ThankYou
Creative Commons License photo credit: annastirling

Today is the fifth annual Community Manager Appreciation Day (CMAD). Check out the festivities taking place today over at My Community Manager’s dedicated website. In honor of the day, I present to you 10 reasons that you should appreciate the manager of your online community.

If you participate in an online community that you enjoy, it might be cool to take a moment and write a note to the manager of that community, letting them know that you appreciate what they do.

Of course, there are many different reasons to appreciate a community manager and it varies by the community and the person. But as I reflected on my time managing communities, what my members have told me and my experience as a member of communities managed by other people, here are 10 that I think are worth noting.

  1. If you feel welcome on the community, appreciate your community manager.
  2. If you like the way that members of your community treat one another, appreciate your community manager.
  3. If you aren’t afraid to publicly ask what you think is a “stupid question,” appreciate your community manager.
  4. If you feel comfortable asking for help using the community and confident that you’ll receive an answer, appreciate your community manager.
  5. If you feel that the moderators of your community work hard to be fair and consistent, appreciate your community manager.
  6. If your community has ever made a hard day easier, appreciate your community manager.
  7. If you’ve made a real friend thanks to the community, appreciate your community manager. (I have).
  8. If the community isn’t in a constant cycle of drama, appreciate your community manager.
  9. If your community holds fun events, digital or in-person, appreciate your community manager.
  10. If your community has added value to your life, appreciate your community manager.