Conduct in online communities

Conduct in online communities includes setting boundaries, disagreeing respectfully and responding to hostility. Public exchanges also call for care over tone and the effect of a hurried reply.

Boundaries and respectful disagreement

A freelance writer observed that people seeking shared experiences and collegial places to learn sometimes made hostile online comments they would not make in polite face-to-face discussion. ¹ The writer suspected that a mistaken sense of anonymity contributed to this behaviour, and that comments were too often posted hastily without considering repercussions. ¹

The recommended boundaries use the account as a digital home. ²

• Treat social-media accounts as digital homes opened to the public: set boundaries, expect visitors to behave as guests and do not allow rude, cruel or mean visitors to stay.
• Behave as a guest in other people's accounts: be civil, thoughtful and kind, and leave no inappropriate, insulting or hurtful comments for the host to remove.
• Accept civil disagreement expressed mindfully and respectfully; reject hostility and insensitivity.
• Make interactions productive and useful to others; comments fired off in anger or to attack someone are a form of cyberbullying, reflect poorly on an online reputation and may not produce the intended result.

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Tone and contribution

How something is said on social media can matter as much as what is said. ³ Written social-media exchanges lack the body language and facial expressions of face-to-face conversation, the vocal tone of a telephone call and the privacy of email, because others can join with their own interpretations. ³ Participants assess each other through a small, selective view of what each chooses to reveal, so stepping back can help avoid rushing to drive a point home. ³

Practical advice for keeping perspective is to: ³

• Remember that the account owner is the host and treat visitors as guests.
• Keep posts as positive as possible, whenever possible.
• Treat others with the respect expected from them.
• Provide useful content and limit self-promotion.

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Seven common-sense Twitter etiquette rules offered in 2011 were: ⁴

1. Get rid of useless retweets.
2. Do not be pushy.
3. Be nice.
4. Do not repeat the same material.
5. Use people's names occasionally.
6. Include an identifying detail because people have short memories.
7. Give credit and share.

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Further advice for Twitter interaction in 2018 was to: ⁵

• Be interactive and generous: retweet to help others expand their presence, or quote-tweet to expand the conversation or perspective.
• Show gratitude and acknowledge people who promote a tweet.
• Communicate respectfully and remember that an audience is watching the response when others are disrespectful.
• Be mindful of how and how much self-promotion is used, and build a reputation for generous sharing so others will promote the account.

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Hostility and conflict

Respectful conduct cannot prevent every hostile encounter. ³ The recommended response is to: ³

• Apologise when needed, sincerely and without qualifiers.
• Remember that no one looks good in a social-media fight.
• Examine the reason for responding: someone defending an injustice should not be bullied into an inappropriate apology, but should still avoid feeding the troll.
• Remember that an invitation to a fight does not oblige participation.

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Freelances can set their own social-media policies, whereas people working for an organisation must follow its policy. ³ In 2018, Twitter offered blocking and muting to help users put the brakes on an exchange; the advice was to learn how these worked before they were needed. ⁵