Where's Your Online Community?

3. Don't try to run your board all by yourself. Hire a small team of qualified moderators as I have done at my board. Experts who know the value of networking will gladly accept a position as moderator. My own moderators spend an hour or so per week in trade for the name recognition and new business it brings them.

Okay, are you ready to build your own board yet? Here some details on making it happen...

A multitude of free "bulletin board cgi scripts" are readily available on the web. My bulletin board cgi script came from Matt's Script Archive at: http://www.worldwidemart.com/scripts

You can go to that URL and download Matt's WWWboard or, if you prefer a different style, more bulletin board scripts are available at: Cgi-Resources.com

Once you settle on the actual script you want, you'll need to install it at your server. This requires modifying the files you download with the script, and uploading them into the proper directories at your web server. Since most scripts differ, it's best to read the "readme.txt" file that comes with your script. It will spell out all the details of installation.

Once your board is up, tend to it daily.

Don't allow blatant advertising or self-promotion at your board. This makes for a board that people will not bother to re-visit. You may want to post a "no advertising" statement and police your board by removing undesirable posts as quickly as possible.

As far as what posts get deleted and what stays at your board, you have the final say. After all, you are the moderator. It's your community. Tend to it wisely, and it will re-pay you many times over!