Clear group rules set expectations, define your community's culture, and give you a foundation for keeping the group welcoming and active. Only the group leader can create or edit a group's rules and guidelines. Alignable's overall Group Guidelines are automatically displayed in every group as a baseline — your custom rules build on top of them.
What Good Group Rules Cover
The best group rules are specific, explain the reasoning behind them, and make it easy for new members to understand the culture right away. Most effective rules address four areas.
Promotions and spam: Be explicit about what is and is not allowed. Members need to know whether sales pitches, product links, or self-promotional posts are permitted and under what circumstances.
Professional tone and respect: Set the expectation that members treat each other with courtesy. A simple "debate ideas, not people" goes a long way.
Staying on topic: Describe what belongs in your group. If your group is focused on local referrals or Alignable strategies, say so clearly. Members should not have to guess.
Introductions: Specify how introductions should be handled, whether standalone intro posts are allowed, whether there is a dedicated thread, or whether a specific format is expected.
Here are two examples of well-written group rules:
Example 1 (detailed, purpose-driven):
1. Peer-to-Peer Support: Use this space to ask questions, share tips, and offer resources about Alignable and networking.
2. No Promotions or Pitches: Keep posts focused on networking, referrals, and building your business. This is a collaboration and learning space, not a sales floor.
3. Respect and Professionalism: Treat fellow members with courtesy. Debate ideas, not people.
4. Keep it Relevant: Posts should be about business growth using Alignable strategies or networking resources valuable to other small business owners.
5. Share Your Wins: If you have had success using Alignable, a referral, a new partnership, a growth strategy, share it here. Your insight can help others succeed too.
Example 2 (concise, community-focused):
1. Be kind, respectful, and positive.
2. No spamming, self-promotion, or irrelevant topics. No introductions except in threads as permitted by the group leader. Posts of this manner may lead to removal from the group.
3. Have fun, collaborate, and build relationships. Groups are the quickest way to build expertise and share knowledge across thousands of members.
4. Groups are a public space. Do not post confidential or contact information.
How to Update Your Group Rules and Guidelines
- Click Groups in the top navigation and open the group you want to edit.
- Click Group Settings.
- Update your Rules and Guidelines, then click Update Group.
What Happens If Members Break the Rules
If a member violates your group rules, you or a moderator can hide their posts and send a preset moderation warning message. If the behavior does not change, the member can be removed from the group. For guidance on handling specific situations, see What Are the Moderation Guidelines for Group Leaders and Moderators on Alignable?