Regardless of how many open or closed spaces your online community has, a clear, consistent set of community rules is essential to establishing a safe space for all members and stakeholders who participate. Community rules must cover a few essential components.
- Who can participate—define who is welcome to take part in the community. For example, are there any requirements for non-members who are participating? Are there any age requirements?
- Purpose—explain the purpose and focus of the community in a sentence or two.
- Moderation Policy—establish the organization’s right to moderate posts, and set expectations for what kinds of posts will be removed. Also set the expectation that the rules may be modified at any time.
- Specific Rules—what rules must every participant abide? For example:
- Comply with antitrust laws.
- Post only material you own or have the rights to use.
- Stay on topic.
- Do not post promotions or unsolicited advertisements.
- Be courteous and respectful.
- Remain non-partisan.
- Copyright of Posts—many organizations establish a non-exclusive license agreement with people who post in their community. Some groups go further to establish an exclusive license. If you plan to reuse posts for promotion or publications, you should be clear about how that will work.
- Reporting an Issue—make it clear how any member of the group can get in touch with the moderator to report something they perceive as out-of-line.
Where to Start
Online Community Results can provide you with templates to emulate for your first set of community rules. The most important thing to remember:
The simpler your rules, the more likely people are to remember them.
As your community grows and develops, you can always add or clarify your rules as the need arises. The key is to create rules that give you the authority you need, when you need it, to solve issues that inevitably arise.
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