Facebook’s newsroom has just published a lengthy entry explaining the social network’s criteria for eliminating content, identity management, and government requests for information. It provides some insight into the complexities of managing a community of around 1.5 billion people from all corners of the world.

The entry prompted me to think about the different ways we all see these virtual social environments: after all, the rules that define interaction on a network condition its atmosphere. In the case of Facebook, even taking into account the criticisms about its real names policy (which has created problems for some groups, such as the LGBT community or native Americans) or not allowing photographs or videos of women breastfeeding or some works of art on obscenity grounds, overall, my experience of the site is positive, more so than some other sites, anyway.

Let me make clear before I go any further that I am talking subjectively here: about my personal perceptions. My experience of Facebook is that I feel in control of what is going on. If somebody insults me or writes something offensive on my profile or page, there are any number of tools at my disposal to do something about it, either by eliminating it or blocking that person, along with reporting them to Facebook, and even allowing them and their friends to see what they have done (it’s always seemed such a great idea to just leave the troll hanging there, able to see what they have written, and wondering why on earth nobody has responded; an idea doubtless dreamed up by somebody who really understands trolls’ need for attention). In general, on the few occasions that somebody’s comments have bothered me, I have been able to do something about it and maintain my positive feeling about the site as somewhere that cares about interaction and sharing.

Twitter, on the other hand, is the opposite: faced with insults and offensive behavior, the rules that should be there to manage interaction are generally useless or absurd, when not actually counterproductive. Blocking somebody doesn’t stop them from insulting you by using your real name in place of your nickname. It doesn’t stop them from reading what you have written, it just makes it a tiny bit more difficult, because they have to enter via a web browser. And reporting somebody on Twitter is farcical: I’m reasonably thick skinned, but not once has Twitter accepted by arguments, whatever the insult or threat, even in situations that to me seemed close to bullying.

I guess for Twitter to do something, only unequivocal death threats count. Satire and sarcasm are allowed, however cruel: you can mock anybody you like, whether laughing at their physical limitations, defects, or whatever, using the blackest humor, and all Twitter will say it’s not their place to interfere with freedom of expression.

So while Facebook generally seems like a nice place to be, where everybody behaves themselves, sadly, Twitter is pretty much the opposite, and that’s not just my opinion: a lot of friends and colleagues have the same view. On Facebook you can do something about insults, on Twitter you are powerless, the company isn’t going to help you out, and as a result, I have learned to be very careful about what I say to avoid any kind of misunderstanding. Nobody likes to be insulted, misunderstood or criticized in public, but the company seems to make a point of allowing these kinds of situations, and very rarely takes action, except in very specific cases.

Does this mean I’m unhappy with Twitter? Not at all: there are a lot of positive things about it. But the question is whether or not the site would lose anything if the company were to change its policy of non-intervention. I don’t think it would. Communities without rules governing behavior and manners tend to go awry. I believe that Twitter would be improved if, when somebody feels they have been insulted, threatened, or injured, they could report it and receive a positive response along the lines of: “you’re right, that tweet is totally out of place and something needs to be done,” rather than, “it’s nothing, and you’re a cry baby, leave us alone.” But obviously, Twitter doesn’t see things like this, and prefers to maintain its “no holds barred” approach. What can you do? We all see things differently…