Start small and build out based on needs. A lot of folks new to online community building tend to prescribe the structure of the community too early. This might include building an intial set of 10 forums, based on their guesses of what the member will want to discuss. This quickly gives the community that ghost town feel and sets the subject matter too early.
My suggestion is to start with a couple of broad forums and build new ones as the dominant subject matters evolve.
Also, about the guidelines... They are essential and an important point is how they are used in enforcement. When someone steps over the line, it's much easier to say "Our guidelines state..." than "Watch it, we don't do that here". Good guidelines give the manager an ojective foundation for enforcing proper behaviour.
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Start small and build out based on needs.
A lot of folks new to online community building tend to prescribe the structure of the community too early. This might include building an intial set of 10 forums, based on their guesses of what the member will want to discuss. This quickly gives the community that ghost town feel and sets the subject matter too early.
My suggestion is to start with a couple of broad forums and build new ones as the dominant subject matters evolve.
Also, about the guidelines...
They are essential and an important point is how they are used in enforcement. When someone steps over the line, it's much easier to say "Our guidelines state..." than "Watch it, we don't do that here". Good guidelines give the manager an ojective foundation for enforcing proper behaviour.