Myth: strict rules upfront keep a community civil
A 20-item rulebook on day one signals 'we expect bad behavior' and scares off the people you want. Nobody reads it, and you end up enforcing rules inconsistently — which feels more unfair than having none. Norms beat rules.
The correction — Norm-First Moderation SOP:
☐ Publish 3 rules max, plain language, pinned
☐ Model the behavior you want in your own posts daily
☐ Praise good behavior publicly so it spreads ('love this kind of question')
☐ Correct privately and fast — DM before public action
☐ Add a rule ONLY after the same problem happens 3 times
Communities are governed by what the founder visibly rewards, not by the wiki nobody opened. Grow the rulebook from real incidents.
Save this for your next launch.
The Loop System
@TheLoopSystem
Myth: strict rules upfront keep a community civil
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