Not so! There are plenty of changes Facebook could make—from tweaking their feed algorithm to adding UI affordances which lower the temperature of conversations—which they have chosen not to do. In fact, they have aggressively implemented affordances which fail to connect people except with Facebook as an extraneous, tone-setting intermediary.

I first joined Facebook because it promised to connect me with friends & family. You know, find out about weddings, funerals, and all the news in between. Instead it decided that my one climate change denying friend and my one "chlorinated water is bad" friend were my two most important contacts. That's an algorithmic choice.

Another example: when someone tags or mentions me on Facebook, I get a cryptic email notification telling me I need to log on to see what people are saying about me. Other social media sites tell me in the email.

Other sites, like NextDoor.com and even Twitter, have slowed down posting to encourage users to be more civil. Facebook has doubled down. The recent whistleblower, Frances Haugen, who wasn't just a manager, but actually understands recommendation algorithms, has given specific examples of Facebook choosing to amplify negative emotions.

Online communities have been around for over 50 years. There's a lot known about how to connect people in civil conversation. One example from the Usenet era: "don't feed the trolls."

Facebook has chosen to feed the trolls.