Large Stats vs Misleading Reviews

[Acorn]

Um...

Maybe we just need to pin up a post inside the review board about what the bigger picture is? It would give people coming in a clearer picture of what a successful forum looks like. We could provide links to some successful boards, as well as some boards with good layout, etc. to give people a broader perspective.

I can attest to the limited viewpoint of a lot of folks particularly the forum-roleplaying community. A LOT of them think that 10,000 posts and 40 members on in the past 24 hours.... is huge. I've seen comments here and there about my board, one was a chatroom conversation that I found because someone linked in and my stat counter picked it up. So I looked it over and it was a C box on another RPG. They were going on "OMG they have 5000 members, how do they have so many friggin members?!?! holy sheeet..." And I'm thinking, have you guys ever even SEEN a medium large board never mind a large board? Even my board is not that big. But largeness is relative. If I'm compared to other RPG forums, yes I'm big. Compared to the average one on big boards.com? You could shoehorn my board into a corner of theirs.

So, I think a pinned post up in that review board would help clear up a lot of misconception. At the same time I know of a lot of people who prefer small forums. They like the close knit community. So on that note, smaller might not mean it's a failure at all. It depends on the criteria and what you want from your board.

 

[David]

CarMadMike, thanks for looking at it from both sides of the argument. Again I stress the fact that I had never said forums had to be big as Gaia; I only mentioned it state the fact that Gaia is the largest forum. A forum can succeed in every section but the statistics, from a visitor point of view, if they don't have a visually "great" number. A guest sees its an active forum by the "relatively large numbers" and thus joins it if it suits them.

Midnight, you make no relevant point in the discussion is either of your posts. Not much to criticize there. Also, you can't use the statement that your are doing it voluntarily. You chose to sign up, your chose to help out. There is nothing stopping you from not helping out. Its a choice you decided to make, so its not a valid argument.

Kirisute Gomen, thanks for your thought and I do agree.

Acorn, yes, the points you made are seen way too often on these types of forums.

Once more, please will everyone read my first post. Where did it say you have to have stats of Gaia? Where did it say you have to be like gaia to be successful? I mentioned Gaia to tell everyone the largest forum and then mentioned the 2250th forum.

 

[Cosmic]

I don't even think we should consider forums like gaia online in calculations like these are they are so far above the par based on massive spam. You'll notice most of the top forums have as many low content posts as good ones, I'm sure. But yes, I agree that forums the size of FP and larger should exclusively get those 20/20s. 10,000 posts isn't very much at all when looking at the bigger picture. Still, you'll have to consider that reviews have to be relative, to some extent, as most of the forums here are very, very, very small (and I must admit, destined to fail). Still, there are large forums here (FFF is a good example.) As an incentive to grow and to adequately acknowledge larger forums (FFF, BAF, so forth) there should be a curve there.

As a side note, I wish total word count was a commonly used statistic. It really shows how much content a site has while filtering out the spammy aspect. A political discussion forum may have a far higher number in that regard than a general discussion board of twice it's size. Still, many of the forums here do not rival any of these "large" boards even considering word count, so this point isn't really that relevant.

 

[fantanoice]

I don't even think we should consider forums like gaia online in calculations like these are they are so far above the par based on massive spam. You'll notice most of the top forums have as many low content posts as good ones, I'm sure. But yes, I agree that forums the size of FP and larger should exclusively get those 20/20s. 10,000 posts isn't very much at all when looking at the bigger picture. Still, you'll have to consider that reviews have to be relative, to some extent, as most of the forums here are very, very, very small (and I must admit, destined to fail). Still, there are large forums here (FFF is a good example.) As an incentive to grow and to adequately acknowledge larger forums (FFF, BAF, so forth) there should be a curve there.

As a side note, I wish total word count was a commonly used statistic. It really shows how much content a site has while filtering out the spammy aspect. A political discussion forum may have a far higher number in that regard than a general discussion board of twice it's size. Still, many of the forums here do not rival any of these "large" boards even considering word count, so this point isn't really that relevant.

FFF is a good example because it probably is the biggest one around here. 😉

 

[David]

Cosmic, statistics is important for visitors. They don't know if its spam. You want visitors, so if you let everyone know that 50 000 posts are spam then why not just quit now? Also, BAF isn't too big of a forum, but definitely looking like as if it will be up there one day.

Just a few quotes that I would like to point out once more:

Once more, please will everyone read my first post. Where did it say you have to have stats of Gaia? Where did it say you have to be like gaia to be successful? I mentioned Gaia to tell everyone the largest forum and then mentioned the 2250th forum.

No, I am not just comparing Gaia. I used it as a clear example, and backed it up with the 2250th largest (or around), which has 500k posts. This is what people are dealing with, and if you can't see it as some competition then you won't get real members. All I see is that there are the same members on each forum promoted here. Why not just make one big community if there are constant duplicated members?

Again, I used it as an example to point out the top forum and the 2250th forum. I never said forums have to be like Gaia. Everyone needs to reread what I said instead of making assumptions when they first see "gaia".

To put it into contrast (using Big Boards as my source): Gaia Online has 1,736,761,397 posts and 21,329,516 members. The very last forum listed, DDR Freak, has 503,900 posts and 31,920 members, and that is forum 2250.

Most of you are taking the name Gaia incorrectly. Tell me then, what is the name of the largest forum, irrespective of if its spam etc.? A guest sees a forum with 1000 posts and a developed forum of 100 000 posts. Which forum are they most likely to join for decent discussion and not worry about the forum closing?

 

[Cosmic]

Cosmic, statistics is important for visitors. They don't know if its spam. You want visitors, so if you let everyone know that 50 000 posts are spam then why not just quit now? Also, BAF isn't too big of a forum, but definitely looking like as if it will be up there one day.

Just a few quotes that I would like to point out once more:

Once more, please will everyone read my first post. Where did it say you have to have stats of Gaia? Where did it say you have to be like gaia to be successful? I mentioned Gaia to tell everyone the largest forum and then mentioned the 2250th forum.

No, I am not just comparing Gaia. I used it as a clear example, and backed it up with the 2250th largest (or around), which has 500k posts. This is what people are dealing with, and if you can't see it as some competition then you won't get real members. All I see is that there are the same members on each forum promoted here. Why not just make one big community if there are constant duplicated members?

Again, I used it as an example to point out the top forum and the 2250th forum. I never said forums have to be like Gaia. Everyone needs to reread what I said instead of making assumptions when they first see "gaia".

To put it into contrast (using Big Boards as my source): Gaia Online has 1,736,761,397 posts and 21,329,516 members. The very last forum listed, DDR Freak, has 503,900 posts and 31,920 members, and that is forum 2250.

Most of you are taking the name Gaia incorrectly. Tell me then, what is the name of the largest forum, irrespective of if its spam etc.? A guest sees a forum with 1000 posts and a developed forum of 100 000 posts. Which forum are they most likely to join for decent discussion and not worry about the forum closing?

Maybe I misjudges its size, oh well. And you're correct, though it does explain why they have such large post counts. But as this topic is ranting against critiques who over-judge low post counts, I think it is a valid point for some cases.

 

[David]

Yes, I respect your opinion. I see you're point, and thanks for seeing mine.

Forums owners need to ensure they have solid stats as that is what will make a guest into a member. You won't see a forum with a 90/100 review, but have 1000 posts get 10 000 posts the next day. That is why the validity of reviews/comments is just not right.

 

[Mike]

CarMadMike, thanks for looking at it from both sides of the argument. Again I stress the fact that I had never said forums had to be big as Gaia; I only mentioned it state the fact that Gaia is the largest forum. A forum can succeed in every section but the statistics, from a visitor point of view, if they don't have a visually "great" number. A guest sees its an active forum by the "relatively large numbers" and thus joins it if it suits them.

I think that all comes down to what the visitor is looking for, as mentioned earlier in the thread someone may only be looking for a small tightknit community, so a few thousand posts and 20-30 daily visitors is more than sufficient. Both the admin's and visitor's criterias change all the time.

 

[David]

Precisely, CMM.

Most of the time, a normal visitor (ie. not from a promotion forum or some advertising forum) is looking for a well developed forum, at least 50k posts that will ensure that they get the needed discussion/attention.

 

[Justin]

But it is also great to have a small community. Small communities are good because everyone knows everyone and it is not hard to manage, giving the admin more time to spend with those who make his/her forum what it is.

 

[Cosmic]

A forum the size of FP and FFF is small enough for people to know each other in my opinion, THT.

 

[David]

I would agree with Cosmic. On a forum with about 350k members, I know all the active members. I see their name and I remember them each and every time I see their name again. FP and FFF is merely 2-3% of the members there.

 

[AnAccount]

A forum the size of FP and FFF is small enough for people to know each other in my opinion, THT.

I agree with you there, Cosmic. FP might seem big when you look at posts and members base, but in actuality, it's really not that big, because you only see a handful of them come on at a time, not counting the staff. So from my experience, I've actually come to enjoy it here. I've made a fair few friends, and everything's settled down as of right now. Like my forum, we have a small memberbase as well (only 47 members) and that's nice too because it's easy to converse with everybody and getting to know your new members with a memberbase of that size is a cinch for right now.

 

[Acorn]

What happens in a forum that gets bigger is that you get circles of people who have some close friends and other people they barely know. This works fine. Same dynamic happens in real life communities.

...Sorry I misunderstoodd your use of Gaia as an example, David.

...I also thought I'd bring up because I forgot to mention before, that I've {rather sadly} seen people in the RP circle say things like, "My RPG was very successful. It lasted almost a year before it died." XD

Small communities are loved by many but in a forum medium they tend not to last long. {yes there are exceptions} It's all population dynamics, again. The smaller a population the less likely it is to thrive long term. If it falls in activity there's no buffer to fall back on.

Then there are the big forums that just rest on their laurels and let themselves go and then wonder a year or two later why they're down to 10 active members. And it can happen SO fast.