I see how active they are, but not too “busy”. I don’t want to weed through hundreds of posts a day. Staff has to be available to moderate. I don’t want to see a bunch of spam posts. Members berating each other & it’s getting out of hand. Being friendly is a definite must. The vibe has to be positive. Another thing I look for is when the Staff welcomes & interacts with me. A bonus if others do too. I’ve joined groups & it’s like I’m just a number to them.
I like to see it open so I can see what categories they have. I have no problem with SOME boards being hidden. I won't join one that you don't see anything about the activity. Made that mistake a couple of times & the last activity was several years ago! I wouldn't have wasted my time!
So, what do you look for?
Activity is one. Another reason is that I require charismatic and entertaining members to keep me inspired. If those things aren't happening, I'm not able to keep posting.
Activity and constant flow of topics. I dont do political or debate boards because I hate conflict. Forums where all opinions are allowed and respected. I also hate cliches? Is that how.you spell it? I want to be welcomed and seen as I welcome And see my members. No huge list of rules ni grammer nazis, etc.
My forum posting journey began by posting on paid-to-post forums. Between 2016 and 2018, I was making about $180 per month just by posting on forms. Therefore, when I join a forum it is mainly because I am receiving some incentives.
When it comes to joining a forum the first thing I look for is activity and whether the owner of the site seems to be actively taking care of the forum. After that I tend to look at the layout and the navigation of the forum, I like it to have an organized layout and it be easy to navigate. If they are both good then I will join and become an active part of the forum.
The site has to be active and has a decent-looking theme, the nature of the discussion is most important, not much point to join a forum if you're not going to get involved in it.
