A Discord rules template your moderators can actually enforce

Why most rule lists fail

The usual list is thirty lines of overlapping intentions: “be respectful”, “no drama”, “no inappropriate content”, “follow Discord ToS”. None of it tells a moderator what to do when someone posts a borderline meme at 2am.

A rule works when it names the behaviour, not the feeling. “No harassment” is a feeling until you say what harassment looks like in your server: slurs, following someone between channels, repeatedly messaging after being asked to stop.

The template

Copy this, change the examples to fit your community, and delete anything you would not enforce.

• 1. Follow Discord’s Terms of Service and Community Guidelines. Anything illegal or banned on Discord is banned here.
• 2. No harassment or hate. No slurs, threats, or following someone after they ask you to stop.
• 3. No spam. No repeated messages, mass mentions, or copy-pasted walls of text. Keep it to one channel.
• 4. No advertising without permission. Server invites, DM advertising and self-promotion belong in the channels we set aside, if any.
• 5. No scams or phishing. Fake Nitro, free-game links and account-token requests are removed and the account is banned.
• 6. Keep content in the right channel. Off-topic goes to off-topic; NSFW content is not allowed anywhere.
• 7. No backseat moderating. Report a message to staff instead of arguing with the person in chat.
• 8. No doxxing or sharing private information. That includes screenshots of DMs without consent.
• 9. No ban evasion. Leaving and rejoining on another account does not reset a punishment.
• 10. Staff instructions are final in the moment. If you disagree, appeal afterwards — not in the channel.

Make each rule enforceable

Compare “be nice” with “no slurs or threats, and stop when someone asks you to”. The second one gives a moderator three concrete things to check: was there a slur, was there a threat, was there a request to stop that was ignored.

If a rule cannot be checked against a message, it is not a rule — it is a hope. Move the vague parts into a short “how we treat each other” paragraph at the top and keep the numbered list for things that can be enforced.

Match consequences to rules

Write the ladder down where staff can see it, so a first-time mistake and a deliberate attack do not get the same response.

• Minor, first time: a warning in the channel and a note on the account with /warn.
• Minor, repeated: a short timeout — ten minutes to an hour — with a reason the member can read.
• Serious, first time: a long timeout or a kick, depending on whether they are likely to repeat it immediately.
• Serious or repeated after warnings: ban, with the reason and evidence recorded in the case.
• Illegal content, scams, doxxing, nuking: immediate ban, no ladder. Some things do not get a first warning.

Publish them where people see them

A rules channel nobody opens is decoration. Put the short list in the channel new members land in, link it in your welcome message, and pin it in #general. If you use verification, put the list on the verify screen so agreeing to the rules is part of joining.

Lyx can post and keep that message for you: set the welcome channel with /welcome channel, and the rules stay one click away in the verify panel.

Keep them current

Rules drift because servers change: a channel is added, a meme format becomes a problem, a new game brings a new kind of spam. Review the list every few months and after every incident that made a moderator improvise.

When you change a rule, say so in your announcement channel and give people a date it starts. A rule that appears overnight and is enforced immediately feels arbitrary, even when it is sensible.

Handling edge cases

Context beats keywords. A racial slur quoted to report it is not the same as a slur aimed at a member; a joke between friends is not the same as harassment. Train moderators to read the surrounding ten messages before acting.

Give people a way to appeal. Lyx can take appeals through a form or a ticket so a disagreement does not turn into a public argument, and so the decision is written down instead of remembered.