The "Do Nots" Of Your ProBoard

[krystallight]

Jan 10, 2009 12:52:39 GMT -8 Kami said:

Jan 10, 2009 11:31:23 GMT -8 krystallight said:

I think I can agree with all of your suggestions.

As per board rules, please make sure ALL posts are four or more well thought out sentences, so as to contribute to the discussion. If you cannot meet this requirement, please do not post.

Thanks.

Now you just contradicted your own rules. You said not to have a lot of rules that would tend to make people leave from your board or just a single rule that would justify the same result. Now why would would you go against your own rules?

[Storm]

Jan 15, 2009 14:06:24 GMT -8 krystallight said:

Jan 10, 2009 12:52:39 GMT -8 Kami said:

As per board rules, please make sure ALL posts are four or more well thought out sentences, so as to contribute to the discussion. If you cannot meet this requirement, please do not post.

Thanks.

Now you just contradicted your own rules. You said not to have a lot of rules that would tend to make people leave from your board or just a single rule that would justify the same result. Now why would would you go against your own rules?

Excuse me, but please don't moderate the moderators. We are here to over see the forums. This kind of reply is not needed nor wanted. You will need to go over the rules at the top of this forum or you will receive a warning. Don't reply like this again, thankyou.

Also, you might want to re read the section about the Jr. moderators:

support.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=support&action=display&thread=45394

[Jackaroo]

From personal experience, I have to say I agree with the OP's rules, but I'd also like to say that if you're going to have member groups, don't allow yourself to become an elitist. Elitist in the sense of 'I'll treat senior members better and talk more to them'. I find that highly disrespectful, and I have turned away from forums rather quickly because a lot of admins have that sort of attitude.
Also, whatever you do, treat new members with the same respect you would expect to be given. Actually, scratch that, don't give different members different levels of respect, at all. If you're not going to respect one member, don't go off and respect another highly. Though, you're not going to get much members like that.
Also, if someone disrespects your forum, or gives a low rate, don't throw a strop, take their advice. If you get spammers, simply do the mature thing and go to delete them. =D But that would fall more under the 'Dos'. xD


That's all I can come up with, without repeating any rules that I saw.

[×[itoshii-rai]×]

Ughh...I know having a semi-new member [Don't post much] post onto here is weird, but I don't care...I've been to many sites, both good and bad, but only a few are worth it. These are some of the things I've experienced...

- A definate "Do Not" would have to be rudeness to members, ecspecially if you're part of staff. You're supposed to treat everyone fairly, not like they're some toy that you play with. I've left a few forums because of this, and it's just plain wrong.

- Advertising in places besides the Advertisement board f.is another thing that ticks me off. Sometimes people just join a site to advertise their own, and this is just saying 'BAN ME!' if you really think about it. Honestly, though-- How would you like it if I joined your site, posted a link, and never came back again?

- Too many rules. This is a little weird, but too many can have a big impact on your forum. I think I've went to one with about 30 something rules. It's good to be a little strict, but that's just too much. O.O'

- Giant signatures. I think I've joined a site once with this one newbie who has an uberly big siggy, only two of his posts made another page. One or two pictures is OK, but not really big ones. That's what the MP Background code is for. Maybe not, but hey-- it still works. =/

- Staff thinking they are invincible if they break one of the rules. NONE of the members, even the main admin that made the rules, has a right to break them. A few times on another RPing site I used to go on, there was an administrator who has broken the rules more than once, and got away with it, hijacked the main admin's account, and deleted the site altogether. It was crazy there...

...Those are just my opinions.

[simlizzie]

I'm not quite sure if I posted here, but either way I have some 'do nots' that have probably been posted.

Favoritism

Like said on the first page, this is one of the worst things you can do! Lets say you know someone from another forum, who came to your forum. And then a new member joins, who you've never seen before. Treat the new member the same as the other member, because you can find that you will become good friends with the new member if you just show that you care about them as much as you care about the other person.

Crazy warnings

Never ever give crazy warnings. If someone posts something a little off topic, don't go yelling at them, tell them what they did wrong nicely. Don't just give them a 50% warning! And even if they continue doing it, don't raise their warning bar by 50%! Give them a one, or two warning level. You can't go crying over spilled milk. Some people are new, and aren't as used to the rules as you may be.

Obey your own rules

Another really bad thing you can do on a forum is not obey your own rules! If you have a rule of no double posting, then don't double post! And if you don't obey your own rules, don't expect others to obey them. If you don't, they won't! Because they'll feel that you don't care about them, so they can do whatever they want whenever they want.

Bad colours

Don't ever choose blinding colours for your forum. It's a huge turn off, because no one wants to go blind because of a site they're supposed to enjoy. Another thing about colours would be make sure they match! Don't use red, pink, blue, and green! Choose one or two colours that will match. If you don't have matching colours, or have blinding colours, it's not good for your forum (Or your eyes!).

[DMOC]

I don't know if this has been mentioned before, but I have another do-not: Don't post a link to other forums when you've got a bunch of highly active members who aren't members of other sites. The reason for this is that they may join those sites, reducing activity in yours.

Example:

Member A: Hey, how do you think the Celtics are doing so far?
Admin: Pretty good. Actually, there's a great site here (insert link to proboards site) which is a sports forum and has great discussion. Anyway, I think the Celtics are doing pretty well.
Member A: Yeah. (Then checks out the sports forum and decides to join).

[×[itoshii-rai]×]

Mar 14, 2009 20:01:13 GMT -8 DMOC said:

I don't know if this has been mentioned before, but I have another do-not: Don't post a link to other forums when you've got a bunch of highly active members who aren't members of other sites. The reason for this is that they may join those sites, reducing activity in yours.

Example:

Member A: Hey, how do you think the Celtics are doing so far?
Admin: Pretty good. Actually, there's a great site here (insert link to proboards site) which is a sports forum and has great discussion. Anyway, I think the Celtics are doing pretty well.
Member A: Yeah. (Then checks out the sports forum and decides to join).

Actually, it would be a little better if you're on another site and you give the link to YOUR site that's about that certain topic you were talking about. OK, maybe it might tick the admin off, but it works. I tried it in my newbie days.

[DMOC]

I was referring to posting that on your own ProBoard since this board is "Your Proboard."

I imagine that if I tried to do that here, I'd get a negative response from whoever moderates this board so I'll refrain.

Anyway, continuing on, the largest Do-Not is clearly not to have such bad colors on a forum. Bad colors simply drive people away from joining in the FIRST place, which therefore leads to lack of members.

[edr]

Favoritism
I try not to show Favoritism, but it can be hard when you get to know some members more then others or if your friends end up joining the forum.
But I always welcome the new members and make them feel part of the family, as to me that's what a forum is, my second family.

Do Not Allow Public Fights/Flames To Remain
I've unforunately had something like this happen a couple times, it's always with the same member too, thankfully this member has calmed down and stopped picking fights.

I had to spend a whole day near enough calming both down separately on msn and talking to them about it and saying how it can't be showed on the forum, to fight it out in pirvate or just don't say anything.

Do Not Go Rule Crazy On Your Members
I try not to go forum crazy, my main rules on any my forums or past forums is that to be nice, treat others how you would want to be treated, welcome and help the newbies.

And not to post anything that could be harmful to the younger members eyes/ears.

Do Not Abuse The Warning Meter, and Make Sure The Staff Adjusts It Equally With You
I don't even like the warning meter, so disable it from my forums altogether. If a member does something wrong I just talk to them by PM or MSN.

Do Not Be Rude To Your Members
I always try not to be rude, but have a couple times when I've been unwell/bad mood but always say sorry afterwards. It's only be one or two times in the last few years, which I think is good.

If a member has a suggestion for the forum I always think about it, even if I'm not keen with the idea myself. I always talk to the other staff about it and then post on the forum about it to see if the other members like the idea, it's their forum as much as it is mine.

Competitions
I agree with this, competitions are fun and everyone can be involved. I have a fanfic forum where we have two awards each year, one for the stories and another for the members aka People Awards. We also do Challenges throughout the year.

[cartmellauneas]

I appreciate the concern which is been rose. The things need to be sorted out because it’s not about the individual but it can be with everyone

cartmellauneas

RPG

[R e k a n i♥]

Ah I know most of these things had been posted way more then once, but I just thought I would give my two cent on some of the points previously posted ^_^

Favoritism: this is one of the biggest no-no. I have several people on my site I’ve known for years, but I do not treat them any different then brand new members. I like to goof off with new members just as much as my friends. I try to keep the ‘inside jokes’ to a limit, but if it does happen to come to that I often try to bring the new members or the other people there into the conversation or the joke only last for a few posts on the cbox and we move to a different subject. I think as an admin you should treat everyone as they’re important. It’s nice to meet new people and have more internet friends <3

Rule Crazy: Yes, big one. The first thing I do on a site is look at the rules, and I’d say about 80 percent of the time that alone drives me away. There are too many strict rules and doesn’t allow for freedom. Like on wolf rpgs where the staff picks out the pup states and everything. I hate that and allow the members on my site pick out the states. I know rules are important, but don’t make a million of them or a bunch of strict rules. Don’t say your a fantasy site and say "no odd colors" or say your a literate site and allow one liners. If your going to have a rule FOLLOW IT (Even if you are an admin or part of the staff. You are no better then anyone else if you cannot even follow your own rules, because that's just low.)

Staff: Don’t appoint staffs right away, it looks weird having 6 staff members – and that’s all the members you have! I believe as you get more members that’s when you can appoint a few members as moderators and they can work their way up. Like I stated before I have friends I’ve known for years (not in real life) who will follow to me any forum I create and I do not let them start off as staff. I want people I know who will do a good job; I also wait until I am ready to have staff members. If there are only 10 members or so then you really don’t need 3 or 4 staff members, now do you? Biggie, make sure you can trust your members.

Being Rude: DO NOT BE RUDE TO YOUR MEMBERS. I could never stress this enough. If a member is flaming everyone and you turn around and cuss him out, what kind of example is that showing? When I was younger and I had my first forum I was naïve and yes, I did not keep my cool. However I’ve learned even dealing with members who are nerve-wrecking and to the point would you love to cuss your little heart out – I stop and try to talk to them comely, because then people will see that although I’m serious about my rules I’m not going to be all ‘OMG RAWR YOU BROKE A RULE I’M GOING TO BAN YOU.” I’ve only had to ban a few members who kept on cussing and harassing members even after other punishments were given.

Get Opinions: It’s nice to get opinions from your members because then you can make your site better. If you don’t even give their opinions a second glance most of the time they are going to either leave or not join in the first place. As stated before you would be nothing if it wasn’t for your members. I try to listen to all my members opinions, now this doesn’t mean you have to do all their suggestions, but be polite when putting them down, don’t just be like “no, that’s a stupid idea.”

Yeah I think that’s all I have for the moment xD

[stardust]

I would say for one more rule is... Do not be rude. Be nice to your members, make them feel they are welcome. If they keep doing something bad constantly, talk to them by PM, AIM, or MSN, like someone else said. (I forgot their name...whoospy)

[rackvin]

Many do nots I would have mentioned have already been said, many of them multiple times. Such as not being rude and not playing favorites, these are really bad things. Now I did see mention from one person about blinding colors, I very much agree, and would just like to note the flip side of the rule. Color combos that are too dark, or too similar. I've seen more than one site with a black background and grey text, nothing could be worth putting up with that. I've seen background colors that cover up the text. I had some fun with it for a while, I'd press ctrl+a (which highlights all text on the page), and WOW like magic, text would appear! If people have to shield their eyes to not go blind, or squint to distinguish the text from background, you can bet they won't be sticking around.

EDIT: Another thing that just hit me. Do not use the forced sign in. Unless you truly intend on your board being a closed private forum for select friends (in other words, you don't want new member).

[stardust]

I like the Edit rule. On one forum they have the forced sign in because of one spammer that spammed up the forum.

[lucylock]

hello, i read the rules you have posted, but this is not the case i found, most mods are friends and will take sides against people. they are either family members and reading them on lots of dirrerent places they just pick on people they feel are either becoming too popular or in fear. i dont think pro boards realise that the people starting forums , sometimes do just to invite people to abuse online and bully.