community management
TRANSCRIPT
Online Community Management
How to avoid chaos and create a positive community environment.
Who is Martin Reed?
• JustChat.co.uk - Founded in 2000. – Up to 600 simultaneous chat room users– Over 400,000 forum posts since December ‘04– Over 250,000 messages sent since May ‘06
• SoapForum.co.uk
• FemaleForum.com
I build online communities.
• Not the same as a community moderator.
• Promote.
• Represent.
• Encourage.
• Matchmaker.
Moderation is always a last resort.
What is Community Management?
The Community from Hell• Arguments.
• Abuse.
• No responsibility.
• No maturity.
• No respect.
• Illegal content.
“I’m Innocent”
How to Avoid Chaos• Guidelines from day one.
• Be active and visible.
• Be approachable.
• Be contactable.
• Be impartial.
• Adapt and learn.
• Delegate and empower.
Building a Team of Moderators
• Working alone isn’t an option as community grows.
• ‘Best’ members.
• Guidelines.
• Expectations.
• Communication.
• Volunteer perception.
How to Moderate
Moderate to your guidelines.
• Censorship and oppression do not encourage activity.
• Avoid editing.
• Encourage self-resolution.
• Keep all content (even if removed).
• Courtesy and professionalism.
Encouraging Member Activity
• Often the biggest communitybuilding challenge.
• Self interest.
• Controversy.
• Questions.
• Roadmap.
• Keep it simple!
Spam, Scams and Tricksters• Be prepared.
• Member safety.
• Community perception.
• Automated tools aren’t perfect.
• They’re getting smarter.
• Covert suspicion of new members.
One of the biggest threats to your online community.
You Are The Boss
• Don’t be intimidated.
• Decisions don’t need to be made immediately.
• You will face abuse.
• Stick to your decisions (maybe).
• Respect, trust, honesty.
