rogerd - 3:05 pm on May 14, 2004 (gmt 0)

Bluesplinter, TOS issues fall in to a couple of categories. One category is legal compliance - issues like COPPA, copyright ownership, libel/slander disclaimers, DMCA violation reporting, etc. In most cases, this will be boilerplate that won't vary too much between forums.

The other major TOS category is defining rules & behavior. These go a long way to determining what the ambiance of your forum will be, and there's no perfect formula. When you define your TOS, you are also defining your membership. If you have strict rules about language and topics, you will lose some members who don't like censorship and don't like being told what they can discuss. On the other hand, if you permit free-wheeling posting with few rules, you'll drive away members who are offended by bad language, religious or anti-religious posts, etc.

By spelling out your expectations in detail in your TOS, it will be easier for you and your mods to rein in members. Many, or most, won't read the TOS before posting, but they are less likely to feel singled out if you can point to a specific TOS element after editing or deleting a post.