Notes from CFP98 "Owning and Governing Virtual Communities" Presentation

Part 1, by Gail Ann Williams

  • What is The WELL?

    • A system of considerable tenure -- since 1985
    • Of considerable influence -- winner of EFF Pioneer Award, etc.
    • Distinct culture -- a folk-song about the software, etc.
    • Asynchronous text environment -- immersive with good writing
    • (More about WELL history at the About the WELL or WELL-Tales pages)
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  • What Is Virtual Community And How Did It Become A Buzzword?

    • Virtual Community is be a misnomer, since the community can become real.
    • The "place" is virtual. An online community is a real community in a virtual "space" where the illusion of place is filled in mentally as in a radio drama, or with visual backdrops. It is not real estate.
    • Cliff Figalo, former Director of the WELL, defines community as "a complex network of human interactions over time."
    • Community is burdened with expectations:
      • Desire for ubiquity -- to be godlike at our keyboards.
      • Desire for love and recognition -- a place to be like the character "Norm" in the TV show Cheers who was greeted by the whole bar whenever he arrived. This can't be faked or it seems mocking.
    • Community must be built for and by each participant.
    • Since the advent of the book Net Gain, online community is the subject of serious venture-capital chasing. See the VirComm site, for insight into the commercial aspirations and applications currently being explored.

  • Community Management

    • Communities grapple with implied cultural/social contracts.
    • Communities also tend to have a contractual constituion, terms of service or agreement.
    • Communities also embed social code in the software code, such as "don't interrupt others."
    • Attention is the currency, but not a bulk commodity.
    • Keeping "rule enforcement" within the context of the online scene is desirable, but sometimes a phone call sorts out conflict more effectively.
    • Naming a manager a "Mayor" or a "Community Organizer" may create impossible expectations of democracy or pre-fab networks of relationship.
    • Real communities see real community organizers emerge, and these motivated leaders may coordinate a departure if not well-served.
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  • Flipping The Community Provider Role

    • A community provider must offer stability and services to a changing community
    • The community itself, once organized, realizes that it provides the "product" and will do so for subscription fee, wholesale leasing of forum space or ad banner clicks.
    • Look for the emergence of self-organizing communities ready to negotiate for infrastructure and enforcement services.
    • Jon Lebkowsky will now tell you about one self-governing community in particular, the story of Electric Minds.
(Jon then spoke...)