Prosocial Design Network

Symbolic Contribution Awards

To increase contributor retention on community-based platforms

Connect

:

Cultivate Belonging

Reactive

Convincing

Default Quote Reshare

Reduce the spread of misinformation

Understand

:

Show reliable information

Interactive

Mixed

Toggle To Focus Mode

Increase agency

Tentative

An image of a badge indicating that a comment was open minded. Icon credit: Eucalyp, from the Noun Project

Open-Minded Badge

Foster open-minded dialogue

Understand

:

Promote thoughtful conversation

Proactive

Tentative

A stylized illustration of a web browser window with a search bar at the top and three listed search results below it. There is an information icon inside the search bar. The illustration is in a minimalist style.

Post Guidance

Improve user content quality

Understand

:

Promote thoughtful conversation

Interactive

Convincing

An image showing negative comments being put through a filter.

Filtering Offensive Comments

Promote healthier interactions

Mixed

An icon showing a stack of batched notifications for a phone.

Batching Notifications

Reduce smartphone distraction and improve well-being

:

Proactive

Tentative

A downvote icon next to a comment that has a case of bovine scatology

Down Votes

Improve discourse

Understand

:

Promote thoughtful conversation

Reactive

Unlikely

An enlarged up arrow next to a quality comment, indicating it is a good post.

Up Votes

Improve discourse

Understand

:

Promote thoughtful conversation

Reactive

Likely

A feed of comments, each with different labels indicating levels of trustworthiness.

Labeling: Source Credibility

Reduce misinformation

Understand

:

Show reliable information

Interactive

Tentative

An example of a reverse chronological feed.

Reverse Chronological Feeds

Reducing toxic division

Connect

:

Build bridges between groups

Interactive

Unlikely

An example of a prompt that says "Your Comment Is Likely To Be Harmful To Overs" which invites the user to edit their message or post it anyway.

Caution About Increasing Toxicity

De-escalate tense threads and reduce toxicity

Tentative

A minimalist line drawing of a user interface element showing a document or content card with horizontal lines representing text. Below it is a smaller box labeled 'Readers added context' with more horizontal lines, suggesting additional information or commentary.

Crowdsourcing Contextual Information (Community Notes)

Reduce the spread of misinformation

Understand

:

Show reliable information

Interactive

Convincing

An illustration of a user interface layout with two main sections. On the left, there is a rectangular panel with multiple lines, likely representing a list or text content. On the right, there is a smaller panel with a search bar at the top and two circular icons below it—one containing a checkmark and the other an "X"—which likely symbolize approval and rejection actions. The style is minimalistic, with a dark outline and simple design elements.

Moderation Tool for Ban Appeals

Reduce moderation burden and exposure to toxic ban appeals

Convincing

Pre-approving Posts

Prevent rule-breaking posts

Understand

:

Promote thoughtful conversation

Interactive

Likely

Mockup of a digital self control app, which lets the user select the apps they'd like to start using less.

Digital Self-Control Apps

Reduce time spent on distracting apps

:

Interactive

Tentative

An illustration of the pop-up rephrasing prompt window.

Suggest Constructive Rephrased Messages

Improve conversations on divisive topics

Understand

:

Promote thoughtful conversation

Interactive

Tentative

A mockup for a browser link being shared. The button below includes the prompt: "I think this news is accurate."

Accuracy Prompts

Reduce re-posting of fake news

Understand

:

Show reliable information

Interactive

Convincing

A symbol of a globe on the left, indicating the public. There is an arrow pointing to a smaller group of people on the right. This is meant to evoke going from a wider group to a smaller group.

Nudging Conversations to Groups

Create more spaces for civil discussions

Understand

:

Promote thoughtful conversation

Proactive

Tentative

An intervention mockup with a meme showing two people in a reciprocal "ying-yang" icon.

Shared Humanity Memes

Reduce intergroup animosity

Welcome

:

Encourage the humanization of others

Proactive

Tentative

An example of a pop-up that says "Your comment breaks Rule 2. You've been restricted for 24 hours."

Removing Rule-breaking Comments

Reduce rule-breaking and recidivism

Validated

An illustration showing two mobile newsfeeds coming together.

Increase Exposure to Counter-partisan Content

Reduce inter-party animosity

Connect

:

Build bridges between groups

Proactive

Mixed

A feed in the foreground is out of focus, while an idyllic landscape in the background is in focus.

Positive Background Imagery

Increase civility

Understand

:

Promote thoughtful conversation

Proactive

Emergent

A button mockup that says 'Respect Post', it has a handshake icon.

Respect Button

Decrease partisan behavior

Connect

:

Build bridges between groups

Proactive

Tentative

Removal Explanations

Reduce repeated rule-breaking

Likely

A Life of Brian comment that's been edited, and assigned a ribbon to show it's the top pick from a moderator.

Highlighting High Quality Comments

Improve the quality of users’ comments

Understand

:

Promote thoughtful conversation

Reactive

Likely

Reminder of Norms

Increase adherence to platform rules.

Validated

A mockup of a feed encouraging users to write something substantive.

Ask Users to Write Something Substantive When Sharing Content

Add context and make users consider what they’re sharing

Understand

:

Show reliable information

Interactive

Inference

A commenter posts a lot of content, to which an authoritative finger is raised in objection to that commenter's not letting others contribute.

Prompt Letting Others Post

Open up the discussion to more people

Inference

A user types out 'Romani Evnt Domus' and a moderator corrects his Latin grammar. This is an easter egg from a Monty Python film.

Let Mods Suggest Edits to Users

Cut down unnecessary tension and confusion

Understand

:

Promote thoughtful conversation

Reactive

Inference

A mockup of a comment. It has a prompt on top of it that says 'heads up, topics like this can get heated'.

Warning that Topic is Sensitive

Reduce likelihood of sharing triggering content

Inference

A mockup illustrating two posts in a feed: one is labelled as "misleading" whereas the one beneath it has a less severe label of "Stay informed".

Fact-checking Labels

Reduce the spread of misleading content

Understand

:

Show reliable information

Interactive

Tentative

A wireframe of how a slowdown intervention would, with a timer, show users how long they must wait to post again.

Slowdown Modes

Slow users down so their followup comments are more thoughtful

Understand

:

Promote thoughtful conversation

Proactive

Inference

A mockup of a phone screen with this intervention, explaining that "You may encounter unverified claims on this topic." The icon is of an ear on a shield, representing the idea of 'protecting your ears from rumors.'

Prebunking Misinformation

Raise critical awareness towards specific misinformation narratives

Understand

:

Show reliable information

Proactive

Tentative

An expanded modal box, which conveys the concept of listening to a recording of someone else's voice.

Audio Option for User Input

Humanize users in one anothers' eyes

Welcome

:

Encourage the humanization of others

Interactive

Inference

A mockup of an over-the-top news headline that reads "ALIENS!". In front of it is a reminder: "If shocking claims in a headline sound unbelievable, then they probably are."

Misinformation literacy

Build resilience towards misinformation

Understand

:

Build civic competence

Proactive

Likely

A mockup of an intervention showing a Twitter comment, but it has a new button along the bottom that shows how many people have viewed the tweet.

Show Content Reach (# of Views)

Evoke self-consciousness for post conscientiousness

Understand

:

Promote thoughtful conversation

Reactive

Emergent

Highlight Consensus Posts

Depolarize divisive conversations

Connect

:

Build bridges between groups

Reactive

Inference

A mockup of an intervention in which all posts have a delay built into them.

Delay-by-Default Posting

Give users a chance to reconsider their words before they go public

Understand

:

Promote thoughtful conversation

Interactive

Inference

A mockup of an intervention. An image is blurred out behind a warning, which says the image in question could be questionable or inflammatory.

Hide Edge-case Content Behind Warning

Create middle ground between promoting content and banning it

Inference

A mockup of a prompt that reminds users that "Headlines Don't Tell The Full Story".

Disallow Sharing of Unclicked Links

Cut down on the spread of misinformation

Understand

:

Show reliable information

Interactive

Emergent

A mockup of a prompt telling a user that "Your Comment Is Likely To Be Hurtful To Others" with an option to either edit the post or post it anyway.

Preliminary Flagging Before Posting

Reduce online harassment

Convincing

A mockup of a prompt telling users that their posts will be subject to peer review. The user is invited to either edit their post or proceed to posting it.

Warning that Comments Will be Reviewed by Peers Before Publication

Reduce toxicity of comments

Understand

:

Promote thoughtful conversation

Proactive

Emergent

A mockup of a react button. The platform's 'Thanks' icon is emphasized.

Thank You Button

Increase retention and make prosociality contagious

Welcome

:

Encourage the humanization of others

Interactive

Likely

A prompt telling users that trolls may be there, but they are uncommon.

Message that Trolls are Outnumbered

Reassure community newcomers; make them resilient to trolling

Browse interventions

Symbolic Contribution Awards

Civic Signal

when to use

Convincing

Default Quote Reshare

Civic Signal

when to use

Mixed

Toggle To Focus Mode

Civic Signal

when to use

Tentative

Open-Minded Badge

Civic Signal

when to use

Tentative

Post Guidance

Civic Signal

when to use

Convincing

Filtering Offensive Comments

Civic Signal

when to use

Mixed

Batching Notifications

Civic Signal

when to use

Tentative

Down Votes

Civic Signal

when to use

Unlikely

Up Votes

Civic Signal

when to use

Likely

Labeling: Source Credibility

Civic Signal

when to use

Tentative

Reverse Chronological Feeds

Civic Signal

when to use

Unlikely

Caution About Increasing Toxicity

Civic Signal

when to use

Tentative

Crowdsourcing Contextual Information (Community Notes)

Civic Signal

when to use

Convincing

Moderation Tool for Ban Appeals

Civic Signal

when to use

Convincing

Pre-approving Posts

Civic Signal

when to use

Likely

Digital Self-Control Apps

Civic Signal

when to use

Tentative

Suggest Constructive Rephrased Messages

Civic Signal

when to use

Tentative

Accuracy Prompts

Civic Signal

when to use

Convincing

Nudging Conversations to Groups

Civic Signal

when to use

Tentative

Shared Humanity Memes

Civic Signal

when to use