Re: Thinking About Online Communities
Yesterday, I was reading Kev's post on Online Communities. This is a topic that has interested me for years, because I really do think we've lost something online and it's possible to bring it back. In the past, I've attempted to create small communities online using forums associated with my blog, but this has never worked out. I think the lack of audience and the inconvenience of registering for a forum really turns people off.
Kev's idea is to create a general Mastodon instance limited to 500 users with a low 2 monthly fee. I think this is a wonderful idea, because by putting a price on entry it should cut down on people not serious about participating and by limiting the number of users, it makes it harder to just disappear in the masses. That should cut down on some of the negative hot takes and general bullying that occurs online.
However, I'm not so sure a Mastodon instance is the best platform. I think it makes the most sense for success purposes, but Mastodon was obviously influenced by Twitter, and both services have conditioned us to quick responses, tapping the like button, and narcissistic ramblings. Sure, there are some great conversations on both platforms, but for the most part it's just chest pounding and quick responses to topics that make people angry. I know I'm quite guilty of using these platforms this way.
I guess, that's why I feel like a forum or message board is still a better option for creating a long-term community. The topics must be generated, and more effort tends to go into the posts. It breaks the habit of just quickly tapping an app and firing off an angry response to "insert whatever offends you here." You have room to share ideas and expand on them and I feel like communicating in a different way is key to creating a good online community. We need to stop with the microblogging.
Of course, the problem with forums is spam which is easily corrected by password protecting it. I honestly don't know how much work goes into running a Mastodon Instance (I imagine quite a bit) so I can't compare it to running a forum, but I'm sure both platforms have their fair share of backend work. Forums also create an issue by not usually having an app (or at least not a good app) so that would probably turn some folks off, which might not be a bad thing.
Anyway, I'm all for the creation of small online communities. I do feel like the future is in smaller groups that are protected behind a login/password where people can feel a bit more at ease with sharing and not dealing with bots, trolls, and general assholery. I think the hardest part of creating a community like this by not allowing it to become an echo chamber or by allowing one or two people to set the tone for everything. You need active engagement and open minds.