Communities that use prescreen messages and assess the information being put into the community limit the harm inappropriate messages can cause

Design Claim 1

Moving inappropriate messages instead of removing them benefits the community by promoting fair procedure

Design Claim 2

Allow members the ability to argue their case if content is deleted.

Design Claim 3

- Social anonymity: newcomers feel less social accountability than established members
- Ease of entry and exit (can lead to high user turnover)
- Textual communication: conversation is prone to misinterpretation since it lacks fluidity and visual social cues 

Problems with regulating behavior in online communities

The process of monitoring and managing media content to determine its appropriateness for a given audience or platform. This can involve removing content, limiting its visibility, or applying advisories and ratings.

Content Moderation

- using pre-screen messages and assess the information being put into the OC
- moving inappropriate messages instead of removing them
- allowing members to argue a case for their content being deleted/taken out

Ways to deal with inappropriate messages

While actively recruiting new members, many communities also implement measures to exclude those deemed unsuitable. For instance, support groups for specific health conditions may limit membership to individuals who have the condition or are caring for someone who does.

Screening out inappropriate members

- Screening out inappropriate members
- Moderating content
- Dealing with inappropriate messages
- Resolving conflicts

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

- Encouraging commitment
- Encouraging contribution 
- Regulating behavior of its members
- Attracting and maintaining new members
- Maintaining the critical mass of users and content

Factors of a Successful Online Community

Kraut, Robert E., and Paul Resnick. Building successful online communities: Evidence-based social design. MIT Press, 2012.

Building successful online communities: Evidence-based social design (Kraut and Resnick)

Committed members of an online community are more likely to provide meaningful content valued by other users. Commitment also serves as an essential foundation for behavior regulation. Different types of commitment (e.g., affective, need-based, and normative) can be cultivated within online communities, and the optimal type to encourage depends on the specific vision and goals of the community.

Encouraging Commitment to Online Communities

Incentivizing or convincing users to contribute content on the platform. This can be showing them that the utility of adding content is greater than the cost of having to create it.

Encouraging contributions in online communities

Membership overlap in multiple online communities has been shown to have beneficial effects. Zhu et al. studied historical data of 5673 Wikia communities and found that higher levels of membership overlap may increase chances of survival of online communities. 

Membership overlap in online communities

Economics and psychology provide explanations for why individuals act the way they do and how they behave in social settings. These theories are based on observations of real-world behavior, experiments, and mathematical models. When understood correctly, they can guide decisions on how to:
- Establish a community
- Integrate new members
- Promote dedication
- Manage conflicts
- Inspire participation
- Coordinate efforts

to maximize community benefits.

What insights do social science studies provide on creating successful online communities?

Creating an online community requires a critical mass of users and a sufficient amount of content to attract and retain members. This is known as the critical mass problem.

In a cancer support group, for example, the content may be messages shared by cancer survivors and caregivers. In an open-source software development community, it may be a base of working code for developers to build upon. On a site like YouTube, the content is user-generated video clips.

Obtaining critical mass for an online community

The longevity of any online community relies on its ability to attract and integrate new members as existing ones inevitably leave. Without a consistent influx of fresh perspectives and participation, the community will ultimately decline. Even well-established communities must actively seek out and cultivate potential members who possess the necessary attributes, talents, and motivation to positively contribute to the community's growth and development.

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