Generating interest for a new board

[cuno]

It's been a while since I have adminned a proboard, like maybe 10 years. But I have always been a proboards loyalist when it comes to message boards. What would you say is the best way, as a lone admin with no existing tag along members, to generate interest in a new forum? Should I talk about it on here, or get a roll call to see who would be interested before I even build it? One thing, people seem to use these advanced techniques now that hide part of their forum behind spoilers or use weird font that makes my eyes bleed. Is that just the in thing these days? XD

[fyremage]

I think they try to cater to the particular demographic their forum caters to. Some rp sites attract new role players who have relatively shorter attention spans, and therefore they want to make their forum concise and visually stimulating. Whereas others cater to a more dedicated role play crowd, and their priority is making sure their forum is well structured with an easily navigated directory.

As far as generating interest, you almost always need a good core of rpers who can start the forum out, that way people who happen upon your forum can see a level of activity. My board has started out with a small core, and I'm still trying to generate new interest. It's a marathon of a process and you can't expect results overnight, especially when you are just starting out.

[cuno]

In my case I am interested in the RP side of things. But seeing as I am 28 most of my friends and peer group don't really have time or patience for roleplaying. So I am like Jack Sparrow, coming ashore alone in a glorified sinking canoe. It's time to build up me crew.