How do I moderate discussion boards / forums?

I have lots of ideas of my own about moderation and discussion management - as implemented on this weblog, among other places - but I was very impressed with a cogent and enumerated response to this question from my friend Nancy Roebke, director of Profnet.

Here's what she says in response to your question:

I'm unaware of any resource for this but I have been doing this for years and years for myself and clients. So I'll just share some of what I do with you:

1. I have the forums all require my approval for messages prior to posting. No spam gets through that way.
2. As far as disputes go, I use my own judgment when letting posts taking opposite positions appear on the forum. As long as the posts stay non-personal (no one calls anyone names, for instance), I put posts through. If I don't put something through or close a thread, I always say why. If it's a post I don't put through, I reply privately to the sender as to why. If I close a thread, I post to the forum why.
   
   I have said in some forums that the forum is not a democracy. Whatever I feel is ok, is ok. Whatever I feel isn't, isn't. Only time tells the group whether they feel I have been fair. So far, in eleven years, this has not been an issue.
3. As the moderator, I also start threads to get discussion going. This has been an essential part of my role as the moderator, especially for new forums.
4. If there will be a time when I will be unable to get to read posts and approve them in a timely fashion (very rare), I always tell the group so they don't wonder why their posts weren't approved yet.
5. I have used "guest" moderators to fill in for me if needed. Again this has been rare, and I only use people I know REALLY well, but it is a tool used as a moderator.
6. I keep a list of email addresses that I block from forums for
   various reasons. If you get blocked on one of my lists, you get
   blocked on all of them.

I'll add two of my own to Nancy's list: first, post your acceptable use policy and invite people to read it when they sign up. Secondly, unless the discussion forum is essential to the success of your site or a huge revenue generator, I'd also encourage you to start right out ensuring that you have to spend the minimum amount of time possible to attain the results you seek. For example: "all postings are moderated and we'll respond the first time we reject a posting, but if your postings are frequently rejected, they'll just not show up: we don't have the ability to respond and explain our decisions each and every time we reject a message." Like it or not, they're your boards, so you get to make the rules.