Step 2: Communicate Rules Clearly - Page 4

Rules are all well and good, but if they're not communicated to the user in a clear way, they might as well not exist. So the question becomes how to best communicate the rules in a community space?

First of all, there are several traditional documents that communicate the rules of a site. Depending on the depth of your community features, you should consider including some, if not all, of these documents on your site:

About--This page introduces the people and ideas behind the site.

Help--This is the user's first stop when she feels lost.

FAQ--The Frequently Asked Questions list can be a great way to help users do what they're trying to do. But be warned: If you keep getting the same questions, you may want to look for ways to insert help text where users need it, before they go looking for the FAQ.

Privacy Statement--This document outlines the user's rights in your community space. Here is where you should outline exactly what personal data, if any, you collect on each user and what you will and won't do with it.

Terms of Service--This is where you want to be as clear with your users as possible about the service you're offering and the terms it comes with.

Posting Guidelines--Sometimes, this is part of the Terms of Service; this is where you should outline what is and isn't allowed in the community areas.

These documents provide a wonderful opportunity for you to communicate with your users. I encourage you to use them to do more than simply tell your community what isn't acceptable, but to also explain a little more about who you are. How you communicate in these documents sometimes says more about you than your About page.

Ben and Jerry's, a company that makes some of the tastiest ice cream on the planet, has a site that does this quite well. Its Privacy Statement (benjerry.com/privacy.html) states very clearly what information it collects, and what it does with it. But a personal voice comes through to make you feel comfortable.

We keep everything we find out through our Web site to ourselves. Usually, we (the WebHeads) don't even share it with the marketing folks. We do not send spam, we do not solicit personal information from children, etc. We do accept voluntary subscriptions to e-mail and/or snail mail newsletters. If you want to hear from us, you have to ask.

Since Ben and Jerry's is a company that makes ice cream, it has to be clear about its relationship with children. So their Privacy Statement addresses them (and their parents) directly:

Hey KIDS! If you are under 16, please get your parents' permission before contacting us. We'd love to hear from you and your parents.

Hey PARENTS! Ben & Jerry's encourages children to ask their parents before submitting any information to us. There is software available that can keep children from giving out personal information online without parental permission. Of course, there is nothing better than personal supervision of your children while surfing the Net. For more information about parental control tools, please consult the "Privacy Action" page of the Direct Marketing Association home page.

There's no reason you can't have fun with these documents, too. CitizenX.com, a community site that includes webcams and chat rooms, has a very entertaining Terms of Service document (citizenx.com/reg/terms.asp). It includes gems like: "If you're being a jerk, we have the right to de-activate your account and put gum in your hair." And: "In this lawsuit-happy day and age, we should probably add something here about liability. Basically, we're not responsible. Got it? If you see someone on their cam, you fall in love, then they turn out to be a deadbeat-it's not our fault."

Change 2: Get An Email Address - Page 3
Design for Community
Step 3: Communicate Rules Visually - Page 5