What draws you to a forum?

[libson]

I would only join a forum with a good skin, which has nice colors, and not too bright, or hard on the eyes.
I would only join a forum if i liked the topic.
And if there was members on there.

[Ary]

For me, I'd only join a site with:

The theme has to be one that I like. I won't join something I'm not really all that interested in.
A good Admin - An Admin that is friendly and acts more like a member than an admin.
I'm not all that interested in the colors. As long as it doesn't hurt my eyes and it isn't a bunch of random colors, I'll join without looking at the colors.
The Members and Activity - I won't join a site that is inactive or such. The members should also be friendly.

[Rupert Giles]

I join one with the theme that I love, friendly members and admins and where I'm not gonna feel like someone from the planet tomororw

[The Packle]

A forum will draw me if they are small or semi-small. I forget this rule if the admins or friendly members are there. Plus I would like it to be a Pokemon site cause I am not good in any other.

[The Official "TarjaHolic"]

I would only join a forum that:

Has a friendly admin, not one who acts mucho mucho im so much better than everyone else
Is an RPG, love RPGs
Hs a Coolio skin, dark colors, thats stuff
Cool members, not all-serious ones, ones who are crazy and sanity can be questioned lol
Activity doesn't really matter to me, as long as it's a topic I like =]

[notjustamom]

First impressions are very important, the colors shouldn't be overwhelming, or jarring to my eyes.

I also won't stick around if the board's home page is not viewable without registering; I'd like to know what the board is all about.

And finally, if I see the board only has a few members that also turns me away, I prefer a more active board.

[Chewii]

In the end I think colors play a larger role then some people think. If the colors are too bright I don't hesitate to close it right away. Not to mention if there isn't one color that matches, and if it seems like the background and colors weren't really taken into consideration... In other words it'd only take a nice looking board, neat, colors that aren't eye melting bright, and colors that match.

[HoudiniDerek]

ryou said:

In the end I think colors play a larger role then some people think. If the colors are too bright I don't hesitate to close it right away. Not to mention if there isn't one color that matches, and if it seems like the background and colors weren't really taken into consideration... In other words it'd only take a nice looking board, neat, colors that aren't eye melting bright, and colors that match.

I agree that the forum should have an appeal outside the theme. However, I would say that the theme should be the dominating reason to join a forum or to have interest. Then, things like colors and making sure it does not blind you is another. After all, most good admins take member opinions into account.

[Gamoc]

ryou said:

In the end I think colors play a larger role then some people think. If the colors are too bright I don't hesitate to close it right away. Not to mention if there isn't one color that matches, and if it seems like the background and colors weren't really taken into consideration... In other words it'd only take a nice looking board, neat, colors that aren't eye melting bright, and colors that match.

I think the eye melting bright colors can actually be okay if they have some darker ones that sort of black out the brightness and math well. There are many possibilities one can do with colors. It is really amazing. I especially love having good themes for sure, I really don't care about the color of which it is, as long as it looks good to me.

That doesn't mean that I am going to necessarily join the board. It definetely has to be of a genre that I like. There are a lot of people who get a Pre-Made skin and expect everyone to join because their board looks good, which is completely wrong.

You can have the best skin on earth, but if I don't like the content or I don't like the theme, then I simply am not going to join, simple as that. I also don't just join a board to build up their members count, because that is not what good posters looks at, they look at post count, then content. Which is why boards that have the general board closed to guests (viewing, not posting) drive me away, because I don't know how good their real content is.

Overall, I really don't look plainly at the skin, their are many contributers, but the skin is a big thing.

[Yada]

Hi, my first post here... One thing that would draw me to a forum is their ability to offer something different

[HoudiniDerek]

yada said:

Hi, my first post here... One thing that would draw me to a forum is their ability to offer something different

I have to agree. That is why I find it hard to believe there are so many HP forums out there. How can they ALL be offering something different than some of the older models out there? I have to say that aside from theme, the ability to be novel is indeed something that is great for a forum and can draw a lot of active members.

[Yuki]

Its normaly the look at first and then the content and what the other members are like.

[bobdat]

The main thing for me is the theme, and after that it is the originality. I hate joining HP forums not because I don't like HP, it's just that it's the same old thing, over and over.

As for activity, I either want to join a very active forum, or a medium active. I can't stand new forums, where you cant ever post because there's no-one online.

[sciencefreak]

the skin, i'd say, and the theme of course. and friendly members too.

[§?߀®]

A good number of things draw me to a forum. Of course, it's always difficult to restrain yourself from making first impressions, but a forum I'm browsing needs to be nicely organized. If the forum doesn't look organized but instead messy, then that kind of says a few things about the admin. It shows that they didn't put in the effort to make the site more appealing or they don't care enough. I've come to notice that if the admin is inactive or doesn't care, then the site is doomed to die. After being unsuccessful in making a first impression, I look at the post count and when the last post was made and how many members there are. If there hasn't been a post in a few days, then I'm not going to bother looking into the site anymore. What's the point if it's dead? If it then passes that test, then I go into the plot (we're normally talking about me looking at a role play site) The plot has to be original. I can't stand cliches. They make me gag. The admin has to give freedom to the members and not hold them on tight leashes.

Gee, I have more, but looking back, I think I've showed how picky I am enough.