A seminal 1982 article by social scientists James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling.put forth that investing in “order” on a purely aesthetic level (cleaning up vandalism, fixing broken windows) would curb the appetite to commit further crimes. Or put another way, disorder begets more disorder; so best to avoid disorder in the first place.

In the 90’s New York City’s Transit Police Head William Bratton put the theory into action by executed a clean up of the city. A block with a bunch of broken windows is going to lead to more crime. A block/building/subway car etc that is well-maintained tends to instill a desire to keep things nice and neat.

Putting aside the sociological/criminological/neurological debate about the strength of the theory as applied to the outside world; I think there is no doubt it applies to the online world. Online, there is less social control, less risk of embarrassment, of actually feeling the scorn of fellow human beings when misbehaving. There is anonymity, a sense that consequences are less tangible.

And yet many online business live or die by the data and community they possess. If there is not an intense focus on making sure people are considerate about how they approach your product or service; things will trend towards disorder. If you need proof of the natural entropy inherent to user generated data, just take a quick look at YouTube comments.

On the other hand, a well-cultivated culture of being considerate and thoughtful, could start a virtuous cycle. Look at Wikipedia.