No community is the same – not in real life – not in on line – and neither are the subsets of community – groups and the like. There will always be differences and thank goodness otherwise we would be a boring predictable lot and where would be the challenge and the fun. But where would be the delight of recognising and celebrating process?

I read your blog post to the community. Asking for respect for yourself as the manager and for others is key. There is no growing of a community or a person without a challenge – and I believe it is a challenge to assess what is happening and name it. Most behaviours don’t change if ignored – all it leads to is greater frustration. How we deal with the internal frustrations are up to our own capacity to challenge in the way that we feel is appropriate to the community we are part of.

There is a poster on a friend of mines’ office wall that says that organising is both an art and a science – well most pursuits in life are both – not exclusively one or the other. Knowing the science in one thing – being able to demonstrate it artfully makes it possible to achieve far more exquisite results. In doing so we might uncover aspects that we can understand more deeply. My background is in organising and I am not able to distinguish a great deal of difference in a values approach to organising and what we term here as community management.

The one thing that I wonder about is our ability to “label” people or groups of people that are challenging to deal with. In our community we call then trolls and trouble makers etc. What is the art that we can exercise that can allow those who are labelled break out of the label. This is something that I reflect on – perhaps believing that not everyone who wears the label is aware or comfortable with it. This is a new conversation – one I should follow up I imagine so I won’t distract further.

Like any problem solving the best approach is to try to identify the cause and not deal with the annoying symptoms. You showed the foresight to target your blog to the general behaviour and not to the symptom of the cranky exchange between your members. That takes courage and all power to you for doing so Angela.

And thank you for bringing the #CmtyChat discussion -I’m off to check it out

I agree with you it is an art, its actually a lot more difficult to run a good community than anyone can appreciate, and in a way thats part of the problem with running a communty everyone else thinks they can do it better than you, when 99% of them cant lol !

We at our site more often than not dish out reprimands in public, it sends a clear message that you aint here to be pushed about and bullied.

A lot of trouble makers are quite good at picking at every single word thats said or trying to push you around, so its easier to just read these people the riot act in public, that way others will think twice before picking a fight with you, it might sound a pretty crude way to looking at it but it is the only way to do it, the nicely nicely approach simply doesnt work with some people.

Woc

#CmtyChat was really great. You mentioned some very good points during the chat. Looking forward to the next #CmtyChat.

Patricia (@arthurwill)