Maintaining a happy community

[∞ ConqueringWolf ∞]

I have noticed that there are quite a few communities that while they initially may receive a large amount of members and maybe even a burst of posting every so often in the end they usually end up losing activity and members quit returning to the boards.

This brings up the subject of what you should have for a good community and how can you maintain it's integrity as a good community so that people will want to return.

First and foremost I believe are the rules of a forum. While you want to have some rules in place to maintain order you also do not want an admin who is overly restrictive and inhibits the members from having fun and expressing their self.
I have seen some forums where Admins have said no one is allowed to have images in their sigs because it is distracting and they don't like it. Now who in their right mind would really want to join a forum where you can't express yourself in your sig and you are not allowed to customize your online personality.
On the flip side I have seen forums that say they have no rules, they allow guests to post anywhere, they have spam boards, flame boards, and any other kind of board there can be where trash and filth is posted on it for everyone to see. You have to maintain control and ensure everyone is having a good time while they are on your forum and no one is going to be having fun when they have to read through flame wars every day.

Second I believe is what kind of interaction do you give your members with you and other forum members. Do you have a Member Of The Month? Do you have contests where they can win things like increases in their post count? Do they have something to look forward to other than a few simple random posts when they come on? I myself have a Member Of The Month contest where I display their name, affiliate banner and website if they have one, and give them an increase in their post count as well. The more interaction a member has with everyone else the more they will feel like a part of the community and enjoy being involved in it.

Third and lastly do you offer your members promotions to moderators or other positions when they have demonstrated that they can conduct themselves in a proper manner that is befitting someone of Mod status? You should never make someone a mod just to make them happy or because you think you need some. You should always trust the people you make Mods, they should have demonstrated as a member that they deserve such a position with their good conduct, and use it as a reward to show that you appreciate their being a member in good standing and that you entrust them with the care of your forum. Just make sure they are not given powers that they don't need to have.

These are just a few suggestions for how to keep people coming back to your forum after they have been members a while. Any thoughts or suggestions to add?

[Drewz]

Great points, I don't exactly have a "member of the month" but I do have a WWE (and TNA) Betting Board. Members make guesses on who they think will win what matches. The winner receives 50 karma points.

We also have, what I beleive, to be the greatest Games section. Many great games, variety that everyone loves!

I think I have about 6 rules main rules, their all fair and never had too many forums. I did have a crackdown about double posting, I made a few suggestions to members who did it to edit their posts. After several days if anything it got worse, so I made a 10% Warning for it. Once the double posting problem stopped, I took the warning off. I think that can be a problem that sometimes the members just don't listen to me enough, with that example I warned a fair bit not to double post. The rule itself isn't that harsh, members can double post if they have something decent to add 2 days later. Too many people double (or triple) posted directly after their original becuase they had something extra to add. Eh but that's all off-topic.

What I truely hate are forums where members expect flaming and think their "hardcore" for it. And I hate overly corny forums just as much, where members suck up to the admins, mods and eachother. I hate where to make A friend I would have to suck up.

Maybe that's all off-topic, I make a happy, but serious place. It's laid back but I do try and make it proffesional.

[aithne]

well, I didn't want to be some nasty lawman (woman) so I let my members make the rules. I proposed some ideas and let them give opinions on it. Rules and consequences were set that way. I think that made them feel like they were equal. I figured I didn't need to tell them about name calling and things they should've learnt about in kindy.

I've been on some boards where the mods and admins felt like they were above everybody else. They talk down to everybody and they should not be saying things like "Your picture sucks, you have no talent and you're also ugly" to a member. One of my members get's that quite a bit elsewhere and fumes about it on my board. I know what she means as I've come to her defense countless times. Nobody wants to post on a forum like that.

I've made skins that are relevent to the topic so they get to choose the look of it. I try to give them as many options as possible. To me it's about choice. I'm an individual and so are my members. I also consider the fact that some forums are too dark, some are too light. Some I can't see so I try to have a variety to cater for vision impairment for others. I've had to avoid some forums because I couldn't read the font.

Nobody likes an admin that dictates the look of the forum and such. So if they don't like a skin or want something a little different, i let them fill out what they want and I'll make it for them. I try to keep it as a democracy so that everyone gets a say. We vote on most things.

[Slacker]

Moral is important to any group of people.

Rules are always important. Without bounds people will go crazy. It is the internet and you don't know what the other person is like. they can have a huge desire to be the center of attention, leading to a spam fest. having rules to restrict that is necessary. however the staff should loosen up every once and a while. you can't be too strict with rules because people will complain and leave your forum. if there is a spam thread that turns into a joke and people are having a good time in it, then it should be let off. there is a fine line the staff has to follow in that regard. they can never make everyone happy and should use their best judgement if they want to be lienent on the rules.

Contests can really bring a community together. people can get to know eachother's talents, have fun, and interact more than just the regular topics that go on. I can remember when I first started off here at Support. it seemed everyone was in a clique and you couldn't break your way in at all. (I guess there are some outlying circumstances to it though).

I don't believe you should give out staff positions just because the member has done good deeds and become well respected. if they have shown dedication to a certain board of the forum, they are well liked, and most importantly can be trusted then I would give them modship. there are other ways to show your apprceiation. a custom title or different collored username, or a simple thanks can be all thats needed.

[Man in Black]

As an admin I feel that you should respond to alot of posts and have your mods to reply alot. Each legitimate post your members make should be replied to by some one. The reason being that when I post on someone else's forum and nobody says jack to me for two weeks, I'm not really encouraged to come back to post more.

Also it helps to be flexible. Existing members will stick around if they are interested in the topics and replies. If you have to, drop ideas you had that attract no posts and add boards or threads about topics that materialize which everyone seems interested in. Rarely does everything you put on your forum from the start hold intrest. Some things need to go, others need to be added.

[Raven]

I feel that posting intelligent and user friendly threads in most boards will help with this, at least with activeness.
Other ways would be member of the month or if you have a semi-graphic board, something like sig of the week will do. But having posting games or a history facts quiz may be of interest to certain members.
You have to find out what your members like, just post and observe what they post the most to and that's how you find their favorite topics and what they're most likely to want to talk about.

[Drewz]

I think giving people creativity makes a happy place. As soon as a member joins, if they want a custom title, they get one. As well as having 50 or so defualt avatars and a shoutbox.

I think the main thing that keeps everyone happy is the games section. It's laid back, fun and the most active board.

[myke]

drewz said:

I think giving people creativity makes a happy place. As soon as a member joins, if they want a custom title, they get one. As well as having 50 or so defualt avatars and a shoutbox.

I think the main thing that keeps everyone happy is the games section. It's laid back, fun and the most active board.

I agree with the avatars, but not so much with the automatic custom title. I feel custom titles should be earned, so those who receive one know they desrved it. Also, it gives people an extra incentive to be active on the forum.

A shoutbox I don't reccomend, or not reccomend, I feel it is basically up to each individual forum owner whether or not they have one.

[ligue1marseille]

you guys wanna maintain a happy community?

You guys need to have fast service. Ive got a thread that the admins havent answered in 24 hours , thats slow service. You guys gotta do better than that

[Enchant]

ligue1marseille said:

you guys wanna maintain a happy community?

You guys need to have fast service. Ive got a thread that the admins havent answered in 24 hours , thats slow service. You guys gotta do better than that

This is not the place for your complaints. Second of all, this is a free service and you are not the only one in need of assistance. You need to have patience...

[ligue1marseille]

enchant said:

This is not the place for your complaints.

hey this is recommendations , im just trying to help so you avoid losing people

[Enchant]

ligue1marseille said:

enchant said:

This is not the place for your complaints.

hey this is recommendations , im just trying to help so you avoid losing people

No your post was a complaint not a recommendation. This thread is also for members to help other members out with thier respective forums, not this one. We are not forcing people to stay, you are unhappy with the service here, you are more then free to go. But please do not post in this thread again, unless it is with in the rules and guidelines. Thank you.

[Drewz]

myke said:

drewz said:

I think giving people creativity makes a happy place. As soon as a member joins, if they want a custom title, they get one. As well as having 50 or so defualt avatars and a shoutbox.

I think the main thing that keeps everyone happy is the games section. It's laid back, fun and the most active board.

I agree with the avatars, but not so much with the automatic custom title. I feel custom titles should be earned, so those who receive one know they desrved it. Also, it gives people an extra incentive to be active on the forum.

A shoutbox I don't reccomend, or not reccomend, I feel it is basically up to each individual forum owner whether or not they have one.

I've had no problems with the shoutbox (Well apart from banned members using : but I took care of that and it's a great way for members to communicate. As for the custom title, their fun nicknames, in massive boards like this (that won't lose members becuase 1 person got answered a little later than expected) naturally custom titles need to be earned, it's just a too larger place.

[sumsumbubblegum]

In order to maintain a happy community, there has to be a constant flow of kindness and respect towards other members at the forum. Also, there has to be limited or no fights otherwise the board would go chaotic. Maintaining a happy community would also require a member to follow the rules. Obviously if a member gets a warning in his/her profile, they wouldnt be too happy would they? If only they'd follow the rules. So you see in order to maintain a happy communtiy each member needs to contribute repectfully and follow the rules.

[Espirit]

Very good!

I have joined around 30 rpg's supported by proboards and i have only recently stuck to one.
It only has 45members but everyone is very active.
I've been joined a year and a month or so.
They have rules and it's set out great. The admin is loveable and i feel a little special in it as am one of the few older survivng members.