to a corner can provide a way for somone to escape an uncomfortable interaction - without it, they can be stuck) already implemented by similar platforms.
Look up any metaverse review and they're full of this shitty behaviour. If spaces don't think about this aspect, then those that are targetted will just not come back.
If there's one thing builders of social platforms should have learned from the last decade it's that they can't ignore the downsides of how their tools are going to be used.
Just close the tab…
This looks like it was built for team social events. If you’re getting harassed and bullied on your team, you have bigger problems you need to take care of.
Which could be fine, as long as the tool is only ever used for social events within existing teams with an out-of-band channel for dealing with harassment or bullying. But we all know that this won't be the case.
So let's not pretend these problems can't exist, or can just be hand-waved away with "well you can just leave". That's not how real social interactions work, especially those with employee/employer externalities attached.
If it's used for non-team interactions with strangers: You can close the tab. No hand-waving here. You just click a button.
If it's used for team interactions: If you're being bullied by your teammates and/or boss, no amount of software moderation is going to fix that. Go talk to HR about it, quit, and/or go to the NYT with a juicy story.
What are you talking about? Unless you're being physically stopped from leaving somewhere, you can leave. If you're being physically stopped from leaving somewhere, call the police and hopefully you've taken a self defense class and/or have pepper spray on you.