Online Support Groups

Lesson 4: Managing an Online Support Group

Effective Rule Enforcement

How can you effectively enforce your group's rules? First, you need to let the group know about all of the group rules as well as what the consequences of breaking the rule is. This was first discussed in Lesson 2 and we will now be delving into how to create consequences and how to enforce them.

Let's say that one of your rules is about language, what should the consequence of breaking this rule be? I sometimes have two consequences for this rule depending on my group, but you can decide for yourself what will work best for your group. I usually state that the first time it is broken the member will be warned and all of their messages will need to be approved by me before they will be sent to the rest of the group. The second time the rule is broken; the member will be banned from the group and not allowed to rejoin. Sometimes, just leaving the consequence at banishment is more than enough, and I have done this more often than not.

Leaving the consequence vague or with too many 'chances' for members to redeem themselves will leave you and your group open for possible abuse by the members. If you are going to have a rule, have a clear and concise consequence for it. Always be prepared to enforce the consequence, no matter how much you like the member, you can't play favorites when it comes to rule breaking.

This does not mean that you should go tearing through your group for every little thing that could be considered a rule breaking. Take the spam rule as an example. If someone has a link in their signature to a web site that is either directly competing with your group or associates, or has absolutely nothing to do with your group, is this spam? Probably, but the best way to deal with it is not necessarily to enforce the rule and the consequence, but to contact the person off the group and ask them to change their signature. Explain why you are requesting that they do this, and let them know that you would be happy to answer any questions they have about any of the group's rules.

On the other hand, if a member posts a message with a 'get rich quick' scheme, links to competing groups or web sites, or any other type of advertising, you should enforce the no spam rule. The message and the member should be removed from the group. It is up to you to say something or not to the group and/or to the banned member.

Knowing when to draw the line between an obviously broken rule and a minor unintended infraction, will keep not only you, but your group happy and functioning at it's best.

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