DeniseTanton

I'm a Senior Community Moderator at "a major health website" and have been involved in online community moderation and online community growth since 1997. I'm often referred to, lovingly of course, as the moderator who loves the trolls. I do, I love them. I love what they bring to a community but I also realize that there is a line that just can't be crossed and once it is crossed the community loses the benefits the "troll like behavior" brought in the first place. ;-)

Some things I've been thinking:

1. Why do some people not see the line at all? Or if they see it, what leads them to cross it anyway?

2. It seems like "conservative" viewpoints are pointed out more quickly than "liberal" viewpoints when we're talking about the negative aspects of us/them. Ane when we talk in a positive way, about meeting like minds or developing real relationships or "tribal" associations as benefits to society then the liberal folks are the ones we talk about. 3. Could we be attempting to overmoderate ourselves and others by calling out us/them as a problem? Could it be that there is a place for us/them and the internet might just be the place?

4. If I can't say "it" to my kids, my mom or my boss does that mean I shouldn't say it on a blog or a board or in chat?