Why We Started A Social Media Site
On August 29, 2020, you might or might not have seen a post from a small social media platform, announcing its launch. That social media site is our own platform, CounterFedi, which was created through a collaboration between Counter Points Media and CofeSpace. Why did we create this platform, and what sets us apart? The answers are surprisingly simple.
For over a year, Counter Points Media has been critiquing Big Tech and its methods, and this includes big social media sites like FaceBook and Twitter. Time and again, various big tech-led social media platforms censor their users in an effort to coerce their userbase into conforming to their narrow standards of what one must believe. This is what drove my interest in the Fediverse in the first place.
Throughout my time on the Fediverse, I found a vast and encouraging variety in different rules and terms of services throughout the network. However, I did notice one flaw; most sites as a whole either censored based on ideology, or were hardly moderated and became cesspools of low quality posts, hateful rhetoric, and at times, harassment. Can a balance be found between the two, allowing for vast ideological diversity, but limiting harassment and hateful speech? I believe so, and that is the mission of CounterFedi.
Our social media site is unique, featuring a bias-resistant moderation structure reflecting both sides of the political spectrum, and rules that, while banning pornography, allow for all ideologies to be represented, so long as they do not call for illegal violence, self harm or suicide. (It has been my experience that, on the Fediverse, a harassing or hateful user will typically wish for any of these things, so this rule is designed to catch the nastier side of harassment in fair and neutral way.) On the ethical code side of things, the colors chosen for the site promote a sense of calm, friendliness, reliability, virtue, sincerity and luxury, employing the main colors of black and white along with an accent color of blue. The goal of this is to depart from the stereotypically bright and brash designs which promote energetic, emotional, and alerted feelings. Furthermore, verification is free and completely open to all users without the surrendering of any sensitive information, and in addition, the platform includes a feature found in the user preferences designed to reduce media anxiety called the Demetricator, which hides various metrics such as like, follower and boost counts. Lastly, CounterFedi is the most transparent social media site on the Fediverse, with its main account posting explanations for every moderation action taken by the mod team. This ensures that our users understand why we take action when we do, and our thought process behind the decisions we make.
These various measures are taken to foster the growth of a wholesome, yet ideologically diverse community of users who merely wish to communicate using the internet. CounterFedi is designed with everyone in mind, and hopes to stand out from all other social media sites in fairness, transparency, and ethical behavior among its users.
For more resources on how you can start your own social media website like we did, check out CofeSpace and learn how you can get started for free!
Written by Casey Rollins.