Yeah, that "ensure bad posts are taken down as soon as a moderator sees them" is a tough one. It there's any sort of volume on a Website, it's well-nigh impossible to monitor the site so closely. We have a community here to monitor our forum, and it's still very difficult.

Many newspaper Websites allow readers to post comments below online stories. It's rare that you'll find a newspaper Website where discussions are civil, even though some of the sites show signs of heavy moderation.

If the forum represents a charitable organization or a business, you need to be extra-careful because an unruly Website forum can make a bad name for the charity or business. I set up a Facebook page for the women's center where I do volunteer work. Our development director is younger and understands and enjoys "social networking," so she monitors the Facebook page. I edit the Website and encourage contributions from people - but I control everything that goes onto the Website.

-Joe-