Alter Aeon Rules of Conduct

Rule 18.3 - Informational - what is a "Hate Machine"?

A hate machine is when a small number of dedicated players feed off
each other to create an endless cycle of hate against other players,
the AA staff, or even the game itself.  Hate machines generally require
a minimum of three people, and often have only one person who is the
most vocal primary driver.  At least two other people seem to be
required to produce an echo chamber.

Hate machines are problematic because this very small core of dedicated
people cause a huge amount of unhappiness and discontent among others.
They tend to generate a lot of misinformation and selective/pessimistic
interpretation of facts.

There are many parallels to hate machines in the Real World, largely in
politics and online forums that are lightly moderated.  The unrestricted
presence of a hate machine can drive other people completely away from a
forum, game, or political party, effectively killing it.

The easiest solution for dealing with a hate machine in an online forum
is to ban with prejudice the primary instigators.  Without ringleaders,
the machine tends to stall and the social coalitions around it fall apart.