My last post talked about how open systems teach us that we can, in fact, self-organize and find solutions, in a world that so often seems to be telling us to be passive and compliant.

In my case, the solution cleared a traffic jam... with more than half the cars already on their merry way by the time the police arrived.

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Things are changing at The Tyee, a Vancouver-based news and commentary site. Home to some of the best alternative coverage of issues and ideas in Canada, The Tyee's discussion threads were also becoming home to something a lot less welcome: vicious grudge matches among a handful of participants.

Readers were growing used to seeing interminable bouts of tit-for-tat insults, and would-be commenters were losing their appetite for taking jumping into the fray. It wasn't affecting every thread, but politicial discussions in particular had become dominated by a few angry belligerents.

The site's staff embarked on an intensive project to pull online discussion out of its toxic swamp. They consulted their readers, worked with technologists and contractors (I was one of them, and was overwhelmed at just how thoughtful and committed to productive, open discussion the site's staff and leadership are), tweaked the interface and then, today, launched a brand new commenting system.

Starting today, there is more than one way to read comments on The Tyee.

The first is the All Comments tab, which looks and acts similar to the commenting thread you're used to. Your post automatically goes to this thread along with those from other readers. If you want to read everything people are saying about a Tyee story, just click this tab. New to this thread are buttons to tell us when you think a comment is especially good. And to alert us to offensive remarks that violate our guidelines.

The second is the Best Comments tab, which displays by default at the bottom of every story and includes comments we have selected from the All Comments thread.

How does a comment become one of the 'best'? By being on topic, presenting fresh insights or arguments, no matter what position taken. Who decides? Tyee editors do. Certainly, we will be guided by your recommendations. That is why we gave you the power to make them. But the decision ultimately falls to us.

It's an interesting take on the dilemma facing those of us who animate online communities: how can you promote positive participation, discourage the bile and avoid the accusation of censorship? The Tyee's approach is elegant: you can always wade back in by clicking the "All Comments" tab, but I'm guessing most readers will be voting with their mice for the more positive stream.

By the way, this doesn't mean the death of vigorous debate, criticism or passion in The Tyee's threads. Used judiciously, the "Best Comments"/"All Comments" division will allow genuine discussion to rise to the top. But it does mean that users who can't seem to rise above the personal insult and verbal battery will find it a much lonelier venue for peddling their wares.

That may cost The Tyee some of their more prolific commenters. But just as most rivers wouldn't miss the effluent from the local sewage plant, I expect The Tyee's community ecosystem will rebound quickly – and be a lot stronger for the change.

A campaign of attacks on a much-loved blogger (click here for the background) has reignited a long-running debate over civil online behaviour. One leading voice in the social web has gone so far as to call for a blogger code of conduct.

From flame wars to hate speech to death threats, online communities have always had the potential to turn ugly. And once they do, a vicious circle can form; gentler users leave for sunnier destinations, and without their calming presence, conflicts escalate more quickly.

But this doesn't have to happen to your community. Here are a few simple steps you can take to stay on the right side of the line separating healthy conversation from verbal abuse.

• Your initial users will set the tone for those who follow. When you're setting up your community, open it at first to a limited number of participants. Choose people whose conversational skills you admire – people with a proven ability to agree to disagree, and (even more important) to listen.
• Set clear boundaries from the start. Make it clear when users join that this is a space that's going to be free of personal attacks and verbal violence. And phrase it positively: for the vast majority of your users, this is going to be a big plus.
• Give users a way to report objectionable content (such as a "flag this as offensive" button). Respond quickly if they do.
• Consider adding a "preview" step before a user confirms they want to submit a comment or post. Even a few seconds of reflection can be enough time for someone to reconsider a hasty, angry rejoinder.
• If a conversation seems to be spiralling out of control, don't be afraid to intervene. Remind the participants that disagreeing with ideas is fine, but attacking individuals isn't. If the discussion is getting too heated, and especially if it reaches the stage where new arguments aren't being advanced any more, suggest that they move on to another topic.
• Watch out for mobs ganging up on new users who ask "dumb" questions, or who reopen issues that old-timers think were settled long ago. You don't need to be heavy-handed; just treating the newcomer's post with respect can shift the tone of the discussion.
• Set clear rules and enforce them consistently, regardless of how you feel about the issues at play. Let your community know what to expect when a user steps outside the bounds of acceptable behaviour – whether it's a warning, suspension or (in extreme cases, such as the repeat offenders who deliberately try to provoke conflict, known as "trolls") outright banning.
• Be vigilant, but don't let paranoia stifle passion. If you've set a positive tone from the beginning (and if your community isn't focussed on party politics, Macs versus Windows or other religious conflicts), genuine mouse rage should be very rare.

In other words, participation – the heart of any online community – is also its immune system. Encourage that positive participation, and your community will be resilient enough to fend off the flames.

I’ve spent the past two days at a Ohio State for a conference on Building Democracy Through Online Citizen Deliberation, which has been a terrifically productive gathering. One session consisted of an interesting conversation about how to structure online deliberation in a way that promotes civil dialogue. We agreed that one key challenge was simply keeping online conversation on topic, and got most of the way towards a list of 10 ways to keep online dialogue on topic.

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