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Sorting Methods for Online Deliberation: Towards a Principled Approach

Nicolien Janssens, Frederik van de Putte

Abstract

Recent years have seen an increase in the use of online deliberation platforms (DPs). One of the main objectives of DPs is to enhance democratic participation, by allowing citizens to post, comment, and vote on policy proposals. But in what order should these proposals be listed? This paper makes a start with the principled evaluation of sorting methods on DPs. First, we introduce a conceptual framework that allows us to classify and compare sorting methods in terms of their purpose and the parameters they take into account. Second, we observe that the choice for a sorting method is often ad hoc and rarely justified. Third and last, we criticise sorting by number of approvals ('likes'), a method that is very common in practice. On the one hand, we show that if approvals are used for sorting, this should be done in an integrated way, also taking into account other parameters. On the other hand, we argue that even if proposals are on a par in terms of those other parameters, there are other, more appropriate ways to sort proposals in light of the approvals they have received.

Sorting Methods for Online Deliberation: Towards a Principled Approach

Abstract

Recent years have seen an increase in the use of online deliberation platforms (DPs). One of the main objectives of DPs is to enhance democratic participation, by allowing citizens to post, comment, and vote on policy proposals. But in what order should these proposals be listed? This paper makes a start with the principled evaluation of sorting methods on DPs. First, we introduce a conceptual framework that allows us to classify and compare sorting methods in terms of their purpose and the parameters they take into account. Second, we observe that the choice for a sorting method is often ad hoc and rarely justified. Third and last, we criticise sorting by number of approvals ('likes'), a method that is very common in practice. On the one hand, we show that if approvals are used for sorting, this should be done in an integrated way, also taking into account other parameters. On the other hand, we argue that even if proposals are on a par in terms of those other parameters, there are other, more appropriate ways to sort proposals in light of the approvals they have received.
Paper Structure (19 sections, 2 figures, 2 tables)

This paper contains 19 sections, 2 figures, 2 tables.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Sorting Methods: a Conceptual Framework
  3. Sorting Methods
  4. Purposes of Sorting
  5. The Need for a Principled Approach
  6. Sorting Parameters
  7. Sorting Methods in Practice
  8. Numbers that Count
  9. Sorting Methods in Practice
  10. Most Approvals First? A Critical Evaluation
  11. Normative Considerations for Online Deliberation
  12. Integrating Approvals and Other Parameters
  13. Holistic Approaches to Approval-based Sorting
  14. Concluding Remarks
  15. Acknowledgements
  16. ...and 4 more sections

Figures (2)

  • Figure 1: Project overview page with a list of 868 proposals. Screenshot taken on meta.decidim.org on August 5 2025 decidimproposals.
  • Figure 2: Detailed view of a single proposal on Decidim, including its description, number of endorsements, and comments. Screenshot taken on meta.decidim.org on August 5 2025 decidimproposals.