What makes a forum die?

[mmhmm]

I think another important thing on any forum is to deal with consistently disruptive posters quickly and effectively. Those who cannot respect the rights and feelings of other posters can ruin a board very, very quickly. Soon, that board finds itself losing membership and word does get around. If your board's rules are reasonable (most are) and you have a good staff, it's not all that difficult to keep things reasonably civil. Yes, it takes attention by staff, and determination, but it can certainly be done. If it's not done, the results are on the root admin and the staff. I know there are boards out there I simply won't visit because of outright nastiness by a few disruptive posters. I don't care to be subjected to that. I also know I'm not alone in that regard.

[kronks]

Apr 10, 2015 8:46:17 GMT -8 mmhmm said:

Apr 10, 2015 7:32:47 GMT -8 @apple1 said:

I think signatures should be kept small, I have seen some people advertising their own forums in their signatures on forums other than their own, and the advertisements are H U G E.  I would not let that fly.

You do have me wondering about blocking avatars though, most of the people on my board are visual types and we have large avatars, I have only ever had one complaint about the size of the avatars. I wonder, why would it bother people?

We've got rules on our board to cover this sort of thing. Our posters have been very cooperative with removing overly large signatures and signatures that are distracting/irritating to other posters. As to avatars, we have added the ability to selectively block offensive avatars. It's something the posters really do appreciate.

OH yes I seem to remember suggesting that on this thread before you ignored me.


Did you add that functionality after you had read my post or was it implemented prior to that,
you also suggested others put me on ignore so maybe nobody can read this either.

[kronks]

Apr 10, 2015 8:52:08 GMT -8 mmhmm said:

I think another important thing on any forum is to deal with consistently disruptive posters quickly and effectively. Those who cannot respect the rights and feelings of other posters can ruin a board very, very quickly. Soon, that board finds itself losing membership and word does get around. If your board's rules are reasonable (most are) and you have a good staff, it's not all that difficult to keep things reasonably civil. Yes, it takes attention by staff, and determination, but it can certainly be done. If it's not done, the results are on the root admin and the staff. I know there are boards out there I simply won't visit because of outright nastiness by a few disruptive posters. I don't care to be subjected to that. I also know I'm not alone in that regard.

Why not just put them on ignore?

[Boy_Wonder]

Apr 10, 2015 9:56:14 GMT -8 kronks said:

Apr 10, 2015 8:52:08 GMT -8 mmhmm said:

I think another important thing on any forum is to deal with consistently disruptive posters quickly and effectively. Those who cannot respect the rights and feelings of other posters can ruin a board very, very quickly. Soon, that board finds itself losing membership and word does get around. If your board's rules are reasonable (most are) and you have a good staff, it's not all that difficult to keep things reasonably civil. Yes, it takes attention by staff, and determination, but it can certainly be done. If it's not done, the results are on the root admin and the staff. I know there are boards out there I simply won't visit because of outright nastiness by a few disruptive posters. I don't care to be subjected to that. I also know I'm not alone in that regard.

Why not just put them on ignore?

Okay so according to you we should ignore people being rude in our houses?

The reason I say this is our forums are like inviting guests to the dining room and then them being overly rude, and starting fight. You might allow it the first few times but after that? You'd step up. Unless you quite enjoy watching fights.

[mmhmm]

Apr 10, 2015 10:12:02 GMT -8 Boy_Wonder said:

Apr 10, 2015 9:56:14 GMT -8 kronks said:

Why not just put them on ignore?

Okay so according to you we should ignore people being rude in our houses?

The reason I say this is our forums are like inviting guests to the dining room and then them being overly rude, and starting fight. You might allow it the first few times but after that? You'd step up. Unless you quite enjoy watching fights.

Precisely, Loki! That type of poster poisons a whole forum. Just ignoring them doesn't allow one to escape the carnage they create. Better to just stay away from that forum (or, dining room, as the case may be).

[Former Member]

Apr 10, 2015 10:19:30 GMT -8 mmhmm said:

Apr 10, 2015 10:12:02 GMT -8 Boy_Wonder said:

Okay so according to you we should ignore people being rude in our houses?

The reason I say this is our forums are like inviting guests to the dining room and then them being overly rude, and starting fight. You might allow it the first few times but after that? You'd step up. Unless you quite enjoy watching fights.

Precisely, Loki! That type of poster poisons a whole forum. Just ignoring them doesn't allow one to escape the carnage they create. Better to just stay away from that forum (or, dining room, as the case may be).

Yes but there is a line, a forum without adversity is sometimes a boring forum.
While on the other hand a forum that allows outright nasty posts is doomed as well.

Often it is a difficult and delicate balance.

[mmhmm]

Apr 10, 2015 10:26:35 GMT -8 @apple1 said:

Apr 10, 2015 10:19:30 GMT -8 mmhmm said:

Precisely, Loki! That type of poster poisons a whole forum. Just ignoring them doesn't allow one to escape the carnage they create. Better to just stay away from that forum (or, dining room, as the case may be).

Yes but there is a line, a forum without adversity is sometimes a boring forum.
While on the other hand a forum that allows outright nasty posts is doomed as well.

Often it is a difficult and delicate balance.

Adversity and nastiness are two very different things. People are expected to disagree. Intelligent adults are able to disagree civilly. I don't find civil debates boring. Then, again, I'm not fond of verbal brawling, name-calling, and character assassination. Others' mileage may vary.

[kronks]

Whoops!!

[Mandoli]

Apr 10, 2015 11:22:18 GMT -8 @demonbarber said:

As mmhmm said, that is the way it works. Just add any member to your block list in privacy settings with the relevant boxes ticked and you'll see it work. The only thing it doesn't block is when another member quotes the blocked member but there is a code that fixes that issue.

The two of you didn't see my post on the page previous that said "oh, I see it now"...

EDIT: As for your other point: I've had people come on my board and target staff intentionally. What are we supposed to do? Let them spew filth on the board and do nothing about it? If it's sensitive to other members, I don't see why staff members have to let it stay.

[Mandoli]

Apr 10, 2015 11:46:51 GMT -8 @demonbarber said:

If people are targeting your staff intentionally, find out why and if the staff have done something to reap such attention. Find out the cause and attempt to remedy it. Don't just ban or else they will keep coming back and with more anger at having their say being stopped.

... Troublemaker got banned originally for saying something that I'm not repeating in this thread. He called people names just because people were failing on television. We banned him; he came back over and over again. It's been well documented around here. (He's then told me to give up my board, so he can run it the way he thinks it should be run: As a pathetic excuse for a dictatorship, where he continues to post his unnecessary tirades.) Upon finding out that his rants aren't appropriate for the board, he's made all of these accounts for the sole purpose of harassment.

[mmhmm]

Apr 10, 2015 11:46:51 GMT -8 @demonbarber said:

Apr 10, 2015 10:12:02 GMT -8 Boy_Wonder said:

Okay so according to you we should ignore people being rude in our houses?

The reason I say this is our forums are like inviting guests to the dining room and then them being overly rude, and starting fight. You might allow it the first few times but after that? You'd step up. Unless you quite enjoy watching fights.

A forum is nothing like inviting guests into your house. A forum allows people to let go of societal restraints (if the forum isn't strict). You choose who to invite to your house. You don't choose who ends up joining your forum. A forum where everyone is all nicey-nice and super PC is a boring and unrealistic one. Life simply isn't like that. Humans also seem to be drawn to drama. So a little drama now and then that occurs isn't really a bad thing. I notice people post more in arguments than in civil settings...(depending on topic).

Walking on eggshells around others (including staff) is a put off. 

Mandoli - I reply to the most recent unread posts. If people are targeting your staff intentionally, find out why and if the staff have done something to reap such attention. Find out the cause and attempt to remedy it. Don't just ban or else they will keep coming back and with more anger at having their say being stopped.

Each forum is, in its way, unique. They serve different purposes for their communities. Board owners can, if they wish, set up their own rules for posting. That's their prerogative. What works for you may not work for everyone.

We have our own rules and our posters are required to post only content acceptable per ProBoards' ToS. We don't allow name-calling or outright nastiness between posters. Breaking ToS or our rules won't get you banned necessarily. Usually, the offending post will simply be moved off the forums and the poster will be sent a PM explaining why the post was removed. We very, very rarely find the need to ban anyone. It's happened but it takes some real effort to get it to happen. Most of our posters cooperate once they understand the rules and why they're there. It's worked very well this way for us and our forum continues to grow. We're well aware every forum isn't the place for every poster; however, there are a host of forums from which to choose. Posters can always find a forum that suits their needs.

[mmhmm]

Apr 10, 2015 15:02:17 GMT -8 Mandoli said:

Apr 10, 2015 11:46:51 GMT -8 @demonbarber said:

If people are targeting your staff intentionally, find out why and if the staff have done something to reap such attention. Find out the cause and attempt to remedy it. Don't just ban or else they will keep coming back and with more anger at having their say being stopped.

... Troublemaker got banned originally for saying something that I'm not repeating in this thread. He called people names just because people were failing on television. We banned him; he came back over and over again. It's been well documented around here. (He's then told me to give up my board, so he can run it the way he thinks it should be run: As a pathetic excuse for a dictatorship, where he continues to post his unnecessary tirades.) Upon finding out that his rants aren't appropriate for the board, he's made all of these accounts for the sole purpose of harassment.

We used to have that sort of thing but that was a couple of years ago. Now, things run pretty smoothly and real problems are rare. I hope you can get your problem solved, as well.

[kronks]

Apr 10, 2015 10:12:02 GMT -8 Boy_Wonder said:

Apr 10, 2015 9:56:14 GMT -8 kronks said:

Why not just put them on ignore?

Okay so according to you we should ignore people being rude in our houses?

The reason I say this is our forums are like inviting guests to the dining room and then them being overly rude, and starting fight. You might allow it the first few times but after that? You'd step up. Unless you quite enjoy watching fights.

Not your house, it's a public forum.


It is not like inviting guests at all.

But if they are on ignore how do you know they are being rude and how can they start a fight?

You should take the attitude they have just as much right to be there as you, if you do not
like them put them on ignore, I mean that is what it is for, isn't it?

If you want a forum as you describe make it an invitation only forum.

Other people may disagree with your opinion, so who are you to act for them?

[Celeste]

Apr 11, 2015 13:14:41 GMT -8 kronks said:

Other people may disagree with your opinion, so who are you to act for them?

I disagree with your opinion.  Who are you to decide how I act and how my forum is run?

If it is my forum, I can make the rules.  If someone is intent on being a nuisance (or trolling) on my forum, I ban them.

Civil debate is fine.  Harassing members is not. Ultimately I have the final say on the tone and content.  If you don't like my rules, don't join my forum.  If you join anyway and take part in activities that break those rules, I will ban you.  ProBoards will back my bans.  (If they didn't, I would take my forum to where I would have the freedom to host the kind of forum I want.)  Simple, really. 

And no, my forum is not dying.  We have thousands of members and a dedicated band of lurkers.  After 15 years (8 with ProBoards when our original leader retired) we get new members every week, so we must be doing something right.

If I find someone being objectionable on another ProBoards forum I visit, I can block them or use my own discretion to decide what to read and what is a waste of my time.

If you disagree with my opinion, that's fine.  Run your forum how you envision it. But none of us are obliged to operate our forums to meet the demands and whims of others.  That judgment is the freedom of choice ProBoards gives forum owners  when we agree to abide by their terms of service. 

[Former Member]

How about asking what makes new forums stay alive?