Confident free thinkers: Most people who get into conflict online are not wallflowers, they are usually the most active community members with strong opinions, who have no problem expressing their annoyances.
Conflicting interests: why do people participate in the community? What do they think the purpose is or what do they get out of it? If this is unclear or people have different expectations, conflicts about contributions quickly arise.
Interaction: It is not so much the fact that people disagree about something, it is mainly the way in which people express/write this online that makes it go down the wrong way with the other person.
Conflict discussion quarrel © eelnosiva Fotolia.comAre arguments in your community harmful?
Arguments and name-calling do not make for a healthy community. Arguments are a kind of poison that slowly eats away at the foundation of your community, it makes people feel insecure, unsafe to contribute. In short: Arguments make your community an increasingly uncomfortable place.
On the other hand, conflicts also provide insights, it shows you what kind of personalities your members have, it is evidence of the fact that people are passionate and feel emotion in the community and it becomes very clear that your community is alive and actively used. Somewhere a healthy amount of conflict is a success factor for a community.
Resolving conflicts online is a very different story than in real life. Online, you need more cayman islands phone number list sensitivity. Johnson & Johnson have developed a theory for dealing with conflicts.
Analyze the information: take a good look at what the conflict is about and develop an objective view of the perspectives of all parties.
Engage in conversation: ask open questions, listen and engage with all members to get the full story
No loss of face: now it is important to find a solution where no one is the losing party and no loss of face is suffered in the community.
Discover common interests: If you can discover common interests or concerns, it will be easier to bury the hatchet.
Reinforce: ensure that the issues on which all parties agree are reinforced; if necessary, look for more points of contact to reinforce this.
Negotiate: Start easy and try to get both parties to reach a mutual agreement on something simple and then gradually build towards the complete solution.
Anchor: Provide a clear overview of the points that everyone agreed on, so that it is clear what the solution is for everyone.
Resolving conflicts or acting as a moderator is instructive in itself. Analyze well how people react when you intervene or join the discussion. Learn from your successes and less good moments.
The role of the community manager or moderator
To bring such a dispute to a successful conclusion, an objective person must take on the role of mediator. This is usually the task of the moderator or community manager. In order to guarantee objectivity, this can never be someone from the community itself. Here are a few tips: