Managing Online Forums: Everything You Need To Know To Create And Run Successful Community Discussion Boards

Managing Online Forums: Everything You Need to Know to Create and Run Successful Community Discussion Boards

Every day, millions of users log on to their favorite online forums, communities and social spaces and interact with others to get advice and discuss everything from the latest news and trends to their hobbies and professions to whatever else strikes their fancy. Administrators have to lead these communities, deal with difficult users, manage staff members and make tough decisions.Legal constraints, spammers and technical issues can turn the excitement of running an online community into chaos. With the right guidance, however, running forums can be an enjoyable and rewarding experience. My name is Patrick O'Keefe and I own the iFroggy Network. I've spent years developing and managing online communities. In this book, I share my experiences in a straight forward, honest fashion and show you how to make the right decisions about every aspect of your forums, including:Creating an organizational structure Designing and launching your community Deciding on user options like avatars and private messaging Promoting and attracting members Utilizing technology to your benefit Developing and enforcing guidelines Choosing and managing moderators Shutting down users who disrupt and harm the community Involving your users and keeping the site interesting and inviting Generating revenueWhat is talked about in this book is not hypothetical - it consists of in use, battle-tested theories and solutions, making it so that when you must deal with these issues on your forums, you will be better equipped. Real life examples are cited throughout, including the actual user guidelines, staff member guidelines and more, from real communities.This is a book for both new administrators and experienced ones. If you are new, it will give you a major boost as you grow your knowledge and build your community. If you are already an administrator that's leading a successful community, the book can enhance your knowledge and give you more to think about and, with that, even more experience for you to pull from."Managing Online Forums" is the one book that shows site owners and administrators how to create a safe and entertaining community that users will return to again and again.Review"... 'Managing Online Forums' is a worthwhile book to buy and absorb. There are TONS of great resources in there, and lots of real world examples for you to follow. This alone makes the book a great resource to have on the shelf."- Chris Brogan"Within 20 minutes, I was on page 70. Perhaps it was my interest in the topic, perhaps O'Keefe's writing style. Whatever the reason, the book (at just over 300 pages) was a quick and easy read, chock full of great information, advice and examples and left me feeling like I should give online forum management a try.Perhaps the best thing I can say about the writing style is that it isn't written from the perspective of a haughty expert peppering you with polysyllabic words and ethereal Internet philosophy. O'Keefe has something to say and he says it, plain and simple." - Jason Falls, Social Media Explorer"I think the timing for this book is great. With so much emphasis on social media, a lot of people are jumping into the fray and discovering that managing people in a community setting isn't easy. I think Patrick's done a great job of getting to the real, practical issues and questions that arise and how to deal with them responsibly." - Lee LeFever, Common Craft"The level of detail in this book is startling, with a glossary, and an entire section of templates that you can use to craft content posting policies, and communicate with members and staff in a variety of situations (some uncomfortable). If you or your company run an online forum this is an invaluable reference, and you'll come back to it with great regularity as situations arise that require its counsel."- Jay Baer, Convince & ConvertBook DescriptionEvery day, millions of users log on to their favorite online forums and interact with