Great technology links - Great learning at zero cost

In this edition of GTL, we look at games with a twist. The first two are simulations that should raise your awareness of how difficult it is to judge what goes and what doesn't go on social media platforms. Many content moderators are paid pennies and are expected to maintain high turnover rates. Unlike real life, you aren't exposed to graphic content in these simulations.

The third share is directed at those who like solving puzzles using code.

Moderator Mayhem

Type: Game / Simulation

https://moderatormayhem.engine.is/

Moderator Mayhem is a web-based simulation aimed at a mature audience. It was published in May 2023. It was designed by Randy Lubin and Mike Masnick of Techdirt. The material covered is heavy, going into subject matter such as drugs, illegal activities, spam, revenge, and porn. There is no explicit content.

You are an employee (or contractor) for the social media company TrustHive and will vet content, deciding what to keep and what to reject. Your criteria is to respect safety and free speech. You have a limited amount of time to perform your job.

Some of the cases you reject will appeal, while for others you can have a *closer look*. Both cost you time, which is fixed. When time runs out, you will be given a score showing how many cases you processed and the score.

The combination of the timer running out and animated cases adding to the stack can be somewhat stressful, albeit enjoyable. A few sessions of playing Moderator Mayhem give one a sense of respect for the people whose job it is to be a moderator and who get to spend endless hours a day seeing horrific content for a few dollars an hour.

Trust & Safety Tycoon

Type: Game / Simulation

https://trustandsafety.fun/

In October 2023, Mike Masnick of Techdirt, Randy Lubin, and Leigh Beadon published a second game titled **Trust & Safety Tycoon** (**T&ST**).

T&ST is not version two of Moderator Mayhem. T&ST replaces the countdown timer and the stacked cases with more variables that will be impacted by the decisions you make during the game. You have other non-moderation interactions that influence the result. For example, in T&ST your decisions are reflected in the CEO's approval, the toxicity of the conversations, and the popularity of different topics. At the start of the game, you make choices with the CEO on the direction the platform should take.

Even though there is no visible countdown timer, the number of cases you solve is taken into account at the end of the game.

Advent of Code

Type: Programming Challenge

https://adventofcode.com/2023

Note: Replace the year (e.g., *2023*, with other years starting from 2015)

Advent of Code (AoC) runs annually during the Christmas period for 25 days. Every day, you are presented with a programming challenge (in two parts) to solve a Christmas-themed problem. Solving the first part opens up the second. The code would generate a result that you would then type into the page. This will tell you whether it is correct. The code is not language- or platform-specific.

The questions start off relatively simple but become more difficult as the month progresses. If you do the AoC during the month of December, you will be part of the action (*Hint: add a reminder in your calendar for next year*) when thousands are seeing and solving the problem at the same time. When you attempt these *off-season*, you do it for the challenge. If you get stuck, there will always be a solution out there.

And "Please don't use AI to solve the puzzles when the challenge is underway".


print (
        ''' Advent of Code
            Year 2015
            Day 1
            Part 1
            
        '''
) 


    
    floors = 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   


    print (floors.count('(') - floors.count(')'))

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