Moderation is the continued practice of keeping a close watch on all the content generated by users within the community in order to ensure that everything is in parallel with the guidelines. It includes having to remove certain content or discussion topics that violate the code of conduct and also keep members constantly informed or updated with the things that are unacceptable in the community.
A moderator is a team member who is responsible for moderating the content. There can be multiple moderators who can work as a team, depending on the size of the community or the amount of moderation needed.
Why is moderation important?
- It’s essential to the culture you’re cultivating in the community.
- Your community exists for a purpose, anything beyond or besides that shouldn’t be entertained. A community that includes everything doesn’t really include anything.
- If you allow people to post anything, the community becomes toxic.
- To be mindful of diversity and inclusion.
- Make sure that people are not being looked down upon or berated; that the conversations are civil and that healthy decorum is maintained to uphold the quality of content.
‍
‍
How can you ensure proper moderation at all times? A few best practices -
- Always have community guidelines and makes sure the members are made aware of them during onboarding.
- Make the guidelines as detailed and exclusive as possible. Make sure you include everything that’s accepted as well as not accepted.
- Give channel guidelines for all your community channels. What things can be posted, how to properly initiate conversations, etc.
- Be very clear about moderation and what penalties will the members face if they fail to adhere to the guidelines.
- Set examples for people to look at and replicate that behavior.
‍
.svg)
