MY THOUGHTS
The person who posted would be the moderator for that post.
It would eliminate the problem of multiple places to post the same subject matter.
The post would have tags (ex : ask lemmy, meditation, gardening …), which would simplify crossposting. The post would be searched for like that.
There would be no communities.
It would make moderation much easier
It would be democratic. If you don’t like the way the conversation is being managed then go to or create another. It would be fewer clicks than creating your own community or creating your own lemmy instance.
GOOGLE AI’S THOUGHTS
Assigning moderation power by post (making the author the moderator) would prioritize personal control over content, akin to managing a comment section, but would likely cause chaos on platforms designed for community discussion. While it gives creators absolute control over replies, it risks high abuse, lack of impartial enforcement, and fragmented, unmanageable communities.
Pros: The original poster (OP) could instantly delete spam, trolling, or off-topic replies, ensuring the conversation stays true to their original intent. It empowers creators to manage their own space. Cons: Abuse of Power: Creators could delete valid criticism, dissenting opinions, or corrections, creating echo chambers. Lack of Uniformity: Rules would change from post to post, making the platform unpredictable for users. Responsibility Overload: The burden of moderation is shifted to individuals, many of whom may not want the responsibility, leading to either total lack of moderation or over-moderation. Fragmentation: Community-wide standards (e.g., hate speech policies) would be difficult to enforce consistently if every post has a different, arbitrary moderator.
This model is similar to how a Facebook post’s author can manage comments, but it is generally ill-suited for forums like Reddit or Reddit-like structures, where community moderators (mods) maintain consistent rules for a shared space.
Yes, I know how one deals with bad moderators in lemmy. Mine is easier.
Also, my system makes moderation easier. Which makes for better moderators.
Mine handles directing conversations to topics better too. Specifically, there wouldn’t be multiple places to post the same topic post and crossposting is trivial.
Easier for who? If every post is self moderated how does a semi-interested reader exclude trolling while still seeing interesting posts? If I want to avoid, say, a “vi v Emacs” flame-war, or keep a “DomeGuyFanboys” topic about me, how does poster-only moderation help me?
Easier for ***whom? *** The person wanting to post whatever they feel like, or the person who wants to browse funny cat pics at work without accidentally seeing porn?
You’re absolutely right that self-curated social media places are considerably easier to either post without fear or create your own pseduo-groups. That’s why famous people tended to be on Twitter and not Reddit.
But the people who want an ActivityPub Twitter already have Mastodon, and those who wanted an ActivityPub Reddit have Lemmy.
Maybe some hybrid interface would be worthwhile, but I don’t think we’ll find out by telling people on a topic-focused environment to be unilaterally person-focused.
Easier for the user. In both cases.
It’s easier to handle a bad moderator because going to or creating a new post is easier than going to or creating a new community (because you don’t have to abandon all the members).
It’s easier to moderate because there are more moderators. Each post is moderated by its creator.
Who is this “user” you’re talking about? Near every choice in a social media platform design is an engineering choice between conflicting priorities.
The troll who wants to post garbage finds it easier, but the earnest poster now needs to filter out trolls on their own.
The person wanting to co-opt a community label finds it easier, but the person who wants it to continue as-used now has no recourse.
The pervert wanting to upload PG boob-shots definitely finds self-moderation easier, but your change would force rape victims with PTSD to let that smut into their already-curated set of communities.
If you wanted to add a new layer of moderation for posters beneath instance owners and community moderators that might be plausible, but “OP posted something dumb and is getting piled on” is a it’s own force your suggestion would abandon.
(And if you think just adding more random part-time moderators to a community would improve its moderation I would encourage to try Improving your next family dinner by giving orders in the kitchen. Especially one that you didn’t plan.)
I am referring to the average user.
This would replace communities. We wouldn’t have communities. We’d have posts and tags. For example, instead of “ask lemmy” community we’d tag our post with “ask lemmy” tag. And, optionally, any other topic-related tags one deems appropriate (thus cross-posting).
Trolls would be handled in the obvious way. Votes, tags, lists, account age, keywords, blocking , reporting etc.
Hey! I banned you from my comment thread. What are you still doing here!?!??
No you don’t:
No really, I do. The problem is that when you leave it isn’t just the moderator that you leave, it’s the entire community. That is a defect in Lemmy.
It’s like having a hot gf with really bad body odor. If you want the hot gf then you’ll have to put up with the stink.