It’s important to be aware of the negative aspects of building an online community. In this article, I will share some of the challenges that I have faced while building online communities at CrazyEngineers and for some of the startups I worked with.
I’d like to thank our member Rahul Roy for starting a discussion on this topic: Disadvantages of Community Building, which motivated me to discuss it in more detail.
TL;DR:
Following is the list of negative aspects / drawbacks of online community:
Toxic behavior, trolling and conflicts
Moderator burnout
Difficulty maintaining engagement
Diverse member expectations
Privacy and security risk
Time and resource demands
Managing negative feedback
Platform dependency
A lot of community builders often realise the ‘other side’ of community building after they run into problems - getting initial members, creating content, engaging members, crafting programs for members and so on.
As a community manager, be aware of the negative parts of community building process. Let’s start.
Toxic Behavior, Trolling and Conflicts
A growing community will attract members from diverse backgrounds, experiences and expectations. While this is essential for creating a valuable community, it often comes with toxic behavior from members.
Fights among members, trolling, abusing each other and spamming - everything is a part of a growing community. Simple disagreements can escalate to fights and verbal abuses among members.
Solution: Implement strong moderation tools and foster a culture of respect among members. Refer to the framework we discussed - Temporary Vs Permanent Ban.
Moderator Burnout
Often ignored by community owners; but the moderator burnout is real. Moderating a successful online community requires significant time and emotional energy.
Dealing with toxicity, spam and member expectations can lead to burnout among the community leaders.
Solution: Ensure that the duties are well divided among the moderation team. Keep the moderation team size in sync with overall community size. At CrazyEngineers, we had a team of 12 moderators to keep watch on about 9 channels.
At Jatra, we are experimenting with using AI for moderation. AI is good at detecting spam and toxic content and can take appropriate action immediately, without human intervention.
Difficulty Maintaining Engagement
Starting an online community is exciting. Maintaining user interest over time is a common challenge. Over-reliance on discussions and chats can lead to reduced activity over time.
Lack of activity and initiatives can make a community feel dry and dull. A lot of communities will die a slow death because users do not have anything to engage with, apart of discussions and chats.
Solution: Community leaders can plan for fresh activities, events, online collaborations to keep the members engaged. Jatra solves this problem by creating multiple content types so that community builders don’t have to look for new ideas every few days.
Diverse Member Expectations
Managing expectations of the members from diverse backgrounds is often a challenge. People have different expectations from community and it’s impossible to cater to everyone’s requests.
Solution: Setting the community’s purpose and value upfront can help attract like-minded people who care of community’s mission.
Privacy and Security Risk
Building an online community often involves collecting personal information from members, such as email addresses or user preferences. This data can become a target for hackers or be mishandled, leading to breaches of trust.
Solution: Use secure platforms, protect user data, and be transparent about privacy policies.
Time and Resource Demands
Running a thriving online community requires time, effort, and often financial investment. From managing platforms to organizing events, the demands can quickly outweigh the benefits, particularly for small teams or solo moderators.
Solution: Plan for scalability and assess resources realistically before expanding the community.
Managing Negative Feedback
Community leaders often face criticism, whether about decisions, rules, or content. Handling negative feedback constructively can be draining, especially if the criticism feels unfair or persistent.
Community managers need to develop higher Emotional Quotient (EQ). Read: Community Building Skills.
Solution: Approach feedback with an open mind and a calm demeanor, addressing concerns professionally.
Platform Dependency
Many online communities rely on third-party platforms such as Facebook Groups, Discord, or Reddit. These platforms control features, algorithms, and policies, which can limit a community’s autonomy and lead to unexpected disruptions.
Solution: Diversify community channels and consider creating a standalone platform when feasible.
Community building is rewarding and essential for businesses. I hope this article will help community builders, entrepreneurs and marketers understand the negative side of community building.
The challenges I discussed in above article can be addressed. I hope this helps. If you have questions - feel free to comment below. I’ll be happy to discuss in depth.
