Ten rules worth copying
- Be respectful. Disagree with ideas, not people. No insults, slurs or personal attacks.
- Stay on topic. This group is about [topic]. Off-topic chat goes to [other chat] or private messages.
- No spam or self-promotion. Links to your own products, channels or groups only with an admin's permission.
- No unsolicited private messages. Ask in the group before writing to someone directly.
- No scams or offers of money. Admins will never message you first asking for payment.
- Write in [language]. So everyone can follow the conversation.
- No adult or shocking content. Keep the group safe to open at work.
- Search before you ask. Check the pinned message and recent answers first.
- Report, do not argue. If something breaks the rules, tell an admin instead of starting a fight.
- Admins have the final word. Repeated breaks lead to a warning, then a mute, then a ban.
How to write rules people follow
Keep each rule to one sentence. Replace the general with the specific: "no links to other Telegram groups" is easier to follow than "no advertising". And say what happens when a rule is broken. A clear ladder of warning, mute and ban feels fair because everyone knows it in advance.
Show the rules to every new member
Pin the rules in the group, and send them in a welcome message when someone joins. BotLaunch has a welcome module that greets new members with your own text, and a CAPTCHA module that asks them to confirm they are human before they can write. Together they stop most spam bots before the first message and make sure real people see the rules.
Enforce them without being online all day
Rules only work if they are enforced the same way every time. Moderation modules can handle the most common breaks for you: anti-spam, link filters, word filters and anti-flood. Warnings and bans keep count of repeated breaks, so the ladder in rule ten happens consistently even when no admin is around. All of it is turned on from a web dashboard, with no coding.
Review the rules every few months
Groups change. If admins keep removing the same kind of message, it needs its own rule. If a rule never comes up, it can probably go. A short list that matches how the group actually behaves is easier to read and easier to enforce.