Saturday’s Apple: Is it getting harder to have a civil community online?

Scott Shuey writes for Gulf News about online discussions or debates, which seem to be getting less and less civil. He kicks off with, “If the internet is filled with anything, it’s jerks.”

Perhaps this was brought on by our recent discussions on EmiratesMac.com about what Scott wrote about Macs in Gulf News, I don’t know.

Scott brings up examples from Digg.com where people are blasting one another left, right and center. Personally I’ve never been a huge Digg.com fan but obviously many people are and it can make a site very popular overnight so it’s something anyone running a web site has to pay attention to. He attributes this rudeness online to anonymity, writing, “Pick almost any website, forum, or blog that allows users to post anonymously, and you’ll find this stuff going on.” and, “It’s no secret that people can and will say anything when there are no consequences.”

He continues, “The internet used to be a great place to discuss ideas. Now it’s turning into a place where any discussion quickly turns into vicious, anonymous personal attacks.”

In many ways I agree with Scott, I think it’s harder to find places on the internet where one can have intelligent, civil discussions about something. Very often when asking a question on a site or on an email list, you’re met by sneers and a condescending attitude, and perhaps especially if anonymous comments are allowed without registration for an account first. I’m not going to say that doesn’t happen on EmiratesMac.com, and I’m sure I’m sometimes guilty of it too, but I think we try to keep this a happy, friendly, and open place where anyone can ask for help or start a discussion about something. I’ve come to love this community and I think we make a big difference for a lot of people and for that I’m very proud. Sure there are many who do not see what contributions so many make on the site, donating their time and interest in order to help and engage with others, but that’s okay. One day those who don’t get it will wake up and feel that they missed out on something great.

One reason why I personally think EmiratesMac.com is such a great place is the time and effort people put in into running the site, maintaining it, and probably above else moderating discussions and posts. I really don’t like censorship and people controlling what others can post about but I’ve come to believe over the last few years that for an online community to be a good, healthy, friendly and helpful place, sometimes some strong administration is required. And sometimes that goes too far and an admin changes something or deletes something, which should have been left alone because it was acceptable. And sometimes users get very upset when they feel like they were unfairly treated.

It is my belief that for communities like this site to thrive and last some tough loving is required in the form of admin. Perhaps I’m wrong, but I think the interests of the community as a whole are more important to consider than the interests of the individual.