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The backbone of the information design of a community-building web
site should be a sound ownership (if not commercially owned) and governance
model. To promote democracy online, Rheingold (2000) suggests that a
community's social charter be written before going online (339). "You
need to specify the qualifications for voting membership, the mechanisms
for campaigning and voting, the structure and power of a governing body,
and mechanisms for recalling or impeaching that ruling body" (339).
Hashing these things out online works poorly because the medium does
not support consensus decision-making well (339). A computer conference
is a good place for all opinions to be heard before decisions are made,
however (339). Online governance structures may not be needed until
trouble arises, but it is efficient to anticipate that trouble will
arise. For commercial communities, ownership issues can be particularly
difficult. Rheingold (2000) found it was a mistake to accept venture
capital financing for his first Internet start-up, a magazine/virtual
community called Electric Minds, in 1996-97 (337-338). He speculates
that venture capital is not a healthy way to grow a social enterprise,
because venture capitalists want return on investment too quickly and
a community cannot get off the ground and grow sustainably that quickly
(336-337).
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