When is an online community to big?

[MktgRob]

I was looking through some old posts in one of my linkedin groups and I saw one where the question was asked as to whether or not the groups should keep accepting new members. The premise was that the group was big (10,000+ members) and they were accepting 30 new members per day. The suggestion was that membership could only be maintained by each member by continually participating in discussions. Understandably, some newer members were concerned that they would be cut out of the group.

Is it ever right to limit membership totals to an online community like Linkedin groups or even DaniWeb Forums? And if so, how easy would it be to setup membership requirements for groups where there may be broad interest and large numbers of qualified potential members?

[InsightsDigital]

Is it ever right to limit membership totals to an online community like Linkedin groups or even DaniWeb Forums? And if so, how easy would it be to setup membership requirements for groups where there may be broad interest and large numbers of qualified potential members?

Back in the 1990's, I have seen some online groups with limits. Results:
1. It lured some members into thinking it is an "exclusive" club
2. It turned off some potential members
3. It could explain why we dont see this trend anymore?

So is it right to limit membership? It depends. An approach to this is not to set a particular number but rather to require that every member should be approved first. Thus, if the potential member does not satisfy the membership requirements or can't even write a one sentence on why they want to join the group, then they will not be accepted.

[MktgRob]

Is it ever right to limit membership totals to an online community like Linkedin groups or even DaniWeb Forums? And if so, how easy would it be to setup membership requirements for groups where there may be broad interest and large numbers of qualified potential members?

Back in the 1990's, I have seen some online groups with limits. Results:
1. It lured some members into thinking it is an "exclusive" club
2. It turned off some potential members
3. It could explain why we don't see this trend anymore

So is it right to limit membership? It depends. An approach to this is not to set a particular number but rather to require that every member should be approved first. Thus, if the potential member does not satisfy the membership requirements or can't even write a one sentence on why they want to join the group, then they will not be accepted.[/QUOTE]

I agree totally with what you are saying. What worries me, especially in this day and age where litigation and 'forced fairness' are common place, is that you will eventually find someone who will try to force their way into a group by means of the courts. I know this sound slightly paranoid but I just read a news item where a christian student prayer group at a New England university was banned from the campus because they discriminated against non-christians. There was another post on this forum, if I recall correctly, that asked about the legalities of a certain activity and I think that limiting membership to an online community by establishing requirements could lead to problems unless all contingincies are taken into consideration.