General Discussion forum

J

Joe 2

Seasoned Veteran
Joined
Oct 20, 2009
Messages
2,570
Reaction score
0
FP$
602
How could nobody tell me we added this section? You all should be ashamed. :angry:

I'm opening a new general discussion forum and came here to brainstorm with you all. What would be something that you'd like to see on a general discussion forum? More specifically in the first few days of it's opening or during it's construction? +2 rep for all who share ideas.
 
Most of the General Forums that I see have too many forums. I would suggest, putting forums into sub forums if you can. It also makes the forum look less empty 🙂
 
Believe me eXtreme would do that, he would do anything to make his forum perfect.

First I would think of an unique name, I didn't quite like the last name of your general discussion forum, I would just do everything you had but stretch the discussion further. Just don't ue the absolution theme.
 
I'm no longer using phpBB so Absoultion is out of the question. What's not to like with "The Chat Center"? That's the name I planed on using.
 
I run a general discussion forum called Combiboland. It used to be successful, but it's really declined in the past several months. Here are some tips based on grave mistakes I've made with my forum.

  • Don't rely on a single, small base of active users to keep your forum alive. This can give you a few very successful months, but once those members get busy, your forum will look like a ghost town. Your members may also get tired of seeing only a few other people each day on the forum. It can also get to a point where each member knows what all the other members would say in certain situations, and it won't be any fun anymore.
  • Do everything you can to make sure that sections are utilized equally. Once you end up with a lot more topics in one forum than all the others, that forum begins to grow exponentially while the other forums remain practically empty. Right now, my off-topic section on Combiboland has nearly fifteen thousand posts (six thousand of which are in one thread) while the others have only a few thousand posts. There are some threads you can make in nearly every section that can get a lot of replies ("What are you listening to?" for your music section, "What web sites do you have open?" for your technology section, et cetera). Just make sure your forum doesn't get too unbalanced. A balanced forum ensures that users of all types will be interested.
  • Don't "take a break" from advertising when your forum starts to get popular. Your forum's peak moments are when you should advertise like crazy! If you take a break from your advertising just because your forum is popular, then your forum will inevitably become quiet again. You should gradually increase advertisement all the time to ensure that your forum doesn't die down.
  • Keep it fresh! Don't assume that your users will keep each other interested. You and your staff members have to do things to keep users hooked. Run some contests. Install new features.

I can't think of anything else for now. Good luck.
 
I think you should just think of an unique name, let's take Wober for exact, it's a unique name, so try brainstorming new names, my opinion though.
 
Something small, unique, and catchy is always nice. "The Chat Center" just seems a little long winded. If you look at the most successful forums (in terms of popularity), a lot of them have small, unique, and catchy names or abbreviations. "Gaia," "4chan," and "IGN" are all good examples of this.
 
Yeah, unique names are a huge part. No one wants to see Generalforum.com. I would suggest a catchy, made up name. 🙂
 
Thanks sooo much everyone. I'll make sure you all get your rep. as I can't do it now because the systems making me wait until I can do it again.

Any name ideas? Seems to be the first thing I need. :lol:
 
Make it user oriented. Not just a forum, have awesome places for user customization 🙂
 
Thanks for the suggestions Wolfy. I like Joongla but all the domains have been snatched up. Let me know if you think of anything else. 🙂

Thanks for the advice Justin. 🙂
 
Name suggestions: Narble, Gawsh, Rooster Discussion, Rouste & Omalik, all at the top of my head.
 
Thanks for the name suggestions Ragin'Junkie. Unfortunately my favorite of those, Gawsh, is taken.
 
Justin's right on this one. Unique Custom Profile Fields are a major way to go. Since general discussion forums are very common, try to make a semi-focus on a certain topic, such as TV, gaming, Cars. I'll let you decide on that one. I also agree with Wolfy in the sense that you have to start off with only a few forums. However, that doesn't stop you from expanding when your forums grow.

Depending on the software (I see you are not picking phpBB, and that's your call), you should consider installing an SEO software (do not go with CommunitySEO if you're with IPB). Being a MyBB user myself, I love Google SEO, but there's still one more edit I do in MyBB's templates to increase link tails, which I cover here.

viewtopic.php?f=26&t=43978

And do try to use a not-so-used theme. If you're with MyBB, don't use AFresh unless you can extensively edit it (code-wise, not just images). Absolution is a good example for phpBB as well. As great of a style it is, everyone to me seems to use it. Here's another obvious one. Make 25-30 topics of your own before opening.

Anyways, you used to be a review team member here, so at least you know what to do and what not to do when you run a forum. Good luck.
 
Thanks el canadiano. You brought up some great points.

For the record everyone I have made the choice to use Mybb and for good personal reasons.
 
I think you should focus around debating as your main category and then general discussion around it, try gawsh-forums.com
 
Joongla is also taken Wolfy.

Also, thanks for the suggestion Ragin'Junkie.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

About Us

Since 2007, Forum Promotion has specialized in providing advertising solutions to webmasters looking to promote their communities. We pride ourselves in being the bridge that connects forum administrators, bloggers, and more.

Sponsors

Affiliates

    Universal Gaming The Coffee House

Stay Connected

Back
Top Bottom