Deltachi2012
Resident
cool thxs for telling me what never to do i might get more people now LOL
Let's compile a list of things NEVER to do on forums!
- Thread starter Merlin
- Start date
While I agree with most of the suggestions I do disagree with...
Never delete old inactive accounts.
Have an open board.
I delete any old accounts that have not been used in over 5 months. I delete any zero posters after two weeks. And our board is viewable only after registration. We had a heap of problems with lurking members and guests taking our content to other sites. It was frustrating and annoying. Since deleting non active members and insisting on registration the problem has ceased.
I will add...
Never ever get into a board war with anyone. It just is not worthy of your time.
Keep the board colours sensible. Nothing worse than a board that burns your eyes.
Never hesitate in demoting staff that are not pulling their weight or are like picking on members for no apparent reason. My forum is a forum of fun and friendship. Members don't come there for an argument or to be picked on.
Never delete old inactive accounts.
Have an open board.
I delete any old accounts that have not been used in over 5 months. I delete any zero posters after two weeks. And our board is viewable only after registration. We had a heap of problems with lurking members and guests taking our content to other sites. It was frustrating and annoying. Since deleting non active members and insisting on registration the problem has ceased.
I will add...
Never ever get into a board war with anyone. It just is not worthy of your time.
Keep the board colours sensible. Nothing worse than a board that burns your eyes.
Never hesitate in demoting staff that are not pulling their weight or are like picking on members for no apparent reason. My forum is a forum of fun and friendship. Members don't come there for an argument or to be picked on.
CyberFreak
Legendary Typer
If you have a reason for having to have your board only viewable after registration then that is OK for example people stealing content or if you have a media forum with lots of downloads available and so on... It is just the people who start a forum and for no reason other then thinking it will force people to sign up so more people will sign up and they will have more members when actually they stop guests from seeing it. It is just a fact that many people don't sign up to forums that they can't see although in some circumstances you have to weigh up losing a few members with losing lots of contents.Sandie said:
Fowler said:25) Ensure that the people you make staff won't get big headed about being an admin or mod. I have recently got a PM from an admin on another forum saying
It doesn't encourage a member to want to post and stay active...
PS. The forum i received this on is the forum of a member here...
She does that... She's just kidding. She can actually be cool as a cucumber.
And I will tell her to stop.
26.) Do not delete posts. Every post is a good post. It doesn't matter if it's a bot spamming, just edit out whatever it says, leaving a message saying that it was violating the rules. Throw it in a section viewable only to administrators.
27.) Make your members feel comfortable. Make them feel as if you're just like them. If they make a joke, feel free to say that it was funny. Never intentionally alienate yourselves from everyone else. And don't make anyone feel as if they're less important. Example: "Noob" as a member title.
28.) If someone joins and unintentionally gets on people's nerves, calm the situation down, give the new member the benefit of the doubt and support them. This will show that no matter what your post count is, there is no prejuducism in judgement.
27.) Make your members feel comfortable. Make them feel as if you're just like them. If they make a joke, feel free to say that it was funny. Never intentionally alienate yourselves from everyone else. And don't make anyone feel as if they're less important. Example: "Noob" as a member title.
28.) If someone joins and unintentionally gets on people's nerves, calm the situation down, give the new member the benefit of the doubt and support them. This will show that no matter what your post count is, there is no prejuducism in judgement.
29. Don't increase the things a user can do with posts. Make all users equal, regardless of posts. E.G.
When you reach 100, the character limit in your sig goes from 300 to 500!
When you reach 200, you can now delete your own posts!
When you reach 500, you can attach files!
The only exception is with custom ranks.
When you reach 100, the character limit in your sig goes from 300 to 500!
When you reach 200, you can now delete your own posts!
When you reach 500, you can attach files!
The only exception is with custom ranks.
Marlins Troll
Familiar Face
30. Never put virus or anything that can harm a member computer on your forum.
CarsonkEDIT: I edited the number to 29 since I am not really counting Merlin's.
CarsonkEDIT: I edited the number to 29 since I am not really counting Merlin's.
darkriku2000
New Arrival
32. Don't make fun of other users (unless they know your just kidding, such as a special case on my site)
34. Never allow members to post HTML. They could run a malicious script that could wreck your forum.
very good tips, never thought of this one I will have to change my settings now. Glad I read your tips. Thanks so much! -razz-
very good tips, never thought of this one I will have to change my settings now. Glad I read your tips. Thanks so much! -razz-
36. Don't allow anyone to use exccesive smilies. It could make some dial-up users stay away. (I know, because back when I had NetZero as my ISP, I couldn't stand people who use more than ten smilies in a post)
Oh, and about the HTML tip, I would suggest instead of banning it altogether, only allow simple tags.
Oh, and about the HTML tip, I would suggest instead of banning it altogether, only allow simple tags.
Great Don't Do List.
There's a few of those I do. Well, only one.
Guest must join to see the forum. I run a GFX forum and don't want art being taken without premission. We all work hard on our art and don't want it snagged and someone else putting their name to it. ~lol~
There's a few of those I do. Well, only one.
Guest must join to see the forum. I run a GFX forum and don't want art being taken without premission. We all work hard on our art and don't want it snagged and someone else putting their name to it. ~lol~
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