Profit From an Online Community

You could start a general topic online community, but it'sbetter to focus on a specific topic. Some popular forumtopics are: celebrity gossip, child rearing, relationships,free lancing, and home businesses. Having a specifictopic gives website purpose, and attracts people interestedin that topic.

Users like an online community because they can communicateeven though they may be geographically separated, and theydon't have to be online at the same time. Newcomers canread past messages to catch up on the conversation, andjoin in when they're ready.

An online forum is profitable to the owner because theystart out with a targeted audience and by monitoringmessage threads, the owner can fine tune the website'sadvertising to the very specific interests of the Community.

The most challenging part of starting an online forum isto attract people to the community. you'll need to set upsome threads and have some friends start discussions.People are attracted to a community that has a large numberof active discussion threads.

After joining and participating for a while, members willtend to stay because they make acquaintances with othermembers. After the community reaches a certain number ofmembers, it will become self-sustaining without much efforton your part.

One decision you need to make is whether to providesynchronous or asynchronous communication. Synchronouscommunications, for example a "chat room", allows membersto communicate in real-time. Of course, the members haveto be online simultaneously, and users with slow dial-upInternet connections will not be able to keep up with theconversation.

Asynchronous communications, for example a "message board",means members leave messages that others can respond tolater. With asynchronous communications, users will beable to put more thought into their messages beforeresponding.

Some online communities provide both message boards andchat rooms. This allows individuals to break away from amessage board thread and engage in their own real-timeconversation.

Your online community can be moderated or unmoderated. Ina moderated forum, before messages are posted they must beapproved by a moderator to make sure that they conformwith the community's rules and policies. In an unmoderatedforum, messages are posted directly by the users withoutfiltering.

There are several options between fully moderated andfree-for-all totally unmoderated. For example, a newmember's messages could be moderated for a short trialperiod, after which they would be allowed to post directlyto the forum.

The chat room or message forum could be left basicallyunmoderated, with occasional spot checks to make sure thateveryone is conforming with the rules and policies. Orthey could be left unmoderated with no action taken againstmembers who violate the rules unless someone sends acomplaint to the website's operator.

You will need to establish clear rules and policies as towhat is acceptable by the community, and the sanctions thatwill be imposed on those who violate the rules. What kindof things are unacceptable for users to post? Personalattacks, bigotry, and profanity should not be allowed. Willyou allow off-topic messages? How far off-topic?

Get all new members to agree on the rules and put a link tothe rules on all pages. Also provide a form that makes iteasy for members to report violators.

Have clear polices for what the penalty will be forviolating the rules and deal with the violator as quicklyas possible. Start by emailing the individual and politelyrequest that they review community's rules and policiespages. If that doesn't stop the violations, enforce thepenalty.

Many web users conceal their true identity and use apseudonym instead. They pretend to be who they're not andthis is prone to abuse. Sometimes this results in theexploitation of minors. There is not much you can do tolearn members true identities, but you should verify theemail address of new members by sending a message to whichthey must respond.

Enforcement of the rules could involve subjecting theirmessages to approval before posting, suspending theirposting rights, or banning their membership in thecommunity. Email them, letting them know that they arebeing penalized and why. Let them know what they need todo to get the penalty lifted.

If you want users to have confidence when they join thecommunity, you will need to post a clear privacy policy.It should describe what personal information will becollected and how personal data will be used. Put a linkto the privacy policy on all pages.

You should maintain a topic about the website itself wheremembers can talk about bugs, rules they would like to see,or features they wish for. Here, new members can postquestions about how to use their computer, the web, or thecommunity website, and receive help from more experiencedusers. Visit that topic regularly yourself.

One decision you need to make is whether messages bearchived and for how long? Will you archive all messages,including ones that are just frivolous chat or gossip andare not worth saving? Will you allow members access to thearchives? Will you be the only one who can delete messagesor will members have the authority to delete their ownmessages?

You can start your message forum on a site that offers freemessage boards and as your community grows move to your ownWeb site. Below is a list of some websites that offer freemessage boards or free message forum code.

Boards2Go (www.boards2go.com) provides free message boardshosted on their servers. There is nothing for you to setup. Boards2Go's message boards can easily integrate to yourwebsite's layout. Your visitors will never know they leftyour website. All configurations may be made via our webinterface administrator area.

Web Wiz Guide (www.webwizguide.info) provides free ASPforum code, and The Free Country (www.thefreecountry.com)Provides Free PHP Forum Code.