In case you hadn't caught our recent webinar (titled "From Twitter to Facebook and Beyond: Managing Your Social Brand Presence), using moderation is essential in an online community.
During the webinar one very important question was asked, "What is the difference between moderation and censorship?" The quick answer is that there is no such thing as censorship on a privately-owned site. Most websites are owned by individuals and businesses, and they have ultimate control over what interactions take place. On most sites, users are required to complete a registration form and set up an account with a username and password. They are also asked to agree with the Terms of Service (ToS) and forum rules which describes acceptable and unacceptable conduct (and frequently includes the language that content may be removed for any reason or no reason), before they are allowed to contribute content.
One problem moderators are faced with time and time again is users getting upset over the removal of content. Many moderators have many years of experience using the ToS as a reference for determining what content is in violation and needs to be removed. As a result, since the decision to contribute content implies agreement with the rules, there can be no censorship if content is removed. If users disagree with the rules, the only alternative is not to use the site.
If you are interested in learning more, please listen to the encore of our webinar.
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