Moderation
Removing Inappropriate Material
Flaming comments (deliberately provocative attacks on individuals)
Publishing of off-topic messages to the wrong discussion boards
Posting of pornography or illegal software
Thinly veiled messages from members promoting their own businesses.
Conflict Moderation
Identifying Conflict
Provide clear ways in which community members can report unfair treatment and bias and have it judged objectively.
Understanding the causes of conflict
Several competing theories for causes of interpersonal conflict exist but one of the more popular separates the causes of conflicts into five distinct categories.
Individual characteristics. Conflicts caused by character traits that are prone to antagonizing the other person. For example, an extremely laid back person working on a project with someone with a high attention to detail.
Team characteristics. Attributes of one team versus the attributes of another.
Project characteristics. Projects with a tight deadline or that force individuals to work in a manner they are unaccustomed to are likely to provoke conflict.
Organizational characteristics. When the organization has overlapping areas of responsibility and competition between individuals.
Environmental characteristics. In environments with shortages of resources, adverse conditions, etc.
Scott Peck (1990) identified four stages of community:
Pseudo-community. This is the first phase where members are keen to get along. Members are usually extremely polite and want to establish a pleasant social order.
Chaos. Conflict begins taking place between members. Members feel comfortable enough to assert themselves.
Emptiness. The community lacks a social order after a large number of fights.
True community. Members have established strong relationships and express themselves honestly and genuinely. Members have developed a process for handling conflicts.
Resolving Conflict
Do nothing. If neither the number of participating members nor the quantity of contributions is declining, let it slide.
Reason/befriend/distract. First, if it’s likely they don’t realize they’re antagonizing members (this is surprisingly common, usually a personality issue), explain they need to tone their language down because members have been complaining. If they have a genuine grievance or concern, try to ask them what the real problem is and how you can help solve it. Finally, if they are focused upon one particular issue, distract them by giving them a column, or responsibility for a certain topic to express their viewpoint.
Offline. To resolve a conflict, you need to interact with all members concerned by e-mail or personal message (not by public discussion). Explain that the conflict is harming the community and it needs to end. You may then create an e-mail outlining the issue and suggesting options the participants may agree on. Each can then reply with their own concerns until they have found a resolution.
Compromise. Reach an agreement that meets the needs of both parties—difficult, but the ideal resolution.
Accommodation. Persuading one party to accept the other’s demands.
Avoidance. Persuading one or both sides to leave the conflict behind without a defined resolution or distracting or otherwise preoccupying members.
Collaboration. Both sides are persuaded to work together to find a resolution.
Competition. Deliberately rejecting the view of one participant to satisfy the other might be appropriate in a conflict between a newcomer and a regular.
Suspend members. If none of the above works, suspend the member and explain why. Suspension can range from three days (one day isn’t enough) to one week. Ban. If after a suspension they still cause problems, remove them from the community.
Edit/repel. Some members continue to register new accounts (or mask their IP address). They’re intent on causing trouble. It’s best left to volunteers. I’ve had some success by editing comments posted by the member to something softer (usually complimenting other members).
Contact ISP/police. If the member continues to return or is engaged in threatening/illegal activity, either contact their ISP or the police. You can jump straight to this stage if necessary.
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