When your private social network is beginning and the first people in are people you know and the people they know, your community will be a happy, friendly place…
As more people hear about your private social network though, and interactions expand from friends and acquaintances to strangers with different opinions, that politeness can start to break down.
When that happens there’s a risk your private social network will start to break down.
No one wants to visit a club with boorish members who like to hurl insults and pick fights. Just as a good bar needs a strong bouncer to kick the drunks out so a friendly community will need strict policing to keep things in order.
Lay out the rules
Your rules should be fair and they should be clear. Make them visible. Prohibit anti-social activities like obscenity, insults and trolling, and state that the punishment may be banning. You don’t have to ban everyone who uses a four-letter word if you don’t want to, but you do want to give yourself as much power as possible to protect your private social network.
Enforce the rules
If you’re reluctant to kick out boorish members of the private social network, give a warning. But no more than one—no matter how much they moan and beg for more chances. You’ll soon find that people who like to insult others on communities will keep doing it. Give them an inch and they’ll take your entire community away.
There are enough good people around to keep your community thriving. Don’t be afraid to kick out the hooligans with some strict policing. It makes for a much more pleasant neighborhood.
That’s all for now! In the next post, I discuss how to measure your growth.
