How to stop a forum dying?

[Former Member]

How do we stop a forum dying?

What could we do if it looks like a forum is going to die?

Callum

[Kami]

This is a very open ended question. There are many things that could potentially contribute to “forum death” so the answer to your question would vary depending on the circumstance.

The most common reason for “forum death” is inactivity, and the only solution for that is a LOT of patience (it could take months if not longer) and a lot of advertising, consistent content, and SEO improvement. Whether or not you should expend that energy is up to you.

If you have a different, specific scenario in mind, I encourage you to elaborate so we can tailor our responses. Otherwise the answer stands as above.

[Former Member]

Sept 4, 2018 9:17:58 GMT -8 Kami said:

This is a very open ended question. There are many things that could potentially contribute to “forum death” so the answer to your question would vary depending on the circumstance.

The most common reason for “forum death” is inactivity, and the only solution for that is a LOT of patience (it could take months if not longer) and a lot of advertising, consistent content, and SEO improvement. Whether or not you should expend that energy is up to you.

If you have a different, specific scenario in mind, I encourage you to elaborate so we can tailor our responses. Otherwise the answer stands as above.

What about if you are not a staff member and is just a normal member, but all the staff have left the forum?

[Kami]

Unfortunately in that case there is not a whole lot you can do to prevent the forum from dying.

You can attempt to contact the original forum creator to get them to request an ownership transfer to you, but if you can’t get ahold of them or they refuse, the only solution is to create a new forum and link back to the original as an archive.

[jayklen]

this is unrelated but what about the thread and post limit 40-30 ? can I request increases for my forum ?

[Nscalerr]

Hi jayklen

It would be better to ask your question in the Tech Support area of this forum.

[saltin]

To complement  what kami posted and to enhance your chances of taking over I suggest that when you contact the departed/inactive staff/forum owner do the best you can to outline exactly what your plans are for the forum, what you will do (specifically) to enhance it, how many hours a week you intend spending on working on administrative activity ect.. in other words what will the forum look like under your leadership. Do mention any previous experience as a mod or admin and showcase and link any related technical or similar work you may have participated in the past.
Also link a couple of your best activities in the said forum that will show your style and personality for example how you have helped other members in the past, how you have diffused tense threads, how you have pitched in with the staff to resolve an issue,how you have been recognized by your peers when posting ect..
The reason for this is imo simple: many forums die because the previous owners do not see acceptable and/or adequate replacements to pass the torch on, so go on and show them your stuff

Sept 4, 2018 9:42:51 GMT -8 @elliana said:

Sept 4, 2018 9:17:58 GMT -8 Kami said:

This is a very open ended question. There are many things that could potentially contribute to “forum death” so the answer to your question would vary depending on the circumstance.

The most common reason for “forum death” is inactivity, and the only solution for that is a LOT of patience (it could take months if not longer) and a lot of advertising, consistent content, and SEO improvement. Whether or not you should expend that energy is up to you.

If you have a different, specific scenario in mind, I encourage you to elaborate so we can tailor our responses. Otherwise the answer stands as above.

What about if you are not a staff member and is just a normal member, but all the staff have left the forum?

[wanderingjedi]

I'm sure a lot of other people have offered up their advice and opinions. I've been apart of/staff of many different sites and while a lot has come and gone a lot of the time it has to do with the plot, site interaction, staff interaction and overall mood of the site.

There really is no right or wrong answer on this but it really comes down to how you keep your site ran. Do you keep your people engaged? Are your staff being fair/open to other members and not cliquey? Is there enough staff, period to help cover your members?

Is the overall plot engaging?

These are just small things I can think of off the top of my head honestly. Advertising is one. But that has to be done right so it's not coming across as begging/spamming and even then you're going to want to bring in people who want to be active and engage.

Other than that, I'd really encourage you to step back and listen to what your members are telling you, too. Are they unhappy? Why do the numbers keep dropping? Because if the members are unhappy you need to figure out why and try to adjust some things to figure out what you can do to keep them engaged. ^^

Hope this helps!

[Radrook]

If the staff and moderators choose not to participate and nobody else does, then that means they might


1. Have lost interest
2. No longer have the time
3. Have more urgent matters to attend
4. Have passed on

Also, it seems as if you are describing a forum that doesn't get any participating guests, or the members are inactive due to the same possible array of reasons that the staff and moderators are. In such a case, taking over management will place theresponsibility of reigniting that membership-interest and motivating a non-participating guests choose to participate square on your shoulders. Do you have the dedication, patience and skill to accomplish that? If you feel that you do, then requesting a ownership transfer as recommended would be a viable choice. However, ownership with non participation is even more disconcerting than non ownership since then you will tend to feel responsible. So weighing all these pros and cons is essential before deciding what to do.

I would say seek and join similar forum and avoid the complications. But that's just me.