What Makes A Forum Succeed?

[JJ]

What makes a Proboards forum succeed?

Actually, many things can help a forum be successful, but some things will always be true.

 
Do your experimenting at a practice/test site. That way, if you really mess up, you aren’t affecting your active site.

Really get to know and understand the tools of a Proboards forum to make your site work smoothly.

Get to know the plugin system and follow instructions to the letter!

 
Don’t be shy about asking for help on Proboards Support. Trust me, the staff have heard it all, and are incredibly patient with us.

Oh, and before you open your site up for members, be sure you are ready. The other day I read a post in the Support area where someone had misspelled the name of his site when he created it and it was stuck like that. Yes, he was stuck. Now, he could pay ten dollars to get it changed, but that’s not the point, we really need to pay attention to our own actions.

There are so many more things that go into making a successful site, but I’d really like to hear your suggestions.

Please try to keep the responses as positive as possible.

[Mixed]

I think it's time, care, and attention that makes a forum succeed. Beyond that, people need to have interest in the subject matter. Then you need to do the footwork to get word of your forum out there so that people can find you in the first place. It isn't going to happen overnight.

Having spent over 8 months preparing my forum prior to opening it to the public, I wanted to be sure it was presentable. Sure, even while I'm advertising, I'm still tweaking things here and there trying to optimize but the forum in general is ready for users.

Another thing that can make a forum succeed, when being a collaboration project, is a good team. People that work well together and don't contrast each other in negative ways. Constructive criticism is great! But once things get dicey, people will feel that and will try to avoid it. So having a staffing team that works well together is a great asset.

Oh man, there is so much! An appealing look. An organized layout. Not too little to bore, but not too much to overwhelm. A topic that is focused enough to have an audience but not so focused that only one or two will enjoy. Oh and the staff can't be TOO controlling over what is going on, especially in an RP forum. It just kills the fun.

Maybe I'll stop there for now. Like I said, there's a lot that comes together to make a forum succeed. Luck is likely even part of it. Luck and opportunity. But I'll leave it at this for now so others can weigh in.

[Tommy Huynh]

I also want to highlight the importance of having good aesthetics. You want a forum that is pleasing and engaging to the user. They will not want to spend much time there if it hurts their eyes to look at.

What's also important too, is to find a specific niche and topic. Forums that specialize in one subject generally do well than other forums that tries to be a one stop shop for everything. When focusing on one genre, you can focus on having real high quality content.

[Matt]

Jan 19, 2016 12:32:25 GMT -8 Tommy Huynh said:

I also want to highlight the importance of having good aesthetics. You want a forum that is pleasing and engaging to the user. They will not want to spend much time there if it hurts their eyes to look at.

What's also important too, is to find a specific niche and topic. Forums that specialize in one subject generally do well than other forums that tries to be a one stop shop for everything. When focusing on one genre, you can focus on having real high quality content.

Good Decorations are important, but I disagree with your last point, I run a general chat forum which is doing quite well at this point. I do see and understand what you mean though. But general chat forums do fine as well.

[Former Member]

Mattyboo1:
A nice theme helps.
One important factor includes having genuine members.
Active members are important.
A good admin is important and etc.

[Former Member]

Jan 18, 2016 14:01:08 GMT -8 JJ said:

What makes a Proboards forum succeed?

Actually, many things can help a forum be successful, but some things will always be true.

 
Do your experimenting at a practice/test site. That way, if you really mess up, you aren’t affecting your active site.

Really get to know and understand the tools of a Proboards forum to make your site work smoothly.

Get to know the plugin system and follow instructions to the letter!

 
Don’t be shy about asking for help on Proboards Support. Trust me, the staff have heard it all, and are incredibly patient with us.

Oh, and before you open your site up for members, be sure you are ready. The other day I read a post in the Support area where someone had misspelled the name of his site when he created it and it was stuck like that. Yes, he was stuck. Now, he could pay ten dollars to get it changed, but that’s not the point, we really need to pay attention to our own actions.

There are so many more things that go into making a successful site, but I’d really like to hear your suggestions.

Please try to keep the responses as positive as possible.

Practice Forums are an excellent way to get it right before opening it up to the members! They prevent everyone seeing your mistakes! ha/ha I'll be the first to admit, I've made many but yes, PB Support is the best around, and they know their stuff!

 Yes, I saw the post, you are referring to,  but I kept silent because I too have been in this person's shoes! Nobody started out knowing it all, and learning is the best way to strive for excellence! Excellence may never be met by anyone, but the knowledge learned along the way is priceless! Those feeling, they are "Veterans" and know all, there is to know, just because their forum exceeds 2+ years,  don't impress me none! I've learned a lot through trial and error and have lost some prospective friends as a result, but it has turned into the greatest blessing of all. I've utilized the negativity as a strength to inspire me to continue on, and for that, I am forever grateful to them all! 

Here are a few things, I feel make a forum succeed:

1- The Site Owner must be present on a daily basis, and if not, leave a post as to why so members do not feel "left hanging". They must make every attempt possible to assure all posts are acknowledged so members do not feel, they are posting in the wind! If they have Staff, that should be one of their duties to assist with as well. 

 The Site Owner must be consistent & enforce the Rules/Guidelines, they have set for their particular site. If this means denial of a particular validating members, due to their "past" reputation exceeding them, then so be it.  The site's purpose, loyal member's privacy and registered member's overall enjoyable experience is far more important! "If" members leave as a result of your decision, then count yourself lucky!

2- Get to know your members, and encourage interaction among each other. Find out their interests and create forums,  all ages can relate to.

3- Make it intriguing for Guests to want to see more ...

4- NEVER let a Staff Member/ or member abuse or badger a member in any way just because you favor their gender! If a Staff member has an issue with a member and can not seem to be civil, then they are not eligible to be on Staff. 

5-  Overall summary:

One can create a site that interests them, and hopefully others will join because they share the same interests. Realistically speaking, a site is DEAD without members, and so the true reason of why a forum succeeds is because of the "MEMBERS"!!! If you want your forum to succeed, Site Owner must treat everyone equal and have zero tolerance to Staff or members being non-compliant to Rules/Guidelines. If Site Admin. shows partiality of gender allowing their favorites to downgrade of  the opposite gender then they can expect to see deletions of membership!

[Former Member]

I also feel letting your members feel they are vital for your site's success as far as welcoming their ideas and new topics.

[Former Member]

People knowing each other from the start helps.
With my forum, there was about 20-25 of us who knew each other (online) from a totally different site that was having hassles. That helped right from the start and gradually new members joined in and immediately felt welcome.
At least that's what was crucial in my first 4 or 5 years.

[nariadreaming]

Feb 6, 2016 1:42:10 GMT -8 Paul said:

People knowing each other from the start helps.
With my forum, there was about 20-25 of us who knew each other (online) from a totally different site that was having hassles. That helped right from the start and gradually new members joined in and immediately felt welcome.
At least that's what was crucial in my first 4 or 5 years.

I really think that this is key. Nothing turns me off from a forum faster than to see that it's nothing but the site owner shouting into an abyss.

"Oh look, this site has had 100 new threads this week"

"Oh. It's just the admin posting over and over again... moving on" 

[Former Member]

Feb 9, 2016 8:03:37 GMT -8 nariadreaming said:

Feb 6, 2016 1:42:10 GMT -8 Paul said:

People knowing each other from the start helps.
With my forum, there was about 20-25 of us who knew each other (online) from a totally different site that was having hassles. That helped right from the start and gradually new members joined in and immediately felt welcome.
At least that's what was crucial in my first 4 or 5 years.

I really think that this is key. Nothing turns me off from a forum faster than to see that it's nothing but the site owner shouting into an abyss.

"Oh look, this site has had 100 new threads this week"

"Oh. It's just the admin posting over and over again... moving on" 

lmbo, how true it is! Wondering if they reply to their own posts?! lol  No matter how young or mature a forum is, if you do not open it to public, your fear of rejection is blown wide opened to the Web! Sure some "young" forums may not make it, but one never knows until they try! If I see an Admin "talking to themselves" and enjoying it, why interrupt?! LMBO

[JJ]

I disagree. I don't think knowing each other will make a difference in the long run. However, I do think seeing your posts on another forum will bring members. I have gotten members from other forums that never even posted in a thread I did nor discussed anything with me at other forums. They told me later that they just liked the things I shared and checked out my forum and wound up staying.

Which brings up the importance of getting out there and being on a few websites as a regular visitor and contributor. It's a really good way for us to be evaluated and to help people see if we are someone they feel comfortable with and seem like someone they would like to know better.

But I do agree that it's awkward when a site owner keeps posting when no one is responding, just to keep the site moving along.

[Mandoli]

Feb 9, 2016 8:03:37 GMT -8 nariadreaming said:

Nothing turns me off from a forum faster than to see that it's nothing but the site owner shouting into an abyss.

I agree with this statement. People have to encourage people to join and engage with guests as they pop into the chat (if it's set to allow guest posts, of course). If you refuse to chat with others, then why are you running a board to begin with?

But moving on...

I want to know what I'm getting into before I start joining a board. I don't want to immediately join, then find out that it's not the board for me and ignore it for eternity. I'd love to see staff open up their boards to show guests that it's not as scary as it appears to be. If there's a guest-friendly board here or there, great.

Make a board for advertising. I know RP sites have them, but I don't bother to post an ad to my board, because it's not RP. (That last sentence is just thrown out there as an example. Not the point.) I offer to let boards of all servers advertise and possibly affiliate. If you want the word to be spread around, affiliate your board with another one. It might not be the same category, but at least you're starting to spread the word around slightly. It's a start, but you still have to push it out to everyone.

EDIT: And while we're at it, most forums should allow some form of advertising (at least subtle tones). I might share something in common with someone else on your board. If I find that I can get at least one more solid member by joining someone else's board, then I think I've done a pretty good job.

[JJ]

I like advertising too, Mandoli and agree that it should be allowed. I allow members to have a linkable sig from the git go. I also have a board where they can talk about their website and invite the members to visit. However, that board requires 25 posts before posting. I do that because I have had dozens of people join, advertise their site and never come back

I used to have guests boards, but I wound up getting a lot of spam, some porn and lots of invites to other sites. Instead, I recommend a long chatty post for guest by the site owner describing the site and what the site is all about, the atmosphere, expectations and make sure it feels inviting.

[Mandoli]

Feb 14, 2016 8:42:37 GMT -8 JJ said:

I used to have guests boards, but I wound up getting a lot of spam, some porn and lots of invites to other sites.

Try the Post Quarantine plugin. I've been using it for my board's guest-friendly content (for the guests, because of personal reasons). Couldn't be happier with it.

[JJ]

Sounds interesting, Mandoli, not a plugin I've ever heard of. Thanks, I'll check it out.