[Seattletech] Request for center column: "democratic filters for Indymedia"

[Ben Seattle]

http://seattle.indymedia.org/en/2005/10/248416.shtml

democratic filters for Indymedia
author: Ben Seattle
Oct 08, 2005 13:02

Summary:
--------
Any reader should have the right to post (and share with others)
his or her own filter. If readers can post articles -- why can't
they also post filters? If you have the option of reading or
ignoring an article -- why shouldn't you also have the option of
using a filter that another reader is maintaining?

Main body:
----------

I have studied the strengths and weaknesses of the Indymedia open
publishing news format since its inception in Seattle in 1999.
Indymedia is helping to revolutionize the way that news is
created and distributed and has proven to be of great value to
activists. 

The Indymedia newswire, to which anyone can post articles and add
comments, is probably the most useful feature of most Indymedia
sites. 

But the newswire and comment system has shown itself to have
problems also. Anyone can post an article or a comment. That is
the greatest strength of the open publishing system -- but at the
same time it is also its greatest weakness. 

Right-wing trolls frequently clog up the newswire and comment
areas with useless crap designed to steal attention and make
productive and effective use of the newswire difficult. The
newswire also has problems with conspiracy theorists and people
who don't understand how to write an article that can answer the
basic questions of who, what, where and why to which readers
rightfully expect answers in exchange for the time that they
spend reading an article. Worse, organized neo-nazi groups are
quick to take advantage of open publishing opportunities to
promote their racist filth. 

Attempts to filter the newswire and comments usually run into
another problem. Person A and person B may have very different
ideas concerning which articles are gems and which articles are
garbage. So the question of who does the filtering can never be
solved to everyone's satisfaction. 

The solution is that any reader should have the right to post
(and share with others) his or her own filter. If readers can
post articles -- why can't they also post filters? If you have
the option of reading or ignoring an article -- why shouldn't you
also have the option of using a filter that another reader is
maintaining? 

For example: 

I don't like the crappy 9-11 conspiracy articles. They are
stupid. They are always claiming that "proof" exists for this or
that. The "proof" always turns out to be as elusive as the three
million dollars some bank president in Nigeria will wire to you
as soon as you send him fifty bucks to get some paperwork taken
care of. Why should I have to wade through the stupid conspiracy
articles on the newswire -- when other readers (who share my
opinions) would be happy to maintain and share a filter that I
can use -- so that when I (making use of this person's filter)
look at the newswire -- I can see only the stuff that is more
interesting -- and not the 9-11 crap? 

And of course the people who _like_ to read the conspiracy crap
wouldn't use that filter. Maybe they would use no filters at all.
Or maybe they would use a filter that filters out all
reality-based news. I don't care what they do. The point is that
this should be their problem: not mine. 

I believe that this kind of thing (ie: democratic filters that
anyone can create and contribute and anyone else can either use
or ignore) is inevitable. A number of web sites (most famously
http://slashdot.org ) already make use of similar technology.
Indymedia needs it also. 

I have created a more detailed proposal, including page mockups,
at: 

 http://NewsRefinery.com/indymedia/proposal.htm 

In order to make this proposal (or something similar to it) a
reality there will be a need for a core group of people who would
like to help me make it happen. Most importantly, there would be
a need for one or more people with program coding skills who are
somewhat familiar (or willing to become familar) with the
Indymedia software technology. The people who run the Seattle
Indymedia site may be open to making some of these changes -- if
there are people who are enthusiastic about making these changes
happen -- and are ready to volunteer a few hours of their time
every week for this purpose. 

So if this describes you: post your comments here. Or go to: 

 http://NewsRefinery.com/indymedia/proposal.htm 

and post your comments there. 

And if you don't have programming skills but like the idea of
filters that you can either use or not as the whim strikes you --
well let me know that also. Maybe you have some ideas concerning
how this would all look? -- or how we can make this all happen?
Maybe you would be willing to spend some time using and testing a
mockup site that someone else creates? 

If there are not people in Seattle who would like to make this
happen -- then I will present my proposal to other indymedia
centers. Somewhere there must be the techncial talent (as well as
enthusiasm) that is necessary to make this happen. The newswire
spam and comment spam are not going away. The problem will get
worse and, I believe, democratic filters which anyone is free to
either use or ignore are the solution. 

But I am presenting this proposal first in Seattle. I live here.
And Indymedia originated here. So it is only logical that the
proposal be presented here first. 

Ben Seattle 
 http://struggle.net/ben 

Isolated from one another we are easily defeated. 
Connected to one another no force on earth can stop us 
 http://MediaWeapon.com