Internet censorship: How and why to moderate content and manage trolls
Social media content moderation is in the news, and it’s not going away any time soon. Large social media sites like Facebook have become the go-to platform where people access their news and talk to their friends and family, and organizations focus targeted advertising. The high-volume of activity makes it easy for social media to turn into the Wild West. On some sites it seems like “anything goes,” where trolls abound and feelings get hurt, while other sites are known for being so strict that people in vulnerable communities have complained about being targeted by aggressive and indifferent moderators. 

The best situation for your website or platform page is somewhere in the middle, where people can feel free to express their thoughts and opinions under a banner of free speech, and get questions answered in a timely manner, without fear of harassment or abuse. Of course, that’s easier said than done.

When should I moderate my community?

The short answer is “always.” It doesn’t take long for a page to get a bad reputation. The first question you need to answer is whether you want people to be able to post on your page without moderator approval. 

If you have a moderator who is willing and able to pay constant attention to posts that need approval, that is great. Having all posts be pre-approved means that you are already limiting the ability of trolls to wreak havoc on your page. Excellent! But if your moderator, or “mod” isn’t available all of the time, you may need to allow posting without approval, otherwise a post like, “Is anybody interested in carpooling from the west side to the game tonight?” might not get posted in time to be helpful, making for a frustrating experience for your users. 

Choose your path forward wisely based on the availability of your moderators, and how trustworthy you think your community is in regards to following the rules.

Publish your rules and guidelines

It’s not fair to ask your site’s visitors to self-moderate when you haven’t set a standard for behavior. Here are some rules that are a good starting place:

1.	No foul language. Swearing will not be tolerated.
2.	No pornographic, sexually offensive, sexually explicit, or objectifying material. Content should be safe for work (SFW). 
3.	No trolling. Don't make posts that are inflammatory just to get people riled up. Substance is the key to not being labeled a troll.
4.	Attack the message, not the messenger. Criticize ideas, not people. No member is allowed to engage in public personal attacks on any other member. Personal attacks are defined as personal, racial, ethnic, and/or gender-based insults, slurs, or derisive comments. Do not shame others for not understanding / misinterpreting something. Be conscious of members with learning difficulties who may not easily understand something you consider obvious. Purposely unhelpful, derogatory, or dehumanizing comments will be deleted and offenders will be muted and repeat offenders banned. 
5.	All complaints need to be communicated privately using private messaging, the "Report this Post" feature on the site and/or email. In the event of this, the offending post will be edited or removed, and the offending party shall receive no more than two (2) private warnings via private message and/or email, and one final administration warning. If the behavior continues, the member will be banned for a week, and upon a repeat incident, banned permanently. [NOTE: As you can see, this requires that the moderator(s) keep track of who the offenders are, and when and how often they offend. Depending on how active your site is, this can be a big job.]
6.	Respect the privacy of others. Do not post phone numbers, addresses, pictures, etc., without their permission.
7.	NO SPAMMING. No commercial posts, and no flooding with useless content.
8.	No livestreaming without the approval of all mods and admins.

The rules should be tailored to your community’s needs, as well as the legal requirements you and your staff are responsible for following.

Be responsive and consistent

Having a stable and active moderator or team of moderators is key to having a successful and engaged community. The community manager(s) need to be accessible, and they need to be consistent about removing trolls. Setting up a forum or page is not a “set it and forget it” situation. It requires constant and enthusiastic management. Keep an eye on some of the early users and see how engaged they are — and see if they’re interested in becoming moderators. A team of mods is always going to be more successful than a single person, and it’s a great way for people to volunteer their time from home.

Encourage staff to participate

“Staff participation is widely believed to improve the quality of discussion, and if their comments are both entertaining and intelligent, then it's more than likely to get readers coming back for more.” www.canva.com/learn/how-to-moderate-social-media 

This is a big one. Your community is not going to show up on its own without encouragement. And encouragement means finding people they know who are using it. Do you have a staff member that’s willing to do a live “ask me anything” video? Can you have staff members regularly post useful information on the page so people know it’s a place they can access that information quickly? 

Take some time to brainstorm how you can get more involvement by the staff, which will lead to more involvement with the community. An active social media page can be a big asset to your organization, both as a way to distribute current information, and a way to grow community involvement.

Contributed by Megan J. Wilson, Los Angeles-based freelance writer and communications consultant.