I’ve been building online communities for ten years; I've worked on  AOL sites, , Web zines, technical-support message boards, Java chat room interfaces, online trading posts, and a variety of high-end gaming environments. Again and again, regardeless of technology, I've found myself bumping up against the same basic issues in my work—issues like persistent identity, newcomer confusion, etiquette standards, leadership roles, and group dynamics. 

So about five years ago, I summarized these issues into a set of design guidelines, and started using them in my consulting practice. Through conversations with community leaders, both on and off the Web, I learned that the patterns I was seeing in virtual communities were echoed in physical communities, and that all communities are ultimately based on timeless social dynamics that transcend the medium of connection. In other words, people are people, even in cyberspace. 

This is the book that I wish I'd had when I was first starting out. I’ve found it incredibly useful to have a framework to help me address the basic design, technical and policy issues that arise in community building. This framework has helped me become a more effective and creative community designer; my hope is that it will do the same for you. 

How to Use This Book

If you're engaged in producing, designing, programming, or maintaining communities that are based on the Web, you've come to the right place. This book is a strategic handbook for community builders; it summarizes the “best practices” of successful Web communities, and brings them to life with behind-the-scenes stories from some dynamic and influential sites. Here, you'll learn about the key issues that every Web community designer faces, along with guidelines for addressing these issues within the context of your own community. You'll also learn which communications tools are most appropriate for your community, and which  technologies are necessary for a large-scale Web community to truly thrive.

What you won't find here is an in-depth account of how to program a Web community, configure specific community-building tools, create a business plan, obtaining financing, or develop an advertising or subscription strategy. The focus is on teaching you how to grow a thriving community that will attract and sustain members, and on how to adress the design, technical and policy issues that will inevitably arise if your community becomes a success.

All you need to enjoy and make use of this book is familiarity with Internet basics and a desire to create or improve your own online community. You don't need to be an expert programmer, a sophisticated Web designer, or a savvy businessperson—although if you are, you'll get even more out of the ideas presented here. 

If you're preparing to launch (or redesign) your Web community, you can use this book as a planning tool to help you formulate your vision, identify your audience, prioritize your feature set, and plan your staffing needs. Community building is a team effort; and accordingly, this book is written to be useful to people in management, marketing, production, programming, and design—all of whom will have input during the strategic planning phase. 

If you're running an existing community, you can use this book as a general source of ideas and inspiration to help you meet your goals, improve and develop your community, and better serve the needs of your members.

If you're involved in teaching or lecturing on community design, you can use this book as a teaching tool. On the companion Web site you'll find some examples of class outlines, exercises and projects to complement the book.

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