What is Decentralized Moderation? Explaining the New Feature of the Web3 Social Network Developed by Pi Network

This time, I would like to introduce Decentralized Moderation, a new feature of Fireside Forum, a Web3 social network developed by Pi Network.

Decentralized Moderation is a mechanism that promotes content moderation by the community using Pi’s cryptocurrency. The purpose of this mechanism is to achieve high-quality content, truthfulness, constructive conversations, responsibility, and healthy online social relationships in a Web3 social network.

Features of Decentralized Moderation

The features of Decentralized Moderation are as follows:

Unique Hierarchical Moderation Levels: Token-based incentives and disincentives are set according to each level of responsibility.
Moderator Selection and Evaluation: Users can choose their trusted moderators, and moderators are evaluated based on their actions.
Moderation Transparency and Visibility: Moderation history and statistics are recorded on the blockchain and made public.
Moderation Appeals and Resolution: Users can appeal moderation decisions regarding their content, and moderators can respond to those appeals.

Mechanism of Decentralized Moderation

The mechanism of Decentralized Moderation functions as follows:

Users can flag content they have posted or content posted by other users to indicate the need for moderation.
Flagged content is reviewed by users called moderators. Moderators determine whether the content violates Fireside Forum’s guidelines and take appropriate action. Actions include deleting content, warning users, or blocking users.
Moderators can stake Pi cryptocurrency on their decisions. This encourages moderators to make confident decisions. Moderators can also agree with or dispute the decisions of other moderators. This promotes consensus among moderators.
Moderator decisions are recorded on the blockchain and made public. This enhances the transparency and visibility of moderation.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Decentralized Moderation

The advantages and disadvantages of Decentralized Moderation are summarized below.

Advantages

Increased Community Autonomy and Participation: Users can choose their trusted moderators and take responsibility for content quality and guideline compliance. Moderators can also earn incentives by staking tokens on their decisions.
Content Diversity and Creativity are Preserved: Since moderation standards are determined by the community, free expression and speech are possible without unilateral censorship or regulation. Also, since moderation results are recorded on the blockchain, transparency is high, preventing fraud and unfair processing.
An Ecosystem Aligned with Web3.0 Principles is Formed: Decentralized Moderation is a foundational design that utilizes Web3.0 technologies such as blockchain and tokens to autonomously maintain the content ecosystem. This enables a decentralized and democratic social network that does not rely on centralized platforms.

Disadvantages

Insufficient Legal Framework: Decentralized Moderation uses new technologies such as blockchain and tokens, so legal regulations and protections may not be fully established. For example, if issues such as copyright or privacy infringement, hate speech, or illegal activities occur, it may not be clear how to handle them.
Moderation Quality and Consistency are Not Guaranteed: Moderation is performed by moderators chosen by users, so its quality and consistency depend on the ability and reliability of the moderators. For example, moderators may make inappropriate decisions, engage in fraudulent behavior, or fail to participate in moderation. Also, since moderation standards differ among communities, different moderation results may occur for the same content.
Moderation Speed and Efficiency May Decrease: Moderation involves a process where users flag content, moderators make decisions, appeals are made, and responses are given, which can take time. For example, if many moderation-related disputes arise, their resolution may take a long time. Also, since staking tokens is required for moderation, user participation willingness and motivation may decrease.

Summary

We introduced Decentralized Moderation as a new feature of Fireside Forum, a Web3 social network developed by Pi Network. This mechanism aims to form an ecosystem aligned with Web3.0 principles by promoting content moderation by the community using Pi’s cryptocurrency. However, this mechanism also has challenges such as the legal framework, moderation quality and consistency, and speed and efficiency. To solve these challenges, community cooperation and technological advancement are necessary.

Article updated on May 30, translated into Japanese (using DeepL)
Introduction
Today, we are excited to announce the release of the Core Team’s latest innovative Pi app: Fireside Forum, a true Web3 social platform that promotes authenticity, constructive conversations, and healthier online social interactions by placing tokenomics at the core of social interactions.

In Fireside Forum, millions of Pioneers around the world can connect and interact through new tokenomics that reward positive interactions and disincentivize negative behaviors within a responsive, human-driven environment. This mechanism, powered by the Pi cryptocurrency, allows Pioneers to organically curate content and moderate behaviors, providing our community with tools to manage the environment in a decentralized way.

Pi’s Vision Behind Fireside Forum
Pi Network envisions a Web3 social network where blockchain technology not only serves as a layer for ownership, custody of digital assets, and distribution, but also provides solutions through incentives and disincentives, enabling design through cryptocurrency to create a new quality of internet experience, including better content, authenticity, constructive conversations, accountability, and healthier online social interactions.

Fireside Forum is just one of the initial instantiations of Pi Network’s innovation based on our hypotheses about blockchain technology and the future of online social interactions. Fireside Forum integrates cryptocurrency and tokens into the core of social mechanisms to automatically moderate online behaviors, thereby supporting members to create better content, social interactions, and improve user experience in the context of a public forum.

How is Fireside Forum Different?
Fireside Forum is intended to utilize blockchain technology to solve the problems prevalent in current Web2 social networks and design the future of the Web3 social experience.

Pi Network believes that a true Web3 social network should not be a mere imitation of Web2 social network products by storing something on the blockchain. Instead, it should make advancements and improvements upon the shortcomings of many Web2 social networks, such as the propagation of misinformation and disinformation, trolling, internet violence, information overload, low signal-to-noise ratio, and information silos created by the overuse of machine learning algorithms.

In Pi Network’s view, there are three main aspects where Web3 attempts to improve upon and differentiate from Web2 social networks: 1) Ownership and self-sovereignty, 2) Distribution and decentralization, and 3) Improvement of social interactions and experiences. While most Web3 projects differentiate from Web2 in the first aspect (e.g., enabling ownership, custody, and non-custodial access to digital assets on the blockchain) and the second aspect (e.g., decentralizing the distribution of network resources, allowing users to monetize their owned online resources), it is rare that there has been significant innovation in the Web3 space in the third aspect, which is to integrate blockchain and cryptocurrency technology to proximately solve the shortcomings of current mainstream social networks and online experiences.

Pi Network has created innovative designs and products to differentiate from Web2 in all three aspects. Pi Network addresses the first two aspects of ownership and distribution through its blockchain, non-custodial wallet, very broad global distribution of Pi to over 45 million engaged members, meritocratic mining mechanism, and continuous development on these points. Simultaneously, Pi Network attempts to innovate with blockchain-based solutions to improve the third aspect: social interactions and experiences. Fireside Forum is built upon Pi’s vision of how Web3 should function, prior academic research on the problems of social networks and online behaviors, and our own hypotheses on how blockchain and cryptocurrency can mitigate such problems in the old web.

Significance of Innovating Next-Generation Social Experiences
As the digital realm becomes increasingly integral to our daily lives, the significance of online social interactions cannot be overstated. With over half of the world’s population now using social media, the way we communicate, share ideas, and build relationships has transformed dramatically. As our reliance on social media grows, it becomes crucial to address the issues and shortcomings that hinder positive online experiences.

In recent years, we have witnessed the detrimental effects of unchecked online behaviors, including the spread of misinformation, cyberbullying, and the erosion of civil discourse. These issues not only impact individual well-being but also pose a threat to our societies. By revolutionizing online social interactions, Pi Network aims to foster a healthier and more responsible digital environment where people can engage in meaningful exchanges, be well-informed, and contribute positively to the global community. Furthermore, creating a more inclusive and constructive online experience also holds the potential to foster innovation and collaboration. Innovating online social interactions is not just about improving user experience; it is also about addressing broader societal challenges and unlocking the full potential of the digital world.

With Fireside Forum as its initial endeavor, Pi Network strives to lay the foundation for a more responsible, collaborative, and enriching online environment, empowering users to thrive and make a meaningful impact on the world around them.

Fireside Forum Design
While we look forward to Pioneers exploring Fireside Forum more deeply through their experience with the app, we wanted to provide a glimpse into its high-level design. One of the innovative elements of Fireside Forum’s tokenomics is the design of its cost mechanism. Fireside Forum uses cost as a means to enforce accountability and improve authenticity in a decentralized social network. This is usually counterintuitive, as most social networks want to make generating and interacting with social content as frictionless as possible. While implementing such a mechanism would be difficult in existing Web2 social applications, it is readily achievable in Pi Network with millions of crypto-enabled individuals. In Fireside Forum, almost everything you do, such as posting content, replying, interacting, and promoting, requires in-app tokens that can be purchased with Pi cryptocurrency on the Pi Mainnet. As such, Pi integration is built into the app to facilitate the cost mechanism that drives activity in Fireside Forum.

The challenge in such a design is also how much such a cost mechanism impacts social behaviors. That is, the cost mechanism is intended to make people accountable and more authentic, but not to impede communication, constructive exchange of ideas, or creation of great content. This challenge is mitigated by the design of decentralized voice and crowd actions that reward great content and behaviors through a combination of tipping and costs. Fireside Forum’s design utilizes costs and rewards, disincentives and incentives, intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, and balances among all of them to achieve the goal of improving online social interactions.

There is much more to discover in Fireside Forum, which is accessible through the Pi Browser. For actions that require in-app tokens, you will need to purchase tokens using Pi cryptocurrency on the Pi Mainnet.

What’s Next?
The path to innovation is rarely linear. It requires iteration, improvement, and sometimes disproving and redefining hypotheses. Fireside Forum is just an initial instance of Pi Network’s innovation regarding the new web, integrating theory and practice, and it will continue to evolve as we learn more from its usage by millions of Pioneers.

Fireside Forum is another testament to Pi Network’s commitment to developing utility-focused applications that use blockchain technology and cryptocurrency to solve real human needs, create innovations that address larger societal problems, and foster meaningful human connections across the globe. We invite you to join us in harnessing the power of blockchain and the Pi cryptocurrency to shape the future of our online social lives.

Summary
What is Fireside Forum?
Fireside Forum is an application developed by Pi Network that functions as a social platform integrating blockchain and tokenomics into social interactions. It is designed to promote authentic and constructive conversations and healthier online social interactions by utilizing tokenomics to reward positive interactions and disincentivize negative behaviors.

How does it work?
Fireside Forum’s mechanism is powered by the Pi cryptocurrency. It enables users to curate content and organically moderate behaviors, providing tools for decentralized management of the environment. The platform uses cost as a mechanism to enforce accountability and improve authenticity in a decentralized social network. To perform most actions in Fireside Forum, such as posting content, replying, interacting, and promoting, you need in-app tokens that can be purchased with Pi cryptocurrency on the Pi Mainnet. This cost mechanism is intended to make people accountable and promote authenticity without impeding communication, constructive exchange of ideas, or creation of great content.

Why was it created?
Pi Network aims to solve the problems prevalent in Web2 social networks with blockchain-powered technology and design the future of the Web3 social experience. Its intention is to improve upon the shortcomings of many Web2 social networks, such as the propagation of misinformation and disinformation, trolling, internet violence, information overload, low signal-to-noise ratio, and information silos created by the overuse of machine learning algorithms. Pi Network believes that a true Web3 social network should not be a mere imitation of Web2 social network products by just storing something on the blockchain, but should make advancements and improvements upon the shortcomings of many Web2 social networks. Pi Network envisions a Web3 social network where blockchain technology not only serves as a layer for ownership, custody of digital assets, and distribution, but also provides solutions through incentives and disincentives, enabling design through cryptocurrency to create a new quality of internet experience with better content, authenticity, constructive conversations, accountability, and healthier online social interactions.

What is the future of Fireside Forum?
Fireside Forum will continue to evolve as Pi Network learns more from its usage by the community of users. We see Fireside Forum as a testament to Pi Network’s commitment to developing utility-focused applications that use blockchain technology and cryptocurrency to solve real human needs, create innovations that address larger societal problems, and foster meaningful human connections across the globe.

How do I access Fireside Forum?
Fireside Forum is accessible through the Pi Browser. For actions that require in-app tokens, users will need to purchase tokens using Pi cryptocurrency on the Pi Mainnet.