7 Steps to Master Community Moderation
It would be amazing to have every community naturally a secure and positive community to belong to. Imagine if Hosts never had to be concerned about conflict or trolling.
Well, the real world of online communities is slightly... well... messy. And that's okay! The good thing is that with a little few tweaks you can create that amazing place where people feel secure, are confident that they're part of it, and prosper.
The secret lies in online community moderated. This is what it does. If you're looking for a way to manage an online group and you're at the right place. In this piece we'll explain why you do community moderation and how to put the system in it.
And by being proactive and setting up community moderation before you're even required to You've taken a crucial step toward making sure you've got a place your users will enjoy.
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In this piece...
1. What is community moderation?
2. Why do you require community moderation?
3. How to moderate an online community (7 steps)
3.1. Create community guidelines
3.2. Be sure to educate people about the principles
3.3. Establish the consequences for misbehavior
3.5. Empower your whole community
3.6. Take action
3.7. Keep a record
What exactly is community moderation?
Moderation of community activities is the process of observing the activity of community members to ensure it aligns to a set of guidelines. Moderators typically flag up the content, take it down or notify the user, and work with the person who has was in violation of the rules.
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What is the reason you require community moderation?
The world would look amazing for your entire community if they simply respected each other... all the all the time.
And honestly, the majority of your people will! But every now and then you'll encounter conflict. Sometimes , the conflict is caused by trolls who are just out to create trouble or attack individuals. Sometimes, even well-meaning people can get carried away with disagreements and turn personal.
When this happens, you want to know what to do to get your neighborhood back in the harmony it was before.
Here are a few reasons why you should consider community moderation.
- Creating a safe space The words "safe space" get thrown around a lot. However, those who are part of a community have the right to feel safe there, either directly or indirectly, from attacks or agressions.
- Making members responsible Your members should know that they will have to answer for the acts they make and say, and act according to the consequences.
- Getting rid of trolls: There are that behave as a wrecking ball. Their only goal is to cause chaos and harm people, for whatever reason. It is essential to remove the trolls to protect the valuable seeds of trust and friendship that are growing in your community.
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How do you manage an online group (7 actions)
Set community guidelines
One of the most important elements of moderating an online community is having specific, pertinent guidelines that everyone in the community are aware of. These guidelines are designed to cover topics such as how community members behave towards one another, what the expectations are for sharing and making content, as well as information on community business practices (e.g. what you can do to claim a refund if you're unhappy about your membership in the community. ).
The guidelines are vital to create a common understanding of expectations. If you'd like more details regarding creating guidelines for community members, we wrote a guide in this post.
Educate people on the rules
If you've set up community rules You must also make sure your members actually know about the guidelines. If you have a member who violates a guideline they didn't know about, you can still deal with it. However, it could be more difficult.
Here are some best ways to inform your participants about the rules of your community.
- Make use of the welcome sequence The ideal time for members to learn about your community guidelines is the moment they sign up! Utilize your welcome sequence to communicate them. Include a video introducing them. (When you start a Mighty Network that is brand new, Mighty Network it will prompt you to create community guidelines with your welcome sequence ).
- Be proactive: don't just wait for people to find your policies. Refer to them frequently, and make them available in your community where people can find them if they need they need them.
- Tell members where to go for questions. Community guidelines do not have to be a single-way road. Make sure members know whom to call if they want to learn more or have questions or suggestions.
- Always refer to them If you are able to and feel that it's natural to make sure to refer back to your community guidelines. So, for example in discussions, you can introduce it with something like, "Remember that we want to make sure everyone has an opportunity to participate and no one is monopolizing the discussion, as outlined in our guidelines for community members. ."
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Determine the consequences of misbehavior
Though it's unlikely to be something you be able to enjoy, it's crucial to enforce the law when people violate the rules. This is especially vital in the event that a person has performed something that causes someone else feel uncomfortable or unsecure.
And if and when the time comes to do so, it will be much easier to discipline the member if you establish beforehand what the consequences will be.
You are able to choose the way you'd like to do this up, and it depends on the style you prefer. Some communities have Zero tolerance to certain conducts and they will remove people instantly. Other communities enforce a two- or three-strike policy.
Also, you may want to establish different consequences for different misbehaviors. As an example, those who brutally attack and harasses another user in the course of doing so is likely to be dealt with differently than someone who just throws out a couple of copies of their affiliate link Ray-Bans. As they say, the punishing should match the offence.
However, as with all things the decision is yours to lay out consequences that you are comfortable with, and you are confident can make your clients feel safe.
Train and appoint admins
It's not necessary to implement the rules of your community on your own. Find people that you can trust within the community, those who share your values and interact well with others and assign the moderators to them.
Walk through the rules with them. Find out their opinions on community guidelines. And show them how to manage rule-breakers.
Q: Do you need to pay moderators? Some communities decide to pay their moderators. If your community has good financial health and you can pay moderators for just a few hours a week of their work can be a nice gesture. In the end, what they provide to your community will be invaluable. If you're just getting started you're likely to find the best of your members will gladly do it at no cost. *
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Let your entire community be empowered
Official moderators are important However, moderation doesn't have to be just concerned with top-down authority. The best community moderation approaches empower the whole community to create the best possible atmosphere: a culture of moderateness.
Here are a few ways to empower your community members to build the culture of moderation.
- Reporting procedures should be clear : make certain that your employees know the procedure for reporting infractions, to whom they should notify, and the procedure to handle these complaints.
- Inspire 'If you spot an issue, speak up such as personal insults or even microaggressions are often not reported by the victim. Inspire your employees to stand up for others when they feel someone is getting a beating.
- Participate in feedback from the members about guidelines for community members: don't create guidelines for the community as an established set of rules that have to be followed. Develop them into a live document. Ask for feedback on them often and adapt them according to the needs.
Action
The hard part is. All this background work doesn't do much good to do nothing when your rules are violated. It will be hard at times, especially when you're the first to discipline an employee, but it's important to make sure you enforce your rules you've set.
If it's not easy be aware that the effort of dealing with a single member makes your community a safer, safer space for many other members.
Keep a record
If you've taken action on the community moderation process, think about recording the action somewhere. You could include a copy of an offensive post or correspondence with someone who you've had the need to discipline or remove. It's helpful for you to be able in case you need to reference them.
Conclusion
Even though we're speaking about important issues in this article it is important to remember that community moderation is a muscle that doesn't need to be stretched too often. There are many community hosts who endure for months or even several years without implementing any serious moderation.
But if there is a problem, you'll be grateful that you have put these rules in place.
And if you're looking for an opportunity to create and run your own online community, why not come build with us? is an all-in-one community and course platform which provides you with an entire set of tools to create content such as videos, articles, live streaming, questions, polls, and the like.
Yes... it's even equipped with moderation tools built in.
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