While Forem comes bundled with default pages, there are also some pages that we recommend you create. /organization-info is one of them, and /community-guidelines (or just /guidelines if you prefer) is another one.

"If Forem already comes with a Code of Conduct and Terms of Use, why would I create Guidelines as well?" Great question! I like to explain it like this:

• A Terms of Use tells community members what they can (and can’t) use data from the site for, content policies relating to plagiarism, affiliate links, or questionable behavior, and other rules.
• A Code of Conduct helps to draw boundaries around acceptable and unacceptable behavior. It helps members understand the values of the community, and the consequences of violating those values.
• A Community Guidelines answers the following questions: Who are we? What do we believe? What do we share? With whom do we share? It helps to nurture connection and belonging.

Rather than a policy-type document, Community Guidelines provide some helpful suggestions about who and what members can expect to find in the community, and maybe even help them get started with participating. Check it out:

Community Guidelines

You made it! We are delighted to welcome you to the forem.dev community, where you will be able to connect with other Forem Creators to discuss all things related to using Forem and building your community.

We've been working hard to make this a space where you can be curious, humble, and wise. Community builders are our people, and we want to help you succeed in growing healthy, sustainable communities. 🙌

We encourage you to share information by both asking and answering questions whenever you can! Here are some of our favorite suggestions for how to do this effectively:

Ask questions

Asking questions is a really effective way to learn - especially if you can get (or figure out) the answers!

• Before you ask your question, try dropping some keywords into the search bar to see if anyone has asked it before. You'll get an answer quicker if it already exists than if you have to wait for someone to see your new question!
• Make your question the title of your post. If you are having trouble removing a spammy user, then a good title for your post is "How can I remove a spammy user?". Simple is better!
• Share context in the post, such as what the situation is, what you've tried, what has worked/not worked, what error messages you're seeing.

If you have logs, please share them in a code block so they're easier to parse.

• Tag your post with #help (in the example above, #moderation or #spam are also appropriate tags).
• Try to be as responsive as possible to people who are replying to your question. They may request additional information to help answer you, so please be patient if they do.
• Please confirm in the discussion below your post if your question has been answered. For bonus points, reply to the most helpful answer you received to help out people looking for it in the future.

Answer questions

If you've successfully set up and started growing your Forem community: congrats! We would love to see you supporting and helping others in this community.

• Believe in your own knowledge! If you have run into the same issue and figured out how to resolve it, please feel empowered to share what you did and how you figured it out!
• Try to empathize with the person asking the question. We all benefit from kind, thoughtful communication, often most of all when we're being vulnerable by asking for help.
• If your answer to the question is longer than 3-4 paragraphs, consider writing a post with your answer and sharing a link to it in the comments below the question. This will help people looking for it in future.
• If you think the question has been answered before, please share a link to the relevant post and the answer in the comments, if appropriate.
• If you got stuck trying to figure something out and learned from the experience, please consider writing a post about it to proactively share the knowledge with others who might find it helpful.

And finally...

Assume the best of each other

Community builders are coming here to ask questions when they're frustrated, tired, or even scared. Communities are wonderful, even magical places, but they can also be full of people's emotions and opinions.

Sometimes being helpful is as simple as being kind. Try not to take it personally if you get an unexpected response from another member, although we encourage you to report anything that makes you feel uncomfortable.

Thanks for reading!

The markdown for this page is available in our Open Resources repo here