E-Communities Managing

Any Tips, Guides? Suggestions?

[VidER]

Hello Guys..

I heard alot about WebMastersWorld and I thought that the forums cover everything but I was surprised not to find a forum dedicated to Community Managers and Moderators.

I run an online community.. Anyone has any tip or suggestion for me? Everything is welcomed.. Technical, managerial, or behavior tips :)

Thanks in advance.

[Jenstar]

Usually posts about communities end up in Webmaster General [webmasterworld.com]

I run and moderate several online communities. Is there anything in particular you are interested in?

"Technical, managerial, or behavior tips" is pretty broad, and some of us could talk for days about this stuff, lol.

Also, welcome to WebmasterWorld [webmasterworld.com] VidER!

[VidER]

Jenstar Thanks for your reply and your welcoming gesture.. I began to love this place already :)

Regarding the question I really wasn't refering to something particular.. I just wanted to start a thread that turns to a valuable resource someday for the beginner Community Managers and Moderators.

So lets make it a little more interesting and specific.

Should a Discussion Site be bias or impartial? For example if it is a board about NBA.. and the manager likes Lakers.. Should the visitors feel that the manager supports a certain team or his personal prefrence should remain personal for the sake of the freedom of word and opinion in his board?

Similarly. If the board was political. And the hot topic is about the war in Iraq is it justefied or not. Should the manager's opinion be known to the members or not?

Answer.. and Say why do you think so.. What are the advantages of your answer and disadvantages of the other opinion.

Waiting for your replies and opinions :)

[Marcia]

Welcome to the board, VidER.

First, the target audience, purpose and mission have to be established as the foundation.

>Should a Discussion Site be bias or impartial?

That might be a matter of opinion and could depend on specific circumstances. I don't personally like partiality, in most cases it ends up with an unfair situation and makes for bad feelings and problems in the long run.

If it's a Lakers board, as in your example, it's understandable and fitting that it would be biased - the audience could be expected to be Lakers fans. Otherwise, bias and partiality can be counter-productive.

The bottom line is that the driving factor has to be an attitude of serving the needs of the members of the community.