Livestream Comment Rules
Rules and guidelines of conduct and safety for commenting within a livestream
How Does This Mitigate Hate?
Platforms should provide clear and consistent access to the community guidelines, and safety rules throughout all experiences. Providing users access to rules prior, during, and after content creation can mitigate hate by reinforcing or reiterating rules on a regular basis. Increasing platform wide exposure to rules may reduce the amount of violations or misunderstanding of what constitutes as harmful content.
When to use it?
Access to rules should be provided prior, during, and after content creation, and should always be accessible throughout every experience the platform offers.
Most hateful comments are motivated by race or ethnicity for example; if rules state that any such comments will result in a ban or removal from the platform, a clear understanding of consequences should assist with a faster mitigation process as well as limited friction in the reporting / appeals processes.
How does it work?
Users should be provided quick access to the rules of commenting in livestreams.
Rules should include what content, words, and actions violate rules
Rules Should include what happens after violation (warnings)
Rules should include how many warnings until mute/removal
Advantages
Comment rules can be combined or followed up with comment interstitials which ask livestream participants to reconsider posting a comment that may be inappropriate or unkind. It can also remind users about community guidelines and allow them to edit comments before sharing, helping to ensure more consistent engagement while adhering to guidelines.
Disadvantages
In an effort to mitigate hate comment rules may not cover unforeseen circumstances, and instances of abuse. Offenders may bend the rules by using alternate accounts or forms of comments to target specific persons or groups. Also reporting may be spammed by bad actors, blocking targeted users from reporting.
Examples
YouTube Community Guidelines for Livestreaming
(Screenshots taken August 2021)
YouTube Keep Comments Respectful interstitial
(Screenshot taken August 2021)
References
ADL. “The Unique Challenges of Audio Content Moderation Part Two: Static vs. Livestreaming Audio.” Anti-Defamation League, June 30, 2021. https://www.adl.org/blog/the-unique-challenges-of-audio-content-moderation-part-two-static-vs-livestreaming-audio.
“How Do I Moderate the Chat on My Events.” Vimeo Livestream. Vimeo. Accessed September 28, 2021. https://help.livestream.com/hc/en-us/articles/360002069027-How-Do-I-Moderate-the-Chat-on-My-Events-.
“How Platforms Can Stem Abuses of Livestreaming after the Storming of the Capitol.” Anti-Defamation League, January 15, 2021. https://www.adl.org/blog/how-platforms-can-stem-abuses-of-livestreaming-after-the-storming-of-the-capitol.
Pardes, Arielle. “To Clean up Comments, Let AI Tell Users Their Words Are Trash.” Wired, September 22, 2020. https://www.wired.com/story/comments-section-clean-up-let-ai-tell-users-words-trash/.
Vilk, Viktorya, Elodie Vialle, and Matt Bailey. “No Excuse for Abuse: What Social Media Companies Can Do Now to Combat Online Harassment and Empower Users.” Edited by Summer Lopez and Suzanne Nossel. PEN AMERICA. PEN America, March 31, 2021. https://pen.org/report/no-excuse-for-abuse/.
Wadhawa, Tara. “New Tools to Promote Kindness on TikTok.” Newsroom | TikTok, August 16, 2019. https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/new-tools-to-promote-kindness.