My earlier post was indeed deleted by Ning, as confirmed by both Gina and Laura. Before any of my peers ask me to sit down and shut up, please hear me out. This post is not a flame by a troll.

To the contrary, I’d like to give Gina and Ning a pat on the back. So, here we go …

First, in a private email, Gina acknowledged that my post should not have been deleted. While offering pointed criticism, my post was constructive in nature and did not violate the Ning’s forum policies. Gina assured me the post would not be deleted again if it were reposted. Regrettably, I maintained no offline copy because I did not think I would need one. As a sidebar, Ning may want to hold deleted forum posts for 24 hours before actually clearing the database. As a Network Creator, I know I would love that feature myself. Everyone makes mistakes, having a way to correct them would be ideal.

To recap my post, the gist was as follows. While Ning certainly had the right to boot Widget Laboratory, the execution of that decision lacked foresight and was not handled well. First, I doubt that WL’s scripts were going to cause an imminent system-wide crash. Even so, if Ning thought there were problems, they should have taken the time to plan for, if not build, test and implement, widgets that would create a seamless transition for WL users. This is the course Ning has taken after the fact, and it is the right course.

If it only takes a couple of weeks to replace WL with native Ning features, those should have been put into place before they effectively blew up hundreds, if not thousands, of networks without notice. At the very least, the transition plan should have been part of the announcement of the WL decision/action. A little more foresight and a little less reaction would have made things smoother for everyone involved, including Ning.

Finally, I mentioned how surprised I was that so many of my fellow Network Creators were just taking the mass disruption in stride. In fact, many were trumpeting Ning’s decision without really understanding potential impact on Ning’s long-term health and reputation and, by extension, their very own networks. It struck me, and still does, as the worst kind of groupthink. We need all need Ning to be a strong, viable platform. Giving them a free pass when they misstep is not the way to help them grow.

Now, why go to the trouble of re-posting this?

First, I hold no illusions that my point-of-view is more important than that of any other Network Creator. To the contrary, there are many folks here that have far more experience and time with Ning than I. However, the act of deliberately shutting down constructive criticism would be, in many ways, a major nail in Ning’s coffin, were that what happened. Rather, someone on the Ning team simply overstepped in an overzealous attempt to maintain focus on positive, forward motion. Gina and Laura have both apologized for the mistake and that is important to me. More pointedly, it should be important to each of you. It means that Team Ning has moved beyond damage control and is now listening and learning. In the long run, that should mean good things for all of us.

In fact, Gina and I have been corresponding most of the morning via email. While we’ve had a couple of misunderstandings along the way, the dialogue has remained open and I’ve come away impressed with Gina and with Ning’s commitment to customer service. Moreover, it leads me to believe that the WL issues, while probably not intentionally malicious, may have been more of a threat to the platform than I originally thought.

To be clear, Gina shared no new information about the reasons WL was kicked. Rather, I get the sense that this was something that genuinely needed to be done. While the questions of timing and communication remain, the question of motivation (necessity/stability/security not greed) has been settled for me.

So, kudos to Gina and Team Ning. Take the many lessons from this event and make Ning stronger. Then, go home and get some much deserved sleep.

Peace,

Doug