If you"re running an online community, you know how satisfying, fun, and exciting it can be, especially if you"re in charge of a popular site where people come to discuss their favorite hobbies, movies, music, and news. But you also know that there"s a flip side to being the gatekeeper of a discussion board. Difficult users, legal constraints, spammers, and technical issues can turn the excitement of running an online community into total chaos. With the right guidance, however, running forums can be a pleasure. Patrick O"Keefe has spent years developing and managing online communities. Now, he shows you how to make the right decisions about every aspect of your site. "Managing Online Forums" is the first comprehensive book to cover everything you need to know to launch and run a community forum, including: conceptualizing the community and launching it, attracting people to the community, choosing a name and domain name, picking the right software, ...