Session Abstract: Electronic Ombuds
I've started working on a session on the practice of online ombuds – especially as it applies to Free Software and Open Source communities. The session is based on my work in the Free Software, PHP, Mozilla, MySQL and Open Source communities - in particular, recent work (which I need to get back to) on the Open Source Initiative mailing lists.So far, the session has been pitched to the following events: CommunityOne 2008 (waiting), FOSDEM 2008 (accepted), JavaOne 2008 (declined), Open Web Vancouver 2008 (waiting) and OSCON 2008 (waiting).I'll start posting alpha versions of slides and so on as they are ready. The abstract follows.
Electronic Ombuds: Firefighting in Online Communities
Brief Summary
This session teaches community managers and community members effective processes for helping keep heated discussions on track, recovering from flamewars and managing the really tough issues in a transparent and just fashion. We'll cover the basics of electronic ombuds, triage a flamefest from a popular mailing list and teach essential survival tactics for those who would venture into the flames.
Expanded Summary
It's 4am. An innocuous-looking thread on your community mailing list has grown into a 500 message flamefest. The good, the bad and the vulgar are mixed together - often even in the same message. There are pleas for sanity, demands for moderation, off-topic rants and paranoid accusations.In short, it is just another day on the net. It could be your community or it could be mine - it doesn't really matter. What matters is helping the community recover gracefully and ensuring that the future holds discussion that are equally vibrant but less traumatic for all involved.This session teaches community managers and community members effective processes for helping keep discussions on track, recovering from flamewars and managing the really tough issues in a transparent and just fashion.In 45 minutes, we'll cover the basics of electronic ombuds, triage a flamefest from a popular mailing list and teach some essential survival tactics for those who would venture into the flames.
Link Summary
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Posted on Saturday, February 2nd, 2008 at 0:43
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February 4th, 2008 at 17:45
[...] CommunityOne 2008: Submitted a session on Electronic Ombuds. [...]
February 15th, 2008 at 2:50
[...] 2008: I started getting ready for my FOSDEM 2008 attendance by discussing the outline of my Electronic Ombuds talk with innocent passers [...]