User comment ratings need moderation

iusethis is a user community, and that is great. It allows comments by users on apps, and that is even greater. But it user rating systems for comments leads to some very serious questions about how the community is meant to work.

I suppose it was the intent of not allowing flame wars which made iusethis allow only two negative ratings for comments: “troll”, and “spam”. Both are serious accusations, and both lead to a comment getting buried when they are compounded. As burying takes 5 users who agree (if I have observed correctly), it looks like the community can be self regulating.

Except it isn’t.

It’s not because there is nothing to stop users from misusing these very serious allegations against comments they simply do not like, or agree with. I’ll invite everybody who reads this to go over to iusethis’ Evernote page and read my two comments, and explain to me in no uncertain terms how they constitute trolling, or spamming. The only thing you will find is that I have obviously contradicted some very vocals users who dislike Evernote'’s ad sponsoring of their free application — which those users are perfectly free to do, but does that include declaring comments about how this fact should be indicated on the product page spam or trolling, just because I also happen to not be bothered too much by the ads? I think not. And still, both comments have been downrated twice.

So: what does isuethis do to avoid user cliques ganging on comments they do not like with ratings that probably better apply to those using them than to the comments they apply to? How is the service intending to maintain a climate which encourages debate, even controversy on apps? Right now, the “troll” and “spam” labels have turned into the opposite of their intended use: tools for flame wars, perfect ones, too, as there is no defense against them, and no way to make the attacker accountable for their use.

I suggest iusethis does one of two things:

1. moderate every spam and troll rating or


2. at the very least note such a rating in user profile events, and offer a way to contest it, and have it repealed.

Yes, both of it is lots of work, but other communities have gone down the drain once the most vociferous among their users got the upper hand. It would be a pity for iusethis to follow.