I think you should rebrand your forum if and only if, it causes confusion in people that are usually too stupid to read your description or browse and read around your forum before making the assumption and then jumping to the conclusion that your forum is about a certain subject that is actually light years and even FARTHER and in thevpolar opposite direction from what the subject of your forum actually is.
It was the exact reason that I rebranded mine.. well, sort of.
My forum is named the "Twilight Cafe" it is a general forum, and is not now, never has been, and never will be never about the Twilight franchise, and as long as I am on this planet, it will never be about the Twilight franchise. I wont go into full detail on why I chose the name "Twilight" and I'll just nutshell it for you. I chose the name Twilight because it is my favorite time of day, that was the time of day it was when I renamed it (I'll always remember the gorgeous moonlit view from my bedroom window that night) and it wasn't a far leap from my previous name, Moonlit Cafe.
And yet, despite the fact that both the word "Twilight" and the actual name of my forum both predating the success of the [vomit-inducing] series, that still didn't keep many morons from assuming that my forum is a Twilight forum. This isn't limited to regular users either, but staff at the forums that I have advertised at as well on other forums. I would spell it out in plain English that my forum is not a "Twilight" forum, and that wouldn't stop these people from assuming that it was a Twilight forum.
In hindsight, a small part of me wants to say it must've been a conspiracy because I doubt that anyone could be that stupid, but seeing as how I have has to use zoomed-in screenshots, large, brightly colored font and images to point out a general talk section they just SWORE that I didn't have. Then perhaps, they just might have been a very special breed of stupid. In either case, from that point on, I realized that I had to do more to point out that TC is not a Twilight forum.
Now, I'm aware that I could've just simply changed the name and been done with it, but the other names didn't sit right with me and while it might be just a coincidence that it was the exact time of day, but for the first time, in the years that I've been running my forum, it really hit home, and so, I decided to keep it as it is more than a name to me and decided that if anyone is going to be stupid enough to assume that TC is a Twilight forum, regardless of what I've said, then it is probably best that I don't have them on my forum.
As for pseudo-rebranding, I was looking for a shorter domain this past summer but also one that would give me an opportunity to branch TC away from the "Twilight" b.s. and so, I registered "TCforums.net" and decided to change the name in my advertising and exchange topics on the places I frequent and it has paid off so far. The name is admittedly generic, but it also forces a second look, some might want to know what the forum is about and some might be curious about the initials "TC" either way, they are in the topic.
I've also learned to have a sense of humor about the "Twilight" issue, not because I like the series, which I actually hate, but because, in the years I've been running TC, I have realized that it isn't the WORST thing people have assumed that my forum was about. I've had even bigger morons saying that TC was a porn site because I noted the adult demographic on my forum as being 21+, the mature, but laid-back atmosphere and the fact that we discuss sex and dating, which my host is very well aware of. The irony is that, the people that jumped to these conclusions are bigger pervs than anyone could ever be on TC because they immediately saw the words "adult" and "mature" and assumed the worst, and I have noted this publicly as well, much to their embarrassment, I'm sure.
But as far as the sense of humor goes, I've posted updates regarding post milestones here saying "TC hits "X" posts!! - And still NO vampires" and I have a new tagline "No sparkly vampires. No topless werewolves. Just friendly people." And I have gotten many compliments for the sarcastic humor so I guess I'm doing something right.
Anyway, sorry for the long post, but I just wanted to leave my 2¢, but in this case, it's more like a $1. :lol:
