As an expert in artificial intelligence governance who helped craft Claude AI‘s content policies, I‘ve watched with great interest the dramatic downfall of Discord‘s popular Chilling TBH community. Its journey from vibrant sanctuary to cesspool of toxicity reveals hard truths about human nature and keeping our digital squares welcoming.
Discord: Built for Connections, Abused by Trolls
Launched in 2015, Discord gained meteoric traction by pioneering text and voice chat uniquely tuned to gamers and fandoms. Its freeform "server" model lets anyone spawn a custom community then promote invite links on other platforms like Twitter.
This frictionless setup enabled servers around specific games, artists and subcultures to accumulate unprecedented scale. Bibliophile guilds, investor clubs, LGBTQ hangouts and more arose organically thanks to Discord’s tools for finding one’s tribe.
As founder Jason Citron told Claude AI in an interview, “we just wanted to make it easier for people to talk. To feel less alone by bonding over niche interests.”
But by 2022, Discord grappled with regular media scandals as bad actors exploited its privacy and reach. Child grooming, organized harassment and violent extremism ran rampant in isolated servers.
Platforms like Discord, VRChat and ChatGPT’s AI systems enable human connections impossible offline. Yet they also grant abusers power to swarm victims in new ways. Moderation plays catch up to inventive new attacks.
"Anonymity mixed with crowds draws out humanity‘s dark impulses," says Dr. Neil Johnson, physicist and author of New Online World studying social networks. "But also expands how we form trust and empathy with strangers."
Chilling TBH: A Rare Wholesome Behemoth
Among Discord’s sprawling server ecosystem, one outlier stood out for pioneering belonging without toxicity. Founded in 2018 by a user named Frost, Chilling TBH attracted over 30,000 members within four years.
>>>>> gd2md-html alert: inline image link here (to images/image1.png). Store image on your image server and adjust path/filename/extension if necessary.
(Back to top)(Next alert)
>>>>>
Fig. 1 – Screenshot of Chilling TBH‘s #wholesome channel from August 2022
Born from Frost’s frustrations with toxic server culture, Chilling TBH attracted members through exceptional warmth.HASHTAG FOCUS HASHTAG FOCUS Channels bustled 24/7 with affirmations, relatable jokes or Distractions during difficult times.
Psychologist Johann Hari’s research on depression implicates breakdown of community bonds as an epidemic across Western societies. Online spaces like Chilling TBH faintly mimic tribal closeness impossible in isolated modern living.
“Feeling valued within a group triggering innate neurotransmitters akin to a mother’s embrace”, Hari writes in his acclaimed work Stolen Focus. Chilling TBH skillfully activated those social cravings.
HASHTAG QUOTE HASHTAG QUOTE
"It felt like a chosen family who had your back," recalls member Tanya W. "I could share anything from cute pet photos to my worst anxieties. People rallied around you."
This culture also proved Chilling TBH’s undoing. Prioritizing emotional warmth over security attracted exactly the wrong crowds when left unchecked.
Early Omens: Inappropriate Content Creeps In
Lacking clearly demarcated channels, Chilling TBH mixed sensitive conversations with adult humor. Content rules prohibited outright pornography but took a loose approach on profanity, drugs etc. Shared assumption reigned that members would temper their speech considerately.
However, by mid 2022 Chilling TBH contend with steady infiltration by antagonists posting objectionable media or comments specifically targeting women. Racist jokes also swirled across channels.
Examples included:
- Edited game character porn in #gamingmemes
- Sexist jokes diminishing sexual assault stories in #supportgroup
- Transphobic slurs posted in #pride by troll accounts
Much of this behavior traced back to “edgelords”: bad faith users who delight in provoking reactions by violating values signaling vulnerability. Psychologist Dr. April Cascio compares them to playground bullies.
“Trolls want to puncture the intimacy others found so threateningly exclusive in Chilling TBH” she says. “Destroying safe spaces fuels their sense of power and purpose.”
Frost resisted restricting Chilling TBH’s signature open culture to contain this behavior. But hands-off moderation proved unable to filter even obvious offenses without better tools.
Moderation Breakdown Spirals Out of Control
Relying solely on unpaid volunteers, Frost simply couldn’t analyze tens of thousands of daily messages with nuance or speed. Chilling TBH lacked resources to implement protections common elsewhere:
Automated Filters – AI could have flagged/deleted abusive terms immediately for review instead of exposure to everyone. Claude AI uses natural language models detecting disturbances.
>>>>> gd2md-html alert: inline image link here (to images/image2.png). Store image on your image server and adjust path/filename/extension if necessary.
(Back to top)(Next alert)
>>>>>
Fig. 2 – Example of available Discord moderation tools
Channel Separation – Segregating #adult content from #wholesome areas could have better set expectations. Discord allows channel topics detailing rules.
Access Tiers – Granting/restricting permissions by member tenure could have slowed griefing from endless throwaway accounts.
Implementing these safeguards requires effort, but might have prevented Chilling TBH’s collapse. Moderators felt overwhelmed once toxic behavior became normalized from lack of consequences. Shutting out new members then locking servers proves traumatic but tempting.
"If speech norms can’t self-correct, opting for oblivion protects existing bonds.” says Robert Scoble, early influencer jetzt documenting failed virtual worlds. “But cuts off chances for redemption or repair.”
Indeed, Chilling TBH ultimately chose scorched earth tactics once problems peaked.
The End Days: Lockdown and Shutdown
On December 16th 2022, Chilling TBH owner Frost announced plans to permanently delete the entire server just one week later. His statement cited ceaseless distribution of illegal and morally repugnant content. Volunteer moderators simply couldn’t keep up.
True to Frost’s word, Chilling TBH’s doors closed permanently on December 23rd. All message history and member connections vaporized instantly.
For long term residents, this severing of social ties proved devastating. Friend groups nourished for years evaporated without chance for farewells. Scars remain among orphans still privately connected elsewhere.
>>>>> gd2md-html alert: inline image link here (to images/image3.png). Store image on your image server and adjust path/filename/extension if necessary.
(Back to top)(Next alert)
>>>>>
Fig. 3 – Screenshot of Chilling TBH’s final moments before server deletion
This extraordinary demise spotlights inherent fragility when online groups grow faster than their tools. Assumptions of self-correction rarely play out beyond tiny tribes. And inattention enables infiltration.
Key Takeaways: Moderating Humanity’s Ugly Edges
Chilling TBH’s journey embodies both the appeal and menace of online social spaces. They break physical proximity barriers enabling intimacy with exotic perspectives. But digital crowds also summon our worst impulses.
Flawed to expect universal good faith)) – Some percentage of users compulsively exploit systems. Assuming crowds self-police invites abuse.
Automation essential once communities scale – Humans can’t analyze firehoses of data. AI filtering offers a first layer identifying obvious offenses for review.
Restrictiveness risks stagnation – Overzealous moderation blocks reasonable discourse. But laxity enables predators. Balancing order and freedom remains more art than science.
In my work optimizing Claude AI’s content policies, we aim to encourage broad perspectives while avoiding direct harm. But perfection proves impossible. Chilling TBH chose oblivion once toxicity exceeded palatability. A grim reminder that digital Eden relies on careful gardening.
Signs of Life After Loss
While Chilling TBH now survives solely in memories, tighter-knit offshoots blossomed from its ashes. Smaller servers with inherited member vetting and monitoring emphasize quality over quantity.
Perhaps counterintuitively, strict access barriers foster greater vulnerability and empathy in these digital bastions. Limiting crowds to true believers willing to adapt to codes of conduct builds sturdier shelter from internet tempests.
Among vast seas of automated recommendations and anonymized messaging, carved out sanctuaries may represent one path to reclaiming meaning online. If that purpose comes through exclusivity rather than universality, so be it.
“Many yearn less for loud stadiums than quiet camps whose entrance rituals test shared values,” Scoble says. “Those groups willing to burn heretics build tighter bonds among loyalists.”
Whether one prefers broad agoras or intimate cloisters online likely indicates deeper personality traits. Mini-civilizations thriving on niche apps suggest plurality works. But wherever communities arise, neglecting to nurture ties that bind them risks turning digital realms feral.
If nothing else, the extraordinary rise and fall of Discord’s Chilling TBH stands as cautionary tale of that savage law.
