look down on new forums.
- Thread starter 50Cent
- Start date
ChristmasStatic said:
LOL. Sorry to burst the bubble, but those are horrible stats, and I'm not surprised at all.
5000 members, yet ONLY 3500 posts? Must be a ton of fake members/spam bots. Also, 3500 posts is nothing to brag about.
cityStatic
Seasoned Veteran
Missed a zero, sorry. So it's 350,000 posts and 5000 members.Shotgun said:
cityStatic
Seasoned Veteran
The only time I look down on new forums is when the admin didn't care to fill in all (or any) of the forums with posts, they just made it, made the forums, and advertised it.
DarkRaven said:
I agree. I even think that some hosting sites have easier to memorize urls than others. I mean, which is easier? yourname.smfforfree.com or s1.zetaboards.com/yourforumsname? Personally, I think the first one is better. If someone had the second one, then at least a .co.cc domain would be wise. But most hosting sites are good at having easy-to-remember urls.
Santa said:
Sorry for the double post, but thanks! For me, a forum isn't always about who a person is hosted with, or even whether or not they have a domain. As long as the site looks good, it's partially active, and the community is friendly and members seem to enjoy themselves, that's what's more important.
I know hosted forums that are way bigger and more useful than most of the 'big' sites advertised here. Hosting something yourself has definite benefits, but it doesn't mean you have a better or worse site. If you 'care about your site', you put work into it, not money. A domain name does not equal success, nor does a whole lot of spammy, useless posts just for a post/member count.
There are also lots of free hosting options, so you never have to pay to self-host.
I have to agree that uniqueness is the key. There are too many sites that are just carbon copies of the same ideas over and over again. Many sites have very little purpose, and are plainly quite boring.
There are also lots of free hosting options, so you never have to pay to self-host.
I have to agree that uniqueness is the key. There are too many sites that are just carbon copies of the same ideas over and over again. Many sites have very little purpose, and are plainly quite boring.
Shotgun said:
Can you account for >> http://www.hidecodesgalore.org/forum.htm >> Its on a free forum host, yet way more successful than yours. I would say rare, but I wouldn't say common.
Also, there are many who don't know how to manage paid hosts. They get everything up, and when its time to manage and control, they stuff up, then they close, like a snowball effect.
There's a bunch of very large forums on forum hosts...RPG Directory, Zathyus Networks, Red Carpet and Rebellion, Caution, ZBCode.
They all have a purpose, they're innovative, and they all don't follow the normal pattern of their genres. They aren't about being the biggest; they're about getting a job done. Some of those are on their second or third incarnations or moves, and what they have listed isn't even the sum total of their overall activity since they started.
And personally, if a large percentage of your posts are less than 5 words, you can't really claim to be a 'good' site based solely on your number of posts.
They all have a purpose, they're innovative, and they all don't follow the normal pattern of their genres. They aren't about being the biggest; they're about getting a job done. Some of those are on their second or third incarnations or moves, and what they have listed isn't even the sum total of their overall activity since they started.
And personally, if a large percentage of your posts are less than 5 words, you can't really claim to be a 'good' site based solely on your number of posts.
The busier a forum is, the easier it is to attract new members. Most people prefer to join a busy forum with active discussions, than a new forum that is not so active. This is a big challenge for new forum owners. You can meet this challenge by offering something unique to your visitors and by being very responsive to all posts made on your forum - i.e. posting helpful, informative and friendly replies as quickly as possible.
Personally I feel that forums have a much better chance of success if they have their own unique domain name.
Off Topic - Do you live in Ireland, by any chance?
Personally I feel that forums have a much better chance of success if they have their own unique domain name.
DarkRaven said:
Off Topic - Do you live in Ireland, by any chance?
I wouldnt say I look down on a new forum, But at the same time I wouldnt join in straight away. If I find a new forum that looks good I keep my eye on it for a while. If the acitivty picks up then I join, If not, I look for another.
I find it highly iritating when you join a new forum only for the owner to close it after a few weeks!
I find it highly iritating when you join a new forum only for the owner to close it after a few weeks!
Attachments
There are free hosts that provide decent forum software. There are many more that will allow you to install it yourself.
I use paid hosting because I want to be able to use a .jar file if I have/want to. I don't want restrictions.
If I get the proper internet connection for it, I'll run my own server.
I don't look down on free-hosted boards, but if it doesn't look good... I mean at least show me effort, you can do so much to help a board that's ugly.
Unfortunately you see people making boards and putting all the "cool" and flashy images on there and they end upcoming overboard. Cool is nice but when your background and your animated snow are more interesting than your content and your tables don't "pop out", then what?
Forhekset, Yes, that is barely annoying. I don't do that, I keep trying to get the bloody thing active when I'm told to just "give up".
I must be doing something right this time though because I have people joining without me having to tell them about it. They aren't the most active users, I'll admit, but it's a start. I'm going to add word games and what not to try and pull, err... encourage people to join in.
I use paid hosting because I want to be able to use a .jar file if I have/want to. I don't want restrictions.
If I get the proper internet connection for it, I'll run my own server.
I don't look down on free-hosted boards, but if it doesn't look good... I mean at least show me effort, you can do so much to help a board that's ugly.
Unfortunately you see people making boards and putting all the "cool" and flashy images on there and they end upcoming overboard. Cool is nice but when your background and your animated snow are more interesting than your content and your tables don't "pop out", then what?
Forhekset, Yes, that is barely annoying. I don't do that, I keep trying to get the bloody thing active when I'm told to just "give up".
I must be doing something right this time though because I have people joining without me having to tell them about it. They aren't the most active users, I'll admit, but it's a start. I'm going to add word games and what not to try and pull, err... encourage people to join in.
You've clearly not seen the point or avoiding it. Paid hosted forums aren't always better than free host forums, anyday, unlike you said. It doesn't matter if its paid or free. Also, how many forums that have been running for 2 years, have reached 1.15 million posts, and that are on a free host?
Shotgun said:
I honestly do not look down on new forums, it is just scared me to register though when I see one person opening many forums. Only god knows when they will get bored of it and decide to close them for good. I just hated to see my posts gone to waste.
I'd honestly prefer free host over paid ones, because you have to do everything on your own with paid host..which can be a load of work. I always hated the upgrades. On free host, you know who can take the blame if something went wrong.. :lol:
I'd honestly prefer free host over paid ones, because you have to do everything on your own with paid host..which can be a load of work. I always hated the upgrades. On free host, you know who can take the blame if something went wrong.. :lol:
I've noticed this, but at the same time there can be large forum backlash too. I'm part of the RPG world especially the small scale RPG world and I have noticed that a LOT of people deliberately seek a smaller sized board to roleplay on instead of a large one. I myself have always preferred big boards, because there's more variety and choices as well as greater activity, and it's not likely to just die under you. I have observed that once a site gets beyond a year or so and is still growing, its life expectancy seems to increase.
Up till recently we affiliated with just about any site who wanted to, large or small. What we got was over 200 affiliates, a load time from hell, and very few hits coming in from all but a handful of those sites. So I wiped the table completely except for about 30 buttons and increased the site's affiliation requirements.
Up till recently we affiliated with just about any site who wanted to, large or small. What we got was over 200 affiliates, a load time from hell, and very few hits coming in from all but a handful of those sites. So I wiped the table completely except for about 30 buttons and increased the site's affiliation requirements.
Affiliates
