"Social norms" and rules for participation should be testable.

[yevster]

Technical channels and social norms for encouraging diverse points of view are well-established and obvious.

I think there has to be a more rigorous definition of "well-established and obvious". As in:

Given any statement or action, it should be easy to reach a unanimous consensus as to whether or not the statement complies with the rules of the channel.

A clear definition of "encouraging diverse points of view" then also becomes possible:

All opinions and points of view compliant with rules as established above are welcomed and can be contributed without fear of penalty or reprisal.

A good test case for such a ruleset might be the infamous "Google Memo" - something that some perceive as a good-faith argument and others as an offensive screed. Looking at the rules of a channel, it should be unambiguous whether such a document would be within the rules of not.

[semioticrobotic]

Thanks so much, @yevster. This is wonderful feedback to have and I do like what you've begun sketching out here. Really appreciate your expert eyes on this.