Don't you try and bring me down thread...

[Fait]

+1 Agree

But only thing i dont get without spending mney how to you get users to check out your forum and join (money to pay for ads)

 

[Hotspot]

There was this member who would join RP forums, to just knock the forum down and then promote her forum via pm.
It wasn't directed towards me, but she appeared a few times on different forums and would say something about how cool her forum was... Every time, she acted as if she didn't know me from a previous forum. When I told her PM advertising wasn't allowed on one of the forums... she went ahead to put down the forum we were on.

Actually that forum is about a thousand times better than this tiny pathetic one. You should consider making "Insert forum name" your forum of choice, this one will be dead within the year. *Wink face*

I got into an argument with her and it was really nasty. XD :lol:

 

[Black Angel]

People trying to bring your forum down by saying stuff well tell us here.

Let me tell you, if 1 more person says that your not dedicated to your forum if you don't invest then I'm going to go extremely mad, i'm sick and tired of it. I spent 1 and a half years extremely dedicated to my forum and how much did I invest? Wait for it... nothing. Just coz you have money doesnt mean anyone else does so next time you try to bring someone down for this reason then think to yourself just because I can invest doesnt mean they can.

I'm sick of people bringing me down, I very nearly left this forum because of it. I've certainly been close to a ban from having a go at the people that do it 😛

I agree, and while I haven't had to deal with this for a very long time, since I was on Proboards, I have seen others who have done the same. I have advertised my PB forum on IF ad sites and it was as if people saw that I was on PB and then decided to treat me as though I had the Bubonic plague.

Later on I would post the same ad on that forum with a link to the new IF forum, and the response was like night and day. In 2 months of being open on IF, i doubled the activity and member stats of my old PB forum. I'm no fan of PB either, but I wouldn't just snub someone for using it. If a person can work around the shortcomings with the software and make their place into one that I would join, then I am open to that possibility.

I remember being on an IF or ZB board, I forget which, but it was one of those boards that had the same few people that join the same boards created by each other, that end up being marginally different from the other forums created by the other people in that group and this kid decided that he was going to start a gfx forum, and asked for some advice.

After a few well-wishing posts from other members, this other guy felt it was necessary to tell this kid that he might as well just close his forum because it will fail anyway and that there were other gfx forums that were perfectly fine and already successful and that he should just close it or make another forum about something he's actually good at.

I felt bad for the kid because all he really wanted was some advice, and not discouragement. I mean so what if there are other gfx forums that were created before and are successful, I am pretty sure that that was indeed the case with the other 'perfectly fine's gfx forums that the other person mentioned.

I also had no idea that only 1 forum of each type can ever be created. (I'm being totally sarcastic here.)

I also want to mention that I too have been considered "low brow" for using a free host by the "high brow paid community" and do you know what has happened? They're gone, and I'm still here. For all of their "Eww.. free forums and hosting sucks bro, paid ftw dude" schtick whilst high-fiving their other "paid" comrades, about 95% of them are nonexistent today. Some were on the receiving end of a cracking, some had issues with the server they were hosted on, some lost their hosting and couldn't access their data and lastly, the host just ceased to exist.

The other 5%, are either a completely different site entirely with the same name to get the same hits, or they dead, dying or begging people to donate so they can keep going and the irony is, that they have put so many ads on their forums to pay for their hosting, that it is actually more ads than what they would have had on their forum if they were on a free host.

Yet, these were the same people who announced to every forum that they were going paid as if they had won the lottery, puffed out their chests and acted as though their sh-t didn't stink because of it. I've also seen forums with the same attitude regarding paid domains and in those cases, 6 months to a year later, the domain is either parked, or is pointing to a different site with the same name for hits.

Some free hosts suck, but not all of them do and what matters is how well and admin can work around them and make things work. I have been on free hosts since I've been running my forum, and many people have joined and been active and were actually surprised that I was on a free host and they've commended me for my ability to run my forum as I do and with very little restrictions because of it. The irony is that while yes, when I was on IF, I ended up tripling the activity and members of my PB forum, but when I left IF, I multiplied the activity on my IF forum 10x.

On my IF and PB forums, I advertised like crazy, and on my current host, I hardly advertise at all. I have one advert here that I hardly bump, by now its probably been trashed, and I do a few exchanges and request packages here to get some new meat on the forum, but that is about it. I am still on a free host to this day, and although I am seriously considering going with a paid IPB, it has nothing to do with thinking that paid hosting is better, it is about removing the limits in place by Google's TOS, which is what the host owner has to adhere to as well, though I hear that he is considering offering a paid alternative someday.

I have never thought that things are better on the paid side of the fence and I never will. My forum is a source of stress relief and anytime money enters the equation, the stress factor also increases, so too will the issues involved with paid hosting, and when that happens, the enjoyment decreases. I'm not broke, and neither am I cheap, and truth be told, I have more than enough money to buy a license for any software I choose and then pay for hosting for it.

It's just that, I dont think it is worth it to spend my money on something intangible. I have a life outside of my forum and I like living it and dont want to have to limit that just because I went paid. At the end of the day, it is just another bill, and I'd rather put my money toward something that I want to buy, or use it for travel. Dont get me wrong, I love my forum, but it really isnt that serious.

In my personal opinion, and experience, anyone that says being paid is better than free is most likely the same idiot who fell for it when the previous idiot before them sold them the same b.s. and there is a very good chance that their paid experience will be a short one, since they also apparently forget to renew their hosting when it expires. They must think that money grows on trees or something.

 

[Hotspot]

I didn't think of this until now, but in a way... people have kind of knocked down my forum... but it was also their "advice".

One person advised that I get a paid forum host, and not a free one like Zetaboards, and get a domain.

In which my response was...

I do not have money for domains, and I do not think I need one for the forum. Forums are about fun, not money.
If I do have money in the future, I may consider the idea.

I don't know why everyone finds zetaboards so lame though, everyone keeps suggesting that I change forum hosters for some reason.
But I've used Zetaboards for five years, I love it and understand it. Plus, it took me a month to get everything on the forum all set, the themes, the boards... etc..
I wouldn't ruin any of what I have already built, especially since I like where I am already.

Actually, from what I've seen. Most forums that get domains right away, are the ones that usually die. I've seen a bunch before, but I know lot's of free ones that are still around.
That really has to do with the admin of the forum; I do not give up... hence it wouldn't just die and close. Most people give up and close their forums.

I don't think I'm an active member on any forum that's on a free forum host, they all seem to fail in the end, which is unfortunate because a lot of work is usually put in.

This I thought was funny, as I have seen plenty of free forums survive while most paid ones get sunk down under.
The most ironic part about it, was the fact that my forum is a free forum host and free domain, while his forum host and domain was paid... but his forum is gone and mine is still around just as lively as before.

A couple of other people suggested I move off of Zetaboards, but as I stated above... I like where I am.

 

[Deleted member 1609]

I've run successful forums on localhost with free domains. It's possible to be successful on free hosting, albeit a bit tougher than people who can afford paid hosting/services.

 

[Ghost]

Well you have to invest time and effort that's for sure.
As for money? Not a requirement but it definitely makes it easier when you have a TLD.
If you have a .com etc you technically did invest money...
For ex: I won't join a name.BlahBoard.com or whatever

 

[Ashley]

Don't listen to what people people about your dedication. You know how dedicated you are and the best way you can prove your dedication is by doing what you can to make your forum a success. People will over time see the light and see how serious you are about your site.

This is not anything that is unique to here or anything new. People doubted this forum when I started it. Many of the Invisionfree users put this forum down because we weren't on IF like most of the other advertising forums and saying it won't beat any of the IF advertising forums. Funnily enough all the advertising forums on IF (to my knowledge) are closed/abandoned and look where we are today. We started on a free host with no domain aswell. People will be negative and you can't stop that but you need to turn that negativity towards you into motivation to prove them wrong.

I've been put down in the past saying that my site will fail, that it'll never go anywhere, etc. and it's happened to me this time around too. But honestly, I just say screw it with all the negative criticism. I've been known to overreact before, and in some cases that has ruined my forums in the past because I let negative criticsm get to me.

However, I have the passion and the drive to run a forum, we're doing really well for only being a month old...but I do have some setbacks: I'm having a major operation in March, don't have money for paid hosting, and I hate the thought of relying on someone else financially like I practically had to with my last forum. I'm not letting any of these setbacks stop me though. I am at the present trying to look for more help on my site so someone can watch it while I'm away, and I've somewhat been relying on packages and post exchanges again. But I'm not letting anything and nobody get me down. I didn't when I had Chatting Time, and I refuse to do such a thing with this forum as well!