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Will Communities Online Be Regulated By The State In The Future?

Introduction to Online Communities

Before the advent of the Internet, saying that two people come from the same community meant that they lived in the same town. Communities had well-defined borders and were under the sovereign rule of local governments. However with the coming of the Internet, a new type of community called the virtual or online communities came into being. Virtual communities like traditional communities are composed of people but differ in that the people do not meet each other face to face and that there is no actual physical boundary that defines the virtual communities? territory or space. People who are part of virtual communities, rather than meeting on actual places like back porches and meeting halls, meet in chat rooms, go to bulletin boards, join discussion groups, and other interactive means that the Internet has to offer. People become part of the same virtual community not by mere coincidence of geography but because they share the same interests like issues, games, health problems, hobbies, etc. An online community is therefore, as simply social gatherings that, as Howard Rheingold put it, ?emerge when people bump into each other when people bump into each other often enough in cyberspace?.

With more and more people having access to the Internet, more and more people are also becoming aware of online communities and are becoming part of them. People who join online communities come from all walks of life and are of such varied interests. There are so many online communities nowadays that there is almost surely at least one online community whose purpose would meet a person?s interests or needs. For example, there are communities that exist specifically for gamers, religious groups, single people looking for partners, senior citizens, parents, techies, educators, parents, children, hobbyists, fans, bloggers, and almost anything else you can think of. The trade off of the Internet?s ability to support such a diverse group of communities is that there exist communities that are rather questionable or down right unethical. For example, there are online communities for child pornographers wherein the activities are of course not only morally wrong but are illegal as well. There are also online communities for Satanists, the Klu Klux Klan, black marketers, and all sorts of things that exist in the real world as well.

Self-Regulation in Online Communities

Because of the questionable activities of such online communities, there is a need for regulation of existing communities. Although most people would agree that communities like those dealing with child pornography should be banned, the same people balk at the idea of having the state meddle with the affairs of most online communities. Most online communities after all are of the safe and generally wholesome kind and do not tolerate illegal activities. Community members do not see any need for state regulation especially since online communities have their own self-regulating methods which are, more often than not, effective in keeping order and control within the online community.

Self-regulation is often done by having a set of guidelines or a code of ethics which members and visitors of the community are expected to follow and by assigning people who are to responsible for making sure that the guidelines are followed. According to a paper written by Barzilai-Nahon and Neumann on called An Empirical Model of Self-Regulation in Virtual Communities, there are two kinds of regulators found in online communities ? managers and enablers. Enablers are ?technological facilitators and usually also outline a policy and provide a general code of virtual behavior and norms to follow on their platform, procedures and rules that determine much of the online activity of the virtual communities.? Managers on the other hand handle the content that passes through the community on a day to day basis and it is their duty to regulate the ?everyday operational behavior? of the members and visitors. However, enablers and managers sometimes do come in conflict when managers as the voice of the users side with them in issues where what they want is not in line with the established guidelines. Managers also do come in conflict with members, especially those that do not follow the specified guidelines as well the unwritten code of conduct. Managers usually exercise their power to regulate by censoring inappropriate messages and even by banning undesirable characters from joining the group.

Although much of the self-regulatory process lies in the hands of the enablers and managers, members of the community play a significant role too. Having a core of members who are committed to the community certainly helps in regulating the community?s activities since they not only help in guiding new members but help in enforcing policies and norms as well.

State Regulation

Self-regulation in online communities is actually usually very efficient and is sufficient in enforcing each community?s policies. However as efficient as they are undesirables still do sometimes get away with questionable if not criminal activities. Because of instances of criminal activity some people feel that there ought to be state regulation of online communities.

Take the case of MySpace as an example. The Massachusetts Attorney General is currently pressuring the company to make changes in its management and policies. Granted that there is reason for the need other online communities should take notice and take some measures themselves before something similar happens to them. Another scandal from any online community will surely add focus to questions about the communities? ability to self-regulate without state intervention. A series of scandals will surely make lawmakers take notice and most probably take steps towards having greater control over online communities. Occurrences of such scandalous events should be prevented not only for the sake of victim but, cold-hearted as it may seem, to preserve the communities? autonomy as well.

I do believe that self-regulation will still work best for online communities. Self-regulation is after all more efficient than state regulation in providing ways to enforce each community?s policies. Not only is it more efficient but it is also surely to be more consistent with the majority of the members? opinions or beliefs, which in turn would make the members more cooperative with the regulation methods. However, I acknowledge the need for better guidelines for many communities. In this aspect I believe that it would be appropriate for the state to expect communities to uphold some standards as long as they are not too restrictive and would affect the original intent of the communities. State regulation in the future should not go as far as dabbling with the day to day activities of communities but should only go so far as to set guidelines that community enablers ought to incorporate in the community?s policies.

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