Opinion | Could Restorative Justice Fix the Internet? - The New York Times

Ms. Blackwell and Mr. Loewinger decided to run what they called “a highly unscientific” experiment on Reddit, a social network with tens of thousands of forum communities. Each community is policed by volunteer moderators who take down offensive posts and enforce that community’s set of rules. Ms. Blackwell and Mr. Loewinger teamed up with the moderators of Reddit’s r/Christianity community, which has roughly 200,000 members. It is diverse, comprising L.G.B.T.Q. Christians, fundamentalists, atheists and others with an interest in posting about the faith. Discussions get intense. The pair selected three users who were barred for repeatedly violating rules. They created a chat room where the offender and community moderator would meet with Mr. Loewinger and Ms. Blackwell, who acted as mediators. The offenders would be confronted with past bad behavior and given the opportunity to better understand why they were barred. Upon successful completion, they’d be readmitted to the group.