Before you open the doors to invite potential guests and members to explore your new forum, the rules of engagement should be somewhat established. We say something because they will likely change over time as others contribute to the management and growth of your community.

Forum Rules

While the details are likely to evolve, you’ll want to implement a basic rules framework as soon as possible. Getting people to agree to the guidelines as they come together will be much easier than imposing new rules on an established community in the future. Here is a short list of suggestions to get you started:

  • Rudeness, insulting others, personal attacks, threats or inflammatory posts should not be tolerated.
  • Repeated and redundant posting should be discouraged to increase the number of posts.
  • Advertising, spam, solicitation or commercial self-promotion should not be allowed.
  • Prohibit discussing any illegal activities.
  • Do not post lewd comments, language or photos.
  • Do not post misleading or irrelevant comments, stay on topic
  • Do not post disturbing material (benign images that suddenly change to a screaming face)
  • It is recommended to limit members to a single forum account.

While this list is not exhaustive, it is expected to provide an overview of the types of forum behavior that should be monitored and controlled. For additional ideas, try googling the term “sample online forum rules.”

Recruitment of moderators

As your forum community grows, so will the need for additional moderators; you will know when you need help. That’s when you’ve reached your limit of threads you can monitor, questions you can answer, and disputes you can turn off.

Recruiting moderators is a natural progression in growing every healthy forum community.

While choosing the right moderators is good for everyone, empowering the wrong personality can wreak unimaginable havoc. Below are some key points to consider when selecting candidates:

  • Has the user contributed regularly over a period of time? Are they well informed?
  • Do they have good grammar, spelling and syntax skills?
  • Does the user have the right personality? Are they even tempered, agreeable, and impartial?
  • Do they have time to commit to being moderators?

When sending invites to potential moderators, try to approach users who post a large number of quality posts and appear to be engaged with the forum. Approaching candidates can be as simple as sending them a private message and asking them to become a moderator. Explain why you have considered them and clearly define their role.

Moderator Responsibilities

Clearly defining the responsibilities of the moderator is of paramount importance. They must know what is expected of their position, as well as what decisions and activities are assigned to others. Moderators are typically assigned to a particular discussion forum or user group and are expected to perform the following functions:

  • Visit the forum at least once every day
  • Keep posts clean and move off-topic posts to the appropriate categories
  • Communicate with unruly members and counsel them on the consequences of disruptive behavior.
  • Please edit posts where necessary to conform to the forum content guidelines.
  • Delete or move individual posts or entire threads when necessary
  • Block or unblock posts as needed

Supporting your volunteer moderators once they have assumed their new roles is also critical. Be sure to check in with them frequently, acknowledge and reward their contributions, and give them some time off from time to time so they don’t burn out.

Moderator Conduct

To promote cohesion and decorum, moderators must be held accountable for their own “code of conduct.” While similar to general forum rules, moderator codes of conduct are intended to preserve neutrality, authority, and confidentiality. Below is a list of suggestions for your consideration. Potential moderators must agree to:

  • Be respectful of all members, each other, and represent your forum professionally.
  • Please be discreet and maintain confidentiality regarding moderator activities and member information.
  • Consider members’ feelings before hitting the submit button, both in public and private forums.
  • Deletion of member posts should be done only after consulting with the forum administrator or other moderators.
  • Resign moderator duties if confidentiality is breached or code of conduct is not followed.

Moderation Tips

Because each forum and its audience are unique, moderation styles and guidelines will be different. Therefore, you will want to design your own strategy as it applies to your community. As an overview of forum moderation practices, the following list provides a starting point.

  • Be Professional: Personality is good, but don’t take liberties or get lazy. Try to use correct grammar, punctuation, and capitalization when you are writing. The way you present yourself reflects your forum and people’s perceptions.

  • Beware of trolls and spammers. Always be vigilant and proactively look for them and take steps to minimize their annoying posts.

  • Be on the lookout for members abusing other members. Don’t tolerate the flames; Disagreements are fine, but more than that will discourage guests from joining and drive quality members away from your forum. Make sure everyone has a chance to participate.

  • Choose your forum staff carefully. Make sure the people you choose lead by example and are patient and fair.

  • To expand on the previous point; Be on the lookout for problematic forum staff. Don’t let moderators bully other members or impose unnecessarily harsh penalties for violations. Conversely, timid moderators can be just as damaging to the health of your forum.

Summary

As your forum community grows and more people participate in the discussion, chances are you’ll be surprised by the things people say. You are the host, so the responsibility for maintaining a functional environment falls on you. A good moderation strategy will help that goal immensely. We hope this article has provided a solid reference for setting up a moderation plan for your community. For more tips, tricks, and strategies for building your forum, check out our previous articles in this series. Thank you for reading!