Guide
A free guide for organizers: how platforms reward anger, why replying to bait helps it, and what members can do instead. This page outlines it while we write it.
The short version
Platforms rank posts by engagement, and anger engages. These habits turn that against the people who post bait. Each one fits on a phone screen, and each one becomes a practice mission in Ostracon.
01
Replies, quote posts, and angry comments all count as engagement, and engagement buys reach. Scroll past, even when it hurts.
02
Like, share, and comment on your own side's posts in the first hour, when the ranking system decides how far a post travels.
03
Ranking systems weigh shares, private sends, and full watches more than likes. Ask for those.
04
Identical posts look like spam to platforms and to people. One sentence of your own carries more trust than a perfect slogan.
05
A nurse, a teacher, or a train driver posting under their own name is more convincing than any logo.
06
A photo from the demonstration feeds the online wave, and the online wave brings people to the next one.
What we are testing
Some of this is well supported: replying to bait helps it, and messages from friends move people. Other parts are open. Brazil's 2026 campaign proved reach, not effect. These are the questions our pilot work is meant to answer.
01
Ignoring bait works most of the time. We want clear criteria for the cases where staying silent lets a damaging claim stand.
02
Which mission types supporters complete, in which groups, and at what time of day.
03
Measuring whether missions change turnout, sign-ups, or attendance, not only views.
04
Whether organizers and members hear "mission", "action", or "call" as the most natural word for a request.
05
Briefings and drafts that sound natural in every language a workspace uses, including smaller ones.
Chapters
The full guide is in progress. Organizations can use it with or without Ostracon.
Why outrage spreads, what members can do instead, and how to explain it to a skeptical branch meeting.
A short session for comms teams and volunteers, built on the six habits, with exercises on real feeds.
Safe exercises for new volunteers, so their first live mission isn't their first try.
Want the first chapter when it's ready, or a workshop for your team? Use the contact form and choose "Guide or workshop".