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You will need to establish clear rules and policies as to what is acceptable by
community, and
sanctions that will be imposed on those who violate
rules. What kind of things are unacceptable for users to post? Personal attacks, bigotry, and profanity should not be allowed. Will you allow off-topic messages? How far off-topic?
Get all new members to agree on
rules and put a link to
rules on all pages. Also provide a form that makes it easy for members to report violators.
Have clear polices for what
penalty will be for violating
rules and deal with
violator as quickly as possible. Start by emailing
individual and politely request that they review community's rules and policies pages. If that doesn't stop
violations, enforce
penalty.
Many web users conceal their true identity and use a pseudonym instead. They pretend to be who they're not and this is prone to abuse. Sometimes this results in
exploitation of minors. There is not much you can do to learn members true identities, but you should verify
email address of new members by sending a message to which they must respond.
Enforcement of
rules could involve subjecting their messages to approval before posting, suspending their posting rights, or banning their membership in
community. Email them, letting them know that they are being penalized and why. Let them know what they need to do to get
penalty lifted.
If you want users to have confidence when they join
community, you will need to post a clear privacy policy. It should describe what personal information will be collected and how personal data will be used. Put a link to
privacy policy on all pages.
You should maintain a topic about
website itself where members can talk about bugs, rules they would like to see, or features they wish for. Here, new members can post questions about how to use their computer,
web, or
community website, and receive help from more experienced users. Visit that topic regularly yourself.
One decision you need to make is whether messages be archived and for how long? Will you archive all messages, including ones that are just frivolous chat or gossip and are not worth saving? Will you allow members access to
archives? Will you be
only one who can delete messages or will members have
authority to delete their own messages?
You can start your message forum on a site that offers free message boards and as your community grows move to your own Web site. Below is a list of some websites that offer free message boards or free message forum code.
Boards2Go (www.boards2go.com) provides free message boards hosted on their servers. There is nothing for you to set up. Boards2Go's message boards can easily integrate to your website's layout. Your visitors will never know they left your website. All configurations may be made via our web interface administrator area.
Web Wiz Guide (www.webwizguide.info) provides free ASP forum code, and The Free Country (www.thefreecountry.com) Provides Free PHP Forum Code.
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To learn how to maintain your computer and use it more effectively to design a Web site and make money on the Web Visit bucarotechelp.com To subscribe to Bucaro TecHelp Newsletter visit http://bucarotechelp.com/search/000800.asp