Do you think that there are far too many forums out there for the amount of people interested in them? I'm constantly joining forums only to find that a month or so later they are closed for being ''inactive''? If so, how do you break through and make your forum stand out?
Far too many forums?
- Thread starter DarkRaven
- Start date
Quacker Jack
Madly Diligent
Wrath of the Gods said:
It is all about the staff activity, mainly admin. Most admins aren't as dedicated to their forums as they say.
Wrath of the Gods said:
There will always be lots of something. Are there too many video games out there for the amount of people to be interested in them? Are there too many webhosts out there for the amount of people interested in them?
Only a handful of them are actually worth checking out.
One of the main problems is; anyone can open a forum. And alot of people open a forum just so they can be in charge.
And, the reason why so many die, is lack of commitment. Alot of these newer forum admins are built on the belief, "if I make it, they will come". Which we all know, is NEVER the case.
And, the reason why so many die, is lack of commitment. Alot of these newer forum admins are built on the belief, "if I make it, they will come". Which we all know, is NEVER the case.
I think that free hosts are what have made it so hard for forums to break through. I know I started mine off on ZB, but as soon as I got a chance I left them and got on a paid host.
When it only takes a few clicks to do set something up... people begin to trivialize it.
When it only takes a few clicks to do set something up... people begin to trivialize it.
I agree with hcf, it's the lack of commitment. I have seen forums open 1 day and 2-3 weeks later only have 6 posts and no activity.
You got to show the public you are committed to having the forums. Show your active around them, promote it and affiliate with related forums.
Having a premium domain like .com, .net etc are great in showing the public you have spent a little money on it. If your using a forum software, think about getting a custom skin. There are a few people and companies who will do it for an affordable price and this shows people you are dedicated.
Obviously there is alot more factors about how to make your forum stand out, but some of this may help.
All the best!
You got to show the public you are committed to having the forums. Show your active around them, promote it and affiliate with related forums.
Having a premium domain like .com, .net etc are great in showing the public you have spent a little money on it. If your using a forum software, think about getting a custom skin. There are a few people and companies who will do it for an affordable price and this shows people you are dedicated.
Obviously there is alot more factors about how to make your forum stand out, but some of this may help.
All the best!
Rich Edmonds
Seasoned Veteran
There are more than a handful good forums, webhosts and video games. With video games it's all about taste, what you want out of it and how you see playing the game. Webhosts are all providing a service which many provide both more professionally and more reliable, so the ones worth checking out are already well known.Shotgun said:
There aren't too many forums, I doubt there ever will be, competition is good, shows the dedicated against the weak.
When I open a forum I make sure that there is at least 10 topics in each section.
I release it here and there to get some members who may or may not be committed.
I only advertise it fully when it has at least 1,000 posts and 25+ members.
I'll be honest, I will never join a forum and be active if it is hard to find new topics to reply to.
I release it here and there to get some members who may or may not be committed.
I only advertise it fully when it has at least 1,000 posts and 25+ members.
I'll be honest, I will never join a forum and be active if it is hard to find new topics to reply to.
Donkey said:
Ive own my forum for 6 years on a free host. It takes effort and dedication. In my oppinion free or not, it makes no difference. You have to be dedicated to running a forum, and get competent staff
Forhekset said:
Ive got to agree, it doesn't matter if your on a paid or a free host, it only depends on the commitment of the Admin, if the Admin isn't committed then the site no matter if it's on paid hosting or not will eventually fail.
I don't care how much the admin paid but only how much time they put into making and running it. If they used a webhost (free or paid), for software like phpBB3 MyBB or SMF, they took the time to make a few of their own graphics, and especially if they have webpages other than the forum, then that tells me they actually put a lot of hard work into their forum instead of just saying "I think I'll make a forum because I can!"
If they went over to freeforums.org (I do not recommend this host) and created a board and instantly opened it after setting up two or three categories then that tells me they did not put much effort into their site and I would gamble that their site will be down due to "personal reasons" (aka, loss of interest) in a month.
I have been developing a site for about a month and I have made several php scripts, loads of graphics, several HTML pages, a neat looking appearance, and a couple dozen more features and believe me, it was fun. I don't see why would be forum owners could put effort into it like I am in my site I am not even close to releasing, especially if they want their site to succeed. Yes, there are too many forums and this surplus is making it harder and harder to recognize the good boards in the sea of bad ones. This is probably a result of free forum hosts making it too easy.
If they went over to freeforums.org (I do not recommend this host) and created a board and instantly opened it after setting up two or three categories then that tells me they did not put much effort into their site and I would gamble that their site will be down due to "personal reasons" (aka, loss of interest) in a month.
I have been developing a site for about a month and I have made several php scripts, loads of graphics, several HTML pages, a neat looking appearance, and a couple dozen more features and believe me, it was fun. I don't see why would be forum owners could put effort into it like I am in my site I am not even close to releasing, especially if they want their site to succeed. Yes, there are too many forums and this surplus is making it harder and harder to recognize the good boards in the sea of bad ones. This is probably a result of free forum hosts making it too easy.
There are just to many people that make forums and don't stick with it....i'm a bit guilty of this myself but I am not made out to make my own forum from scratch and don't have the time to do the amount of advertising it takes to get the forum up to speed.
I see people make a forum, advertise it and 3 days later shut down. Thats why I normally don't join a forum until its been open for a good amount of time. The admins really have to be dedicated to the forum for it to be a success.
I would also agree thats its because you need staff activity... Also if you want your staff to stand out more then why dont you offer more topics so you do just make your forum for one main thing or provide other places in it for people to post in. Also try promote new ideas etc that other forums dont use to make you stand out more.
JohnCRU said:
The custom skin idea is great, the only problem with it is to me it's absurd to spend $60 or more dollars on a forum that is not producing any revenue and your paying those high hosting fees to boot. Then you have the commerical software like VB, IPB and UBB that charge ridiculous prices for their software. Agian, putting that kind of cash into something that is not going to produce any revenue is kind of dumb if you ask me and no one is by the way. Free may not always be better but for the average "Joe" out there that wants to start a forum without going bankrupt it maybe the only option available to most.
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