Member Avatar for MktgRob

As creators and managers of online communities, we need to be ever vigilant to protect the integrity of that which we create. Here is a prime example why. The link below is to a story on FoxNews about the Secret Service actively monitoring Facebook because some loser posted a poll asking if the president should be assassinated. Fortunately, Facebook is big enough and has the resources to eject this pinhead and take steps to make sure that polls, quizes and other member generated content does not allow for this. For those of without such resources, something like this could doom an online community. Any comments and input is welcome.

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As stresses, community integrity cannot be an afterthought. As observes, a single harmful post can ripple through a site and damage trust. Practical safeguards and a calm incident plan are the most effective defenses for small and mid-size communities that do not have large trust-and-safety teams.

Start with clear, visible rules and an easy reporting flow. Use simple, low-cost controls: require new accounts to pass verification or pre-moderation before they can create polls or public content; limit who can create viral widgets; apply basic keyword filters to flag violent or illegal content for human review; add rate limits and captchas to reduce automated abuse; and empower a small group of trained moderators with documented escalation steps. Keep an audit log of enforcement actions and short templates for measured member communications so incidents are handled consistently.

When an incident occurs follow a short triage: 1) contain risk by removing or quarantining the content from public view, 2) preserve evidence (screenshots, timestamps, logs) before deletion, 3) suspend the account pending review, and 4) escalate to counsel or law enforcement when a threat appears credible. Communicate to members without repeating or amplifying the harmful content, then do an after-action review to adjust rules, tools, or onboarding. These practices reduce exposure, protect users, and help small communities scale moderation without needing enterprise resources.

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Member Avatar for InsightsDigital

I actually commented to a similar post on Daniweb a moment ago. But my point is that most businesses and users want to leverage the good and business driving power of social media. But like anything good, if taken by excesses, good can become very ugly. It is also sad that the action of one impacts, in this case, millions.

Member Avatar for MktgRob

I actually commented to a similar post on Daniweb a moment ago. But my point is that most businesses and users want to leverage the good and business driving power of social media. But like anything good, if taken by excesses, good can become very ugly. It is also sad that the action of one impacts, in this case, millions.

I read that before Facebook took it down over 700 people answered the poll. I am not certain what the mix of answers was but I am glad that out of all of the FB universe only 700+ actually gave it the time of day. I wonder what the numbers would have been like if this was put up on myspace.

Member Avatar for InsightsDigital

Oh Myspace... Myspace may have actually attracted a higher response rate due to its demographics. I have not even visited myspace for eons.

Member Avatar for MktgRob

Oh Myspace... Myspace may have actually attracted a higher response rate due to its demographics. I have not even visited myspace for eons.

I am fortunate that I did not get involved in social media until after MySpace had begun to be viewed as a cesspool.

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