zc279 [at] nyu [dot] edu
Graduate Research on Managing Conflict in Virtual Environments
The latest advances on the web are not about technology, but rather about people using the web to connect with other people. These virtual communities use technology as a means to allow people to do what they always want to do: talk with each other, share information, tell stories, and connect with others of like mind.
There are many ways to enable these connections, and the flurry of recent social networking sites like Flikr, LinkedIn, Facebook, and MySpace (to name a few) attest to this development. For the most part social networking has been positive. However, conflict is inevitable, even in a virtual environment. Two common web-based socializing tools -- discussion forums and comment threads -- appear to be particularly susceptible to outbreaks of conflict.
The practices of flaming (personally attacking or insulting others) or trolling (intentionally baiting others into arguments) can disrupt these virtual communities and even potentially stop people from participating in the community altogether.
What can site administrators do to manage flames and/or trolls so that the feeling of community is not damaged? Are there established practices for managing these conflicts? Are some of these practices better or more effective than others? What might the community itself do to handle these outbreaks of conflict?
The site SlashDot has employed the technique of assigning reputation rankings or thresholds as a method of identifying negative comments, thereby allowing readers to filter out this content at their discretion. This appears to be a highly effective method because:
However, this is only my observation, and in spite of the apparent benefits, it appears that few sites use this method. There is also very little research available on the use of reputation rankings outside of consumer-oriented websites. Would this method not apply to all sites? Are other methods better or more effective? Or are people simply unaware of this method?
I hope to answer at least some of these questions in my academic research. What has your experience been? What do you think would be the most effective method? If you'd like to assist in this process of investigation, I invite you to contact me, and/or particpate in my research survey. The survey takes ~20 minutes to complete. You will be presented with your rights before participating and it is not required that you complete it. However, your input will be greatly appreciated.
It is my hope that the results of this research will be useful to site administrators and community members for maintaining positive, thriving social networks in the virtual world.
Zoe Cassandra can be reached at zc279 [at] nyu [dot] edu.
Many thanks to all who have participated in the survey and helped make this research possible. The thesis has been published and passed!
The results were inconclusive toward a particular strategy that might effectively manage conflict in all virtual environments. However, one clear result was that nearly all people surveyed were of the opinion that the Laissez-faire approach (live and let live, or essentially doing nothing) was the least effective strategy for managing conflict.
This is useful feedback for site administrators to at least adopt some kind of strategy to avoid losing membership in the event of outbreaks of flaming and/or trolling.
Future research might focus on one or two strategies at a time (rather than six). It is also advisable that future research study strategies that are applicable to the philosophy (public or private dialogue), content (politics vs mothering), and/or style of a particular virtual environment (either forums OR comment threads).
It is hoped that my research might serve to advance future study regarding this rich topic.
[cross-posted at http://www.dianagora.net/2008/06/managing-flamin.html]
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