Sagazone, a community for the 50+ founded by Saga, is dead.
Recently there have been complaints about content posted in the Soapbox and Debate Zone. We closed these areas of the site but people continued to post controversial and offensive content on other areas of the site.
A social networking site is about freedom of speech and there are many places on the web where people can express their views in a robust and unfettered manner. However, Saga Zone is in a Saga branded environment and when members post content that others find offensive on a company’s website it can impact how the company itself is viewed.
We are sad that the site has been used to post offensive messages and that we cannot continue to run Saga Zone with the threat to the brand that this content poses.
Here is a good assumption to make about your community; anticipate that members will make racist and homophobic comments. Anticipate that your community will attract trolls. Anticipate that a small minority will do the worst thing they can possibly do.
…and have a plan to deal with it!
The solution to members posting offensive/illegal comments isn’t to remove the place where members are posting such such comments. It’s to be quicker and more effective at preventing and removing those responsible.
Speedier moderation, vetting members, instant banning, and greater awareness of guidelines can help. The key is to have a plan to deal with your worst problem before it becomes your worst problem.