Beware the Quacks
Every group has them. Those who are loud, proud, and yelling over the crowd. It’s time to keep the quacks in check.
Do you know “that” guy? The one who is always piping up. Talking a lot, but contributing very little. The person whose own voice is music to their ears and intolerable noise to others?
These individuals are mocked and unwelcome at parties and networking events. Unfortunately, in online spaces the noisiest of the pack will often receive the most attention. If you’re moderating a community (a social network, blog, chat, forum), the responsibility of baby sitting falls on your shoulders.
Only Acknowledge Those who Deserve it
It’s a tough call to make, but don’t give credit to those who just want to be loud for the sake of being loud. If a comment is off point, don’t respond. If an individual is being controversial for attention, then don’t shower them with that attention they crave. Just like Pavlov’s dogs, don’t reward unwanted behavior.
Talk in Private
It’s a fact: some people are born troublemakers and other don’t even know that they’re being obnoxious. There is nothing wrong with addressing concerns in a responsible matter outside public space. Emails and private messages can do wonders.
I participate regularly in a Twitter chat, hosted by Mark Collier, under the hashtag of #blogchat. Whenever a discussion starts to ween from the overall topic, I take the convo off of the stream and continue via direct message. It’s not fair to flood the talk with off topic musings. Try to be mindful of others.
Negativity Without Reason
I love negative feedback, however it needs to have some reasoning behind it. If you don’t like something that a member of the community says and choose to voice your opinions, please keep the conversation polite and meaningful. Tell someone how you think they should improve. Brogan recently had a great perspective on the topic.
Leave Little to Question
One way to circumvent mindless chatter is to set up guidelines from the beginning. If a visitor stumbles onto one of my blogs, my goal is that within seconds they have a general consensus of what type of space it is. By defining your community, you can weed out those who don’t pertain. All are welcome, but this clearly isn’t a place for multi-level marketing, real estate chatter, or politics. Take the talk elsewhere.
Stand Up
It doesn’t matter if you’re host to the community, part of a moderation team, or a mere participant. Take some responsibility. Stand up to the quacking and refuse to tolerate it. Your actions will be greatly appreciated.
