OWOT Today: Difference between revisions

# ''Remove chat'' The chat, being one of only two immediately interactable UI objects on the page, sets the tone for the site. The content of the chat inevitably seems to become an expression of the current state of owot, an observation that can have a profound effect on the enthusiasm a person develops early on. Text on the canvas could be from any time in the past, put there by anyone for any reason. This directly opposes the effects of staring at the chat; in that it forces you to reckon the type of users and ideas you can expect yourself to be immediately surrounded by when you're on the site. You can't simply scroll those users or their messages away: the chat is a constant, consistent with the people that inhabit it. Where the canvas is a symbol of creativity not limited by boundaries, so to does the chat oppose this in interactive functionality and social design. As it stands now, the front page's chat has evolved from the intended "pin board" usage where users discuss a world, into a whole platform for real time communication. I believe this is where the abuse is stemming from, and I propose that removing the chat would be a good first step to dismantle the toxic attitudes that attract troll behavior to the front page. It would be wise to test it first; there could be other ways to integrate the chat (only visible/usable by registered users, whitelist, slowmode, etc) that might have more positive effects.

# ''Redesign the SOP'' This is the first monument seen by any new user who joins the front page for the first time. Very much about this experience is left vague, and almost no direction is given besides the ratings and teleportation station. Thus one ends up requiring much stronger curiosity and attention span than the average person generally exercises in order to discover the purpose of anything beyond the unprotected areas around spawn. I think that the SOP should be bigger with a few short tips so that users can glean fundamental concepts that embody the adventure of discovering the front page and expressing oneself on it, and there should most likely be a graphic content warning. Links to coordinates 50 out in any direction on the top and bottom and both sides of the SOP would give users immediate incentive to branch out.

# ''Encourage registration'' Discouraging use of the site without an account will foster more users who feel like coming back and end up turning away low-effort attention seekers. This could be done by limiting features more harshly for unregistered users, including rate-limit, cell color, and ability to place links, while granting these features to any registered user. This would incentivize a more coherent community to form, and would aid in designing a more effective moderation system.