Post by ProBoards Help Guide on Mar 9, 2016 13:09:59 GMT -8
Tips for keeping your forum a pleasant community for your members...
As a forum owner, keeping your forum safe begins with you:
The email address you used to create your forum is your 'key' to the forum. Make sure you have a strong password for your email account and that this account is not shared with anyone. This is also true with your Global Account/Forum Account password. Make it strong and do not share. The sharing of a PB account is against the PB ToS.
The forum account password recovery feature and the forum owner verification process both rely on email address tied to the forum. This email address needs to stay current at all times as stated in the PB ToS.
Unwanted access to your forum account is generally due to an easily guessed password, sharing account information, or potential malware on your computer.
Setting up your forum:
You can control who accesses your forum using the Login & Registration options. (Admin > Settings > Forum Settings, Login & Registration). You can choose whether registration is enabled or not, whether guests need to log in to view the forum, or even restrict registrations so that your approval is required before accessing the forum.
You can choose whether or not guests are able to post in the Shoutbox. (Admin > Settings > Shoutbox.)
Boards can be private, hidden, or public. Individual boards can be customized with password protection, as well as there are various permissions that address board viewing, accessing, creating threads, and posting. (Admin > Structure > Categories & Boards, edit board permissions, Settings tab / Permissions tab)
It is important to choose the right combination of registration and viewing settings that work for your forum and target audience.
Protecting your forum from internal disruptions:
More often than not, 'damage' to a forum occurs from a disgruntled member with staff permissions.
Know your members and only allow certain staff permissions to those who have proven themselves as a worthy member. While PB has backups for hardware failures or things under PB's control, PB does not offer restores for user deleted content. If staff member deletes boards and posts, there is nothing we can do. That said, there are steps you can take to protect the content of your forum.
Protecting your forum from external disruptions:
It's unfortunate but there are those who wish to either spam or cause mischief on a forum. If this is the case the first step would be to examine your forum's accessibility.
If a misguided user has a registered account on your forum and does not heed your warnings for proper behavior, you have three options:
If a misguided user has registered an account just to spam your forum, you should:
A forum is only as happy as its members:
What a wonderful tool a forum is in its ability to unite people from all around the world that have similar interests. With this though, comes various experiences, backgrounds, cultures, etc. These things which can elicit better understanding also have the possibility of misunderstandings. This is something to keep in mind as you interact with your members.
In setting up your forum, it is important to have a set of guidelines and/or rules that are posted right from the start letting your members know what behavior is expected. In addition to the guidelines there should also be posted the consequences of what will happen if a member does not follow the rules of the forum.
As your forum grows you might consider adding moderators to your forum. These trusted members can assist you in making sure your members’ forum experience is an enjoyable one.
We do not advocate running your forum with “an iron fist”, but with reasonable expectations. Know your audience and what their purpose is for being a member of your forum as well as know your purpose for running a forum. Realize that members have outside interests, so make your forum more appealing through content, ease of design, and ways that members can customize their own forum experience by using various themes or plugins, and maybe develop creative ways your members can connect in a positive manner.
Now go have fun!
As a forum owner, keeping your forum safe begins with you:
The email address you used to create your forum is your 'key' to the forum. Make sure you have a strong password for your email account and that this account is not shared with anyone. This is also true with your Global Account/Forum Account password. Make it strong and do not share. The sharing of a PB account is against the PB ToS.
The forum account password recovery feature and the forum owner verification process both rely on email address tied to the forum. This email address needs to stay current at all times as stated in the PB ToS.
Unwanted access to your forum account is generally due to an easily guessed password, sharing account information, or potential malware on your computer.
Setting up your forum:
You can control who accesses your forum using the Login & Registration options. (Admin > Settings > Forum Settings, Login & Registration). You can choose whether registration is enabled or not, whether guests need to log in to view the forum, or even restrict registrations so that your approval is required before accessing the forum.
You can choose whether or not guests are able to post in the Shoutbox. (Admin > Settings > Shoutbox.)
Boards can be private, hidden, or public. Individual boards can be customized with password protection, as well as there are various permissions that address board viewing, accessing, creating threads, and posting. (Admin > Structure > Categories & Boards, edit board permissions, Settings tab / Permissions tab)
It is important to choose the right combination of registration and viewing settings that work for your forum and target audience.
Protecting your forum from internal disruptions:
More often than not, 'damage' to a forum occurs from a disgruntled member with staff permissions.
Know your members and only allow certain staff permissions to those who have proven themselves as a worthy member. While PB has backups for hardware failures or things under PB's control, PB does not offer restores for user deleted content. If staff member deletes boards and posts, there is nothing we can do. That said, there are steps you can take to protect the content of your forum.
- Do not share your account with anyone. This is against the PB TOS. If you feel you truly need a co-admin you can setup a Member Group with similar admin powers.
- Consider not giving anyone but yourself deletion powers. Set up a hidden or private staff-only board that questionable threads or posts can be moved to and subsequently reviewed by you for determining the next course of action. This will protect your forum from mass deletions.
- Set up an alternate member account for yourself. Add this member to the various member groups (one at a time) you create so you can first-hand test the powers you've assigned to each group.
Protecting your forum from external disruptions:
It's unfortunate but there are those who wish to either spam or cause mischief on a forum. If this is the case the first step would be to examine your forum's accessibility.
- The first way to dissuade the misguided user is to turn on the Guests Must Login feature.
Admin > Settings > Forum Settings, Login & Registration: Guests Must Login = Yes - Your next option would be to enable the Restricted Registration. This allows you to review every registration prior to the new member being able to log on to the forum.
Admin > Settings > Forum Settings, Login & Registration: Restrict Registration = Yes - You should consider enabling the Allow Request Message. This allows the new registering member to send you a message with their registration. There is also the Restricted Registration Message which displays your generic message on the final page of the registration process.
If a misguided user has a registered account on your forum and does not heed your warnings for proper behavior, you have three options:
- Disable their account
Member List > Member's Name > Edit Profile > Staff Options, Account Disabled = Yes - Temporary Ban
Admin > Security > Ban Members: Enter their username and/or IP AND an expiration date, plus you should add a comment to the Notes field. You can also initiate the ban from a post or profile by selecting the gear icon drop-down Ban Member. Complete the pop-up box accordingly. - Permanent Ban
The same method as the Temporary Ban but without inputting an expiration date.
If a misguided user has registered an account just to spam your forum, you should:
- First disable the account
- Remove the spam posts using the Forum Cleanup tool.
Admin > Security > Forum Cleanup, tick the applicable “find all” criteria (posts, threads, PMs) and MAKE SURE you click “By Specific Member” or “By the IP” Address. Leave the Everywhere ticked unless you know for sure their activity was limited to a specific board. Click the Calculate Total button and complete required actions on the next screen. - Once this is done you can permanently ban the IP and then delete the account.
A forum is only as happy as its members:
What a wonderful tool a forum is in its ability to unite people from all around the world that have similar interests. With this though, comes various experiences, backgrounds, cultures, etc. These things which can elicit better understanding also have the possibility of misunderstandings. This is something to keep in mind as you interact with your members.
In setting up your forum, it is important to have a set of guidelines and/or rules that are posted right from the start letting your members know what behavior is expected. In addition to the guidelines there should also be posted the consequences of what will happen if a member does not follow the rules of the forum.
As your forum grows you might consider adding moderators to your forum. These trusted members can assist you in making sure your members’ forum experience is an enjoyable one.
We do not advocate running your forum with “an iron fist”, but with reasonable expectations. Know your audience and what their purpose is for being a member of your forum as well as know your purpose for running a forum. Realize that members have outside interests, so make your forum more appealing through content, ease of design, and ways that members can customize their own forum experience by using various themes or plugins, and maybe develop creative ways your members can connect in a positive manner.
Now go have fun!