With social media, everyone has plenty of interactions with different members of the communities be it Mixx, Digg, Reddit, or whatever, we all deal with others from all different backgrounds.  How we as users of the community deal with others can speak volumes about not only ourselves, but about the community as a whole.

One of the greatest things about social media, and Mixx in particular in my opinion is the diversity of the community. People sharing links and discussing these stories sharing personal views and opinions. And lets face it, not everyone is going to share the same opinion on everything, and I like that.

I have my opinions on many topics ranging from politics to technology to music and many topics in between. But while I have these opinions, I am still always open to hearing different views from others. These opinions and views often times enhance my understanding or my knowledge, or simply give me something to think about.

Simply put we as the community should embrace these opinions even if they differ from others. Now I’m not saying we have to agree with them, but at the same time we shouldn’t attack the user for his or her opinion. If you feel you must respond, take a step back and reply to the comment itself. Write your rebuttal and counter-argument responding to the comment, but be careful not to attack the user.

If I were a new user coming into a site like Mixx and commented on a story only to be called an idiot or a moron, I can’t say I’d take it very well. It would definitely give me a bad vibe not only about the user who called me an idiot, but about the community itself. I would feel like it was a close-minded site that was not very welcoming. So much so that I may not even come back. But if I were to do the same thing and a user replied with something like “I’m afraid I have to disagree with you, because…” I wouldn’t get the same vibe. Sure, they didn’t agree with me, but they didn’t take it out on me as a person. Obviously this is a prettied up and probably exaggerated example, but it still proves the point. Obviously comments that are racist, sexist or generally offensive should be reported as such. Comments like those go beyond reasonable opinions.

Now of course in many social media sites, much like forums, you run into the occasional troll. Trolls are for the majority of people a thorn in the side, someone who derives pleasure from pretty much just being an asshole. They like to stir up controversy and emotional responses from people. These folks tend to be needed to be handled in a different manner. The best manner of course is to simply ignore them, as hard as it is to do. I know I’ve been guilty of “feeding the trolls” now and again, but the best is still to just ignore them. Going after trolls for the most part gets you nowhere and an outsider looking on could get the wrong idea about Mixx if they were to see the comment thread as most of the time the person going up against the troll may look just as bad as the troll from an outsider’s point of view. Its always tempting to many, but sometimes simply clicking the back button or scrolling past it is the best way.

So come on everyone, continue to be a welcoming bunch and be considerate in your dealings with others, be it a new user, or one who’s been around for a while, don’t attack the person behind the comment, rather just be the bigger man and act as such. Mixx has such a great community, we should be careful not to ruin it or its reputation.

Categories: The Darker Nemesis Void
Tags: communities, darknemesis618, digg, Features, interaction, interactions, keith wagner, Mixx, social media