Digitalmash

Ever waited in a line outside a nightclub?

Nah, me neither…ahem. But speaking hypothetically, supposing you had, I could only imagine the feeling might be a conflicted one. On one hand you like this place — of all the places you could go, you’ve chosen this one, and you’re willing to do things their way — waiting patiently on the street until they’re ready for you to come inside.

But on the other hand, deep down this process makes you feel pretty unspecial. The place you’ve chosen certainly hasn’t chosen you. What’s worse is some people seem to be able to skip the queue and just walk right in. You feel there’s something inherently unfair about this arrangement. Part of you really wants to leave this queue; another part of you now wants to get in more than ever.

I guess in a small way, this is a little how the ‘rest’ of the design community must feel about sites like FFFFound and Dribbble. This type of exclusion can seem quite out of place on the Open Web. Provided you can get access to it, one thing the Internet always proposed to be, more or less, is egalitarian. Traditionally, once they’re out of Beta, most sites are falling over themselves to have you. You’re a valued IP address just like everyone else. You get access, they get another member. WIN-WIN.

FFFFound and Dribbble represent two recent examples of a new and slightly different model of online community — one that chooses its members rather than its members simply choosing it. Unlike traditional online communities, they’re not overly concerned with numbers. Both sites derive their value from the quality of their membership. And while quality is always a good thing, it comes at a price.

Sides

Generally speaking, when you build fences between groups of people, it’s hard to foster an overall feeling of connectedness. This is especially true when those on one side of the fence enjoy privileges that those on the other side don’t. The fence’s placement punctuates a division that already exists in the community that makes members with less clout feel as though they’re meant to be listening, not speaking — taking notes and learning from us. Following.

Let’s be honest — the online design community is cliquey enough. As more red-corded rope is erected, communities are increasingly being split into in-groups and out-groups, players and spectators, content creators and content consumers. Somehow it just doesn’t seem to be in the spirit of things. It’s not open, it’s not inclusive and it’s not even necessarily meritocratic.

But that’s entirely the point.

“I don’t care to belong to a club that accepts people like me as members.”
Goucho Marx
Non-Dribbbler

Invitation-based sites like Dribbble and FFFFound aren’t about being ‘fair‘— they’re about being good. Everything that makes them appealing is inextricably linked to their very particular user-bases. In fact, the high concentration of good content has members scratching their heads at the pureness of something that’s web-based. We’re so used to filtering, buffering and wading through the noise of the open web that for members, this type of intimate like-minded community is a revelation. In Dribbble’s case, members might also agree there’s an unusual level of openness and camaraderie shared amongst its members that’s not nearly as common outside it. It will certainly be interesting to see how it changes when the windows are installed.

And as much as some people might have a problem with closed communities, there’s no way and no reason to fix them. Polarising people is part of the rub — a Catch-22, that’s unavoidable. What makes it seemingly unfair for those not admitted is the very thing that makes it appealing to those who are. If it wasn’t exclusionary, it would cease to be at all.

So now what?

So what can be done to avoid this feeling of unjust exclusion for those on the outside looking in? Well, very little. One recommendation is to be a little more transparent about closed membership systems. To create a feeling of fairness, it’s important to have a meritocratic system for admitting members that’s based more on what one knows rather than whom.*

Ultimately, there’s no way to avoid people waiting in that queue outside, hoping to eventually see what it’s like on the other side. It’s one of those unavoidable awkward social glitches where someone will always feel left out despite the creators’ best intentions — a sign that social media is closing that gap further between life online and off. In any case, the success of the model is pretty clear. You only need to look at Dribbble and FFFFound to know there’ll be more gated communities popping up online. And of course, should you come across a spare invite to any of them, email me immediately.

* Fair’s fair, FFFFound. If you’re going to feature all my work, give me a frickin’ invite.

↑↑↑