Writing a Forum T&C/Charter

what to include

[HelenDev]

I have to write one of these for our website forum.

Does anyone have any advice on what should be included?

So far I have a few notes along the lines of:

• opinions expressed are of poster and not our organisation
  
• posters shouldn't expect a reply to comments, they should contact us via email if they expect a response
  
• include something about age of posters?
  
• offensive/racist/abusive posts to be removed
  
• posts may be moved
  
• advertising not allowed
  
• posts not to be reproduced without author's permission - is this true from a legal point of view?
  
• don't reveal personal information on forum
  

If anyone's got any feedback or can think of something I've forgotten, that would be most helpful.

Cheers.

[rogerd]

I'd recommend using the time-honored technique of checking out what other forums are doing. When you find a paragraph you like, flag it and rewrite it for your own purposes. Different forums have very different terms of service, but if you look at enough you'll get some good ideas.

Ownership of copyright and posts is one thing to clarify. Disclaim everything, including posts of and actions by moderators, etc. Even though it has been challenged in court, as far as I can tell it makes sense to be sure you are compliant with COPPA - the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act [ftc.gov].

As with any legal issue, it's OK to do research yourself, but be sure to check with an attorney.

[andyll]

posters shouldn't expect a reply to comments, they should contact us via email if they expect a response

I guess I really disagree with this one. Isn't public discussion one of the main reasons to have forums.

There have been many times I've been in the early stages of searching for a product and have excluded a company because the only way to get detailed information was to contact them.

Andy

[HelenDev]

posters shouldn't expect a reply to comments

I guess I really disagree with this one.

I think this one is probably more specific to the type of forum that we have. Our organisation isn't a company selling products, and our message boards are for members of the public to discuss issues that concern them, rather than a way of contacting us directly, which they can do via email or a feedback form.