Monthly Archives: July 2008

Neighbors use Front Porch Forum to ignite drug dealing discussion

Posted on Wednesday, July 16, 2008 by No comments yet

We love to see neighbors “hitting singles” daily on Front Porch Forum… finding babysitters, selling bikes, connecting about car break-ins and so much more. And the weekly “doubles and triples” smacked out of the infield are a joy too… e.g., several folks using FPF to organize a couple weeks of meals in support of an ailing neighbor, a citywide debate about the future of the Moran Plant, etc.

And then we have the “home run” shots like in Burlington’s Old North End recently. A weeks-long back-and-forth centered around drug dealing attracted lots of postings and some strong emotion. The results… loads of neighbor-to-neighbor discussion, involvement of the police and city councilors, media coverage, and now a public meeting is being organized to dig into the challenging issues tied up in this topic. We’re thrilled that Front Porch Forum acted as a catalyst for these concrete steps… especially the face-to-face efforts like the public meeting. At some point, it’s usually best to move these more intense discussions offline into real time and real space… I’m grateful to those organizing this meeting.

As part of all this, Seven Days published a piece this week about my decision to suspend the drug dealing discussion for a couple of weeks on the ONE Central Neighborhood Forum. The tone of the discussion was heading toward “flaming,” that is, it was devolving down to where so many online discussions go to die… personal attacks, strident statements, etc. My step brought criticism from a few FPF subscribers, which we take to heart. And it also brought lots of praise for keeping the peace. Experience predicts it was a necessary move.

Front Porch Forum is a fine place for neighbors to take on challenging subjects (and has been used that way dozens of times). And in these situations we won’t allow it to become an online shouting match among a tiny minority… there are plenty of other venues on the internet for that kind of thing… and there’s only one Front Porch Forum!

Time to watch the neighbors score some more runs on behalf of community in their neighborhoods.

UPDATE: Seven Days just published my letter to the editor

I was glad to see Seven Days’ coverage of a Front Porch Forum discussion about neighborhood drug dealing. However, the title of your article [“Moderator Shuts Down Online Debate on ONE Drug Use,” July 16] mischaracterized the situation. We were not squelching community dialogue about this important issue — just the opposite.

Front Porch Forum exists to encourage and facilitate this kind of communication. I took the highly unusual step of suspending a single topic on one of our 130 neighborhood forums for two weeks in an attempt to let tempers cool and to reclaim a civil and inclusive tone. Allowing a neighborhood forum to devolve into an online shouting match among a tiny minority of subscribers drives people away and serves no one’s long-term interest.

In fact, we’re encouraged by the results in this case. Where previously there was little talk about drug dealing, now there’s loads of it, among hundreds of neighbors, city councilors, police and others. Media is reporting on this important issue. Public meetings are in the works. Front Porch Forum was a starting point and a catalyst for this positive activity.

So I respectfully offer an alternative headline: “Neighbors Use Front Porch Forum to Ignite Drug Dealing Discussion.”

Michael Wood-Lewis
BURLINGTON
Wood-Lewis is the co-founder of FrontPorchForum.com

UPDATE 2: I continue to get lovely feedback from FPF subscribers on this issue, such as this one…

I wanted to express my support for you surrounding the recent heated discussion on our FPF.

I am a member of several listservs, and have been for about a decade. Your moderation appears to me to be very appropriate and even generous. The vigilante attitude about “dismissing” you as a moderator resulting from the alleged violations of the 1st Amendment was absurd and lacked maturity. Living in Burlington sometimes skews the lens of reality for people, and I think the most outspoken opponents to what was clearly stated to be a 2 week moratorium, not “censorship”, had no idea what they were talking about.

Please continue your fabulous work and your level of moderation. The FPF is such an incredible asset to residents and I have no idea how I lived without it before moving back here.

UPDATE 3: See this follow-up posting

27% of U.S. Adults not Online

Posted on Monday, July 14, 2008 by No comments yet

The latest from Pew

The Pew Internet Project’s May 2008 survey finds that 73% of adults in the U.S. go online. 78% of adults have a cell phone. 55% of adults have broadband at home. Offline Americans are overwhelmingly over age 70, have less than a high school education, and speak a language other than English.

Successfully Managing Online Community

Posted on Wednesday, July 9, 2008 by No comments yet

Managing online communities is a tricky business.  I’ve seen many stories in traditional media citing examples of people at each others’ throats online.  I know some elementary school PTO email groups in our area have turned so nasty that they had to be shut down.  Now today I read a blog post by Simmons Buntin on Next American City about how the challenges of managing an online discussion for a planned New Urbanist neighborhood… wow.  So even in a place where people move ostensibly to enjoy the benefits of a heightened sense of community, online discussion still turns sour?

Well, this bodes well for the Front Porch Forum model… where this negative stuff is largely absent.  We’ve worked hard to nurture civil and constructive discourse among clearly identified nearby neighbors in the 130 online neighborhood forums that we host across our pilot area (Chittenden County, VT).

In fact, today in my role as “community manager,” I had to inject myself into a thread and close it off for only the third time in a couple years and 30,000 postings.  The pattern has been the same in each case… a topic about which people feel passionate (dogs, slate roofs and historic preservation, and, recently, illegal drug activity) is introduced in an inflammatory way and people line up to take sides and start blasting each other.

We typically ask folks to keep it civil and constructive and, if they must attack, attack the idea and not people.

These steps and many others add up to only three “flame outs” in 30,000 postings… an amazing batting average so far.

FPF Ad Hits Home

Posted on Tuesday, July 8, 2008 by No comments yet

Wow!  Just got a copy of the following letter from an FPF subscriber sent to one of our advertisers…

Dear RETN,

Please forward to Scott Campitelli, and your Board of Directors.

Thanks for advertising on Front Porch Forum. I often click on the sponsor links to learn about new local products and services – most are familiar to me. But today, I saw your sponsorship and as I had never heard of RETN was intrigued. I was so moved by your outstanding video piece on Aljazeera that I was motivated to look up and call and email my City Council Members to express my thoughts!

Thanks for a great news piece and many thanks for your support of another truly local and valuable community resource … Front Porch Forum.

I look forward to returning to your site often.

Thanks,

Geo

We hear this kind of feedback about FPF sponsors frequently… just don’t get it in writing too often!  Thanks Geo!

St. Nicholas of Tomatoes?

Posted on Monday, July 7, 2008 by No comments yet

Wonderful Front Porch Forum posting of the day from Christine in Burlington’s Old North End…

Some of us, including myself, have mentioned problems in our neighborhood this summer.  I just wanted to mention a kind act that was done for me.  A couple weeks ago I posted a question about worms in my garden soil and mentioned I was trying to grow tomatoes in my yard.  A few days later I came home to find some beautiful tomato seedlings on my front steps!!  I don’t know who left them for me, but I was so surprised and pleased to receive them!  Thank you to whoever gave me the tomatoes!  I will be sure to share the tomatoes from these plants and therefore you can know your act of kindness has given happiness to others too.

While on the topic of things we are thankful for, I just want to say how grateful I am for my neighbor Iris, who watches over my home whenever I am not there.  She is a wonderful neighbor and has been such a help to me over the years.  I always feel more secure knowing she will keep an eye on my place if I am not home.

Front Porch Photos

Posted on Monday, July 7, 2008 by No comments yet

Our friend and neighbor Carolyn Bates is a wonderful professional photographer. Recently she started playing with front porches in our Five Sisters neighborhood. What a rich subject… especially because so many of our porches are full of life.

Here are a few samples…

Hometown Daily Covers Front Porch Forum

Posted on Friday, July 4, 2008 by No comments yet

Thanks to Sally Pollak who wrote an excellent feature article about Front Porch Forum for the Burlington Free Press yesterday.


Photo credit: Alison Redlich, Free Press