I see alot of good suggestions here, but I'd like to respond to a few:
Showing Favoritism:It's a noble idea to not show favoritism, but sometimes you simply cannot help it. As Admin we are always a reflection on the board. Even if we are in a discussion as any regular member, people see the "Admin" title and make judgments. If we are seen chatting and joking with one or more members, but not doing the same with the others on an equal basis... someone will begin thinking there is a clique and there is an 'inner circle" of friends. The only thing we can strive to do is to treat everyone equally... but we cannot be so afraid of appearing biased that we tick off others. That is equally as bad as being seen as "showing favoritism".
Do Not Allow Public Fights/Flames To Remain:Excellent suggestion, but beware... if you do not allow the posts to stand as they are, there will be people out there who will claim "Censorship" and "Bias" is the reason you deleted a thread or made an edit to a post. On the other hand if you do not keep control of the forum then you will have good members leaving because of the abuse and problems. It sometimes pay to not simply delete violations, but rather to save them in a hidden forum for future reference and sometimes future reviews.
Do Not Go Rule Crazy On Your Members: I agree, you should never go "Rule Crazy" --- but the drawback to this is the question of "What is too many rules?". I've seen people complain that 5 rules were too many, even though they would basically agree that everyone should follow those rules whether they are written down or not. On the other hand I've seen people claim 10 rules were not enough. On one forum I even posted that the only rule was "The Rules of (Name of System) apply, by signing onto this board you acknowledge that you read and understood all the rules and policies of the system.". What was the main argument? I didn't properly post the rules of the board. The argument had no merit because we all are supposed to read and abide by the TOS, but some of the members didn't see things that way.
So the answer is not to say "Only post a few rules", but rather say "Only post the necessary rules". That may be anywhere from 1 to 20, depending on the particular type of forum you run.
Do Not Be Rude To Your Members:This is definitely a good rule, however be prepared for someone violating the rules or being excessively annoying... then trying to claim you were the rude one. I try not to be rude, however if someone claims I am then my attitude is "And your point is?"... then I go back to whatever the person was doing that I viewed as wrong.
Always treat your members fairly and nice, no matter what their post count is or how long they've been there.Great observation, always attempt to be fair. Being nice is more of an option for it depends on the situation. Admins have the right to get angry over personal attacks too and not many good members of the board will fault an Admin for being a little nasty with a nasty troll... just as long as the Admin takes care of the problem. The point is to not make it a habit to be nasty as an Admin for you do reflect your board.. and let's face it, many people admire the person who can smile in the face of trouble.
Don't punish people for the slightest things:Excellent advice. Sometimes the best members can get out of line because of something which happened on the forums, or something which happened in their real life. The good people, which are many, will often come back later and apologize for their misactions and regret blowing off steam in the forum. At other times a member might not be fully aware of the rules and polciies of the board and they will do, or say, something by accident. Sometimes simply telling someone privately about what they did will work wonders, othertimes to tell them they are wrong only inflames the situation.
NEVER EVER allow guests to post unless you are *certain* that your board won't get spammed by unknown guests or spam bots from certain search engines.Nice sentiments, however when I set up a board recently I was basically informed that I should allow guests to post ads for their boards because other boards allow it. They seemed to think it was unfair or unfriendly for me to make guests join my board in order to post an ad for their message board.
Another person told me, basically, that my boards should have guest areas because it made the board seem friendly.
Leave Forum Open:Back in the days of old, when admins were bold, we set up our boards where a forum or two were open to non-members. The main reason was in case the person had trouble with joining, they could go to the guest area and post their problem. Then we had forums which guests could read, but not reply to the messages. Then there were Member forums and special access forums... some of which were hidden forums. On Proboards it seems like 90% of the forums I go to require you to register for the forum before seeing any of the forums. How does a person know whether that board is for him/her if they don't see a few forums? On the other hand, what is the incentive in joining if you get to see and/or participate in every forum as a guest? Personally I like the old ways best.
The Admin having more than one account on the board:As far as having multiple accounts on Proboards is concerned, I leave that up to the Staff and Management to decide.. however it seems that as long as you are not using your accounts to violate the Proboard rules and policies.... they really don't care how many accounts you have.
Having a second account on your own forum is often very useful, remember "The Admin (and Staff) always are a reflection upon the board". That means that if an Admin dares to state his/her opinion then it gives the board an appearance of being biased. For a staffer to really be able to enjoy posting, it pays to have a second account, and one that it not widely known to be you. In the "old days" it was very common for staffers to have two accounts.
Going overboard on Staff-only Boards:I view this as a Non-Issue for when I go to my forums as a guest, or a regular member, I cannot see all the forums I have for the Administration section. Proboards kindly gave us a way to control who has access to these forums.
Enforcing the rules:Never post rules that you are not willing to enforce, or enforce equally.
Don't spam advertise your site.Great suggestion, however there is a fine line between spamming your board and advertising it. Learn the difference.
Member Feedback:Great idea, but getting feedback from the members is often like pulling teeth. It doesn't hurt to allow the members to offer suggestions, but make sure they know that a suggestion is just that... a suggestion.
Do not Assign too many staff members:The idea of what constitutes "too many staff members" varies from person to person, as does the appropriate time to add staff members. Some people think you only need 1 Staff member -- the Admin. Others think you need 2 Admins, one to be there in case you are not available for long periods of time. Yet there are others who believe you need to use the time zones to set the proper amount of Staff Members because they feel someone should be on the forum and in charge the majority of the time. As far as moderators, it is a common belief that each forum should have a moderator. One moderator can handle several forums, however the number of mods needed depends on how many boards need moderated.
So the idea of "too many staffers" is really dependent upon the purpose of the board. Some Boards get along fine with a few staffers, others need several staff members.
More than one skin:If your forum depends on graphics and skins to keep people, then something is lacking. Having one skin that is pleasing to people is often enough, providing your forums have the strength to hold people.
Do not allow your offline issues spill on to the forum:Excellent advise, however sometimes it's hard to not allow things at work or home affect you elsewhere... including on the net.
Do not undermine your fellow staff members:Another great idea. There is no I in Team and the Staff of any board is a team. On teams there are leaders and followers, so don't mistake all staffers being equal.. with all staffers being a part of the same team. Work together as much as possible.
Do not address conflicts with your fellow staff members openly on the forum:Another great bit of advice, sheesh is this guy good. lol
Do not be afraid to do your job:And again... another great suggestion. I had to go back and find who this person was... it was Black Angel. Good job, mate.
Deletion of inactive members:There is nothing wrong with deleting members who have not posted in a set period of time, however be sure you make the members aware of it in the rules and elsewhere. If someone doesn't post in 2 to 18 months, then they are not very interested in your board and they can re-register when the interest arises again.
You Are Not God:Actually this is true, you (as admin) are not God -- that would be Craig (since he owns Proboards). lol You are only a Godling.
The Admin of the board is the closest thing to God that the board has... use the power wisely.
As Admin you are responsible for the forum and all that goes on in it and with it. If someone gets their nose out of joint and goes crying to Craig, or another Probard Staffer, enough then they will come scope things out. If they find violations going on then it is the Admin who is held responsible. Therefore it is up to the Admin to play God and keep everything in order. Remember, a real man or woman of power doesn't have to show it often... they only have to really show their power when it is necessary.
You have to consider the wants and needs of the members:Excellent view, however you need to balance the wants and needs of the members with the wants and needs of the board.
Do treat your members with the respect and dignity that they deserve:I'm going to quit mentioning what Black Angel says, she is just too spot on much of the time. LOL
Do not give your early members the impression that they are equal to you and your staff:This is an excellent one too.
Don't discuss religion/politics/etc. This depends on your type of board.. not everyone likes RPG or Harry Potter discussions. Some people love giving their views and exchanging views.
