Keeping it Clean: What to Do About Swearing and Undesirable Content on Your Facebook Page

Allowing fans to contribute wall posts and comments creates dialog, but fans are unpredictable creatures. Here are some simple steps for page administrators to keep their pages clean:

1. Profanity Filter - Facebook's profanity filter can be set to Medium or Strong to automatically disallow use of "the most commonly reported words and phrases marked as offensive by the broader community."
2. Moderation Blocklist - Additional undesirable words can be blocked through the moderation blocklist text box, separated by commas. 
3. Posting Policy - Page administrators can use a posting policy (in a Note or on the Info tab) to show fans and others that they are moderating content on the page. Policies should clearly state what type of content is discouraged (ie positive discussion) and what will be removed or reported (harassment). Such as policy can be as simple as City University of Seattle's: "City University of Seattle welcomes active participation on the CityU Facebook Page. However, we reserve the right to remove Spam or inappropriate posts."
4. Watchful Eye - Admins should keep an eye on the page to monitor uer posts and comments and respond accordingly. This is a good practice in general, but when it comes to moderating inflammatory or inappropriate posts or comments, it is essential. Such vigilance is especially important because users can get around the Moderation and Profanity Blocklists by tagging pages using the @ symbol.