like a fire

A List Apart: Articles: Anonymity and Online Community: Identity Matters Here is a great article on the problems of anonymity in online communities. It responds to a problem that is becoming more and more prevalent.

Anonymity is a double-edged sword when it comes to an online community. While anonymity may allow people to feel more free and disinhibited to discuss otherwise embarrassing or stigmatizing topics, it can also be a community’s biggest enemy. Anonymity allows people to hide behind their computers while saying whatever they want with little ramification. Psychologists know that online community is far more disinhibited than face-to-face communications.1, 2, 3 Pair that disinhibition with anonymity and you have a recipe for potential disaster.

This only affirms some of my experiences online. From years ago on an “emerging church” website to only a couple of weeks ago on an up and coming youth ministry site, it is just too easy for people to flame, spout off, and just be childish without some form of accountability and recognition of what they have done.

Many people who are really into forums and online community would have a lot to say about this, no doubt. They might argue the benefit of moderators and that poster’s profiles and how that prevents anonymity from becoming a problem. The actual practice of this is a dream though. Often moderators are involved in the conversations online or at least biased toward one person over another. Occasionally they take sides and then it really gets ugly.

The article suggets several solutions. My favorite is to provide a reputation system. This will get ugly, but al least there is some accountability.

Is it possible to actually have an “online community” in any real sense? Maybe, but the fact that anyone can submit only what they want people to know about themselves is the antithesis of real community. The question I have is, if this is true and the new generation loves authentic community, then why are they flocking to these online forms of community? Either they don’t really want authentic community or they don’t realize that they are being duped by sites like myspace, or possibly both.

I haven’t been posting much lately and there is a reason. More later.