The Ultimate Guide of 'Do Nots' for Forum Administrators

We often hear things that we should do to keep our forum active, growing, and happy. However, there are also things that you should not do at your forum. These are things that can harm your forum and kill any chance of creating a successful community. Here is a list of things you should never do as a forum administrator.

Do Not Favoritism: As the administrator of your board, you should never show favoritism toward certain members in your community. Other members quickly pick up on this behavior and it can have a negative impact on your community. Members will begin to feel ignored or out of place if an administrator or staff shows favoritism toward other staff members or veteran members. Remember to treat all members equally. If you allow one member to post their art work on your forum, you must allow all members to do the same. If you are going to warn a new member for double posting, you must call your friends on the same type of behavior. Also try not to use inside jokes with your friends on the public boards. This can easily make other members feel as if they aren't part of your group.

Do Not Allow Public Flames and Fights: Not all of your members are going to get along. Make sure that they do not bring their fights to the boards where other members can read this. They should settle their disagreement through private messaging. If the problem can not be resolved between the two of them, it is time for you to step in. Set up a private chat room or have a conversation with them through an instant messenger.

People join forums to make friends and have fun. If a guest comes to your board and finds that members are fighting, it does not look like fun and it most certainly does not look friendly.

This rule applies to staff as well. When staff publicly disagree it causes the members to take sides. Even in moments when your staff does not get along, there is no reason your members should know about it. They will want more details and feel as if something bad is going on and they do not know about it.

Do Not Create Too Many Rules: Every forum needs a set of rules for the community to follow. Without rules you risk the chance of chaos breaking out. However, too many rules can do just as much damage to your forum. If you have a long list of rules it will be impossible for anyone to remember everything. It really does take away from the fun. Also keep in mind that the members at your forum are probably members of other forums as well. They have to remember your rules plus the rules of every other site they join. Keeping your rules simple will ensure that they are easier to follow.

When rules are broken make sure that you are not attacking the members. Keep in mind that they may not know the forum rules as well as you, they may have your rules mixed up with another forum, or it could be that they have simply made a mistake. If a rule is broken send a private message and give members a gentle warning.

Here are some rules that you definitely do not want on your forum:

1. You must make X amount of posts each day.
2. You must log in every day
3. You must create X amount of threads every day.
4. You must have a signature and avatar.
5. Do not advertise your forum and web site in your signature.

Do Not Be Rude: You do not have to agree with all of your members, but you do have to answer in a nice respectful way. Being rude to a member will send them to one of the twenty other forums that are just like yours. No one wants to be treated badly. If a member sends you a private message, message them back. If they need help with something, try to help them.

You want to become friends with your members and being rude will not help you accomplish this goal. Once you consider them your friends and treat them with respect, your entire board will become more successful.

Do Not Have Too Many Staff Members: Being a staff member on a forum is a privilege. If you have twenty staff members and only one hundred members of the forum, it does not seem as exciting to be on staff. You want to make sure that your staff understands that they were hand selected because of their contribution to the community. If you have a good staff then they will want to keep busy. If you have too many staff members they may not have enough work to do and feel as if they do not have a big part in the community.

Do Not Abuse Mass Email or Private Messaging: Most forums allow the administrator to send a mass PM and/or email to all of the members at once. While this may seem like a great way to advertise and remind members about your forum, too many private messages or emails will only annoy them. No one likes to receive spam in their email in their email in box and this is also true of Private messages. Try to limit using this to only vital forum updates.

Do Not Undermine Staff Members: While the administrator should be the over all decision maker, staff members will have to make decisions as well. There may come a time when a staff member makes a decisions and a member comes to you about it. Do not tell the member that your staff member was wrong. No matter what support your staff. Even if you feel they made the wrong decision, do not bad mouth your staff member to another member. If it is the wrong decision, talk to your staff member about the situation so that the problem does not occur again.

Do Not Start Wars with Other Forums: There are a lot of forums out there and most likely there is another forum offering exactly what you do, with the same exact theme. Friendly competition is fine, but the key is to keep it friendly. Do not allow your members to bash other forums on your boards. Your goal should be to gain members from other boards. If you are talking badly about a forum they love, they will not join your forum.

The key in having a successful forum is to treat others how you would like to be treated. Be friendly and not overbearing. Always remember that your goal is to create a friendly environment for friends to converse.