What type of forum should I open?

[Little Blind Earthbender]

There are a lot of RPGs out there and before amking one you should join one unless your RPG idea is unique. If you think that no one has thought of the idea yet, then do it if you want. Harry Potter and Wolf RPGs are very common and everyone creates them no matter what. Horse RPGs and Dog RPGs are runner-ups, also being problematic so you should join one before creating one.

[$hØ©Këyë]

I first made my planet Sam forum a forum for my website but then people started talking about everything so I made it a General Board forum, science fictionally. But Also you can make RPs about your favourite movie or drama. If you don't know what to make for a proboard, watch some of your favourite programmes so you can get a idea. But also I wouldn't make a babyish drama RP like thomas the tank engine since proboards are for 13+ and teenagers may not like that. So do not make a RP that is from baby programmes.

[devin79]

This is something that I've always REALLY struggled with. Every time I come up with what I think is an idea for a hobby of mine, somebody else has already done it (of course, BBS is very popular right now, especially with the free services available!).

I have three forums right now:

PAGIN -- Piedmont Area Ghost Investigation Network
The Breeder's Retreat -- A reptile breeder's hangout (currently in maintenance)
Furry World -- A furry role playing game that is not yet ready for members

Talking to myself in a way, let me break this down.

Furry World is a concept that I've been working on for about six years. I think it's fairly unique in background at least, although, obviously, there ARE a lot of RPGs out there and there are a lot of furry RPGs out there. So far I haven't seen one I'm inclined to join, however (that is, furry RPG I'm inclined to join).

Breeder's Retreat? Well, I'm a member of at least two other reptile forums at the moment. When I first put it together I wanted somewhere that I would know what the quality of the forum was AND where members wouldn't get drowned out by the crowd (many of these pet forums are HUGE!). Still... BORING. So I decided to specialize with breeding instead of general discussion of herpitology. So far, we're still working on it.

PAGIN. Okay, nothing at all new here. There are tons of paranormal sites out there, of course. There are several here at proboards. BUT, ours is dedicated specifically to EVP research, investigation, and our own experiences. This board is in connection with our website and is a place for investigators to share experiences, tips and tricks, and to get to know one another a bit better. It's also a way for us to increase our team and recognition, of course.

So far, no members. Anywhere. But I don't think that has anything to do with my themes, which I've worked very, very hard on. I'm still working on graphics, of course

[Apostle Anthony]

Ok heres the deal...I made a christian forum.......yes I know...not original! but its for an online church...The HP forums need to be weeded out...those with less than 10 members should be deleted unless those 10 nerdy members somehow cant shut up and cant seem to just call each other like normal human beings (rolls eyes). WAIT!!! their not normal! their nerds! another branch of the human race! GASP!!! lol but no seriously...weed out those forums and you wont have many...then do the same to other overused forums.....of course it might never be done...it would cause Ad revenue to go down for Proboards....why your all freaking out i dont know...let the nerdy little people have their overmade forums...let those who are actually ORIGINAL and will TAKE TIME!!!! to watch their forums and mantain them for the benefit of the members and not the nerdy administration live and let the ones who are in it just to have bragging rights get due reward (nothing).HAHAHA.....im tired so im crazy but that is how i feel. On my Sig you can see my forum.....im working on it alot trying to do neat stuff to it,,,ive got 2 new skinds...."Blue beleiver" and "Red Neon" Skins...some codes have been used and ive reorganized...so, it is still basically going under lots of changes daily....my Co owner Sis.Blue is a wonderful supporter. She gives support and i give programming skills...mainly because shes not too keen on computers....but she knows the basics! lol God bless! ....i used "..." and "!" too much i know. SUE ME!

[AquaBot]

I made My Forum one day, it used to be about my website and General Talk, But nobody ever went on it, I decided to make it an Advertising Forum. People like to Advertise, and my members count has seemed to go up alot more now. That's really all from me.

Hope I didn't break the Rules or Anything

[flowerpetal]

on GOAYB I stopped looking at RPG boards a long time ago, but general forums are fun to check out because there's no telling what to expect

I have different motivators for starting forums, and it isn't always to get users. If a subject that interests me already has a forum I like, I would stick with that one instead of struggling to get members for one of my own.

One forum I created because I don't like the way I see other forums on the topic being run. I would rather have my own board with only a few users than go to a well-populated forum of someone elses that doesn't meet my needs and expectations.

One forum I created as a backup for a website that had gone down a couple times... the third time down was the last, and mine took its place as a "home base" for the people who were really interested in staying together. They dont post a whole lot, but it's the place they know they will be able to stay connected to people from the other site - that's what is the most important about it.

Another fourm I made for the heck of it to go with a site I built for the heck of it, just because it was a sort of silly, whimsical idea. I have no expectation for anyone to use it... it would be nice, but honestly that wasn't what motivated me.

If the motivation for building it to get users more than anything else, you really need to research other forums and see what people have and havent done. The GOAYB is an excellent place to see what does and doesn't work, and what the competition is.

[Apostle Anthony]

aquabot said:

I made My Forum one day, it used to be about my website and General Talk, But nobody ever went on it, I decided to make it an Advertising Forum. People like to Advertise, and my members count has seemed to go up alot more now. That's really all from me.

Hope I didn't break the Rules or Anything

The TOS says no advertising to make money...if this pertains to letting others advertise i dont know...they have a written form when they sign up...id message Craig Suffolk (the owner) or a mod and see.

[myke]

christfilledbygod said:

aquabot said:

I made My Forum one day, it used to be about my website and General Talk, But nobody ever went on it, I decided to make it an Advertising Forum. People like to Advertise, and my members count has seemed to go up alot more now. That's really all from me.

Hope I didn't break the Rules or Anything

The TOS says no advertising to make money...if this pertains to letting others advertise i dont know...they have a written form when they sign up...id message Craig Suffolk (the owner) or a mod and see.

Aquabot is not making money off of his forum, by advertising I believe he means a forum for other forum owners to create threads freely advertising their websites and/or forums.

[Apostle Anthony]

myke said:

christfilledbygod said:

The TOS says no advertising to make money...if this pertains to letting others advertise i dont know...they have a written form when they sign up...id message Craig Suffolk (the owner) or a mod and see.

Aquabot is not making money off of his forum, by advertising I believe he means a forum for other forum owners to create threads freely advertising their websites and/or forums.

O ok sorry! lol. Thanks for the clarification

[Beatle Aimee]

Pick something that interests you and you know something about. If you make a Beatles forum and aren't even a Beatles fan, it won't last long. But if you're a Beatleoligist (yes, that is an actual word. it's just not in the dictionary) like me, you have a better chance.
Make your forum different from the rest. My forum was originally created as a mostly-Beatles-but-one-or-two-random-boards forum, but as it grew it turned out it was a Beatles group which is about 50% Beatles, 50% other stuff.
It's always good to have a few members ready to join when you create a board. I created mine for a yahoo group I'm in as the group was so active I was worried we would run out of room, even though only about 4 members were there!!

[Drewz]

The way I see it, if someone is asking "What type of board should I open?" they should just give up right there. That there shows you're only opening a board for the sake of running a board, not becuase you love the boards topic.

I made a wrestling board becuase I loved wrestling, not for the sake of running a message board.

[iKonnor]

I don't like other support boards, or advertising forums. There is way too many of them around these days. I mean really, I don't care how 'cool' your new advertising forum may sounds. "I'm calling my forum Advertisement Extravaganza because it hasn't been used before" (Note that is just an example, I'm sure it has been used somewhere before.). I don't like Support forums either. The only Support forum needed is this ProBoards Support one. I don't want to see "Support Central - Your number one Support forum!". Hello, I bet Support Central doesn't have nearly 94,000 members and over 1,000,000,000 posts. Get original people.

[Cammy]

I just opened a new forum dedicated to candy. Since I went and tried to create something that I haven't seen a lot of, I am still finding it to be difficult to attract people. I guess, when all is said and done, just because an individual creates a board that may or may not be unique, it is going to be up to the population the world to make that board a success. I have seen some really nice forums that were created from scratch from the graphics to the topics, and they did miserably. I have also seen forums that were solely templates and so-so topics and they done great.

I don't know that there's a real solution to the ultimate forum, it is just up to the people and what they like.

[mort666]

i think the volume of rpg's is a good thing
because of the large number of prg's every subject is covered
but the biggest site Ive seen in a long time (except this one) is a warhammer site which is doing phenominally well
something like 1 year old and over 700 members
*shuts mouth before saying the name*
i remembered my lesson on spamming ;D

[Bretty]

voad said:

I'm calling my forum Advertisement Extravaganza because it hasn't been used before

Have you been stalking me?

My opinion on this is the same as Beatle Aimee's. No matter what it's about or how many of that subject there's been already, the forum can only do well if the admin loves that particular subject.