Name of Site: BLUEstorm Site Genre: Gaming/technology Site URL:http://bluestorm.freeforums.org/index.php Type of Review Quick Opening Date: 3/6/13 Additional Notes: N/A
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Semi-active member base.
In the past 24 hours, there have been 15 members online. Not bad, given your amount of activity! Only five of those members are staff, which means that 10 random people have made accounts, and (hopefully) posted a few times on your forum. As a side point, do you need that many staff members? Think about it. Anyway, back on topic, it seems as if you're starting to appeal to a few people on the internet. That's always the toughest part. No one wants to go to an empty forum, and it seems like you've gotten over the hump of being the new forum that no one wants to go to. So good job with that! I seem to recognize most of the names over at BLUEstorm, so I would recommend advertising at some new places if you wish to keep up this success. Unlike a lot of things in life, popularity is really hard to maintain. Just because someone signs up and posts one day and LOVES your forum, does not mean that you've netted a user for life. That's why even the biggest forums are constantly looking for ways to get their name out there. I think part of your success can be attributed to a good name. BLUEstorm is a name that gets me curious, and I like that a lot!
Good order of forums.
A common pitfall I see far too often, is a mis-ordering of forums. If the layout doesn't feel natural, people will feel uncomfortable and leave. So that's definitely a start in the right direction. What I'm talking about specifically is the top section. You have your announcements, which are always very important, and should be first. Then, your two biggest boards, which is something that I like. No reason to tuck them away in a corner at this stage. After that, you have introductions and suggestions, which makes it feel as if the users have a strong voice in the community. Now, while I will recommend later that a few of your content related subforums are merged, they are definitely in the correct spot. Make sure that your order reflects the focus of your site. Right now, it seems as if you mainly focus on mobile technology, which I'm not exactly sure is the case. It's something to look into.
Weaknesses:
Lack of content/professionalism from admin.
At this stage in your forum's life, an admin should be posting new content as often as possible. While in an established forum, there are members that live and breathe for the forum, this simply isn't the case in a situation with a forum as young as yours. In essence, you are left to come up with most, if not all, of the content for the forum. Once others get a grasp of all the possible discussion, they'll most likely join in. To set a goal, try to make at least one content related thread a day. Also, before you make it to 10,000 posts, make it your personal goal to make it to 2,000 posts. It shouldn't be that difficult if you can find a way to personally involve yourself in every section of your forum. The other thing I noticed was a general lack of professionalism. I understand that having fun is a big part of owning a forum, but you also need to treat your forum with respect. Here's an example of a lack of professionalism. Maybe you don't want to have to moderate, but it's going to happen. That kind of attitude is persistent, and it tells me that you need to put forth a little more effort in acting like the owner. Also, I noticed that in the chatbox, you gave a member a staff role when he asked for it. That's a huge no no. In conclusion, I'd recommend that you try to emulate some of the admins of large boards. Their attitude is what carries them so far.
Too many subforums, lack of focus.
Early I commented on how I liked your arrangement of forums. This is still true, but I think a few need to be combined, to say the least. Here's what I suggest, in list form. It's a lot easier to follow in a list, rather than reading from a large paragraph!
Combined the iOS boards, and the Android boards, respectively.
Rename "Console Discussion" to "Technology Discussion."
Move the new boards into that category.
The PC/Mac board needs to be moved somewhere else, I don't believe it's considered a console. Maybe into the Gaming HQ.
Merge the Gaming News and Gaming Previews/Trailers boards together.
Take the "General Discussion" board from the top, and rename it to Gaming Discussion. Move it into the Gaming HQ.
Merge Gaming Achievements into the newly created Gaming Discussion.
Get rid of the Advertisements subforum. It's not needed.
"Forum staff news" can all fit in the Announcements forum. Maybe make a subforum, if you really feel the need to separate them.
This is just one example of how you could move things around. You don't obviously need to do it exactly like this, but I really feel like a consolidation would be the best move for you at this point.
Final Remarks:
Now that you've got the basics out of the way, you've still got some work set out for you. From personal experience, this is the "fly or die" part of a forum's life. Keep at it. Even though I mainly focused on the negatives, you've got a good name established for your forum, and with some work, you can build it up even more. Not a big deal, but I'd strongly consider getting a TLD. Everyone says that, but it really does help you out in the long run. Good luck! 🙂
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