The forums – especially in worlds like gaming, product support, sports, travel, etc. – are where some of the most valuable discussions happen on a given website. But, as forum users get passionate about topics, and get to know some of the other users, issues can arise, including personal attacks, privacy reveals, and more. Having forum rules and policies isn’t enough – it has to be moderated. Bad actors and toxic content need to be identified, removed and repeat offenders dealt with in order for forums to provide strong brand identity and user experience.

There are a number of ways to moderate forum content, including escalation, outright removal, community input, etc. When we work with clients, we’ve embraced different models, with the overall goal of keeping your user base safe, but also not sacrificing the speed of their contribution to the forum. If they never see their posts because the moderation queue is too long, they’ll navigate away from your site. But if they feel unsafe, they will as well. It’s about a balance when moderating forums.