What makes a forum die?

[Former Member]

Yeah, once you get a feel that the forum is dying you kind of step back and watch it fall.

[Matt]

Jan 9, 2016 20:36:05 GMT -8 syndehy said:

Yeah, generally when I watch a board die, it's because of admins scooting off and not being around to actively post, advertise and keep things updated. If they're not around, members instantly start to think the board is going down. That's how it feels to me, anyway.

Exactly, I find the same thing, there was a forum which once had thousands of active members ( not PB ) it was insane, that forum was so active for years, then all the staff left and the ones that were left were nasty, today that forum is barely a shell of it's former self.

[shorewillow]

I made two forums and nobody is on rn

[♥ ℒʊ√ ♥]

Getting members is hard; getting active members is harder.

There are millions of forums and other social media outlets competing for the user's interests.

So simply building it and thinking they will come doesn't work.

One can run around getting this one to join, and that one to join, but if they have no true interest in making your forum thrive, you're on life-support right from the start.

Members who join and do little to nothing else, accomplishes nothing, other than a brief moment of short lived satisfaction.

Finding the right place to advertise, and having a forum with a wide interest appeal, is key, but easier said than done.

[Matt]

Jan 10, 2016 17:08:50 GMT -8 ♥ ℒʊ√ ♥ said:

Getting members is hard; getting active members is harder.

There are millions of forums and other social media outlets competing for the user's interests.

So simply building it and thinking they will come doesn't work.

One can run around getting this one to join, and that one to join, but if they have no true interest in making your forum thrive, you're on life-support right from the start.

Members who join and do little to nothing else, accomplishes nothing, other than a brief moment of short lived satisfaction.

Finding the right place to advertise, and having a forum with a wide interest appeal, is key, but easier said than done.

it's tough, my little chat forum struggled quite a bit right from the start, but it's finally gaining active members, we have about 5-6 members who post on a daily basis and more who post occasionally, we are small but now almost 6000 posts. it takes a lot of hard work, but we are getting there.

[Eaglenz]

My forum has approached "death" several times before. Just to give an idea, January 2015 had an average of almost 150 posts a day. October 2014 had 7.

I simply did not give up because I knew there was a reason, and I needed to know that reason so that I could work on it. I improved my attitude as the owner, trying to make sure I was not the issue, but nothing changed. My forum has been going since October 2013, and I noticed that unactivity is always around the same part of the year. January was always the most active month. It has to do with people just being busier during that time. I do not give up, I am not the kind of owner who commits to a forum, a whole community, to give up as soon as people get bored of it. Once it becomes inactive, that's when I work even harder, because people need new content.

A tip to all forum owners - interact with your community, only act as a staff member when need be. Otherwise, ignore the fact you're carrying that title. People often have a "natural fear" of staff members, make sure you prove the stereotype that "staff members are moody" wrong and talk to them as if you were a regular user.

[Former Member]

Jan 10, 2016 16:55:14 GMT -8 shorewillow said:

It helps when there are active members with an active admin.
When the admin keeps posting the forum keeps living.

I keep my forum alive with my posting and updating.

[Former Member]

Jan 11, 2016 5:37:13 GMT -8 Eaglenz said:

My forum has approached "death" several times before. Just to give an idea, January 2015 had an average of almost 150 posts a day. October 2014 had 7.

I simply did not give up because I knew there was a reason, and I needed to know that reason so that I could work on it. I improved my attitude as the owner, trying to make sure I was not the issue, but nothing changed. My forum has been going since October 2013, and I noticed that unactivity is always around the same part of the year. January was always the most active month. It has to do with people just being busier during that time. I do not give up, I am not the kind of owner who commits to a forum, a whole community, to give up as soon as people get bored of it. Once it becomes inactive, that's when I work even harder, because people need new content.

A tip to all forum owners - interact with your community, only act as a staff member when need be. Otherwise, ignore the fact you're carrying that title. People often have a "natural fear" of staff members, make sure you prove the stereotype that "staff members are moody" wrong and talk to them as if you were a regular user.

Good advice there Theropod. I believe that it is also a good idea as staff or admin not to take sides when there are disputes or when one poster simply does not like another poster.  It is important to remain impartial and fair.

[endo]

Not familiar with "unactivity" but OK. The biggest reasons forums fail is because of inactivity by the person that should be the most active of all, the admin, IMO. It's your forum, your baby, you should be the one leading the way and posting...even if there's no one to post to.
It makes people want to join in. Who wants to join when the last post was a month ago? Always try to keep the forum active with new posts, it really helps.
This from a guy with 400 plus members and 6 that post, but hey, I might not have those six if I slacked off.

[The Maniac On Wheels (The MOW)]

Jan 23, 2016 7:24:35 GMT -8 endo said:

Not familiar with "unactivity" but OK. The biggest reasons forums fail is because of inactivity by the person that should be the most active of all, the admin, IMO. It's your forum, your baby, you should be the one leading the way and posting...even if there's no one to post to.
It makes people want to join in. Who wants to join when the last post was a month ago? Always try to keep the forum active with new posts, it really helps.
This from a guy with 400 plus members and 6 that post, but hey, I might not have those six if I slacked off.

I am an admin, and post 7 news articles per day in an attempt to get people to start a conversation. I try not to post more than one in each board (sports news items go into the sports board) for example. I try to get these posts all around the board, especially the really dead ones.

I am getting a few members to post lately, but they won't leave the Games board. Some do leave that board when I post something they want to respond to. I just wish they would post stuff themself.

[Beyonder]

I forgot to mention this but rude and immature users also makes a website die out so keeping problematic users away can keep the forum civil and active.

[Mandoli]

Okay - to those of you who decide that your board is dead and you can't go on anymore - what do you do? Say if you're the only member of your board and you're not getting attention for one reason or another... Do you give it up altogether? There has to be a fine line.

[Nscalerr]

Another way to make a forum die is for changes to the coding and the way it operates! Wether the changes are done by the owner or the hosting company. If you can't keep up then the forum will die!

[Violette]

Changes in the lifestyle of the admin can affect their ability to keep their forum active. When I started my forum I was laid off from work and had lots of time to devote myself to the forum. Now, I work all the time and the forum is slowly dying. It's my fault, as the admin, because I'm not keeping it active, but real life has to come first. So the forum will eventually die out. Great members and once really active. Sad.

[The Maniac On Wheels (The MOW)]

Feb 11, 2016 7:56:10 GMT -8 Violette said:

Changes in the lifestyle of the admin can affect their ability to keep their forum active. When I started my forum I was laid off from work and had lots of time to devote myself to the forum. Now, I work all the time and the forum is slowly dying. It's my fault, as the admin, because I'm not keeping it active, but real life has to come first. So the forum will eventually die out. Great members and once really active. Sad.

Here is an offer to merge with The Zone, since you go there to play games almost daily. ;-)