8 Essential Community Guidelines Examples to Keep Your Group Thriving in 2026

I get it. Writing rules for your online community can feel a little… boring. You’re excited to teach, connect, and build something amazing, not draft a legal-sounding document. But trust me, a solid set of community guidelines is the foundation for everything you want to achieve.

Good guidelines create a space where everyone feels safe enough to be vulnerable, ask questions, and genuinely connect. They help you protect your members, your content, and honestly, your own sanity as a community manager.

Clear expectations prevent misunderstandings and empower your members to contribute positively. This turns a simple group into a thriving, self-moderating ecosystem.

So, instead of just telling you what to do, I’m going to show you. We’re diving deep into real-world community guidelines examples that you can adapt for your own course forum, membership group, or Slack community. This guide is all about the practical stuff that actually works.

We will break down specific rules covering everything from respectful discourse and content quality to intellectual property and spam management. To kickstart your efforts, exploring practical community guidelines examples, especially those tailored for platforms like Facebook and Instagram, can provide invaluable inspiration.

In this article, you will not just see examples. You will get a strategic breakdown of why they work and how you can implement them. We will look at:

• Clear codes of conduct
• Spam and self-promotion rules
• Intellectual property policies
• Anti-harassment standards
• Privacy and data protection
• Content quality and accuracy
• Accessibility and inclusion
• Engagement etiquette

Let’s get started.

1. Clear Code of Conduct Establishment

A clear code of conduct is the constitution of your learning community. It’s the foundational document that outlines expected behaviors, defines core values, and sets the rules of engagement for all members.

For any course creator or membership site owner, this isn’t just a formality. It’s an essential tool for building a safe, respectful, and productive learning environment where every participant feels comfortable contributing.

This guideline moves beyond a simple list of “don’ts.” It actively shapes the community’s culture by establishing a shared understanding of acceptable discourse and interaction. A well-crafted code of conduct empowers both moderators and members by creating a clear, predictable, and fair system.

Strategic Breakdown

Great community guidelines examples, like those found in Circle.so communities or dedicated course cohorts on Discord, do more than just list rules. They are strategically designed for clarity and impact.

• Behavioral Specificity: They avoid vague statements like “be respectful.” Instead, they provide concrete examples of both positive behaviors (e.g., “offer constructive feedback on projects”) and negative ones (e.g., “avoid unsolicited DMs for self-promotion”).
• Consequence Clarity: They transparently outline the moderation process. This includes what happens after a first violation (a warning), a second (temporary suspension), and so on. This removes ambiguity and ensures members perceive enforcement as fair.
• Value Alignment: The best codes of conduct reflect the community’s core purpose. A coding bootcamp’s guidelines might emphasize collaboration and helping others debug, while a creative writing group might focus on constructive criticism and protecting intellectual property.

For platforms relying on community contributions, a solid code of conduct is incomplete without robust strategies for user-generated content moderation. These systems help you enforce the rules you’ve so carefully established.

Actionable Takeaways for Your Community

Ready to create or refine your own code of conduct? Here’s how you can apply these principles:

1. Make It Visible and Actionable: Don’t bury your guidelines in a hard-to-find FAQ page. Feature them prominently during onboarding, requiring new members to read and agree to them before gaining full access. This sets expectations from day one.
2. Use Plain Language: Ditch the legal jargon. Write in a clear, simple, and direct style that everyone can understand. The goal is comprehension.
3. Include an Appeals Process: Show that you value fairness by outlining a simple process for members to appeal a moderation decision. This builds trust and shows that you are accountable. If you want a deeper look at building this kind of framework, learn more about the foundational rules of a successful community.

2. Spam and Self-Promotion Management

Effective spam and self-promotion management is the immune system of your community. It’s the set of guidelines that protects your educational space from becoming a billboard for unsolicited offers, affiliate links, and off-topic commercial messages.

For any membership site or course forum, this is about creating designated channels where value-driven sharing can happen without disrupting the primary learning objective.

This guideline preserves the integrity and focus of the community. A well-defined policy on promotion ensures that conversations remain centered on learning and collaboration, preventing member feeds from being cluttered with irrelevant advertisements. It builds trust by showing members you are committed to protecting their experience and attention.

Strategic Breakdown

Great community guidelines examples for managing promotion do more than just say “no spam.” They create a sophisticated system that channels promotional energy into productive, contained spaces, which ultimately benefits everyone.

• Designated Promotion Zones: They create specific areas, like a #promotions channel in Slack or a dedicated “Marketplace” space in a Circle.so community, for members to share their work, offers, or services. This acknowledges members’ desire to promote while keeping the main discussion areas clean.
• Contextual Sharing Rules: Instead of a blanket ban, they allow members to share relevant resources or tools within a conversation if it directly answers a question or adds value. The key is context. A link to a helpful blog post is welcome, but a generic “check out my site” comment is not.
• Clear Definitions: They explicitly define what constitutes spam versus acceptable self-promotion. For example, they might specify rules around affiliate links, frequency of promotional posts, and the type of content allowed in designated areas. This leaves no room for misinterpretation.

Managing this effectively often involves a combination of manual moderation and automated tools. Platforms like Mighty Networks offer built-in moderation workflows that can flag keywords commonly associated with spam, helping you enforce your guidelines at scale.

Actionable Takeaways for Your Community

Ready to build a spam-free yet supportive environment? Here’s how you can implement a strong self-promotion policy:

1. Create a ‘Promotions’ Container: Establish an official, easy-to-find space for self-promotion. Name it something clear like “Share Your Work,” “Marketplace,” or “Member Promotions.” Announce it clearly and direct all promotional activity there.
2. Set Clear Submission Guidelines: For your designated promotion zone, outline the rules. For example, “You may post once per week,” or “Include a special offer for community members.” This encourages quality over quantity.
3. Train Moderators on Nuance: Ensure your moderation team understands the difference between spam and valuable, context-aware sharing. Empower them to make judgment calls that support genuine interaction while removing low-effort promotional drops. This builds a smarter, more human-centric moderation system.

3. Intellectual Property and Content Attribution Policies

Intellectual property (IP) and attribution policies are the legal and ethical framework safeguarding content within your learning community. These guidelines define ownership, set rules for sharing, and establish how both your proprietary course materials and member-created content should be treated.

For course creators, this is non-negotiable. It’s how you protect the valuable assets you’ve built while encouraging members to share their own work safely.

This guideline establishes a clear boundary between collaborative learning and unauthorized use. It protects your business assets and fosters a culture of respect for creative work. A well-defined IP policy ensures members understand their rights and responsibilities, preventing accidental plagiarism and content theft.

Strategic Breakdown

Effective community guidelines examples, particularly on platforms like Kajabi or Teachable, integrate IP protection directly into the user experience. They are designed as an educational tool for the community, not just a legal notice.

• Ownership Clarity: They explicitly state that the course creator owns all instructional materials (videos, worksheets, text). For user-generated content, they clarify who retains ownership, often granting the community a license to display the content within the group.
• Permission Tiers: They often establish different rules for different types of content. For example, a member’s project feedback might be freely shared within a private forum, while a downloadable high-value PDF is protected with watermarks or DRM and cannot be distributed.
• Attribution Standards: They provide simple, clear formats for giving credit. Instead of just saying “cite your sources,” they might specify, “When sharing an external resource, please include the author’s name and a direct link to the original source.” This makes compliance easy for everyone.

Protecting your IP is a critical part of a creator’s toolkit. It’s also important to manage how members engage, which is where guidelines on prohibiting hate speech and harassment become essential for maintaining a safe environment.

Actionable Takeaways for Your Community

Ready to protect your and your members’ creative work? Here’s how you can implement strong IP policies:

1. State Ownership in Enrollment Terms: Clearly outline who owns the course materials in your terms of service or enrollment agreement. Make sure new members must agree to these terms before accessing your content.
2. Educate on Fair Use: Don’t assume members understand copyright law. Create a simple, one-page guide or a short video explaining the basics of fair use and why attribution is important within your community. This proactive education prevents issues later on.
3. Implement Practical Protections: For your most valuable content, use technical safeguards. Platforms like Kajabi offer features to prevent easy downloading. You can also add watermarks with your brand name to PDFs and video content.

4. Respectful Discourse and Anti-Harassment Standards

This guideline is the heart of a safe and inclusive community. It’s where you explicitly state your commitment to creating a space free from harassment, bullying, discrimination, and hate speech. This is about ensuring that all discussions, even disagreements, happen respectfully and without causing harm to any member.

For any learning community where diverse individuals come together, establishing these standards is non-negotiable. They are essential for fostering psychological safety, which allows members to be vulnerable, ask questions, and truly engage without fear of personal attacks. This foundation of respect is what enables genuine learning and connection to flourish.

Strategic Breakdown

Effective anti-harassment policies do more than just forbid bad behavior. They actively promote a culture of empathy and respect. Looking at other community guidelines examples, particularly from professional associations or academic institutions, reveals a strategic approach.

• Define and Specify: Vague rules are unenforceable. Clearly define what constitutes harassment, bullying, and hate speech within your community. Include specific examples like doxxing, making threats, using slurs, or sending unwelcome private messages. This leaves no room for misinterpretation.
• Empower Members with Tools: The best policies are supported by platform features. For instance, platforms like Circle.so or Mighty Networks often have built-in reporting and blocking tools. Highlighting these features empowers members to protect their own experience and contribute to community safety.
• Focus on Positive Framing: While listing prohibited actions is necessary, also describe the desired behavior. Frame guidelines positively, such as “Engage with ideas, not identities,” or “Assume good intent and ask clarifying questions before reacting.”

These standards are crucial for preventing the kind of toxic environment that can quickly derail a community’s purpose and drive members away.

Actionable Takeaways for Your Community

Ready to build a framework for respectful discourse? Here’s how you can implement these standards effectively:

1. Establish a Private Reporting Channel: Members must feel safe reporting sensitive issues without fear of retaliation. Create a clear, private, and easy-to-find channel for them to report violations, such as a dedicated email address or a private form that goes directly to moderators.
2. Train Your Moderation Team: Your moderators are on the front lines. Provide them with training on recognizing implicit bias, understanding microaggressions, and responding to reports with empathy and fairness. A well-trained team is key to consistent and just enforcement.
3. Outline a Restorative Path: Before resorting to a permanent ban, consider restorative options for less severe violations. This could involve a required conversation with a moderator, a temporary suspension, or an apology to the affected member. This approach focuses on education and rehabilitation, which can strengthen the community in the long run.

5. Privacy and Data Protection Guidelines

Privacy and data protection guidelines are the bedrock of trust between you and your community members. They are the formal rules that govern how you collect, use, store, and protect personal data.

For course creators and membership owners, these aren’t just legal necessities mandated by regulations like GDPR and CCPA. They are a critical demonstration of your commitment to ethical stewardship and member safety in a digital world.

This guideline is about more than just a privacy policy link in your website footer. It involves building privacy-conscious features and processes directly into your community’s operations. A strong privacy framework reassures members that their information is handled responsibly, encouraging more open and authentic participation.

Strategic Breakdown

Effective community guidelines examples for privacy go beyond simple compliance checklists. They are strategically designed to build trust and empower users.

• Operational Transparency: They clearly state what data is collected (e.g., email, course progress, forum posts) and, more importantly, why it’s collected (e.g., to send updates, personalize learning, manage community access). Platforms like Teachable and Kajabi are great examples, as they provide clear policies on student data protection.
• User Control and Access: Leading platforms give members direct control over their data. This includes features to easily access, edit, or request deletion of their personal information. This turns a passive policy into an active, user-centric feature, fostering a sense of ownership and security.
• Data Minimization Principle: The guidelines commit to collecting only the data that is absolutely necessary for the community to function. This approach reduces risk and shows respect for member privacy by not overreaching.

For a deeper dive into creating a secure environment, it is worth exploring how to build an online learning community with privacy as a core tenet from the very beginning.

Actionable Takeaways for Your Community

Ready to strengthen your community’s privacy framework? Here’s how you can implement these principles:

1. Create an Accessible Privacy Policy: Write your privacy policy in plain, easy-to-understand language. Use clear headings and bullet points. The goal is to inform your members, not to confuse them with legal terminology.
2. Establish a Data Request Process: Outline a simple, clear workflow for how members can request access to or deletion of their data. This could be a dedicated email address or a form on your site. Having a defined process shows you are prepared and take their rights seriously.
3. Vet Your Third-Party Tools: Carefully review the privacy and data security practices of any third-party software you integrate with your community (e.g., email providers, analytics tools). You are responsible for the data they process on your behalf.

6. Quality and Accuracy Standards for Educational Content

In a learning community, the quality of shared information is paramount. This guideline establishes clear expectations for course materials, member contributions, and shared resources to maintain high educational integrity. It’s the standard that separates a premium, expert-led community from a generic online discussion forum.

By defining what constitutes accurate, well-sourced, and valuable content, you protect your members from misinformation and build a reputation for reliability.

These standards are about creating a trusted ecosystem where members feel confident that the knowledge being shared is credible. For course creators in technical or academic fields, this is non-negotiable. It ensures that discussions are productive, evidence-based, and contribute positively to everyone’s learning journey.

Strategic Breakdown

Effective community guidelines examples for educational spaces do more than just ask for good content. They create a framework that actively encourages and enforces quality.

• Sourcing and Citation Rules: They clearly state the expectation for backing up claims. For instance, a finance community might require links to official reports or established financial news sources when discussing market trends, while a history group might require academic citations.
• Expert Identification: They create systems to verify and highlight subject matter experts. This could be through special badges, roles, or dedicated “Ask an Expert” channels. This helps members quickly identify credible sources of information within the community itself.
• Correction and Update Protocols: They outline a transparent process for correcting misinformation or updating outdated content. This shows a commitment to accuracy and empowers the community to self-regulate constructively. It acknowledges that knowledge evolves and provides a mechanism to keep pace.

Maintaining these standards is a core part of building a successful learning environment. For a deeper dive into the systems behind this, you can learn more about implementing a strong online course quality assurance process.

Actionable Takeaways for Your Community

Ready to elevate the educational integrity of your community? Here are a few practical steps to implement:

1. Develop Clear Sourcing Tiers: Create simple, tiered expectations for sourcing. For example, “Level 1: Personal experience or opinion (label it as such),” “Level 2: Links to reputable blogs or news articles,” and “Level 3: Citations from academic journals or primary sources.” This gives members a clear guide.
2. Feature High-Quality Contributions: Regularly highlight and celebrate members who provide exceptionally well-researched and valuable posts. You can do this through a weekly “best of” digest or by pinning insightful comments. This positively reinforces the behavior you want to see.
3. Train Moderators in Your Subject Matter: Your moderation team is your first line of defense for quality control. Ensure they have at least a foundational understanding of your topic so they can spot glaring inaccuracies or unsupported claims, rather than just policing for behavioral issues.

7. Member Accessibility and Inclusive Design Standards

Accessibility is a fundamental requirement for an equitable learning community. These guidelines ensure your course platform, content, and interactions are designed to be usable by all members, including those with disabilities.

For course creators, incorporating inclusive design is both an ethical imperative and a legal necessity, creating an environment where everyone has an equal opportunity to participate and learn.

This standard moves your community from simply being available to being truly welcoming. It involves a conscious effort to remove barriers that might prevent members from accessing information or engaging in discussions. A strong accessibility policy builds trust and demonstrates a genuine commitment to the success of every single member.

Strategic Breakdown

Effective community guidelines examples for accessibility are proactive, not reactive. They integrate inclusive practices into the community’s DNA from the very beginning.

• Content Format Diversity: They commit to providing materials in multiple formats. For example, all video lessons include accurate, human-reviewed closed captions and a downloadable text transcript. This supports members who are deaf or hard of hearing, as well as those who prefer to learn by reading.
• Platform and Tool Selection: These guidelines prioritize the use of accessible technology. This means choosing platforms like Canvas or Circle.so that comply with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and are compatible with screen readers and other assistive technologies.
• Inclusive Communication Practices: They establish clear standards for member interactions. This includes encouraging the use of alt text for images shared in forums and advising against using color alone to convey important information in discussions.

Building these standards shows you value every member’s contribution. It’s a powerful statement that your community is designed for everyone.

Actionable Takeaways for Your Community

Ready to make your community more inclusive? Here are some practical steps you can take:

1. Publish a Clear Accessibility Statement: Create a dedicated page that outlines your commitment to accessibility. Detail the standards you follow, the features you’ve implemented, and provide a clear, direct way for members to report accessibility issues or request accommodations.
2. Budget for Accessibility Tools: Don’t rely solely on free, automated tools. Allocate resources for professional captioning and transcription services. The accuracy of human-powered services makes a significant difference in comprehension and user experience.
3. Use Semantic Structure in Your Content: When creating content on your platform, use proper heading structures (H1, H2, H3), descriptive link text (avoid “click here”), and alt text for all images. These simple technical habits make your content navigable for members using assistive technology.

8. Engagement Etiquette and Community Participation Norms

Effective community guidelines go beyond preventing negative behavior; they actively encourage positive participation. Engagement etiquette and community participation norms are the “rules of the road” for how members should interact, contribute, and engage in discussions.

For any learning community, these norms are crucial for transforming passive lurkers into active, valuable contributors.

These guidelines establish a predictable and welcoming rhythm for community life. They help manage expectations, prevent member burnout, and ensure that the dialogue remains productive and focused on learning. By defining what good participation looks like, you give members a clear path to becoming integrated and respected voices within the group.

Strategic Breakdown

Great community guidelines examples, particularly in thriving membership sites, are intentional about shaping engagement. They don’t just hope for good conversations; they engineer them.

• Setting Clear Expectations: Successful communities, like those on Circle.so or in dedicated Slack channels, often use onboarding sequences to introduce participation norms. They might specify “Post new questions in the #help channel” or “Introduce yourself in the #intros thread within your first week.”
• Encouraging Quality over Quantity: These norms discourage low-effort posts. Instead of just “great post!”, members are encouraged to add value by asking a follow-up question or sharing a related resource. This elevates the overall quality of discourse.
• Recognizing Diverse Participation: Smart guidelines acknowledge that not everyone participates in the same way. They validate different contribution styles, from the member who consistently shares deep insights to the one who quietly offers support and encouragement in comments. This inclusivity makes everyone feel valued.

A well-defined set of participation norms is a cornerstone of building a vibrant online space. For a deeper dive into this topic, you can explore some community engagement best practices.

Actionable Takeaways for Your Community

Ready to foster more meaningful engagement? Here’s how to apply these principles to your community guidelines:

1. Create Low-Barrier Entry Points: Don’t expect new members to jump into complex discussions immediately. Create simple, welcoming activities like a “Weekly Wins” thread or a “Share Your Current Project” post to make it easy for them to make their first contribution.
2. Define Realistic Response Times: To prevent anxiety and manage expectations, clarify norms around response times. Let members know that it’s okay if a question isn’t answered instantly and specify that moderators or instructors will check in at certain intervals.
3. Celebrate and Reward Contributions: Actively recognize members who exemplify your community’s engagement norms. This can be as simple as a weekly shoutout, a special “Top Contributor” badge, or featuring their post in a community newsletter. Public recognition reinforces desired behaviors for everyone.

8-Point Community Guidelines Comparison

Policy / Guideline	Implementation complexity	Expected outcomes	Ideal use cases	Key advantages
Clear Code of Conduct Establishment	Medium–High (policy drafting, legal review, translations)	Clear behavioral norms, consistent enforcement, safer environment	All membership sites, cohort-based courses, onboarding flows	Psychological safety, reduced moderation conflict, legal protection
Spam and Self-Promotion Management	Medium (rules, automated tools, workflows)	Reduced promotional clutter, preserved educational focus	Large/public communities, marketplaces, monetized groups	Maintains content quality, enables monetization, better UX
Intellectual Property and Content Attribution Policies	High (legal frameworks, licensing rules)	Protected instructor IP, clear ownership, controlled distribution	Paid course creators, proprietary content platforms, licensors	Protects IP, legal clarity, supports monetization
Respectful Discourse and Anti-Harassment Standards	High (sensitive policy and enforcement design)	Inclusive, safer interactions; lower churn and reputational risk	Diverse cohorts, public forums, professional associations	Safety for vulnerable members, improved retention, organizational credibility
Privacy and Data Protection Guidelines	High (regulatory compliance across jurisdictions)	Legal compliance, increased member trust, reduced liability	Platforms handling personal/student data, international audiences	Regulatory compliance, trust-building, reduced security risk
Quality and Accuracy Standards for Educational Content	Medium–High (review and verification workflows)	Higher credibility, fewer errors, improved learning outcomes	Premium courses, credentialed programs, expert communities	Credibility, better outcomes, differentiates premium offerings
Member Accessibility and Inclusive Design Standards	High (WCAG compliance, remediation)	Accessible learning experiences, broader reach, legal alignment	Public-facing courses, institutions, inclusive brands	Equitable access, expanded audience, improved UX for all users
Engagement Etiquette and Community Participation Norms	Low–Medium (guidelines and onboarding)	Increased participation, stronger community bonds, clearer expectations	Cohort-based courses, membership communities, forums	Boosts engagement, reduces churn, clarifies member roles

Your Turn: Make These Guidelines Your Own

Whew, that was a lot, but hopefully you have a much clearer picture now. Seeing these community guidelines examples in action shows that they are living documents, not just a static list of “don’ts.”

Throughout this guide, we’ve broken down real-world examples from successful learning communities. We didn’t just look at what they said, we analyzed why their approaches work. From establishing a crystal clear code of conduct to managing spam and defining respectful discourse, each example offers a strategic blueprint you can adapt.

The best guidelines grow with your community. Start with a solid foundation based on these examples, but never be afraid to tweak and evolve them. Your community’s culture is unique, and its rules should reflect that. Listen to your members. See what’s working and what’s causing friction. The ultimate goal is to build a space that feels safe, supportive, and incredibly valuable. Your guidelines are one of the most powerful tools you have to make that happen.

Key Takeaways and Your Immediate Next Steps

Let’s distill everything we’ve covered into actionable insights. Think of this as your final checklist before you start writing or refining your own guidelines.

• Clarity Over Complexity: The most effective guidelines are simple and easy to understand. As we saw in the examples, using plain language, clear headings, and even emojis can make your rules more accessible and memorable than dense, legalistic text.
• Proactive, Not Just Reactive: Great guidelines actively encourage the kind of positive interactions you want to see. This includes setting norms for engagement etiquette, celebrating helpful contributions, and framing rules around shared values like respect and curiosity.
• Context is Everything: A Slack community for a fast-paced coding bootcamp needs a different tone and set of rules than a forum for a self-paced wellness course. The community guidelines examples we explored highlight the importance of tailoring your approach to your platform, your audience, and your learning objectives.

So, where do you go from here? Don’t let this wealth of information lead to analysis paralysis. The key is to start small and build momentum.

Your Action Plan

I want you to leave this article with a clear, manageable plan. Here’s a simple, three-step process you can follow this week:

1. Choose Your Foundation: Pick one or two community guidelines examples from this article that most closely match the vibe and purpose of your community. Don’t copy them word for word. Instead, use their structure and core principles as your starting point. Ask yourself: what is the most critical behavior I need to define right now? Start there.
2. Draft Your “Big Three”: Before you get lost in the details of intellectual property or content formatting, write down the three most important rules for your community. These often revolve around respect, self-promotion, and staying on topic. Nailing these three will solve 80% of your potential moderation issues.
3. Get Early Feedback: If you already have a small group of founding members or trusted students, share your draft with them. Ask them specific questions like, “Is this clear?” or “Does this feel fair?”. This not only improves your guidelines but also creates a sense of shared ownership from the very beginning.

Crafting thoughtful community guidelines is more than just a box to check on your to-do list. It is an act of leadership. It’s how you signal your values, protect your members, and intentionally design a culture where learning can flourish. By taking the time to learn from these community guidelines examples and apply these principles, you are making a profound investment in the long-term health and success of your community.

You’ve got the tools, the strategies, and the insights. Now it’s your turn to build a space where your members can truly thrive. You’ve got this