from Wired and EDUPAGE

[David Farber <farber@central.cis.upenn.edu>]

HOW TO MAKE VIRTUAL COMMUNITIES WORK
        Mike Godwin of the Electronic Frontier Foundation offers nine
principles for  making virtual communities work.  Use software that
promotes good discussions;  don't impose a length limitations on postings;
front-load your systems with talkative, diverse people;  let the users
resolve their own disputes; provide institutional memory; promote
continuity; be host to a particular interest group; provide places for
children; most important: confront the users with a crisis (events like the
Oakland fire or LambdaMOO's cyberspace rape crystallize users' sense of
belonging to a place they care about). (Wired June 94 p.92)