Buildingonwhatwedidyesterday,againthisworkshopfocusesoncommunitiesthatare“amphibious”andexistvirtuallyonlineandthroughin-personinteraction.Thus,anonlinecommunitycanbeanoffshootofanexistingactualcommunity,oraphysicalcommunitycanmaterializeaftermeetingonline.

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Theoreticallyyoucanbuildacommunityoutofanyplatform.Butinpracticewhichplatformyouchoosewillmakeahugedifferenceinyoursuccess.Whenyousetupanyonlinecommunity,website,oranyotherdigitalthing,inordertogettrafficyouhavetogetacertainamountofpeopletocarveoutsomeportionofeveryday,ornearlyeveryday,touseyoursite.Theonlyinterestingpeopleouttherearealreadybusydoingsomething.Soyouhavetomaketherewardgreaterthanthecost.Onegoodwaytodothatwhenyouhavenotestablishedbuzzorvalue,istominimizethecostintimeandeffort.Agoodplatformisthemostimportantchoiceyouwillmakealongthoselines.Badplatformsmakeyoudoalltheworkfindingwhatyouwant,rememberingwhereyouwereinaconversation,andfiguringoutthewaythesystemisorganized.IwasinthenewsbusinessforyearsandIsawalotofnewsorganizationsetoutcommentspacesandonlineconversationplatformsthatwerenotwellthoughtthrough,orbadlydesigned,andusuallynotcarefullymanaged.Asaresult,conversationaboutthenewseitherdrifteddownintopointlessargumentsorbusyandthoughtfulpeoplesimplywentelsewhere.Ithinkthiscontributedtonewssiteslosinggroundtosocialmediasiteswherethereisnopriorityformakingsurenewsisaccurateandpublicdialoguecontributestocommonunderstanding.

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Youneedacoregroup.Itcan’tjustbeyouunlessyouareincrediblycharismaticandaconstantcreatorofgoodmaterial.Andifit’sjustyouthenmakeabloginstead.Howdoyougetit?TheWELLwasapaysystemsowegavefreeaccountstohostswhohelpeduscreatecontentandmanagethesite.Nowwitheverythingfreeandbasedonads,youwon’thavethatincentiveavailable.Youwillhavetocomeupwithsomeotherincentive.Passionforthehealthofyourcommunitycouldbeone.Whateveryoucomeupwith,youaregoingtoneedacoregroup.IntheolddaysofMinitel,AOLandevenReddit,theyusedtocreatefakeaccountswhereonepersonplayednumerouspartsjusttocreatesomeconversation.Ihopeyoudon’tgetthatdesperate.

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Andtheycan’tbejustanypeopleeither.Youmightgetluckyandhaveyourearliestusersallshowinggreatpersonalchemistry,butthatisabigrisk.Still,ifyoudon’thaveastrongcoregroupreadybeforeyoustart,thenitisyouwhowillhavetouncoverwhateverthemostpotentialchemistrythereisamongthepeoplewhoarethere.Noteasy,butyoucandoit.Chemistrymeanstherecanbe,andusuallyis,wit,humor,helpingothersbytakingthetimetofindgoodlinkstobackupstatementsorreferences,makingsurethatmisunderstandingsgetclearedupratherthanallowedtofester,andanintangiblebutnoticeablesensethatthepeoplelikeandrespecteachotherandenjoyspendingtimetogether...andtheywelcomenewpeopletoo.

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Evenifyouusethelightesttouchpossible,onlinesocietiesneedmanagement.Sometasksjustcan’tbelefttochancelikewelcomingnewpeopleandconnectingthemtowhatevertheyseek.Andsometasks,likedealingwithuserIDissues,trolls,payingthebills,keepingthingsorganized,etc.havetobedonebysomeoneresponsible.Goodmanagementdoesnotguaranteesuccess.Butbadmanagementprettywellguaranteesfailure.

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DespitewhatIjustsaid,anddespitewhatevermanagementstyleyouchoose,whatyoucreatewillmorphintosomethinguniquecomparedtowhateveryouimagined.Sotomanage,youworkwiththepeoplewhoshowupandyoumakethebestofit,whateveritis.Partofyourjobistobringoutthebestintheotherpeople.Andbecauseyouaredealingwithpeoplewhousuallydon’twanttobemanagedmuchatall,youhavetoworkwithwhatunfolds.Goingbacklaterandfixingthingsbecauseyouforgottoconsiderithasfarlesschanceofsuccessthanplanningforitbeforeyoulaunch.

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MostallofthemsaythesamethingsandIfindlittleifanythingtodisagreewithintheonesIhaveseen.Thereisevenan“OnlineCommunityManagementforDummies”bookanditisquitegood.Discourse.orgisthesitewhereadminandmanagerstalkaboutDiscourseplatformissues.ItisveryusefulifyouoperateaDiscoursesite.

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Thisisnotacriticismofroleplay.Thisiswhatisappropriateforthekindofcommunitywearetalkingabout.Youwantotherpeopletoexperienceyouasyoureallyare.Butsinceyouonlyhavewordsandmaybepictures,youcan’tbetoocasualabouthowtoaccomplishit.Notunlikewritingwhereyouwantyourworktobeasifyouwerespeakingnaturallywheninfactyoucarefullycraftedyourwordstomakeitseemlikeyouwerespontaneouslycommunicating.Thisdoesnotmeanyoucan’tbefunny,ironicorsarcasticwhenyoufeeltheneed.Butifyoudo,makesureyoucommunicatepreciselywhatyoumean.Useemojissparinglyifyoumust,butfocusonwordprecision.Andrememberinadvertisingtheytellyounottobeironicbecauseacertainlargepercentagewillalwaystakewhatyousaidliterally.Samethingonline.Don’taddtotheconfusion.

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Inordertogetyouronlineselftocomeascloseasyoucantowhoyouaretherestofthetime,youhavetocompensateforthelossofwhatyoucan’tcommunicatebeyondwords.Thereisdeliberateprojectioninvolved.AnselAdams,thefamousnaturephotographer,oncesaidthatinordertomakehispictureslookrealhehadtomakethem“hyperreal”togivethateffect.TheprojectionImeanissimilartothat.Itmeanslookingatyourselfandthinkingabouthowyouwanttoconveytotheothers.ThiswasakeypartofhowIbuiltthefirstonlinecommunity.Andofcourseitwasn’tjustme–farfromit.Therewasagroupofuswhoagreedthatbeingrealwasimportantandweconsciouslysetouttohaveouronlineandofflinepersonalitiesmirroreachother.Thatsaid,Iamnotknockingroleplayingorgaming.Theyhavetheirplaceandtheirvalue.Wejustdidn’tseehowweweregoingtogettoaplaceofdeeperconnectionifwedidroleplayingorassumedapersonaofirony.

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Nobodyisperfect.Everyonescrewsup,makesmistakesandwishestheycouldsayordosomethingover.IonceheardaZenmastersaythatthemainpointistotry,andkeeptrying.Thatiswhytheycallita“practice.”Abigpartofthatbehaviorisbeingopentootherviewsandattitudes,includingthosethatyoudonotagreewithpersonally.Theonlineenvironmentisrestrictedtowordsandsometimespicturesandvideo,butstillsomethingcomesthroughalongwiththat.Thereisanemotionalsubcarriergoingoutconcurrentwiththewords.Andevenwhenyoujusthavewordstocommunicate,thatemotiongoesouttherewiththewordsandtheywillbereceivedandinterpretedbypeopleusingtheirownmixtureofrationalandemotional.Neverforgetthisreality.Itwillserveyouwell.

Vouchforpeople.Theyvouchforyou.Ultimatelytrustisthebasisforeverythingfunctioning.Withoutiteverythingfallsapartornevergetsofftheground.Trustisoftengivenupfrontasakindofcreditextendedtoanotherperson,butlongtermithastobeearnedthroughyouractionseveryday.IntheearlydaysoftheWELL,thepeopleusingitwereextremelysmartandtalentedandmanyhadgreatsocialability.Buttheyhadnotyetexperiencedthissenseofcommunityintheonlineworldbecauseitdidn’tyetexistanywhere.Theyhadanaturalskepticismabouthowmuchtheyshouldtrusteachother.Inordertohelpthemlearntotrusteachother,theyhadtotrustmefirst.WhenIunderstoodthatthiswasanessentialpartofhelpingthegroupcometogetherintosomethingnewandgreater,Itookitasagreatresponsibilitybeingthistrustedperson.Itmadememorecarefultonotsayanddothingsthatwoulddiscouragethattrust.Ihavebeentoldbyothersthatthiswasacrucialreasonwhythatonlinegatheringmovedfrombeingabunchofsmartpeoplenetworkingintosomethingtheythemselvescalleda“community.”

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Ifyouactivelyhostanonlinescene,largeorsmall,whetheryouoperatethesystemornot,youwillhavetoswitchbetweenanumberofroles,andyoucan’talwayspredictatwhattimeyouwillneedtofulfillwhichrole.Leader:onlinecommunitiessuchasEdgeryders(andmanyothers)arededicatedtobringingpeopletogetherandgivingallaplacetotalk,meetandcollaborate,buttheyarenotdemocracies.Theyareownedbyacompanyoranorganizationandsomeonehastoberesponsibleforit.Whenyouareanonlinecommunitymanageryouareeitherthatresponsiblepersonoryourepresentthepeoplewhoare.Thatmakesyoualeaderwithresponsibilitiesofleadership.Participant:atthesametime,youactivelyparticipateintheconversationsandtheprocessofgettingtoknowthepeoplejustlikeeveryoneelse,evenasyoumaintainyourleaderstatus.Itseemslikeaparadoxtobebothleaderandpeer,butthatiswhatyoudo.Becauseevenwhileparticipatinglikeeveryoneelse,ifyoudoitwell,youstillleadthegrouptowardbetterunderstandingandoverallvalueinusingtheservice.Moderator:includessettinguptopicsandconversationsandhelpingalongonesthatotherscreate,includinginterviewsandother“set”pieces.

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Helpdesk:nomatterhoweasyyoursystemistouseandunderstand,therewillbepeoplewhodon’tknowhowtofindordosomething.Youneedtohelpthemandpromptly.Otherwisetheymightgoawayandnotcomeback.Helpingalsomeansgreetingnewpeopleandhelpingthemfindthepeopleandconversationsthatbringthemthemostvalue.Librarian:relatedtohelpdesk,youneedtoknowwherethingsaresoyoucaneitherhelpsomeonefindsomethingdirectly,ormorecommonly,participateinaconversationandactivelylinktorelatedmaterialeitherinsideyourownsystemorelsewhereonthenet.Otherpeoplecanandoftendothisontheirown,andyouwon’thavealltheanswersorrelevantideasanyway,butthepointistostaymindfulofopportunitiestoilluminateaconversationorcommentwithagoodreference.Analyst:howmanypeopledoyouhaveandhowmanyofthemactivelyparticipate?Howoftendotheycomeandhowlongdotheystay?Whataretheconnectorsbetweenthepeople?Whattopicsareofmostandleastinterest?Youneedtoknowtheseandothervitalsignsasameasureofyourcommunity’shealth.Andyouneedtoweavethemintothestoryyoutelltoanyonewhomightsupportorfundyourefforts.Janitor:itisimportanttohaveaminimumofclutteroranyotheraspectofyoursiteorservicethataddstothepotentialofconfusion.Peoplewhoarejustbecomingfamiliarwithyourservicearemuchlesslikelytostayoftheycan’tfindwhattheywantoriftheplacelookslikeitwillbetoomuchworktodealwith.Allofthistogethermakesupgoodgovernance. 16

A person can’t really “multitask” in real time because you can only really pay attention to one thing at a time. Rather the brain does a lot of switching back and forth, sometimes very quickly. When you “wear a lot of hats” you have to become very good at this kind of switching because every one of the tasks you have to perform is important. Those of us involved in visionary work sometimes tend to not want to do administrative tasks that we might regard as boring. But not doing any one of them, and doing them well, can create problems that take much time and attention to straighten out and can even put your whole project in danger of failure. I never managed another person until I was 44 years old. And I had never managed a budget. Then, when I started the big news project sfgate.com it fell upon me to do both things. I couldn’t make mistakes, or if I made them I had to correct them fast or the consequences could be big for my project and for me professionally. So I, who never had much interest in making budgets and spreadsheets, had to focus on all the small details. It took a lot of time and effort. On the plus side, learning to pay attention to the details gave me credibility with people more experienced in business and other professions. There are no shortcuts to gaining this kind of respect. Often, it is the difference in maintaining your funding.

You can write it down in your static pages such as Terms of Service or Netiquette or something else. And you can say it more politely. But it comes down to this. Keep it simple so nobody can mistake your meaning.

Asmuchasweallwanthappyproductivelivesincommunitywithothers,negativityandconflictareinevitable.Itispartofthehumancondition.However,itdoesnothavetodominateanygrouporperson.Itisn’thealthytosuppressunexaminedfeelings,ideas,orissueswhentheyarenegative,unpleasantorinconvenient.Theideaistogetobjectiveenoughaboutsomethingnegativesoyoudon’tspreaditthoughtlesslyorinawaythatmakessomeoneelsefeelworseifitisn’thelpful.Idon’tmeanglossitoverorbefakehappy.Imeantryingtoseparatewhatyouwanttosayfromtheemotionthatmightbedrivingyoutosayit.It’shardenoughtohaveatruthfuldiscussionaboutdifficultissuesbetweenpeoplewithoutmakingitworsebyprojectingthefullloadofwhatevernegativefeelingsyouhave.Partofmindfulnessisrecognizingwhenyouareinanegativeframeofmindandnotlettingitgotoofar.Butwhataboutwhensomeoneelseisbeingnegative,orwhentheyreacttoyournegativityinanequalorgreaternegativeway?Everyoneknowshowitfeelstobeonthereceivingendofanangryrant.Everyonegetsinabadmoodsometime.Wecomplain,gripe,seethe‘glassashalfempty.’Whatdoyoudotostraightenitout?Again,trytoseparatetheinformationalcontentofwhatsomeoneissayingfromtheemotionofit.Theymightbesayingsomethingvaluable.Thenitbecomesmoreeffectivetoasksomeonetotoneitdown.Unlesstheyarescreamingatyou.Atthosetimeswhentheratioof“signaltonoise”iswaytoofaronthenoiseendofthescale,itisprobablybesttogetthingscalmeddownfirstbeforeyoudigintowhatisreallygoingon.

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Authorityisearned,recognizedbyothersandendorsedbythepeople.Authoritarianisimposingrulesandstructuresmoreforthesakeofreinforcingthatauthoritythanforconstructivelymovingforward.Mostsocialstructureshaveaformofauthoritychain.Mostonlinesystemsaremanagedbyasystem’sowners.Therearetimeswhenasituationcallsforquickdecisiveactionandyoudon’thavetimeto“hashthingsout.”Makesurewhenyou“grabthewheel”thatyouknowwhereyouaregoing.Ihaveencounteredpeopleonlinebehavingabusivelyandmadethedecisiontocutthemoff.However,inthecourseoftalkingonlinetopeopledayafterday,I,likeeveryoneelse,amnotrightallthetime.AndbackintheearlierdayswhenIwasyoungerandlessexperiencedthatwasespeciallytrue.ItwouldhavebeenharmfultomygoalsandtothebenefitofthegroupifIactedlikeIwasrightallthetimejustbecauseIwasthemanageroftheplace.Sometimesyouarenotcorrectandsomeonemaypointitouttoyou,eitherprivatelyorinpublic.Admittingyourmistakesandstrivingnottorepeatthemactuallybuildsmoreofthetrustthatyouneedtodoyourwork.

Obviouslyyouneedrules.Buthowmany?Areyougoingtorunatightoralooseship?Trytomaintaincontrolorjustdealwithproblemsastheyarise?Beyondthat,howwilldecisionsgetmade?Willyoumakeitconsensus-based?A“littledemocracy?”Reputationsystems?Enlighteneddespot?Therearemanywaystogo.Whatcountsisunderstandingtheprosandconsofeachapproach,agreeingonitandstickingtoit.Certaintools,functionsandoptionsmakeiteasierforpeopletocoexistinanonlineenvironment.Goodusercontrolspromotetakingpersonalresponsibility.Thebetterthetools,themorecontrolsomeonehasovertheirownexperience.Thus,thefewerrulesyouneed.Andultimatelythelessgovernmentorcorporateintrusionastowhatisorisnotoktoexpress.Forexample,it’susefultobeabletoignoresomeoneiftheyirritateyoutoomuch,ratherthanbeforcedtoreadthroughorscrollpasttheircommentseverytime.Discourseoffersthis.Inyouruserpreferencesyoucanlistpeopleyouwanttobe“muted.”

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If you try, you will probably be seen as too controlling.

Meaning, you want people to be civil but if you try to micro-manage conversations to make sure they are always polite, people may tire of your management style.

But make sure you think carefully about all the consequences of doing so, and make sure you have clearly stated Terms of Service that you can point to if someone objects (and there is almost always someone who will).

Inallpartsoflife,conflictiseasytogetintoandhardtoresolve.Thisisespeciallytrueintheonlineorvirtualworldwhereitismademoredifficultbytheconstraintsofthemedium.We’realljustsocalibratedtoMIS-understandeachother.

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Nowhereisthegoodnews.Relationships,individualandgroup,gaintheirtemperlikesteelwhenyouknowthatyoucanresolve,oratleastlivewith,yourdisagreements.Knowingthatyoucan–becauseyouhave–makesrelationshipsstronger.Neitherseeknoravoid.Don’tbeafraidofconflictifyouhavetogothere.Butdonotseekitforanyreasonotherthantogainmutualunderstanding.

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IsaidityesterdayanditissoimportantthatIrepeatithere.

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Theamazingthingaboutgoodonlinespacesisthattheyhaveatmosphere,tone,and“vibes.”Itistruethatyoucan’tphysicallyhurtsomeoneonline,butpeoplecananddofeelhurtbywhatothersmightsay.Iknowawomanwhowasstalkedinreallifefromanonlinecommunityencounter.Iknowmanywhohavebeenprankedinwaysthatyouwouldprobablyconsidermalicious.Ithasbeenmyexperiencethattherearemanyonlinespaceswherewomeninparticulardon’tfeelsafe.Unlessyoudon’twantbothgenderstoparticipateequally,itiscriticaltopaycloseattentiontohelpingthosewhomayfeelintimidatedfeelsafetoexpressthemselves.AsmyEdgeryderscolleagueNadiaEl-Imamputsit,“quietervoicesamplified,loudervoicesencouragedtoexerciserestraint.”Itsoundseasy,butishardtoaccomplish.Thereismoreartthanscienceinvolvedhere.Andofcoursegovernmentsvarygreatlyinwhattheywillandwillnotallow.Youmayormaynotbeabletooffermeaningfulprotectiontoyourmembers.

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Theyhappen.Theyareinevitableinasociallyopenenvironment.Whentheenergyinagroupgrows,somepeoplecomealongjustto“takeabiteoutofit”oreventrytohijackit.Gobacktoyourwell-thought-throughrulesanduseragreements.Andmakesureyouhavedecenttoolsforpeoplewhowanttodirecttheirattentionelsewhere.Ifyouarehostingoradministering,attimesyoumighthavetotakeaction-it’safactoflife.Evenasaparticipantyouhaveavestedinterest.Gettingtoohungupon“democracy”cancreateburdensifthatmeanseveryonehastoassumethateverycommentdeservesequalattentionandvalue.Bootingrarelyhappensquietly,sobepreparedtoexplainifyouchoosetodoit.

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Inapan-nationalsettingtherearelawsandrules.Securityhasmanyimplications.Hacking,virusesandmalwareareobviousissues.Butwhataboutthesecurityofyourmembersastowhattheycanandcannotsay?Andwhatabouttheirdata?

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Laws vary from country to country. And it won’t be enough to just know your own country’s laws. You need to have at least a basic working knowledge of laws in other countries you serve. Laws include data privacy, government censorship, and rules regarding children.

Sustainability is the big “IF” for any of these kinds of projects because it is hard to sustain social energy. This is a good reason why anyone who runs a community has to be deeply committed to it. And you need a core group with equal devotion to it. Remember, it is like a fire that must constantly be stoked.

Since Discourse is the platform Edgeryders uses and Matera will also use it, let’s take a look at the most important aspects of how to best use this software. Discourse has a good phone and pad app. I use it regularly. Categories: Knowing you can change them later, but doing so likely creates confusion. Name them, Order them, Pick good colours, Write short introductory sentences for the headers Static Pages: In Discourse you make a category for documentation and Privacy and Data policies, Netiquette, “About”, Terms of Service, and licensing of the content - who owns it, the writer or the service? Edgeryders uses a Creative Commons license: The content's intellectual property is owned by its author. Upon publishing, the author consents to licensing it under the terms of the Creative Commons 4.0 International, Attribution (CC-BY) license. This ensures fairness, openness, and full interoperability with the Edgeryders content and community. Profile: if you are the manager, encourage everyone to do this as soon as they can get it done. It will make it easier for you to welcome them and it will make it easier for them to develop initial relationships. Click on your icon up on the upper right side of the screen. Then click the little gear icon. Groups: You can make a space for your admin team to talk away from public view.

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