Critical for forum to have General forum section?

[Katrina]

Do you think it's critical that a forum has a General forum section? Why or why not?

 

[Page]

Discussion is a powerful, why would you not 🙂

 

[Deleted member 49125]

Very critical. In the olden days when there weren't that many forums, you could have one that was a unique niche. However nowadays so many people have a forum & there's competition. Not to mention doing Post Exchanges & Packages. You need those General sections. Plus, the most important thing, sometimes people just want to chill with silly little games & simple questions & not overthink.

 

[KnownSyntax]

I think it depends, for my community, I do not have any general forum/section. Ideally, any off-topic discussion could be chatted through the shoutbox while on-discussion topics would have their own thread.

 

[Shawn Gossman]

Discussion is a powerful, why would you not 🙂

I really think this is the best reply.

It is a forum after all, a community software that empowers talk or discussion.

Why not add something that is going to further encourage the goal of a community?

I add the off topic section to all my forums. Sometimes we need to talk about other stuff than niche, niche, niche
-sometimes 🙂

 

[Cam]

I'd say it all depends on the forum. This type of thing isn't black or white. When it comes to forums that have very specific niches, I'd say an off-topic section is vital.

Plus, I think that an off-topic section can be a big part of what makes a community jive. Members typically get to know each other more, and I think that helps make everything fall into place.

 

[Katrina]

The reason I brought this up is because on Crafter Craze I elected to not have an Off Topic section for general conversation. The forum list is already too long as it is and I don't want to compromise the point of the site in order for people to talk about the weather...unless the weather concerns what they're crafting for the day.

 

[MrDawn]

It's a good way to get to know your members and you have nothing to lose by adding it.

 

[Miika]

If you have general discussion section you might end up having more posts in general section compared to your forum niche section.

 

[Demon_skeith]

I think so, if something big happens people will want to talk about it and if they can't talk about it on your site then... you're losing posts lol.

 

[Katrina]

If you have general discussion section you might end up having more posts in general section compared to your forum niche section.

That's a big worry. Plus, I'd have the same discussions you see on the other 20 general discussion boards.

 

[zappaDPJ]

I run a small number of forums on behalf of commercial enterprises (mainly ISP related) all of which focus on providing customer support. They all have an off-topic section visible to members only. I had some fairly protracted conversations with my clients about the pros and cons of doing this but the general consensus of opinion came down to this...

Discussion is a powerful, why would you not 🙂

We determined that off-topic chat was generally a positive thing for all the companies involved. It fosters a sense of community that in turn helped keep customers remain loyal even the though the services provided are slightly niche, focusing on quality rather than low prices.

While I don't by any means think it's essential, most forums do seem to have an off-topic section and I also think they can be quite beneficial for startups.

 

[Ash]

It honestly depends on what you want for the forum. It's always a good section to have to increase your forum stats but also give your users a place to just relax and have a chat about anything. But if you want to have a very niche forum, it's probably best to avoid them so you don't get people that only post there

 

[Deleted member 17779]

Pretty much every forum I've been on has had an off topic section. If you have a forum with a specific niche`, you kind of need one. I can see not having one if you already have a general discussion forum.

 

[Page]

General discussion also makes you or others take a break from what the site is all about, like FOurm about bikes and all you talk about is bikes.

 

[meetdilip]

it is better to have one than suffer from off-topic chatter in main boards.

 

[Deleted member 4320]

it is better to have one than suffer from off-topic chatter in main boards.

I agree. At least have one forum tucked away for people to stray off-topic when they want to.

Otherwise they'll probably go elsewhere to chat about that they want.

 

[tdbnz]

I think a off topic section is needed as sometimes you just want to chill and talk about other things that may not be related to the forum topic

 

[Pinky]

A general section is very popular on most forums. However, it all depends on what genre your forum is about, as it may not be worthy or have any potential in that environment.

 

[Nomad]

I believe, having a general discussion category on your niche forum is detrimental for your site.