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Post by chrisnelson on May 1, 2008 22:48:19 GMT -8
For me, the absolute most important thing is the community: The people who are on there all the time. Are they friendly or flamers? Are the staff members just doing a job, or do they actually enjoy what they do and interact regularly with the members?
Community Spirit, I guess you could say:)
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PBS Oscars: Best Debater 08 Oscars: Best New Member 2007
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HoudiniDerek
Capital Idea!
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August 2006
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Post by HoudiniDerek on May 1, 2008 23:17:58 GMT -8
But if you are interested in the subject...What would make you join the board? A lot of things could make me potentially join a board outside of being interested in the subject. One thing is definitely a recommendation from someone I respect. If they think I would like the forum, I am much more likely to look at it a lot more closely than I normally would. Pretty? No. Does it have to be easy on the eyes and easy to read though? Yes. I like skins that make sense with the theme of the forum if at all possible. Open to posting? No. Open to viewing? At least a few. I realize some are creative endeavors that should be members only, but some should be open...especially things like the rules. Some of the content is a necessity in my mind, especially if you are going to entice new members. If it is an invite only board (as some are), obviously that would depend on the person inviting you. I do not really care for Info Tables so I don't care if guests can see them. If you mean the Info Center, if it is default, yes. If it is very intricate and has too many codes, then no. It can be confusing if you are not a member. To some degree. I think that is why the Info Center would be good to leave visible. No. Personally, I think they detract from the forum and can leave it way open to spam. I think an add-on chat is much better for the members. Sometimes. I am on a site that had very little staff activity for quite a while. The members had a lot of fun, especially with random threads asking where the staff was. After a while, the staff came back and they were pleased to see members were still active...and they became more active. It really depends on a mix of factors including membership, activity, content, etc.
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orangehairdye
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Post by orangehairdye on May 2, 2008 0:34:32 GMT -8
I myself usually only join rp forums... I only recall joining one general forum but I remember not sticking around for long. When I'm looking for an rp, I look for plot, though since I now join only anime-based rp forums plot isn't completely necessary. I also check the literacy of the members there, which is why I refuse to join boards that don't allow guests to view posts. I type 600 words or more on a consistent basis, and I hate it when members don't read my full post or give me a small paragraph in response.
I try to only join forums that have c-boxes, and I don't believe the spam thing. On one of my forums, I have a spammer but he only comes around once in a while and everyone ignores him (we mostly make fun of his hideous spelling). But that's the only place where I've encountered spamming on the cbox, and that's due to my advertising on a popular topsites site on Google.
Skin and layout is also important to me. I hate side tables (though I'm learning to tolerate them). I won't join a site that has a dark skin with bright text colors, and I will usually only join sites that have black, white, or gray as their main color (just something I noticed about myself).
As for activity, I normally won't join boards with 100 or more members, because that tends to intimidate me. It looks like so much has gone on without me that I won't be able to keep up. I also won't join a site with too many members logging on daily (as in 40 or more) because I like to get a chance to chat with most of the people on the site and get acquainted, and when I see that it's back to the whole 'so much is going on' type thing. I don't mind if I join a site with twenty or so members and it grows to a huge amount. I also don't mind if the site is basically dead with an active admin, as there is a chance of bringing it back. But the admin has to be friendly.
And on small rp forums, I don't join sites with a 'no character cloning' rule. On large ones it's okay, but with a small rp forum it kinda kills it for me, though I'm not sure why.
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Kirsty geek
New Member
Pirates Of The Caribbean Obssesed
Posts: 19
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Jun 29, 2008 5:57:35 GMT -8
Kirsty geek
Pirates Of The Caribbean Obssesed
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April 2008
kirstyfreek
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Post by Kirsty geek on May 2, 2008 2:53:30 GMT -8
Well it's really if people are friendly or just can't be bothered with you.
like with the board I run I will always try to keep every one happy and will talk to the new members if they need any thing and I love what I do..... I try to run it like I would want to be treated on a forum......
And also soelling and grammer and colours are important. If they havn't got these things, I will tend to avoid a forum.
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Short of Daybreak
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impactofreason3
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Post by Short of Daybreak on May 6, 2008 10:57:11 GMT -8
What draws me to a forum? As far as looks, all I want is for the skin not to burn my eyes and for it not to be so overloaded with codes and graphics that it slows everything down. I'm also turned off if a video or music player suddenly starts up, for it really slow things down and I wouldn't enjoy my time there so much.
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tgirl
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May 7, 2008 22:01:43 GMT -8
tgirl
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Post by tgirl on May 7, 2008 21:54:19 GMT -8
For me, I don't care about the looks so much as long as the forum is readable (and doesn't have blinding colors). All I care about really is the community (as stated numerous times in this thread) and the type of people on the forum. If the forum is active, I take it that it's still going healthy. I don't care about the number of members on the forum either. The topics that several people make... If it's a topic that I'm really interested in discussing about, I'm in! ^_^
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Timelady84
FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS! Except that one where you're naked in church.
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elijahfandom
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Post by Timelady84 on May 8, 2008 18:23:52 GMT -8
1. Subject matter: Has to be of interest of course 2. Members: The smaller the better, so that I can get more involved 3. Atmosphere: I like a more mature setting, no chatspeak 4. And the Admins have to be cool, not overly strict. After all, this is just the internet and these are just forums to hang out.
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X-Ter
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SimRacer
Posts: 20
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SimRacer
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October 2005
xter
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Post by X-Ter on May 8, 2008 20:44:18 GMT -8
The overall topic is most important I'm a SimRacer so I visit SimRacing forums. I find little or no fun in visiting general topic forums or First Person Shooter forums (who mostly is infested with teenagers anyway).
Number of members is not as important You can have a good time at a forum with less than 10 members, and you can have a terrible time at forums with several thousand members. In the end, it comes down to how well moderated and administered the forum is. What tone is set by admins and mods? If anything goes, I'm out in an instant.
Colours has little to do with it... ...but it helps if the forum don't hurt or strain my eyes. I must admit that I more often visit the SimRacing forums with a good colour scheme. Bright, high contrast colours is not something I like. Flashy can be good, but there is a fine line between flashy and too much".
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JemmaJH
Advertising is good...
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jemmajh
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Post by JemmaJH on May 9, 2008 8:28:25 GMT -8
That is a hard question, most of the RPG boards that I am a member of, were passed on to me by "word of mouth", but when I am looking for new RPG boards they have to have: - Simple rules - for example there was one RPG board i looked at their rules went on for nearly two pages; a big no no!
- Planned Events - I have thought of the smae thing for my boards, but i haven't really decided yet
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Lovely[lovely]
laugh, it's me!
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Post by Lovely[lovely] on May 9, 2008 17:53:58 GMT -8
For me the two most important things are the community and the look.
I won't join a site that doesn't look proffessional. The look of the site is very important to me.
I don't care how many members there are, just as long as their active and friendly. I don't like it when members aren't welcoming and helpful to new members. When I join a site I don't always want to wait for the admin if I have a question, I like it when any member will try to help you to the best of their ability.
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beccaboouwo
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beccaboouwo
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January 1970
GUEST
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Post by beccaboouwo on May 9, 2008 18:22:05 GMT -8
I don't care how many members there are, just as long as their active and friendly. I hear you with that. I cannot stand boards that have an outrageous number of members, but only 10-15 (or even less sometimes!) actively post. It's disheartening getting the same opinions all the time.
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--Ven
New Member
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--Ven
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14amendi
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Post by --Ven on May 13, 2008 11:31:53 GMT -8
Hmm, I think this is a good topic for people looking to attract more members to their site. They can look at this, and maybe see whats wrong, ect. Anways, getting off topic here.
When I am looking for a site, these are some important things I look for
- Layout - Nice easy colors. Great blending, goes with the theme.
- Rules - If there are too many rules and too strict, I leave right then and there.
- Posts - If theres a title like this watz up dood on every thread, that's a big turn-off
- Activity - I like at least one or two posts each day, and thats very minimum.
Those are just my opinions.
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No
Full Member
Posts: 512
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No
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October 2005
yeagger
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Post by No on May 13, 2008 23:39:08 GMT -8
It's mostly the other members. If I can relate to them, and feel I'll fit in well, I'll join the forum usually.
Of course, subject matter is important as well and I have to enjoy it or at least understand it.
Color and design do little for me, it just can't blind me. A dull forum with the original skin is an initial turn off, but if I like everything else, I'll stay anyway.
Then, there's a couple of odd things that can change my mind. Like, if there's a major typo or spelling error on the front page, I might not join due to that! Also, if there's a gigantic info center right at the top, I usually stay away.
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♥Elly
New Member
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♥Elly
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April 2008
araeya
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Post by ♥Elly on May 14, 2008 17:13:01 GMT -8
For me, it's 1) Nice skin (no super bright colors) 2) At least 10 active members. What I hate is when there's a site with 100 members, but no one is on. Also, too many members is also annoying. Do you mean too many active members is annoying? If so, I am curious why you would think that. To me, it seems that if a site has a lot of active members (like this one for example) there is never a need or a lull in activity. Or did you mean too many members that does not accurately reflect activity? I mean, like when there are, for instance, fifty active members, you try to post, only to see that ten people have posted already. It's not usually a problem, but it was on this one site.
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PBS Oscars: Best Debater 08 Oscars: Best New Member 2007
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Apr 24, 2024 6:39:42 GMT -8
HoudiniDerek
Capital Idea!
33,291
August 2006
houdiniderek
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Post by HoudiniDerek on May 14, 2008 18:43:00 GMT -8
Do you mean too many active members is annoying? If so, I am curious why you would think that. To me, it seems that if a site has a lot of active members (like this one for example) there is never a need or a lull in activity. Or did you mean too many members that does not accurately reflect activity? I mean, like when there are, for instance, fifty active members, you try to post, only to see that ten people have posted already. It's not usually a problem, but it was on this one site. I like that problem. Unless it is an RP, I guess I am unsure why it matters. For example, I know this site can be tricky, but I figured about the only place it became problematic was in the Support board as they are a little more territorial than say, GT.
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