As the focus of what constitutes good online pedagogy has moved away from content delivery to the creation of community through interactions online, online facilitation (or e-moderation) - that process of managing the communication of others online - has taken centre stage.

Online communication can take many forms. It can be synchronous or asynchronous; forum, chat or email based. It can form the hub of online courses, or the online component of a face to face class; it can be a workgroup's means of communication across campuses, a professional development email list, or the vehicle for communication with hitherto remote and unreachable experts. E-moderation or online facilitation skills are a pre-requisite in all these scenarios, and they cannot be assumed. These skills need to be learned in what is effectively a new genre of communication.

This paper draws on raw data from several online arenas to highlight what constitutes successful online facilitation, and examines existing theoretical models that attempt to make explicit good emoderation strategies.