On the forums where you are an active member, what is the worse rule you have come across and why? Also while on the subject of rules how many admins ere copy someone else's rules and use them on their forums, how do you display them on your site and do you post them before going live or not?
I can't think of any really bad rules just at the moment. I post the rules by making them a sticky thread in the Announcements / Info section. Yes, I do post them before the board is live, however every forum is different and I generally end up tweaking the rules as the forum grows and develops. That's also the reason why I don't copy anyone else's rules.
My problem is that I hate rules, so my site has none other than avoiding foul language and not insulting other members. There is nothing more off-putting than a list of rules that seem to treat members like children. Better to let members have their way with the occasional polite email warning if they step over the mark.
Hideous Dwarf I've heard a few forum owners claim that they don't have rules on their forum. However, most if not all of them do have rules, even if they are not written down.
For example if I went to your site and posted 100 threads with links to Viagra sites, would you allow that? I'd guess not and if it's something that you don't allow, then you have a rule against it, even if it is not written down and communicated to your members.
Don't forget that when members act like children they should expect to be treated like them. Generally when I see a problem I try to solve it without adding a rule, but do add the rule if it doesn't solve the problem. If the rule winds up improving the overall situation it stays. 🙂
The only thing you need to say for what is or isn't allowed is " Don't do to us what you wouldn't want done to you. If we say don't do something then you stop doing it either on your own or with assistance."
Most people pretty much like or dislike the same things when it comes to how people should act on them at least. If it wasn't the case then you wouldn't see every single board have pretty much the same rules slightly rewritten so they aren't actually copied from anywhere.
The thing most people have a problem with when it comes to rules is way too much of it is subjective. People take things different ways so it's not really easy to convey exactly what you don't want when it hits that gray area.
Their is a forum I use that has no rules as such but yet their is no major issues on it and only one staff member, this forum has over 2,000 members and over 100,000 posts. The reason is that the memberbase are all mature adults.
On 4P I have a very relaxed set of rules that aren't too strictly enforced. Basic stuff like respect everyone, don't do anything illegal, and don't post porn. That works for my forum because we're very small and I want to encourage a more laid-back, casual atmosphere.
On larger forums though, I think a more rigid set of rules is probably necessary, simply because it takes a lot more regulation to manage thousands or even millions of people.
Rules are annoying because members try to twist your words sometimes. I think the worst rule I've heard of was that you had to pay real cash to edit your posts.
To put it quite simply most of the time if you are using your common sense you don't need to worry about breaking any rules because that's what a lot of rules tend to be, I mean other than guidelines set forth for service sites such as FP here.
Fergal has a point. I like to post the rules before starting a forum. Not copying anyone elses rules. As the forum progresses you change and add more or less rules as you feel necessary.
