It's critical to create safe and empowering online spaces for young people. But how can moderators in these spaces balance the need for guidelines with facilitating connections between these users?

Lori Fahey moderates Livewire, an online community for young people experiencing serious illness, disability or chronic health issues. She shed light on how to practically support young people online at the All Things in Moderation conference.

Moderation strategies to support young people

Assume good intentions: Young users may behave badly due to personal challenges or reflexively due to poor experiences other social media sites. It's important to see this behaviour as communication: young people may be expressing needs or experiences. You can address this by setting clear standards of behaviour for these users and clearly communicating the consequences for not meeting these standards.

You might choose to further support these young people by helping them self-regulate. This could look like asking if they are comfortable following your guidelines every time they visit your community.

Say what you mean: Having clear community guidelines helps avoid surprises. If users know the parameters of what they can and can't do in your space, that can help them feel safe, as well as build trust in your community. The less gray space you have in your guidelines, the less room young users have to argue with community managers. Draw on feedback from users to reword and add more context to your guidelines as needed.

Be consistent: Guidelines must be not only clear, but consistent in their content and application. While you may choose to accommodate different moderation styles, community guidelines should be the foundation for moderation practices. If you or a community member raises discrepancies in your guidelines, own it: have a conversation with your community about how you will correct the inconsistency.

Keep moderation constructive, not punitive: It can be embarrassing for young people when they're pulled up by a moderator. You can protect the trust between these community members and moderators by explaining why you have taken actions against them. Empower young people by breaking down guidelines and why they exist. Ensure you follow up with young people after any punitive actions- for example being muted or excluded from chats- are applied.

The importance of boundaries

Organisational professional boundaries

Organisational professional boundaries are institutional supports for community managers. These boundaries become critical when young people become distressed or come into conflict with other community members on other platforms, asking moderators to step outside their role.

Clear and consistent organisational and community guidelines can help moderators avoid having to make decisions outside their jurisdiction or professional capabilities.

For example, it's important your organisation establishes what its services are for and the extent of your role. Moderators are not counsellors, however deficits in the current mental health care system may cause young people to seek mental health support from moderators. The right organisational boundaries can help moderators direct young people to appropriate supports and avoid community managers becoming the sole supports for young people experiencing mental health crises.

Personal boundaries

Personal boundaries are the space that you put between yourself and your community. These are boundaries that you're entitled to and help protect you at work. You might set personal boundaries by letting your community know when you are or aren't on shift, or maintaining an offline self through taking self-care breaks.

It's also important to debrief with other people who understand your role. Debriefing can be as simple as having a chat about your day with people who understand your role. Reach out within your organisation, or if you're solo, to other moderators you feel comfortable chatting to.

Moderators are norm-setters that create the building blocks for authentic connections between young people. With the right guidance, institutional support and boundaries, moderators can support young people while protecting their mental health and the needs of their communities.

All Things in Moderation ran online 11-12 May 2023 and featured over 25 expert contributors from around the world and across practitioner, academic and policy disciplines.