# Social Friction

- [[pull]] [[friction]] [[design]]
- [[push]] [[slow web]]

**Social Friction** is the intentional design of resistance in social interactions to prevent thoughtlessness, harassment, or mob behavior.

## Efficiency is not the Goal
Silicon Valley design usually optimizes for "removing friction". One-click signups, instant retweets, seamless sharing.
*   **Result:** Viral misinformation, brigading, low-effort interactions.

## Good Friction
In the [[Agora]], we might *want* friction:
*   **The Cooling Period:** You can't reply to a heated node for 5 minutes.
*   **The Effort Barrier:** To contribute a subnode, you have to actually write a markdown file and push git (currently). While we want to lower barriers to entry, some barrier acts as a filter for intent.
*   **The Context Check:** "You are about to link to a private garden. Are you sure?"

## Friction as Governance
Friction is a form of soft governance. It shapes behavior not by forbidding actions, but by making harmful actions "expensive" (in terms of time/effort) and beneficial actions "cheap".