Groups are at the core of the Flickr community, and the best place to interact and spend time with other like-minded Flickr members that share your interests. Group admins set the tone for their groups by determining the subject of the group and any rules that they'd like participants to follow. Here are some suggestions to help you keep your group on track.
Tips for Administering a Group
If you are the administrator of a group, here are some pointers for creating a thriving community.
Invite your friends and anyone you know who is interested in what you are interested in. Ask members and admins of other groups to help get the word out. Promote your group in the description section of your About page by sharing a direct link. If you’re active on other social media platforms, share a link to your group and invite people to join.
Read more about inviting people to your Flickr Group.
Help new members feel comfortable. Use the Group Description to explain the basics (What is your group about?). Start a "Welcome!" discussion for new members to introduce themselves and to let them know who you are and that you’re there to assist.
Be an active participant. Groups thrive with daily discussion, and with daily responses from other members of the community. Involve yourself in the conversation and encourage people to engage. Participants might need ideas and guidance on what to post.
Create a sense of community. Asking questions is a great way to spark conversation. Encourage other members to do the same. Group challenges are a fun way to get people engaged in threads.
Read more about posting, replying to, or deleting discussions in Flickr groups.
Tips for moderating a group
Moderate, moderate, moderate! Successful groups are kept in check by good moderation. Consider your group like a garden, frequent tending and attention will help your group flourish and grow. Make sure that everyone is abiding by the rules that you've set out and that any photos added align with the theme and purpose of your group.
To help you moderate your group, you can enlist other members to become moderators. Moderators don't have full administrative power, but they can help you moderate pool submissions, keep tabs on discussions, and weed out the people who don't play by the rules.
Read more about promoting someone to an administrator or moderator.
Removing and Banning. Here are some general guidelines to help Admins determine how and when to use the Removing and Banning features.
Removing. When you remove someone from your group, they'll no longer be members. People you've removed won't receive a notification that they've been removed, but they can choose to join your group again anytime.
Banning. When you ban someone from your group, they'll no longer be able to join (unless the ban is lifted by an admin or moderator). We recommend banning people who continually spam the group, who misbehave, or who willfully violate the group rules.
- Use these powers wisely and sparingly. Most conflicts can be solved with effective communication.
- If someone posts something offensive or off-topic, try sending them a warning. Reach out privately and remind them of the rules.
- If this behavior continues, consider removing them from your group. You can do this from the Admin view of the members list.
- If the member then rejoins your group and continues acting counter to your group's rules, consider banning them from your group. You can do this from the Admin view of the members list.
- Use your best judgment and confer with other admins in your group when making these calls.
Read more about removing someone from your Flickr Group.
Leaving as an admin. If you feel you need to step down as an admin, or as a moderator, be sure to communicate your decision to the other admins, so they can prepare. If you’re the only admin of a group, try to find another member willing to take on the admin role before you leave so the group doesn’t become orphaned.
Group Life
Swearing and other behavior. This is not against our community guidelines so long as you're not offending, insulting, or going against the group rules. Flickr has a zero-tolerance policy towards hate speech, and these offenses should be reported to our Trust and Safety team for further action.
Group Safety Levels. You must set your group’s Safety Level setting appropriately if it contains Moderate or Restricted posts. Groups marked as Moderate or Restricted will be designated as 18+. In addition, only Safe content is permitted as profile and cover photos. For more information about Safety Levels, please see the following:
Dealing with difficult group members.Trolls are people who are being rude and obnoxious and are generally trying to offend, shock, harass, abuse, or otherwise annoy people. Dealing with such people can often be difficult, but they should not go unwarned, unremoved, or unbanned. Trolls can destroy a community, and often this is their goal.
Trolls thrive on attention, so occasionally the best way to deal with them is to ignore them completely.
If you find someone annoying or offensive, you can block them from interacting with your personal account or ban them from your group. You can always unblock or unban someone if you change your mind later.