The advice is pretty good, and covers a large number of cases. It's close to my own formulation, discovered on G+: "Block fuckwits".[1]<p>The solution is one that works well <i>where it is afforded</i>, and breaks down pretty badly where it isn't. I noticed this quite especially on Imzy, a new site pitched as a "kinder, gentler Reddit", and claiming several ex-Reddit employees among its own founders. The site combines a number of profoundly dysfunctional dynamics, including pervasive <i>single-instance</i> anonymity, inability to block anonymous tormenters, and several UI/UX patterns which exacerbate the situation, as well as a founding user cohort already exploiting the opportunities afforded. I have been, and will be, critical of the site on account that its own top management, including Dan McComas, CEO, seem entirely insensitive to compound issues.[2]<p>There's another problem where the administrators of a site, either volunteers or (as in the case of Imzy) management and employees create or foster a hostile environment. One of the more salient criticisms of Wikipedia is the article-squatting which occurs by entrenched interests (often manifesting as edit wars), particularly over politically-charged issues, though petit wars can also emerge on obscure topics. I'd posted Peter Strempel's criticisms of Wikipedia to HN a day or so back,[3] even though I disagree with many of his conclusions and don't quite understand his goals (he and I have been discussing the matter at G+). I've witnessed the issue myself most especially on global climate change and related articles, particularly those involving the Koch Brothers (or their various companies and political-influence "charities"), or organisations emerging from the Mont Pelerin Society and Atlas Network (including many Koch-associated institutions).<p>Reddit certainly has its problems of moderator capture / squatting, including such incongruencies as the xkcd forum falling prey to a set of MRA, neonazi, and Holocaust-denying interests.[4]<p>Scott Alexander's <i>Slate Star Codex</i> has some excellent discussions of toxic dynamics among online communities, most especially "The Toxoplasma of Rage".[5] There's much prior art going back to Charles Mackay & John Templeton's <i>Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds</i>, and Gustave le Bon's <i>The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind</i> (both available via the Internet Archive's truly amazing books collection).<p>________________________________<p>Notes:<p>1. <a href="https://plus.google.com/104092656004159577193/posts/drLZV8sm7Tq" rel="nofollow">https://plus.google.com/104092656004159577193/posts/drLZV8sm...</a><p>2. See for general issues: <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/dredmorbius/comments/500ysb/the_imzy_experience_well_that_escalated_quickly/" rel="nofollow">https://www.reddit.com/r/dredmorbius/comments/500ysb/the_imz...</a> For problems and failures of oversight, see: <a href="https://ello.co/dredmorbius/post/qdxyzy2x4lbaq_4rx81nnw" rel="nofollow">https://ello.co/dredmorbius/post/qdxyzy2x4lbaq_4rx81nnw</a><p>3. <a href="http://peterstrempel.com/index.php/culture/phantoms-of-fear-and-loathing/" rel="nofollow">http://peterstrempel.com/index.php/culture/phantoms-of-fear-...</a> for g G+ discussion: <a href="https://plus.google.com/+PeterStrempel/posts/Rbm6AusBgmt" rel="nofollow">https://plus.google.com/+PeterStrempel/posts/Rbm6AusBgmt</a><p>4. Discussed briefly among other issues with Reddit: <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/dredmorbius/comments/20yhxc/reddit_and_community_what_works_what_raises_flags/" rel="nofollow">https://www.reddit.com/r/dredmorbius/comments/20yhxc/reddit_...</a><p>5. <a href="http://slatestarcodex.com/2014/12/17/the-toxoplasma-of-rage/" rel="nofollow">http://slatestarcodex.com/2014/12/17/the-toxoplasma-of-rage/</a>