Best Practices for Creating Community Guidelines (With Examples)

Community guidelines are important for online communities because they help to create and maintain a positive and constructive environment. Guidelines also help to ensure that all members of the community feel safe and respected. 

In this article, we will share the things to include in your creating community guidelines. We will also share some community guidelines examples at the end of this blog to help you create one for your website.

But first, let’s take a look at why it is so important to have strict guidelines for your community. 

Why Are Community Guidelines Important? 

There are a number of reasons why community guidelines are so important. Below are some of the key reasons.

• They help to create and maintain a positive and constructive environment. 
• Guidelines help to ensure that all members of the community feel safe and respected. 
• Guidelines can help to prevent and resolve conflict. 
• Community guidelines can help to promote inclusivity and diversity. 
• Having guidelines in place can help to protect the community from spam and other forms of abuse.

What Should You Include in Community Guidelines? 

If you find it tough to create a proper community guideline, we can help. Here is a list of things that you should include in your community guideline.

State Your Values 

When you are creating community guidelines, it is important to state your values. This will help to set the tone for the community and will help to ensure that all members of the community are on the same page. Some values that you may want to consider are respect, inclusivity, and diversity. 

Be Hard on Unacceptable Behavior 

It is also important to be hard on unacceptable behavior. This means that you should not tolerate behavior that goes against the values that you have set for the community. If someone is behaving in a way that is not in line with the community guidelines, they should be warned or even banned from the community. 

Outline What is Allowed 

In addition to stating your values and being hard against unexpected behavior, you should also outline what is allowed. This will help to ensure that everyone is on the same page and that there are no surprises. For example, you may want to outline what types of content are allowed and what types of behavior are not tolerated. 

Request Cooperation from the Community to Maintain the Guidelines 

Finally, you should request cooperation from the community to maintain the guidelines. This means that you should ask for help from the community in enforcing the guidelines. For example, you may want to ask the community to report any behavior that goes against the guidelines. 

Use your brand voice

When it comes to creating community guidelines, using the brand voice is a good practice. This is because the brand voice helps to set the tone for the community and helps to ensure that all members are on the same page. It also helps to create a sense of unity within the community and helps to keep things organized.

Some Community Guidelines Examples

Following are some of the common guidelines examples that can take inspiration from while creating one for your website.

Example 1 – Flickr Community Guidelines

Filckr, one of the biggest photo-sharing platforms on the internet has created an effective community guideline. Their community guideline is available here. This is a great example of a fun, yet strict guideline to moderate a community.

Example 2 – NurseCon Community Guidelines

NurseCon,  the popular community website for nurses and nursing students from around the world, has one of the most detailed guidelines for managing the community. You can check their community guidelines from here.

Example 3 – Ubuntu Community Guidelines

Ubuntu is one of the largest open-source operating systems powered by Linux. They have a thriving community that supports each other through their website. Their guideline is another great example of what you will need on your website. Check out Ubuntu’s community guidelines here.

How to Enforce Community Guidelines

Enforcing community guidelines can be a challenge, but it’s important to take action when users violate the rules. Here are a few tips for enforcing community guidelines:

1. Be proactive

The best way to enforce community guidelines is to be proactive about setting and enforcing rules. Make sure your guidelines are clear and easy to understand and take action when you see users violating the rules.

2. Use technology

There are a number of tools and technologies that can help you enforce community guidelines. For example, you can use moderation tools to help you moderate content and keep an eye on user behavior.

3. Get help from the community

Another way to enforce community guidelines is to get help from the community. If you have a large community, consider appointing community moderators who can help enforce the rules. You can also encourage users to report violations of the guidelines.

4. Take action

When you see a violation of the community guidelines, take action. This might include removing offending content, suspending or banning users, or taking other measures.

5. Be consistent

It’s important to be consistent in enforcing the community guidelines. If you only take action sometimes, users will be less likely to take the rules seriously.

Enforcing community guidelines can be a challenge, but it’s important to take action to keep your community safe and welcoming.

Wrapping Up

In conclusion, community guidelines are important for any online community. They help to maintain a friendly atmosphere in the community for anyone and everyone to feel secure. When creating community guidelines, be sure to state your values, be hard against unexpected behavior, outline what is allowed, and request cooperation from the community to maintain the guidelines.

To create a thriving community where you can enforce such guidelines, you can trust BuddyBoss. BuddyBoss moderation features include blocking a fellow member, reporting a member, and auto suspend members after a certain number of reports or blocks. It is also possible to report certain content. Apart from that, the admin will have the option to suspend a member. So as you can see, BuddyBoss is a great way to build a rule-following community with powerful moderation features.

Try BuddyBoss to Build an Online Community