How to (not) kill a community
This blog entry is an extension of an IRC discussion and email conversation that took place regarding the #phpc channel on Freenode.
Back in “the day” #phpc consisted of between 5 and 10 people, and as IRC channels go it was only us in there for about 2 years. This resulted in everyone getting to know each other well. As time passed the community grew organically, we had the regulars and then people who drifted in and out either asking PHP questions or just coming in to chat for a bit.
In April 2005 Davey set up the #php.thinktank channel, and the additional attention add more regulars to #phpc. By the end of 2006 #phpc participants hovered around 50.
The interaction between #php.thinktank and #phpc was good and many of the same people lurked in both groups. #php.thinktank was designed for more technical discussion, and several organized discussions took place on various technical topics. #phpc on the other hand was simply a place to hang out amongst friends.
Sometime in the beginning of 2007 the community size started to grow quickly, however the number of active participants remained roughly the same. Basically the lurkers were growing, the channel is currently about to break 100 users.
This situation brings up some special concerns.
1. is it reasonable to expect that a public IRC channel can afford you any privacy.
2. does a community that was built around “just farting around” have the right to be exclusive when they think that too many people are involved?
3. is there any reasonable way to limit the number of lurkers?
Note that when I say lurkers, I just mean people who park themselves in an IRC channel and don’t contribute to the channel. People who contribute and then go dormant for weeks/months are a different story.
July 22nd, 2007 at 4:55 pm
Hey there,
As one of the newcomers to #phpc I think that the problem you are facing is actually fairly easy to solve. Make the channel invite-only (+i).
To be honest, that’s how I arrived at #phpc anyway. Ben Ramsey told me about it as a cool place to just hang out with people in the PHP industry. I have been on freenode for over 5 years now (nick silicate) and to be honest, ##php gets annoying with all of the n00b questions. It’s nice to have a place that people talk about PHP without talking about an issue they are having. Most of the people in there know how to use Google
There have been several discussions in the channel that I was very glad to be part of, such as a recent discussion about Conferences and the benefits or Contributing. Who better to hear this from than the people that are actually presenting at the Conferences. Cal Evans, Sebastian Bergmann and others offered great advice about what you should know. Being on IRC, it was much more fluid than a blog post and comments.
Hope that helps,
Matthew Purdon.
July 22nd, 2007 at 5:05 pm
I don’t know if we could justify making the room invite only, I think it goes against the “community spirit”.
Maybe making a #phpci which could be a invite-only channel, but that would essentially be abandoning #phpc, which isn’t something I would want to do.
July 22nd, 2007 at 10:19 pm
1. Yes
2. No. Create a new channel with a smaller group of people.
3. See 2
Comment: People even contribute by reading. Channel Bots answering questions or posting Links can help too.
July 23rd, 2007 at 9:13 am
Why kill a community that has just started to form ?
Why not expand ?
Well i perfectly understand your need for certain privacy when it comes to serious discussions. You should open a new channel that it invite only - but ….
It seems that all the effort and the help of the initial group was able to form a pretty popular community on phpc.
I would recommend to turn this development into something that supports both the core-group and the lurkers. Build a website that holds the discussions and solutions that are posted on the public channel - maybe add a forum an strengthen the community. The go ahead and start marketing your community. Sell ad-space and get some $ in return!
Building a community aint that easy - dont waste your luck
!
July 23rd, 2007 at 12:00 pm
In my case: After several month several loudmouths established a very rude and unintelligent type of conversation. This scared most users (and worse: most of the users that occupied the channel for the past years) away one by one.
And now i don’t want to stay myself in that channel, because of those bullies. Ban them all and restart?
July 23rd, 2007 at 1:51 pm
Foo:
1. Let us know who/what you were offended by, and we will take the appropriate action. I haven’t been active in the last month or three, but there is no need for people to get scared off by trolls.
2. It’s my personal feeling, that within a community a certain amount of abrasiveness / flaming is acceptable within the community members. If someone has a bad day and decides to bite a n00b’s head off for asking a stupid question, as long as it’s not a constant thing, it’s understood. This is different from trolling, where someone just comes in to make trouble.
July 23rd, 2007 at 2:30 pm
There’s nothing saying that the spirit behind thinktank has to go away.
Talk the talks that they gave as an example - these were special events held for people to attend and have a deeper discussion about that kind of technology. There’s nothing saying we cant have a “scheduled talks” kind of thing again where (maybe even in another channel so as not to disturb) the talks happen and interested parties attend.
Personally, I’m all for the idea of openness. I’d rather see anyone who wants to come in join up and enjoy being a part of the #phpc community and get out of the constant questions and stuff of #php. Invite only on he channel would only deter people. They’d be turned off and, imho, any growth in the membership of the channel would drop to almost nothing.
July 23rd, 2007 at 4:34 pm
@chris - I doubt the channel would drop down to nothing - the core group is still very much alive and active and I doubt they would leave just for that. We have been around before we were “discovered” and will be around long after most go.
For me the problem with invite only is that we would only meet all the same people - rather then getting to know new people. Which is what phpc is all about - meeting and getting to know people.
I just hope we never lose our small town feel - that to me would be the worst thing for the group. As for your questions:
1) yes to a certain extent. to me - most there are friends and I talk to them as such. I do still use PM for truly private conversations that are not for general consumption.
2) this one is harder. do I wish we could be more exclusive - yes. I personally prefer quality over quantity. doesn’t mean you have to be an expert - just that you be an active member. even if it is only to say to Hi to a couple of members that are your friends. I don’t mind lurkers - a lot can be learned just by reading some of the discussions. I personally would just like to see interaction.
3) no real preference here.
and yes - i am one of the group that was there when it was only 5 - 10 of us. awormus - miss ya darlin. we never seem to be on the same time lately.