The Design Space for Online Restorative Justice Tools: A Case Study with ApoloBot

TL;DR

This paper explores the design of online restorative justice tools through the development and deployment of ApoloBot, a Discord bot aimed at facilitating apologies and healing in online communities, based on interviews with moderators.

Contribution

It introduces ApoloBot as a novel tool for online restorative justice and provides empirical insights from user feedback and deployment in real communities.

Findings

Moderators see potential in restorative justice tools for online harm

Deployment of ApoloBot reveals practical opportunities and challenges

Design insights inform future development of online restorative justice mechanisms

Abstract

Volunteer moderators use various strategies to address online harms within their communities. Although punitive measures like content removal or account bans are common, recent research has explored the potential for restorative justice as an alternative framework to address the distinct needs of victims, offenders, and community members. In this study, we take steps toward identifying a more concrete design space for restorative justice-oriented tools by developing ApoloBot, a Discord bot designed to facilitate apologies when harm occurs in online communities. We present results from two rounds of interviews: first, with moderators giving feedback about the design of ApoloBot, and second, after a subset of these moderators have deployed ApoloBot in their communities. This study builds on prior work to yield more detailed insights regarding the potential of adopting online restorative justice tools, including opportunities, challenges, and implications for future designs.