2003-05-02 - Managing Community
Coming from a computer security background the concept that you could put world editable content on a public web site and not only have the content survive, but have it flourish ... seemed impossibly naive. My adoption of MoinMoin for PersonalTelco's main web site a couple years ago totally restored my faith in humanity ... that maybe we really all could "just get along".
Unfortunately there's a sad side story here. It seems that there is something special about wiki's and who they encourage to participate that gives you a slanted view of humanity. While wiki restored my faith in humanity, turning PersonalTelco into a nonprofit last August has almost entirely destroyed it. I watched a bright, enthusiastic, positive group of people ... who were working on a project of almost impossible scoop (and kicking ass I might add) turn in to a bitter, despondant, ego craving bunch of morons. It was like magic ... just not the good kind.
I do need to take a certain amount of responsibility for this. My "management style" is somewhat hands off and at least some of this is due to my prolonged absense last fall and increasing burnout. Having watched a community group devolve I was struck today that there is so much useful information MeatBall that I just never found. My advice for my sucessor, is to read and learn from these pages. RewardReputation, DissuadeReputation, PunishReputation, DevolvePower and ConflictResolution. Doubtless there are other, equally important, pages that I've missed.
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