VERDICT: The Neighbours Win! Crowd Crowns Community Moderation King of Social Media as Transparency Is Left Holding the Clipboard

Stop the presses and put the kettle on, dears, because the verdict is in. The crowd has decided that the best way to keep social media tidy is to let the neighbours do it. "Community-driven moderation" finishes on top with 44% consensus. That's what I've said about the church bake sale for forty years: nobody spots a burnt scone quicker than the ladies standing right next to it.

In case you young people have been too busy scrolling to notice, this was the big question of the day: "Best approach to social media moderation". The ballot had everything on it: turning down the algorithm, stricter takedowns, letting the community handle it, transparency audits, and user controls that add a bit of friction. It's a buffet of content moderation ideas, and the crowd went back for seconds of the neighbourly one.

Coming in second, with its clipboard and reading glasses, is "Transparency and audit" at 20% consensus. I'm fond of an audit, I must say. I count the biscuit tin every Sunday, and I know exactly who's been at it. The rest of the field, 3 other sides, got told kindly that maybe next time they could bring a casserole.

Now, these numbers are not a headcount, so don't go saying "most people" at the dinner table. They're consensus levels from opinion markets on Morfi, which show how much conviction the crowd puts behind each side, and the crowd puts real money behind it. 34 traders put up $183,440 on this in under a day. That's quicker than my jam sets, and I've been making jam since before the telephone had buttons.

Here's my sharp little conclusion, for what it's worth. People don't seem to trust a faraway machine or a faraway boss to tell them what's rubbish. They'd sooner trust the folks on their own street, with a nice open ledger on the side to keep everybody honest. That's sensible, and it's very old-fashioned. If you think Grandma's got it wrong, come and join the market on Morfi and put your money where your mouth is, dear.