Use your rules to tell members what they can do, not just "don't do this." It leads to a more positive tone in your community overall.
Lauren, Community Admin
Key Tips
- New communities can benefit from having rules to set expectations of the community culture early.
- Use the community rules feature to add up to 10 rules for your community.
- Great rules tell members how they can engage with the community.
- Rules can help prevent conflict as your community grows and provide a feeling of safety for community members.
Use community rules and membership questions together to help new members understand the expectations of your community.
Many admins told us they wished they had started their communities with a few rules instead of adding them later on. Great rules set the tone of the community by listing the ways members can positively contribute. Use your rules as an opportunity to state what your community can achieve together.
The community rules feature offers four example rules that you can use immediately or edit. These example rules are based on some of the most common rules admins use across many types of communities:
Be Kind and Courteous
We're all in this together to create a welcoming environment. Let's treat everyone with respect. Healthy debates are natural, but kindness is required.No Hate Speech or Bullying
Make sure everyone feels safe. Bullying of any kind isn't allowed, and degrading comments about things like race, religion, culture, sexual orientation, gender or identity will not be tolerated.No Promotions or Spam
Give more than you take to this community. Self-promotion, spam and irrelevant links aren't allowed.Respect Everyone's Privacy
Being part of this community requires mutual trust. Authentic, expressive discussions make communities great, but may also be sensitive and private. What's shared in the community should stay in the community.
Great rules are more than just a list of what's not allowed. Experienced admins recommend using rules to tell members what is encouraged in the community, so members know how they can positively engage with the community.
Admins tell us they remind members of the communities' rules by posting them in the community on a regular basis. If needed, restate specific rules in the comments of any heated conversations when managing member conflict.
You may also decide to set rules specific to chats, or simply carry your group rules over into chats. If a member is violating the rules, take action and either suspend, ban or mute them.
If you make changes to your rules, admins recommend rolling them out in smaller steps, not all at once. Gradual changes in rules and transparency from the admins allow the community time to adapt and react. Your rules will change and grow as your community does.
