The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence and the increasing number of users in online communities necessitate the implementation of trust levels, in addition to traditional roles like normal users, moderators, and admins[1]. Trust levels not only help manage the growing user base but also provide a crucial defense against intelligent bots that can bypass registration obstacles, such as CAPTCHAs[2]. These bots have the potential to flood platforms like Lemmy with spam, disrupting the user experience and undermining the community’s integrity[3].

Trust levels offer a way to sandbox new users, preventing them from accidentally causing harm while they learn the ropes, and gradually granting experienced users more rights to help maintain and moderate the community[1:1]. This system is particularly important in the face of intelligent bots and the increasing use of Language Learning Models (LLMs) to generate spam content, as seen in recent Reddit protests[4][5]. By incorporating trust levels, online communities can better protect themselves from potential threats and maintain a safe, engaging environment for genuine users[6][7].

Moreover, trust levels can help address the issue of too many users for the number of moderators, as they empower experienced users to take on more responsibilities in maintaining the community[1:2]. This approach fosters a sense of ownership and shared responsibility among community members, leading to stronger, more sustainable communities[6:1][8]. In conclusion, trust levels are a vital solution to the challenges posed by intelligent bots, LLM-generated spam, and the growing number of users in online communities.

Citations:


  1. Understanding Discourse Trust Levels ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  2. How Attackers Use Request Bots to Bypass Your Bot Mitigation Solution ↩︎

  3. Lemmy Issue: Spam Flood ↩︎

  4. Protest Against Reddit API Changes ↩︎

  5. Generative AI and Trust ↩︎

  6. The Science of Building Trust in Social Media Communities ↩︎ ↩︎

  7. Establishing Trust and Safety in Online Communities ↩︎

  8. Building Trust in Communities ↩︎