Where do forums fall short?

[MetaData]

Hey everyone,

Now that we're starting to grow and get a handful of new members each day, I want to open a discussion about what has been the downfalls of other forums, and how we can learn from their mistakes and improve upon it.

We don't necessarily have to name names here, but listen... We want BuSo to grow, but first and foremost we want it to be a great forum. Quality over quantity, so that once the floodgates do open and we really start to grow exponentially that we'll have the right checks and balances in place to make sure we hold on to our core fundamentals.

What better way to do that than to get some feedback from our "early adopters"...

So, what do you like so far about this place? What do you dislike? What would you change if you were in charge? What would you implement?

Think of other forums you used to frequent.. where did they drop the ball, and what can we do to pick it up?

 

[Tiddlywinx]

I've been a member of a few forums as they have died and it usually seems to happen when the owner starts to take things for granted... Like they're making money off of the members, but they aren't doing anything to earn it... they get lazy... and they don't give their mods 1) the incentive or 2) the power to keep things running smoothly.

Also a lot of forums aren't really well thought out from the start. I'm not just speaking about internet marketing or business forums here. People seem to throw up a basic forum install and not really personalize it, so the place doesn't really have its own sense of personality and eventually people move on.

 

[SheIsaBlogger]

I haven't been on a lot of forums but what I think this place is doing right is having a friendly atmosphere ^_^ I feel safe asking questions here like I'm not going to get insulted or chased away. Also that's not me in my pic and I haven't been sexually harassed which is always a plus (half-joking... you would be surprised how weird it gets in some marketing communities, I usually don't let them know I'm a woman.)

What you can improve is just to have more guides and stuff. The Laboratory section is still empty but I know you guys are still ramping up so ... just keep doing what you are doing

<3

 

[FuckinSynergy]

Yeah, lacking strong leadership or the owners get greedy / lazy, that's a big one.

Also I've seen it happen several times where everyone joins like "THE BUILDER SOCIETY OFFICIAL SKYPE CHAT" and that kills the forum too.

 

[MetaData]

Thanks for the input so far.

What do you guys think of a "State of the Forum" thread every few months just to go over any of the comings and goings, to let people know what's up, what we're working on, etc...?

 

[CCarter]

Yeah, lacking strong leadership or the owners get greedy / lazy, that's a big one.

Also I've seen it happen several times where everyone joins like "THE BUILDER SOCIETY OFFICIAL SKYPE CHAT" and that kills the forum too.

I agree with you on that one. I'm pretty much done with skype chats. Great for networking but when you join a chat, it's eventually comes a lounge. I'll skype with you, but one on one - I don't have time to goof off.

 

[SEOSoldier]

I can say this. I've seen a lot of gaming and SEO forums and they are all butt ugly and have things that are broken that nobody bother's to fix. There are flashing and moving ads and pop ups, etc. This is much more classy and not only is it not ugly, but it's handsome.

I also see a lot of forums open up with 20-30 forum sections to post in and the entire thing ends up looking empty and everyone congregates to one section anyways because they know that posting off-topic there will get them more attention then posting on-topic elsewhere. This is nice and tight so far.

 

[Uber993]

This place is perfect, just keep growing slowly and finding members to make great posts

 

[Daquan]

"Slow and steady wins the race," ole Aesop used to say.

The pace has to be comfortable for the users and the creators. A snake only sheds it's skin at the rate that it sheds it's skin. If you pull on it to speed things up, you'll kill the snake.

 

[Walt Heisenberg Jr]

I haven't been on a lot of forums but what I think this place is doing right is having a friendly atmosphere ^_^ I feel safe asking questions here like I'm not going to get insulted or chased away. Also that's not me in my pic and I haven't been sexually harassed which is always a plus (half-joking... you would be surprised how weird it gets in some marketing communities, I usually don't let them know I'm a woman.)

What you can improve is just to have more guides and stuff. The Laboratory section is still empty but I know you guys are still ramping up so ... just keep doing what you are doing

<3

Agreed^^

I've found that on forums like BHW, when you either ask a question or give some advice, you start getting sarcastic responses

 

[turbin3]

I would say continued innovation would be one of the more important factors. With a lot of forums, they may start with a bang, have some big success at some point with something innovative or unique and attractive that draws users and activity...and then they get comfortable and stop working towards generating that unique or innovative content that draws people. The second a site rests on its laurels, it starts becoming irrelevant.

Also, one way I think this place could differ significantly from many other similar forums is in demanding a higher degree of quality from users. I totally understand that not everyone is a native English speaker, and even if someone's grammar reflects this, usually it's no big deal to be able to still follow along with what they're saying. Though the vast majority of these sites that I've been on have a fairly high degree of incoherent and grammatically incorrect babble that I just can't take them seriously. I'm not saying people should be grammar nazi's here, but I think it would be good to reinforce a little self-control with people, encouraging them to be a bit more conscientious about what they post and how.

Other than that, this site looks great so far. It's a nice change from the typical vBulletin of most forums.

 

[Sobol]

I posted in your thread about moderators, and talked about some things that may be useful here to, but I have more advice.

First and foremost, a forum needs to provide value to its users. Many times this is in the form of quality content. Some other forums I have been a part of used exclusive tools to provide value to users. At some point, the content stopped. When the conent stopped, the users stopped and then the forum stopped.

I'd recommend a section that cannot be posted to except by mods for high quality content. Mods could then move threads there as a sort of verification.

The forum has everything it needs technically, keep it looking professional and mobile friendly. Xenforo and IPB are my two favorite forum scripts to use, so you are good there.

I think a state of the forum thread is a great idea.

 

[The Engineer]

I'd recommend a section that cannot be posted to except by mods for high quality content. Mods could then move threads there as a sort of verification.

Great idea. We actually already have that in the plans. It's essentially "done." We are keeping tabs on our best of the best threads and will eventually open it when we feel there's enough of those threads to warrant it. Good call.