Tech support and community management

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Tech support and community management Dealing with the people who use your website

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What I do (the relevant bits) Develop and manage community sites for long term clients.

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Why does this matter?

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(there are a lot of made up stats about the ratio of unhappy people who complain to unhappy people who don’t complain and just leave but all agree that it’s small)

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Caveats • This is my experience • People think I’m a guy • I have excellent clients

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My general rules of email General is the key word here.

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Know the situation.

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Always be polite. If it’s friendly, be friendly back.

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Don’t defend myself.

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Answer promptly but not necessarily immediately.

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(from a rather upset user) “... This is the worst contact form I have ever seen, and I'm gutted because I believe this site is really important and the users deserve better Yours profoundly hacked off”

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(from a rather upset user) “… This is the worst contact form I have ever seen, and I'm gutted because I believe this site is really important and the users deserve better Yours profoundly hacked off”

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“I am so sorry about you almost losing the data! That sort of behaviour on a site annoys me, too, and I completely understand your frustration. …”

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“Thanks for such a courteous and prompt reply, I never expected such. …you're clearly a thoughtful developer and I'm glad they've got someone sound managing the site for them”

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Tech support

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Good tech support pays off It builds trust, buys goodwill, and develops relationships.

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“I am getting a message suggesting your website is a no no this morning as it does not have valid certificates? Sounds painful. Thought I'd let you know.”

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(Plus I now know the software inside and out.)

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No content

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What is good tech support?

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1. Easily accessible Get the right person the first time.

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2. The problem is gone. Anything I can fix is my problem.

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3. No one feels like idiot. Stupid mistakes are understandable. If I can explain it, I will.

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Tech support is fun There’s enough actual development on weird little problems with instant gratification to keep me hooked.

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Community management

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“If your website’s full of a__holes, it’s your fault” Anil Dash, 20 July 2011 http://anildash.com/2011/07/if-your-websites-full- of-assholes-its-your-fault.html

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Different communities will have different needs.

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Different communities will have different needs. Launch a minimum viable product puppy* *Not my phrase and not literally

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A good MVP requires • A training plan for appropriate behaviour • Tools to implement the plan CC image Puppy by Terrah on Flickr

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Super useful tools for any community: • A way for users to report content • Easy moderation tools • User management

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What do you want the community to be?

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• No personal attacks • No bigoted speech or terms • No comments that break the law, including linking to sites that infringe copyright • No trolling, goading or misleading • No sock puppeting or pretending to be someone you’re not • No spamming • No advertising or blatant promotion of other sites General posting guidelines

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The most important bit: The site administrators have the last word in what constitutes a breach of these guidelines.

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Beware of empathy (The ability to understand and share the feelings of another.)

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“I'm sure he doesn't mean it, but that's not an acceptable phrase in the UK.” Empathy can make you tolerant of bad behaviour

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If I accept something, it is, by definition, not unacceptable.

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It’s great to have help but not vigilantes Don’t make up rules.

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No one is indispensable

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“if you as a moderator think this is a fair way to resolve this matter then there is something seriously wrong with your sense of judgment and you shouldn’t be doing this job. Perhaps that is the nub of the matter; I had the temerity to mention the disparity in the moderation of the forum – I hoped you were a big enough person to acknowledge when you have practised your powers unfairly – clearly not.”