Online communities are a great way for groups of like-minded people to connect and collaborate online. Whether you're a local book group looking to go digital or a business wanting to connect with your customers, online communities can help you to have insightful conversations and share important resources.
However, for an online community to work, it needs to be effectively managed. This is where community moderators come in.
A community moderator is a person who implements the rules of the community, ensuring that members are adhering to community standards. Whether you do it yourself or appoint someone to do it for you, the moderator is key to ensuring your community is supportive and inclusive.
It might sound like an easy job, but it is important that the moderator has the knowledge, tools, and training to effectively manage the community.
So, here, we set out 7 steps to easy online community moderation – so you can focus on growing your business and supercharging your revenue.
What is community moderation (and why does it matter)?
There are many platforms where you can find online communities, such as Facebook, Telegram, Reddit, Slack, Discord servers – and right here on Whop.
Wherever they’re found, one thing that the best communities have in common is their use of a moderator to manage user interactions.
The benefit of an online community is that you can invite members to ask you questions and have conversations with other users. This can lead to lively discussions, social interactions, networking, learning (and a nice profit for you if you monetize your community).
However, there's also a downside to this. An online community can result in members sharing:
❌ Offensive comments
❌ Bullying
❌ Spam
❌ Off-topic conversation
❌ Lack of engagement
❌ Fraudulent behavior
This can turn your community into a toxic space and one which people generally want to avoid.
That is why moderators are essential. Moderators oversee activity in the community and are given certain permissions on the site to make sure things stay on track. These permissions allow them to delete posts and comments, issue warnings, kick users out of the community, and even decide who gets in.
By carrying out effective moderation, you can make sure your community remains vibrant, supportive, valuable, and a place where members want to hang out.
If you’re running a paid community and/or want to sell related digital products (such as courses), moderation is an important way to retain users, generate good word of mouth, and maximize your profit.
Qualities of a good moderator
So, what makes a good moderator?
Whether it’s you or someone acting on your behalf, there are several qualities that determine if someone will be an effective community moderator:
📜 They follow guidelines: As you’ll see in the next section, successful communities have guidelines for members to follow and moderators to enforce.
🗣️ They have strong communication skills: Moderators are the “mouthpiece” for the community, encouraging conversation and engaging with members.
⏱️ They are reliable: It is important that anyone chosen to be a moderator shows up regularly and is online at the agreed times.
🔍 They have attention to detail: Moderators have to monitor the interactions on the site and step in if a problem develops or someone posts questionable content.
⚖️ They are fair-minded: Communities can attract all kinds of people, so moderators must be comfortable interacting with everyone and treating them fairly.
❤️ They share a passion for the community: Moderators must understand the community’s aim and be able to talk about the subject with enthusiasm.
🚀 They are proactive: Whether getting a discussion moving, answering questions, or taking control when things go off track, a good moderator is proactive.
With that, let’s move on to the steps you need to take for successfully moderating an online community.
7 steps to successful online community moderation
1. Set out your community guidelines
The first thing to do is develop a set of guidelines for members to follow. Sometimes referred to as a “code of conduct”, the guidelines should be clear and unambiguous.
Simply set out what’s acceptable and what will happen to users and content deemed unacceptable. The penalties for posting unacceptable content might include a “don’t do it again”-type warning or “three strikes” policy.
It’s important to reserve the right to kick people out of the community for repeated or serious transgressions (possibly with a partial refund if they’re a paid member).
One of the most important things the guidelines should do is ban the posting of offensive content.
What is “offensive” content?
While the term can mean different things to different people, the main types of content generally considered “offensive” include:
☠️ Sexually explicit or pornographic material
☠️ Anything that encourages violence or self-harm
☠️ Threats and bullying
☠️ Material related to criminal activity
☠️ Content related to child abuse
☠️ Discriminatory language
☠️ Defamatory comments
However, beyond the obvious, there are some gray areas about which you will need to decide. For example, what about profanity? Extreme political views? Harmless conspiracy theories?
You want to strike a balance between letting conversations between adults play out, but ensuring the community is a welcoming (and inclusive) space.
Other things to cover in your community guidelines are:
✅ Aim of the community (what can users expect?)
✅ Rules on usernames
✅ Age restrictions
✅ Primary language/s used on the site (so all members can participate)
✅ Target user base (beginners, experts, all levels, etc.)
✅ How members can provide feedback
✅ Separate rules for each channel or space (if applicable)
✅ Policy on spam
✅ Penalty system
✅ Data protection/privacy
✅ Acceptable content in posts (links, video, etc.)
✅ Policy on AI-generated content
✅ Policy on promotion and selling
Depending on the type of community and the age range of the members, you might want to add other things to cover your specific requirements.
Here’s an example taken from the rules related to the Python Discord server:
The guidelines go on to cover things like offensive content and infractions.
It is important to include a way for members to contact the moderator or admin team away from the community. This might be via email or direct message.
If members have feedback, concerns, or complaints, you want them to be able to raise it privately – not post publicly in the community channels.
While this might all sound like a lot, you can (and should) keep the guidelines brief and easily readable. Lengthy guidelines may not be read in full and might even turn some potential members off to the point that they don’t join.
2. Make the rules easily available
Once you’ve put together your guidelines, make sure they’re easily accessible for members to read.
Post them on a separate page with a clear heading. Also, consider introducing a way for new members to view and agree to the guidelines before they can access the community, such as a tick box.
Don’t forget to include a section on the moderation policy. For example, the Python Discord server includes the following:
If you change the guidelines in any way, make sure this is communicated to all members and moderators.
Need some help? Here are 5 free Discord rules templates you can use
3. Decide who will moderate the community
When you first launch your community, you may be able to handle the moderating yourself. However, as it grows, you’ll likely find you don’t have the time to moderate your community and need to hire or appoint one or more people to do it for you.
It’s important that anyone you give moderator permissions to are trained to enforce the guidelines, as well as to do things like vet people who ask to join the community.
The extent of the commitment will depend on the size of the community and the level of activity. Even when you first launch the community, a moderator should be available to welcome members and set a positive tone.
It also lets members know that the community is moderated, which might deter some spammers and trolls.
For more established communities, existing members with a strong track record are often invited to become moderators. This can be a good idea as they already enjoy being part of the community and interacting with other members.
Make sure you vet their posting history before you give them moderator permissions on your site.
Should moderators be paid or work for free?
There are arguments for both. You don’t have to pay moderators, and some people argue that it should be voluntary. However, if you’re making a profit from the community, paying moderators can “professionalize” the role and help to make sure they take the responsibility seriously.
Good to know: As of October 2024, the pay for forum moderators in the U.S. was around $30 an hour (according to ZipRecruiter).
4. Monitor the community regularly
How much time moderation takes will depend on the size of the community. A few hours a day may be fine for smaller communities. Larger communities with multiple channels might have several moderators covering shifts all day (and overnight).
Monitoring means more than just skimming over the comments to look for offensive content. It means keeping a close eye on the activity and being alert to things like microaggressions and disagreements, which could escalate.
It’s also a good way to measure engagement with the community – if the moderator finds they rarely have to step in, it shows that the members are interacting positively.
As well as looking at what people write, check the links, images, video, and anything else they post. Be especially alert to things posted by new members.
Moderators also answer questions posted by members and enforce the guidelines, including imposing any penalties.
What are the options for penalizing members?
When a moderator comes across something that goes against the guidelines, there are several options open, such as:
Post a general warning to the community: This can be a gentle reminder to all members to make sure what they post is within the guidelines.
Remove the offending post: Many communities have standard wording, like: "This comment has been reported/removed for violating the code of conduct".
Close the discussion thread: This is an easy way to shut down a conversation that has gone off-topic or is becoming problematic.
Mute a member: If someone is being disruptive or breaching the guidelines, you can block them from posting or replying for a certain length of time.
Kick the member out: This is a last resort in extreme cases where a member has repeatedly breached the rules or posts especially toxic content.
If you have to penalize a member, it’s good practice to keep records, such as screenshots of offensive posts and email chains of conversations.
Learn more about how to engage an online community
5. Pay attention to member feedback
This is an important role of the moderator. Ultimately, the community exists for the benefit of the members – who you hope will become paying customers.
So, practice good member relations by taking on board any feedback. Not all comments will have merit. People might just have a personal gripe about another member or want to rant about having a post removed.
However, member feedback might flag problematic content or behavior that you or your moderator may have missed.
Ensure there’s an easy way for members to report anything suspicious or offensive and a clear policy for looking into any concerns raised.
Members might also have great ideas about improving the community. In turn, this can help you in your monetization efforts.
For example, if there’s a topic you haven’t covered or a question that keeps recurring, this might be worthy of an ebook or PDF.
6. Don’t take over the conversation
While moderators should have a presence in the community and step in when needed, they shouldn’t dominate. The role is mainly to monitor the activity and look for signs that things are going off track.
The idea behind a community is that it offers members a forum to talk about what they want, as long as it’s relevant to the topic and stays within the guidelines.
Exceptions include live Q&A-style events, where the community owner is available to interact with members.
Mostly, moderators should stay low-key. Show up to answer questions and get the conversation moving, but unless someone’s violating the rules, let interactions and discussions play out.
7. Avoid over-selling
Even if you plan to monetize your community, using every opportunity to push your paid services and content is not a great idea.
Members are likely to be put off if you interrupt conversation threads with promotions and links to make purchases. It’s also kind of a double standard if your guidelines ban members from promoting their own stuff.
That doesn’t mean you can’t leverage your community to generate revenue. There are plenty of ways to monetize a community, including:
💰 Paid memberships: A common way to monetize a community is to offer paid access, either as the only option or as a premium add-on to a free community.
💰 Offer relevant coaching or courses: Communities lend themselves to lots of related educational content, such as e-learning resources.
💰 Create a paid newsletter: Whatever your niche, you can publish a paid newsletter that includes insights and other relevant content.
💰 Ask for donations: An increasingly popular way for content creators to monetize is to ask their audience for voluntary donations via sites like Buy Me a Coffee. You can also add a check-out link to your Whop site.
Automated online community moderation
This article assumes that you will be using human moderators for your online community. However, it’s worth mentioning the automated option.
As AI becomes more sophisticated and widespread, tools and platforms have sprung up that carry out the moderation function. These tools monitor comments sections, discussion boards, and communities for spam and toxic comments.
They are trained to spot certain words and other indicators that content is offensive or otherwise breaches the guidelines.
The advantages of this include peace of mind that your community is being monitored consistently 24/7. You can also tailor the moderation to be alert for different types of content in multiple languages.
The disadvantages include that you lose the human element, which is sometimes important. AI-powered moderators might misinterpret and flag specific words that are taken out of context, for example. This might lead to community members being unfairly penalized. They might also miss things that a human moderator would spot.
If you want to explore this option, some platforms that offer automated moderation are:
- Arwen
- Ettiq
- Utopia AI Moderator
- CommentGuard
- Besedo
The services vary, with some more suited to social media interaction and others designed for corporates that manage comments and community interactions on a global scale.
Overall, AI tools can save you time and offer a consistent approach but can’t (yet) factor in nuance and perspective.
For smaller community sites, the human option is likely the preferred approach. As you grow, it might make more sense to automate the moderation process. However, having some form of human oversight is still the best way to go to ensure the community is managed fairly and consistently.
Community moderation: a summary of the dos and don’ts
To sum up, here are some of the main dos and don’ts of online community moderation:
| Dos | Don'ts |
|---|---|
| ✅ Develop clear community guidelines | ❌ Interrupt non-offensive conversation |
| ✅ Communicate the rules to users | ❌ Over-promote your paid content |
| ✅ Monitor the site regularly | ❌ Ignore feedback from users |
| ✅ Remove offensive content asap | ❌ Let things go too off-topic |
| ✅ Respect other opinions | ❌ Be shy about stepping in |
| ✅ Be alert to spammers & scammers | ❌ Take over the discussion |
Now you know the steps to effective moderation, it’s time to find the best place to build a successful online community….
Create, grow, and monetize your community with Whop
Easy to use and offering unlimited flexibility, Whop has everything you need to grow a successful online community.
Once you sign up, you can create your very own “whop” – this is your home on the internet, which you can tailor to create your perfect community. You design your whop your way, adding the elements you want. With Whop you can add chat channels, video call channels, forums, and giveaways. Not only that, but you can also sell digital products from your whop.
From ebooks and courses to consulting and coaching – we’re here to help you diversify and maximize your revenue.
But don’t take our word for it…
Throughout this article, you’ve seen diverse examples of entrepreneurs like you who have built a successful community on Whop – and are enjoying the many rewards:
Now it’s your turn.
Sign up to Whop and you too can create your ideal online community - and even start making money with it.
Online community moderation FAQs
Do I have to reveal the identities of the moderators?
No. Moderators are usually denoted in some way, so members know they have that role. It’s important that privacy is taken seriously in your community.
What questions should I ask potential moderators?
You should ask about any biases and relevant experiences. Consider setting out some scenarios and asking how they would handle them. Also, make sure they can commit to the agreed schedule.
At what point should I kick a member out?
That’s really your call. It’s a big step (especially if they’re a paying member) and one which usually follows some kind of tiered warning system. However, there might be “deal breakers” where you decide to remove a member immediately for the benefit of the community.
For example, a member breaching a guideline about promoting their own stuff might result in a warning or two before you remove them. However, using discriminatory language might be your line in the sand for kicking them out.
What if a member complains about a moderator in the channel?
Move the conversation to a private forum as soon as possible. You don’t want to set a trend of attacking moderators in the channel in front of other members. This is why it is important to have at least one way for members to privately contact the admin team, such as email or DM.
Do I have to explain why a comment or post was removed?
No, but it’s a good idea to explain, even if it’s just a generic message posted on the channel. If the member complains, it’s best handled privately where you can go into more detail. Explain why the comment was removed and remind the poster to stick to the community guidelines or face the appropriate penalty.
