Help me out? What do you like in a forum?

[Noah 27]

Hello once again everypony <3

 

Just thought I would pop my head in the ever free forest to ask one

easy to answer, yet complicated question!:

 

What do you like to see in a forum? Why?

 

I am in no way promoting or endorsing my website or any other of any kind. I respect the rules

and am asking this question from a standpoint of knowledge. so again, whats your thoughts on what

a productive an "good looking" forum should have?

 

Thanks for all your help, you all are so amazing with questions

and helpful feedback

 

see you all around!,

 

Shpigie

[Neikos 968]

Good looking means nothing said like that. It is all about context. If you are looking for an active niche community you google it or go to some weird place where they index the free forums and choose from a list. The process is often simple:

 

How many Users?

When was the last post?

Are there 2012544 different user groups or just 3? ( Admin, Mod, User )

Is the forum on the default theme?

 

 

All this then gets processed at the same time and whether you join or not depends on the next step.

 

Why are you here?

 

Are you just checking it out in a hope of trying to become internet famous on an <100 user board?

Are you someone who can help a person with a question you just googled?

Are you someone who needs answers for the question you just googled?

Is a friend on it?

Is it free? <- You often only realize by now that the forum might not be free.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let's take an example:

 

I bought a Bioware game. I am looking for fellow Bioware users and wish to exchange things about that Bioware game you just bought. Chances are you will sign up to the Bioware forums. And there you have a new user.

 

Sometimes you have to sign up to a forum so you can get assistance to a specific game or service. Those could be factors for joining.

 

 

 

But there is one factor you should not forget:

 

Randomness

 

If <marquee> tags would work here I would use them as well...

 

 

Yes, randomness. I signed up on MLP Forums because I called the admin of another ( niche ) forum an idiot. ( Which he was, even he was right to an extent. )

 

I had seen MLP Forums before and did find it particularly appealing. But I still checked it out, desperation so to say.

 

 

 

 

 

 

What has my post brought you? You might ask. Well, when creating a community you need to be there at the right time, fill in the space that was empty before in someone's soul and pour all your effort into it so that users find it to be enjoyable. That is my magic receipt Others might work as well, but that is up to you to discover.

 

 

Just don't bs users and be honest, have a reason for it to exist in the first place and it might take off. ( Second point is very important. )

[Modphase 1,270]

Kind people. That's all I care about. On the internet people can bring you down so much, and they won't stop, as you can't see if someone starts to get really sad/angry/crying. It's really quite depressing how bad people can be. I experienced this on another forum, where everybody were assholes and even the mods tried to bring me down because they thought I was a "kid" because I was thirteen. So that's the utmost important thing in a forum. Hell, I wouldn't be here if you guys weren't so tolerant to everybody. Even though I haven't been here very long, I gotta say, I already love this place.

[Noah 27]

Very Helpful and insanely deep and information heavy, I will definitely be saving this

text and referring to it from time to time, I couldn't have

asked for a more complete explanation, thank you tons, if only I could give more than one brohoof!

 

You deserve it my friend!

 

Once again,

 

Shpigie

 

Seems the big picture for most people is a friendly community

 

But one more question if you all are so kind!

How do you find forums you like? How may a person get a forum going?

Considering this one is so big and towering!

But again thanks for all your help, cant explain enough, being judged by age is over rated, being judged by

the things you post and the ways you treat other people on the other hand is different

Edited August 27, 2012 by Shpigie

[Cakesplat 38]

Things that I look for when thinking of joining or becoming a regular:

 

1) A layout that's easy on the eyes and isn't too hard to navigate.

 

2) An active user base or meaningful discussion to make up for slow posting.

 

3) A community where people actually mingle instead of just responding to discussions with their own two cents.

 

4) Not too much drama or cliquishness going on.

[Xievie 498]

First of all, a good forum often looks nice. Kind of organized. Also, it would be colorful and creative.

 

The biggest part of the forum is the people. Bad people is bad forum. Bad admins is bad forum. If they are good people and admins, forums are much more enjoyable, and have a better chance of staying successful.

 

In a forum, they need to make sure everyone can find anything. If you need to go through 20 links to get to a single page, then that's not organized. The way the home page of this forum is made makes it quite nicer.

 

What you like in a forum is often what you like. If you don't like how it runs, then, well shoot, you're free to leave if you really are uncomfortable enough to do so.

[Pinkazoid 3,493]

Well I don't like clustered forums, you know, I appreciate this forum and how tidy it looks, I get around here easily with no probs.

 

And the Mods, they really need to know their members, and know their job.

 

The other things, such as drama and all that crap, well they're just natural to forums.....

[3005 330]

Unless what you're focusing your forum around already has a large or growing fanbase, you need to develop a more logical way of thinking of your forum. For example, MLP Forums required almost no advertising and has gotten to its size almost sheerly on search engines. If the topic of your forum isn't growing or already popular, think of new ways to get new users to stay. Think, "If I'm entering this forum, what's going to make ME want to say?" Design is crucial; if your site is ugly and not aesthetically pleasing, nobody is going to stay. For example...

 

I'm not a Brony. Yet, I'll an active user on this site and check it every day. The reason I stayed was that the site was beautiful, and it kept drawing me back. Had it not been the way it is, I would not have stayed. Another thing you need to think about is post quality. You can either have your site be an autocracy and a democracy; if you choose the latter, it's going to need to be a strict democracy. With me, I enjoy having end-to-end control on my forum, but I also am in favor of the community's freedoms and rights. Define what your website is politically; are you a gutter site, or a luxurious site?

 

Choose your moderators wisely, make sure the design is nice, and develop a great advertising plan. Also create a domestic system to make sure users STAY on your site.

[MuniMoose 489]

We say there just needs to be two things

 

One is moveability

People need to have an easy time geting what they want when they want it

and..

Second is the forum needs to be very clean

and by that we mean like you can't have a 15 year old being able to find porno within five min of the home page

not saying there porn on this site or on your site just ...um newgrounds....

ya newgorunds...

dont make it newgorunds in other words...

[I used to be a stranger 7,988]

This post has been redacted by the author.

Edited May 3, 2021 by Blue

[Lunalicious 223]

I'd like to see a welcoming and kind community. I wouldn't want to join a forum full of rude people. And a forum needs to be pleasing to the eye. Nothing huge and fancy. Kinda like our forum. Looks great and isn't too simple or too complicated.

[Nah 3,181]

A high tech, high quality website with a good staff that cares about members and problems here, along with a good community. I have found 2 already. (This and Simtropolis)

[Noah 27]

Thank you one and all

 

Your feedback is priceless, and my notes are stacking up to

more than I can handle for one night!! Your opinions will be a great

deal of importance in improving my current and baren forums

 

Ill make sure to check back here for more tips whenever I can!!

Take it easy all, it was a pleasure!!

 

Yours truly,

 

Shpigie

Edited August 27, 2012 by Shpigie

[碇 シンジン 27,427]

What i like in a forum is mostly the community and overall atmosphere there. I think that is important to establish

[Red Cedar 1,406]

Staff that don't treat users like peasants. Nothing kills a forum quicker for me.

[Dreambiscuit 8,021]

I like a forum that has a large active fanbase and fresh new topics all the time. This one is great for that. One thing I strongly dislike is when too many new topics are shot down or 'necro'ing' old threads is frowned upon. I love it when old threads are revived; it gives newer members a chance to chime in on some really interesting stuff. 

A nice layout that's intuitive to navigate is also a big plus for me. If I can understand it with my limited brain, that usually means something is being done right. 

I've been here for two years and so far it's been handled very well and the staff has done a really nice job. 

[Midnight Solace 5,129]

All a good forum needs are friendly users, which is what most of MLPF has, based on my opinion.

[Lucky Bolt 34,914]

Kind and friendly users and staff, is what I like to see most of on here. 

[EpicEnergy 22,060]

I like seeing stats about that forum, like how many users are currently online, and I also like forums that are organized.

[Splashee 28,537]

A forum is all about feeling that you exist, and that you can see others exist. Once you have that covered, the interaction is next. Once you can interact, it is time for the points. You want to be able to earn points to grow on that forum, rather it be post counts or reaction points, or some forum game points. Something to make you challenge yourself to exist even more. I guess that is the basics. Then you get to the more advanced things like Private Messaging, chatting, and any live stats. Seeing live statistics makes you feel like you live while existing with others.

[Clawdeen 12,109]

An active friendly environment is the biggest thing. Personally I don’t like being on forums where people are nasty and shady to each other all the time. I’ve been on those types of forums in the past. It’s a terrible time. A good staff is important too.

[Emerald Heart 24,554]

I like talking to the users.

And roleplaying.

And myself.

[Rebel the Wolfgirl 5,585]

Big adventure, tons of fun, a beautiful heart, faithful and strong, sharing kindness (it's an easy feat), and magic makes it all complete.

but seriously though, I like RPing, a good, well-knit community, and an infinite number of things to do and talk about.