In the third and final installment of our best practices blog, we’ll examine the big picture of managing your forum by setting and enforcing policies that govern participation in the forum. 

Guidelines for Your Forum

Typically, a good place to start is with an explanation of why we’re all here. Keep in mind these are just some general guidelines and includes ideas you may want to list on your site. Obviously, the exact nature of your guidelines will depend on your content area and what you believe is appropriate to your community. Once you’ve assembled a set of guidelines, it’s also a good idea to run them by a lawyer just to make sure everything is kosher. From Twing’s perspective, an introductory statement can read as follows: Members of [Forum name] participate here by virtue of our shared interest in [subject]. Whether we visit because we have something to share or a question to ask or just to keep abreast of new developments in [subject], we understand that we have a shared interest, and that interest is best protected by agreeing to the following guidelines for conduct and use of the forum(s). 1.      Everyone has a right to speak regardless of their perspective. 

2. While we believe in free speech, keep in mind that this right is not absolute. Dissent is an essential part of any discussion where people are encouraged to express varying opinions; however, it is equally important to maintain both decorum and topicality as related to the forum’s mission.

3. Obscenity and pornography will not be tolerated. If that’s what you’re after, there are plenty of places on the Internet to find it, and this forum isn’t one of them. Please make sure all opinions are expressed without being obscene or offensive.

 4.      Members will treat each other with courtesy and respect, especially when they disagree. We understand that bright, intelligent and educated people may not always agree, but personal attacks in the form of insults, abusive language or other means of obvious harassment will not be tolerated. 

5. Our focus is on [subject]. While there are numerous sites online dedicated to this subject, this forum is specifically for those who enjoy [general topic areas]. While any discussion is subject to going off on a tangent, we will do our best to consistently maintain topicality. Editing, moving or deleting off-topic content will only occur when it’s necessary to redirect focus to the core topic(s) and values of this community.

6. Commercial messages will only be permitted in specially designated areas. Users may use their signatures to indicate a commercial affiliation, but any barter, trade or sale of goods and/or services will be restricted to designated areas. And even within these zones, goods and/or services offered must pertain to this forum.

7. We reserve the right to respond to violations of these guidelines by blocking and/or resigning members from this forum.

8. Users accept all responsibility for their words. This includes any personal information a user chooses to make public. All members understand that forums may be viewed by non-members. This forum cannot be responsible for the distribution of any information intentionally posted by a user.

9. The forum is subject to a proprietary Terms of Service and Privacy Policy in order to protect our members from unwanted content or violations of their privacy when it comes to non-shared private data.

10. Any individual posting to our forum asserts that he/she has the full legal right to post such content, including copyright, model releases, etc.

11. When you post to this forum, you offer to us a royalty-free, irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide right to use your content as we see fit. We may use, distribute, display and/or create derivative works from this content, in any and all media, in any manner, in whole or in part, without any restriction or responsibilities to you.

12. When using this forum, you agree that we cannot be and are not responsible for the truth, completeness, objectivity or usefulness of any user-generated content, nor do we endorse any content, including, but not limited to, postings or replies to postings made by members who are moderators.

13. We do nothing to verify member identities. You assume all risk in your use of information from other members.

14. While we reserve the right to do so, we do not pre-screen, monitor, edit or review member-generated content. However, we may monitor content and remove it at any time and without notice. We will do this if content violates these guidelines or we believe it will improve our community. We also will suspend or terminate forum access to those individuals who violate these guidelines.

 We hope you’ve enjoyed this series of blogs and found the information useful. Keep checking back as we’ll have new blog entries posted soon.  

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