What does a conflict mean?

Conflict is the gap between what we want to happen and what actually happens. When conflict arises, it generates a significant amount of energy. This energy can be harnessed in two ways: positively, when we struggle for a shared goal, or negatively, struggle against each other. Struggling against is a destructive process because we must pick one of the two scenarios: win or lose. To resolve a conflict effectively we need to use the energy in a positive way.

In well-functioning communities, users do not avoid conflicts; instead, they acquire the skills to address and resolve them. Making conflict constructive plays a pivotal role in enabling the community to accomplish its mission, adds creativity and improves the quality of decision-making.


This is a fragment of a draft of the book “Lessons Learned While Working On Stack Overflow”. Read the full book on kindle or the paperback version.