You created a forum - You did what first or stumbling block?

[Scott]

Hello!
I've been actively trying to update our Help Guide articles. Months ago I created a linked index organized into categories to make articles easier to find, and added indicators of which articles were for admins vs members and which contained video help files.  And I've written some articles to expand our Help Guide. I'm always seeking ways to make our Help library a better experience.
 

I would appreciate it if you would take a moment to give me feedback on the following,   Many thanks! 



You just created a forum.

1) What was the some of the first things you did? (i.e. change title, add boards, choose theme, etc.)

2) What stumbling blocks did you run into at first, if any?

3) What tips would you give a new forum owner?






Note: if you have a suggestion regarding a particular help article, please use the link at the bottom of that article rather than comment here.  Also please indicate which article it is when submitting a suggestion.  Thank you.

[wildmaven]

1) What was the some of the first things you did? (i.e. change title, add boards, choose theme, etc.)

The first things I did was change the title, change the new/old graphics, change the background and the colors. It was very frustrating at first, because you couldn't do all of those things in one place.

2) What stumbling blocks did you run into at first, if any?

I'm no coder, so sometimes it was hard to figure out what a support helper was saying. Sometimes they assume everyone knows what a style sheet is an how to find it.

I also am going to say this one more time... MOST NEW FORUM OWNERS WANT TO MAKE CHANGES TO MANY OF THE BASIC SETTINGS *****GLOBALLY*****. If you tell me that I have to go into each and every one of my 13 themes to change something, I'm going to cry.

3) What tips would you give a new forum owner?

Step away if you're starting to feel frustrated. The forum will still be there when you get back.

[Kami]

1) What was the some of the first things you did? (i.e. change title, add boards, choose theme, etc.)

1. Change the title & my profile name
2. Add categories & boards
3. Add content

Theme is always last for me. I may have ideas for a theme beforehand, but sometimes what you imagine looks much different once the board is populated. I find that creating / choosing a theme last helps ensure that you have as few bugs or unintended visual consequences as possible


2) What stumbling blocks did you run into at first, if any?

If I made this forum right now? Nothing, really. I can pretty much get my forum to look exactly how I conceptualise it, and usually my limitations are only on ProBoards' end. I tend to be a one-theme person, perhaps with a duplicated theme with different fonts for accessibility, so I don't have too many issues making alterations.

In the past? I'll limit this to v5 since v4 isn't even a memory for some people: understanding layout templates. It was difficult to learn; the curve was steep and unless you spent all your time on Support asking for help, it's not very intuitive to understand on your own.

3) What tips would you give a new forum owner?

A. Don't hide all of your content. Maybe a few things (eg: I tend to hide any art / writing boards to help protect my members' intellectual property, or a debate board, or a special event category) but most of your content should be visible to guests, even if they can't post or reply to it. This helps guests see what to expect from your forum -- from content, to staff & member behaviour -- so they can decide if your forum is a good fit for them and their expectations.

B. Have a guest-friendly area, whether a board or a shoutbox or a cbox, for members to ask questions. Personally, I think boards are more useful so that other guests can comb through past threads to see if their question was already answered, whereas with a cbox or shoutbox the content tends to get buried / disappears.

C. Rules and other informational threads need to be clear, concise, polite, and easily accessible. No one wants to go digging for your rules / plot / banned character list / available characters / warning structure, etc etc. No one wants to read through super long paragraphs just to get to the actual rule that could be summed up in a short sentence (though I'm not saying not to elaborate, but people should be able to get the gist of the rule quickly). No one wants content insulting them (even if it's "joking").

D. Don't be afraid to suspend and ban members. While I recommend not banning anyone who disagrees w/ you, ultimately your forum is your playground and you've just invited people to come play. If they're not going to be respectful of the rules and guidelines you put forth, there is no need for them to be there.

[T.C.]

1) What was the some of the first things you did? (i.e. change title, add boards, choose theme, etc.)

The first thing i did was play with every option in the admin panel. From there i went to the visual editor and played with the settings while viewing the preview to see what area of the theme was effected by the changes. I then came to the support board and read, read and read.

2) What stumbling blocks did you run into at first, if any?

No real stumbling blocks with the basic settings. 

3) What tips would you give a new forum owner?

Get to know the admin panel and create a test board so you can play and learn. Also remember that Google can be a very good friend. Many questions i had were answered without having to ask them.

[•?//L•]

1) What was the some of the first things you did? (i.e. change title, add boards, choose theme, etc.)

The first thing i do, is go through all of my admin settings and personalise them. I start with the first link (general) and end with Members. I then customize my own profile, and begin to post

2) What stumbling blocks did you run into at first, if any?

I dont often come across many stumbling blocks, but the most time consuming thing is creating my own theme. I find the themes in the linrary, other than my own , is fairly tacky or over-used :/

3) What tips would you give a new forum owner?

Start from scratch, do what you gotta do.

[Tommy Huynh]

1) What was the some of the first things you did? (i.e. change title, add boards, choose theme, etc.)


Well, I have to analyze why I'm making a forum in the first place. What will make mine different? Who is my targeted demographic? I feel that the more specific, the more successful and potential it has. 

Of course, there's all the creation of the forum itself (categories, boards, member groups, etc). I also focus on issues with a marketing team to how best advertise and generate organic content. 

Most of the forums I make these days are professional forums. They'd be a forum for a business, non-profit, or a well-known person with a fanbase. After creating the forum itself, I'll connect with a designer to create a unique theme for the forum. This will also set it apart by having a one-of-a-kind theme.


2) What stumbling blocks did you run into at first, if any?



Gaining members and having those members generate content. 

The current forum that I operate has a community of 26k+ members. It originated as a Facebook group and then spawned multiple facebook groups. My intent is to eventually migrate everything over to a forum where it can be more organized and we can have no content restrictions and our own rules. The biggest hurdle is to get everyone used to the forum idea in the first place. A lot of these people have never used a forum before so it is all new. Everyone is also used to the convenience and layout of Facebook. 

It currently has 800+ members but I'd like to have it around 10,000 with 80% of those members consistently posting and creating content. I feel that after some time and people are used to it, then it'll gain a lot more traction. 

3) What tips would you give a new forum owner?


Think of it as starting a business. Creating and maintaining a forum is a lot of hard work. It requires a lot of time and dedication if one wishes it to be even remotely successful. The actual creating a forum is simple: install software, create categories, boards, etc. That's easy. 

Then the second task and that is creating and designing an aesthetically pleasing but functional theme. People base their opinions within the first few seconds of encountering a forum. 

Lastly and most importantly, as I mentioned earlier, what is the purpose of it? Why should people spend time on your forum when so many others exist out there? 

[Legendary]

1) What was the some of the first things you did? (i.e. change title, add boards, choose theme, etc.)

Edited all the basic settings, started creating new custom themes, and setting up plugins downloaded the library. Then I set up a Twitter account and connected the forum's RSS feed to Twitter via TwitterFeed. I also set up a unfollower checker account to unfollow people who don't follow back. I also set up two ghost accounts to help the flow of things since I don't really have members yet.

Forgot to add: This is a grand re-opening of my site. Had to rebrand, had a friend come up with a description/slogan of my site because I'm rubbish at that, deleted the old boards and moved the old threads to an Archive board for any old members who might come back, etc. I talk about why I ditched below.

2) What stumbling blocks did you run into at first, if any?

Reopening the forum after such a long hiatus. I left the forum in its infancy because I was stressed out in the real world and impatient with the guest-to-member turnover rate. I think I am doing a lot better because it has been only two or three weeks since I reopened and I haven't gotten impatient despite only two or three new additions to the members.

3) What tips would you give a new forum owner?

Twitter account. And Twitter hard. Post links to topics with relevant GIFs or pictures attached to the posts. This can also be used on Facebook. Add a link to your forum in the PB ad board and your signature. Bump the ad thread at least once every two days.

Also add your forum to the PB directory. Make sure to add it to a category that doesn't have a ton of other forums in it. For example, my forum is a fan forum so it can go under Entertainment or Music. Entertainment is overloaded with forums because it is too general. Movie forums, roleplay forums, general discussion, TV forums, etc. are all in their right along with mine, so I added my forum to the Music forum because it is very specific and truth be told, there are not that many music forums in the directory. Yeah, it takes FOREVER to find my forum, but it's in there and easier to find.

Try to be as patient as you can. I have created numerous forums and closed them down each time because I was super impatient with the lack of (active) members, but I know now that forums may still be around but they are dying. Competing with Twitter and the like is hard. On top of that people do like to lurk before joining or posting, which is wise but makes for a lonely Admin. Still keep trying.

A "technique" I use (but am not sure if it actually works) is saying "join the family" instead of "join the forum". Saying "forum is too blah", and saying "family" is more personal than "community". Again, I am not sure if this works, but try it and get back to me please!


I know this post is getting long but ::: Side note: I have about 9 boards. Two are viewable to guests but not accessible, one is hidden to guests, and the other six are view able to all with one of those boards allowing guest posting. I would not recommend this to most people unless you plan on logging into your forum and SPAMMING THE HELL OUT OF EACH BOARD at least every other day, otherwise the forum will look really empty. This is another reason I set up two ghost accounts. I go on the Chrome incognito browser, log into one of the accounts and post threads or reply to other threads through them so it doesn't look like the Admin account is being a maniac.

I'm done...for now Good luck!

[P4risAndStuff]

1) What was the some of the first things you did? (i.e. change title, add boards, choose theme, etc.)

I edited the theme a bit, added some boards, hired some staff and tried to promote the site basically.

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2) What stumbling blocks did you run into at first, if any?

I had trouble settling on a theme - Me and the owner of the forum (i'm co-owner) kept changing the theme and there were some themes I didn't really like that I wanted changed and stuff. We also didn't know the best way to promote the forum. We were doing everything without money and without paying, and we didn't want to just stay tiny and inactive. I also had to learn a lot of HTML and CSS to work on the site's theme, layout, pages, etc.

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3) What tips would you give a new forum owner?

Start the site, start promoting it as well as you can (use facebook groups [those are good], use twitter [definitely recommended too, if you have a twitter with a lot of fans, tell them about the forum], use other social media sites, advertise on proboards support, etc.), work on the site theme, and you'll already be off to a great start.

[jimle]

1) What was the some of the first things you did? (i.e. change title, add boards, choose theme, etc.)
i changed the name only once,but thats only because the original name didn't set right with me,and it's to original.adding boards,threads/topics,thats a on-going situation there,for all forums.on account some are popular enough,where their on-going.some simply fall to the way side on account folks aren't interested in the thread.i left the theme as is untill i was ready to change it..i tried different themes untill i became happy with what i have now..i've even created a section where guest can post.all others sections.they can view it only,or not at all.i even have the shout box set-up where guest can chat as well.

2) What stumbling blocks did you run into at first, if any?
getting the forum started and set up to my liking,and hopefully for others as well..to getting it active.and of course,thinking of things others want to see and talk about in a forum..

3) What tips would you give a new forum owner?
decide what will not only work for you.but will work for others as well.and yes,there will be topics you and/or threads others wont be interested in.but yet,thats true for all forums.be patent with it,and others.it takes time to get it going and active.post a web link to the forum where ever it's allowed.and tell some things about it when you do.keep the rules short,sweet,and straight to the point.and don't come off like a dictator..on account some people think forums as a 2nd home,up to a point.

[tobidadog]

The first thing that I did was select a theme!

[Scott]

Sept 23, 2016 11:48:12 GMT -8 tobidadog said:

The first thing that I did was select a theme!

I see you're a person of many words.

[Nate]

This is a great thread, and something I like promoting with ProBoards since I've been making them for many years now.


1) I changed many things - the theme, the topics, the categories, etc. I analyzed why I made a forum, which was to have a place where anyone could talk about anything and everything. I thought general message boards were the best topic because that could the best place to go if you were seeking a break from your own forum.

2) The problem at first is definitely advertising. You need to find an effective strategy to get people to know your forum even exists. That's why for me personally, advertising was the hardest thing at first, but people will come if you support your forum.

3) I would let new forum owners know to be dedicated and committed. People will come if you show that you're interested. I personally don't like excessive graphics, so don't have them! I'd rather join a forum that was clean and easy to get around rather than having to click a hundred links to post somewhere. Have a good and aggressive marketing plan. It'll be worth it.

[Mookie]

1) What was the some of the first things you did? (i.e. change title, add boards, choose theme, etc.)

I usually start with messing around with everything... This is a little awkward.... Usually I waste my time with adding boards, then I usually choose a theme after that when I have the inspiration to know what color and what type of theme I would like to pick out. If there are none on the proboards website, then I'll go to some random theme place and find a really nice theme that fits my ideas. Usually if it's an rp forum I plan out the first plot to drag some guests in once it has opened. After I finish most of the editing I usually start with the important threads so it'll be out of the way when I get some members. Usually I search for plugins to make my forum look a little better, but most of the time I usually have only 3-4 plugins on a forum.

If you mean when I first started...
It's totally different. I CREATED MY OWN THEME LOL! And pretty much made my own graphics (if possible). I was pretty much a 'I WILL DO IT ALL MYSELF' person. My second forum was pretty ugly tbh.

2) What stumbling blocks did you run into at first, if any?

I usually run into the fact I want to edit the theme to my likings and I try to find what I'm looking for but usually I never find it. So I'll have to make a thread here just for a simple code LOL.

At first there weren't none. Usually I just ignored the problems. lOL

3) What tips would you give a new forum owner?

1. Uh... Just keep trying. I suggest that you try to be very welcoming to guests and show you're a nice owner. Don't worry if you think your forum isn't getting anywhere. Just keep working on it until you get somewhere with it.

2. Don't worry about asking questions on the support forum. Alot of the members here are very friendly and helpful.

3. Make sure to have your forum clean, with fair rules that everyone will agree to. Don't try to be very strict about the rules just let everyone have fun while following the rules.

4. Don't try to think you're going to do it perfectly on the first try. Usually it takes quite a while for someone new to create a good forum that they'll be happy about. Try to focus on what YOU want to have happening.

5. Remember to have fun while your making a forum!

ripmykeyboard

[Ghost77]

My situation is a bit different to a lot of board owners, as my forum had over a thousand members in the first day because we were jumping ship from an existing site that shut down with no notice. I'd never run a forum before, and wasn't familiar with Proboards at all.

First thing I did - set up categories/boards to mirror where we'd come from as far as possible. Then opened it up to my 'homeless' pals and watched them join up.

Stumbling blocks - having no idea what I was doing. Figuring it out as I've gone along has been mostly ok, but there are tons of things that still go mostly over my head. The way we started made it a bit tricky to introduce even small changes - we were all a bit shell shocked from the abrupt change, and no-one much wanted more, so a lot of things have remained unchanged. Our most used theme is still the default on creation, as that's all we had for a while and people got used to it. I added new categories/boards - things like a welcome section - later and because most of my longstanding members tend to spend all their time in one board or another, I think a lot of them don't even know the newer stuff exists (despite announcements etc)

Tips - don't volunteer to start a forum unless you have at least some idea what it involves!
- get your rules / policies in place early on. Nothing wrong with revisiting them, but make them obvious and in a fixed location from the outset.
- keep the bulk of your content visible by guests - something to pull people in
- My preference is that except in very limited areas posting should be restricted to members - if someone feels compelled to post, they have to join, and once they've got an account I feel they're more likely to post again

[Former Member]

Sept 9, 2016 13:22:35 GMT -8 Scott said:

3) What tips would you give a new forum owner?

Consistency and admin activity (don't be lazy) .....  it's like a shop in town, when you walk in and no ones around it's feels dead and cold.  



that's all i got