It occurred to me this past weekend just how many online communities I’m a member of. I pretty much belong to a forum, a group, a mail list, or some form of “community” for every interest I have. Some are professional communities, some are for hobbies, others are political or even geographical, but they all have a common thread – they are resources in my everyday life.

Regardless of your reasons for belonging to an online community, I have a few quick tips to share that will help you be a good online community citizen – a “Netizen”.

1. Introduce Yourself – Most communities have a standard place or format for new members to say “Hi” and introduce themselves. Many established community members will welcome new members and answer any community-specific questions they may have. Take advantage of this opportunity to not only tell about yourself and why you joined the community, but also list some of your other interests and your profession. You might be surprised at how many members you have other things in common with, and adding your profession can lead to business opportunities where you least expected it!
2. Be Polite – Good manners are just as important online as they are in real life. Always keep “Netiquette” in mind. Make sure your Caps Lock key is not on when you type (it’s considered “YELLING”). Of course, no name calling. If a fellow Netizen is being disrespectful or breaking community-specific rules, report them to a moderator or administrator, don’t try to intervene yourself.
3. Don’t be afraid to ask – I said earlier that my online communities are resources in my everyday life, and it’s true! Whether I’m identifying a plant in my garden, or trying to master a difficult MySQL query, I turn to the right community and ask for help. More often than not, someone will know how to help and if they don’t, they’ll at least be able to point me in a good direction. The other great thing is that in publicly-accessible communities your questions will be indexed by search engines. That means that not only did you get your question answered, but anyone searching for the same thing has a chance at finding the solution as well.

If you don’t already know the benefits of online communities, I encourage you to join one or two and see what you think. Keep in mind that much like the real world, all communities are different and it may take testing the waters in a few to see how you fit in. Communities are everywhere – Google Groups, Yahoo Groups, forums and message boards. Ask your friends, your neighbors, your colleagues, your kids. Or do a search for your subject + community, such as “garden community”. I think you’ll be surprised at how many choices there are!