Most forums nowadays have a section where new members can introduce themselves, either as a section where someone can make a thread there to introduce themselves or as a thread where they can just make a post there. For my forum, I have an Introduction thread and I prefer that one the best.
Personally, I think Introduction threads are beneficial if your forum gets new members every few days, and an Introduction section if your forum gets new members every single day like this place.
So to ask... what do you think is better? A thread for where a new member can post in or a section where a new members makes a thread to introduce himself/herself?
Why not both? Some users prefer to have a thread of their own as it's more personal and others just like to add a quick post to a thread that's already created.
So having a stickied Introduction thread in your Introduction section is a good idea to run alongside the separate threads users may create.
With most of my forums, I have a whole section. For my next one I'm thinking of just using one thread in the General Discussion forum. Trying to keep as few forums as possible, yet have a large variety specific to my niche.
Introduction forum. Introduction threads are messy and I have noticed more people welcome people if there is an introduction forum rather than a thread.
Looks like I'm the only one who prefers an Introduction thread... oh well. The only reason why I'm against an Introduction forum is because that each thread made in it will only have like 1-3 replies each and that they'd take up a lot of space also. That's just my opinion though.
I think a introduction forum is better as it generates more specific welcomes. In an introduction topic, when people say welcome it is aimed at more then 1 new member. In an intro forum, the replies are made to a specific user.
I've always been a fan of introduction forums as opposed to threads. Reason being, people like to have a personal welcome. If they have their own topic then they know each welcome is individual to them, and them only.
By having an introduction topic you run the risk of some members missing out on getting a welcome at all. For example, say a member posts their introduction at the bottom of page 1, and another new member posts their intro at the top of page 2, in most cases people skip straight to the last post meaning that people are likely to miss the first member's intro.
Additionally, in intro topics some people like to ask questions to get to know the member a bit better. You wouldn't want a single topic turning into pages and pages of random discussion.
I have a forum for introductions. If I had a thread for intros, I'd miss a whole lot of people. Plus, I think it makes members feel special if they had a whole thread for themselves. If there were a topic, there would be posts welcoming more than one member at a time, but if each member had their own thread, they get their own welcome from more than one member.
