Writing a Community Code of Conduct
Posted by Jeffrey Henning on Tue, Nov 25, 2008
Composing a code-of-conduct document for members of your online community is one of the less enjoyable tasks a community manager gets saddled with. It either feels like writing a set of rules for a kindergarten class or drawing up a prenuptial agreement. You may be tempted to find a boilerplate code of conduct licensed under the Creative Commons and run with that.
Don't.
Instead, take the time to express your community's code of conduct using the language and metaphors of your domain. Two sites that do this well are Channel 9, the Microsoft Developer Network community, and Yoga Journal.
Channel 9's main code of conduct is short and to the point and is expressed in the informal language of developers. Heck, it's even subtitled "Readme.txt", after the name of the file you always read first when installing new software. Summary of the Channel 9 Doctrine:
- Channel 9 is all about the conversation....
- Be a human being...
- Learn by listening...
- Be smart. Think before you speak...
- Marketing has no place on Channel 9...
- Don't shock the system...
- Know when to turn the mic off...
- Don't be a jerk. Nobody likes mean people.
- Commit to the conversation. Don't stop listening just because you are busy...
Now, since this is Microsoft, a $60 billion company, they do supplement this page with a more formal code of conduct and a legalistic terms-of-use agreement. But the "Channel 9 Doctrine" is the soul of the conversation for the community.
The Yoga Journal Community Code of Conduct also speaks the language of its community. Instead of developers, yoga practitioners:
When thinking about what is appropriate in the Yoga Journal Community, imagine that you are entering a social gathering made up of the students from your yoga class. As hosts of this yogic social gathering, we (the Yoga Journal web team) will invite and refuse guests according to their etiquette...
Above all else, observe ahimsa, the yogic principle of nonharming. If we do this, our community will be a fun and rewarding place to enjoy the company of other yogis.
This code of conduct is great for another reason as well: it has a short version and a long, or full, version. In the short version, each of the eight key principles is listed as a link that the reader can click on if they want more detail:
- Be respectful of others, especially when disagreeing with them.
- Do not post obscene, vulgar, or otherwise offensive content.
- Don't clutter the community with spam. Only post advertisements and promotions on your personal profile.
- Be yourself. Imposters are not welcome.
- Don't crash a party or study group by posting the same thing over and over again.
- Be careful about sharing personal information with others online.
- Do not engage in any criminal or illegal activity in the Yoga Journal Community or encourage others to do so.
- Please report any problems you encounter on the site.
Hopefully these two examples will inspire you to write a code of conduct that embodies the spirit of the community you are seeking to create.