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Civil Good: a Platform for Sustainable and Inclusive Online Discussion

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Civil Good: a Platform for Sustainable and Inclusive Online Discussion Civil Good: A Platform For Sustainable and Inclusive Online Discussion An Interactive Qualifying Project submitted to the faculty of Worcester Polytechnic Institute In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Science by: Steven Malis (Computer Science), Tushar Narayan (Computer Science), Ian Naval (Computer Science), Thomas O'Connor (Biochemistry), Michael Perrone (Physics and Mathematics), John Pham (Computer Science), David Pounds (Computer Science and Robotics Engineering), December 19, 2013 Submitted to: Professor Craig Shue, WPI Advisor Alan Mandel, Creator of the Civil Good concept Contents 1 Executive Summary1 1.1 Overview of Recommendations......................2 2 Authorship5 3 Introduction 10 3.1 Existing Work - Similar Websites.................... 11 4 Psychology 17 4.1 Online Disinhibition........................... 17 4.2 Format of Discussions.......................... 22 4.3 Reducing Bias with Self-Affirmation................... 28 4.4 Other Psychological Influences...................... 34 5 Legal Issues 38 5.1 Personally Identifiable Information................... 38 5.2 Intellectual Property........................... 42 5.3 Defamation................................ 45 5.4 Information Requests........................... 46 5.5 Use by Minors............................... 49 5.6 General Litigation Avoidance and Defense............... 51 6 Societal Impact 52 6.1 Political Polarization........................... 52 6.2 Minority Opinion Representation.................... 55 6.3 History and Political Climate...................... 59 6.4 TED Talks Model............................. 64 I 7 Infrastructure 66 7.1 Web Hosting Requirements........................ 66 7.2 Databases................................. 71 7.3 Programming Languages and Open Source Technology........ 77 8 Incremental Refinement and Data-Driven Development 86 8.1 Background................................ 86 8.2 Incremental Refinement......................... 93 8.3 Data-Driven Development........................ 94 8.4 Conclusion................................. 99 9 Security 100 9.1 Database Security............................. 100 9.2 Common Attacks............................. 103 9.3 Encryption................................ 111 9.4 Password Security............................. 115 10 Privacy 122 10.1 Minimal Tracking Requirements..................... 122 10.2 Browser Fingerprinting.......................... 129 10.3 Third Party Privacy Risks........................ 132 10.4 Privacy Policy............................... 137 11 Community - Developers and Users 141 11.1 Attracting Developers.......................... 141 11.2 User Trends and Retention........................ 146 12 Business Model 152 12.1 Operational Costs............................. 152 II 12.2 501(c)(3) Status.............................. 155 12.3 Marketing Costs.............................. 160 12.4 Revenue.................................. 166 13 User Interaction 175 13.1 Related Work............................... 175 13.2 Recommended Changes to Website Design............... 180 13.3 Conversation Page Improvements.................... 192 13.4 Rating System............................... 199 13.5 Experiment................................ 203 14 Mobile Presence 214 14.1 Mobile Demographic........................... 214 14.2 Mobile Application Security....................... 217 14.3 Mobile Web Design............................ 221 14.4 Mobile Applications vs. Websites.................... 223 15 Conclusions 229 16 Bibliography 244 17 Acknowledgements 297 Appendices 298 A User Flow 298 B Interview Transcript, Mr. Eugene Suzuki 301 C Interview Transcript, Professor Soussan Djamasbi 316 III D Interview Transcript, Mr. Rob Bertsche and Mr. Peter Caruso 330 E Privacy Policy 342 F Website Mockups 344 IV List of Figures 1 High-End Cost Per Click (CPC) Details................ 162 2 High-End Recommended Bid Data................... 162 3 Low-End Recommended Bid Data.................... 162 4 Experiment data|Hours spent on the Internet in an average week.. 207 List of Tables 1 Ringlemann's Results........................... 24 2 Independent t-Tests for Differences in Perceptions of Participants in One-on-One Group Interactions...................... 25 3 Traffic Data................................ 153 4 Web Hosting Prices............................ 155 5 Results from Google Keyword Planner................. 161 6 Google Display Planner Data...................... 163 7 Rating Criteria.............................. 202 8 Experiment Data|Number of participants self-identifying at a par- ticular level of computer skill...................... 207 9 Responses: Original Design....................... 209 10 Responses: Modified Design....................... 209 11 Experiment Data|Average ranking and standard deviations for each question for the two website versions.................. 210 V Abstract Civil Good is a website concept proposed by Alan Mandel with the goal of enabling safe, anonymous, productive, and civil discourse without the dis- ruptive behavior and language common to much of the Internet. The goal of Civil Good is to improve the critical thinking and discussion skills of its users while combating the effects of political polarization and misinformation in society. This paper analyzes Mandel's proposed concept, providing additional re- search to either support or refute the various features proposed, and recom- mendations to simplify user interactions. It also examines topics mentioned only briefly or not discussed by Mandel, such as data protection methods, the psychology of Web browsing, marketing, operational costs, legal issues, monetization options, and mobile presence. 1 Executive Summary Discussion on the Internet generally tends to conform to the \lowest-common- denominator" [86]. The discussion in virtual chat rooms often tends to veer towards mundane topics, or devolves into the participants venting their frustration with a specific societal development. Serious conversations get lost in the multitude of less serious comments. With this aspect of online discussions permeating every popular website, there does not exist an online forum that meets the needs of people who would like a civil online environment to discuss and debate the important topics of the day with each other. Civil Good is a website concept proposed by Alan Mandel. The website is aimed at providing a forum for anonymous and civil debate on a wide variety of top- ics, and is primarily oriented to the discussion of topics situated at the intersection 1 of society, politics, and economics [252]. The act of expressing deeply held beliefs about the day's pressing issues brings with it the associated risks of alienation, the potential for judgment, and the lack of privacy. Further, when talking offline, humans tend to talk to others who share similar views, and thus the potential for thought-provoking debate is greatly reduced [252]. By transferring those conversations online, making them anony- mous, and enabling interactions with strangers hundreds|if not millions|of miles away, Civil Good would provide a service capable of fostering discussion, increasing communication across geopolitical boundaries, and ensuring a safe environment for people to express their true beliefs. However, those benefits do also raise questions. How does the website ensure respectful discussion while also honoring individual privacy? How does Civil Good monetize the website enough to be self-sustaining while also making sure that user information is not inadvertently shared with advertisers? How does the website protect the data in a manner that minimizes the opportunities for a governmen- tal organization to either demand or steal the data and potentially identify (and subsequently persecute) a specific user? These questions|and others|need to be resolved if the idea of Civil Good is to achieve its goal of significant societal impact. Along with these questions, in this project we sought to help Mandel further develop his ideas by providing research to either support or refute Mandel's thoughts on the open questions, and to provide depth on the topic areas as yet unexplored. 1.1 Overview of Recommendations We examined the psychology of human communication, both offline and online, and the benefits of group discussion vis-`a-visone-on-one conversation. We found that 2 one-on-one conversations are superior to group discussions, as far as the quality of the conversation is concerned. We also researched the bigger societal impact that a forum like Civil Good could have. We determined how it could be a force for reducing the polarization that is currently rampant in politics, and how it could improve the representation that the minority currently has in voicing their opinion on the big-ticket issues of the day. We also researched, developed, and proposed a strategy that would ensure that the website can become self-sufficient after accounting for the developmental, system and bandwidth costs. While there are many variables involved with the actual costs associated with the website, we were able to propose various scenarios and offer a monetization strategy for each of them. We also researched the various types of informational databases with an emphasis on the related security concerns, and made a recommendation on the most applicable type of database for the website. Since preserving user anonymity lies at the core of the idea of Civil Good, we researched the various types of attacks and security loopholes that affect
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