Forum help

[mud]

Now i kow i probably shouldnt really b asking bout this but i figured i might as well. a close friend of mine started a casual debate style forum a few days ago and its not doing very well. i was wondering if anyone could stop by and maybe suggest one or two things that could make it a little more successful.
i'll put the address here but if ive done something i aint supposed to pls delete thread.


www.takeforum.com/darkfun

[Soluzar]

Nice skin/template.

I'll tell you the same thing I'd tell anyone else asking the question. Build a site people want to visit first, then add a forum later. A forum won't drive traffic, why would it? You always have a chicken-and-egg situation where the only thing to make a forum interesting is more posts. Guess what the only thing that will get you more posts is? Oh hey...

Start with a good site first.

[Gibb]

I'll say the same thing I tell other people as well, way too many subforums. If you divide the forum into dozens of subforums then they'll always stay low in post count and people will avoid them because of it. People aren't going to post a new thread if they see the forum only has 5 other threads with 1 or 2 replies in them.

You should start with maybe 2 or 3 subforums max, then expand once the demand is there. The messageboard my brother and I started in 2000 only had 3 or 4 forums when we started. Now it has 14, but for the most part they're all used regularly. We do have a couple forums (like a Unix one) that gets little traffic that we need to get rid of.

I'd start with an Off Topic, a Gaming, and maybe one other forum.

[Shiroiyuki]

2^ You know, usually I do agree with that reasoning but....

I made my own forum a while back (Fanart and Fanfiction, mostly) because I was dissatisfied with the casual responses I got here and other forums not dedicated to such things. "PLZ POST MOR!" does an artist no good.

While I can't say my forum was as popular as AN, it wasn't exactly dead. Actually, it did quite well for itself before I sort of drifted away. It fulfilled its purpose, I'll just say that.

The site it was attached to did horribly. Granted, it was my own personal 'Art Portfolio' on the web, but still. For a debate-based forum, what kind of site could you possibly design? What kind of site would actually be successful in that genre?


I think that you should make sure and add your forum to directories out there -- and use clear, concise words to describe it. I've found that when someone is searching for a good forum, the best descriptions are short and to the point. Leave out the fluff.

As for the design? My first impression was that the words in your little 'dragon bar' are too light to be seen. 'Profile' practically disappears into the blue. You may want to change that. You also may want to look into making a site banner. They stand out, draw attention, and look nifty. It will set your forum apart from others.

Just to break up the monotony of the blue -- add a complimentary color. Something light -- not distracting. Balance out the colors. Like a very airy pink color (draw inspiration from the little chick avatar you have in the 'Who is Online' box).

[Soluzar]

For a debate-based forum, what kind of site could you possibly design? What kind of site would actually be successful in that genre?Political blog? News? Opinion pieces? Satire?

[Shiroiyuki]

Political blog? News? Opinion pieces? Satire?

Well, based on his forum, all of those sites would draw in the wrong crowd. Looks like he's going for the younger generation -- teens, young adults. Males, to be specific (due to dark design, dragon, etc.)

How many younger teens - young adults do you know actually HUNT for such sites? Besides yourself, obviously. It's wrong, demographically. It's a contradiction. The people attracted to the site would be turned off by the forum, and vice versa. Those sites would hardly draw in a crowd to support his forum.

[Soluzar]

Well, based on his forum, all of those. sites would draw in the wrong crowd. Looks like he's going for the younger generation -- teens, young adults. Males, to be specific (due to dark design, dragon, etc.)

How many younger teens - young adults do you know actually HUNT for such sites? Besides yourself, obviously. It's wrong, demographically. It's a contradiction. The people attracted to the site would be turned off by the forum, and vice versa. Those sites would hardly draw in a crowd to support his forum.
You make a pretty good point. I don't know anyone that goes hunting for new forums to post on either, though. Unless something draws them in to begin with.

[Broand]

I don't know anyone that goes hunting for new forums to post on either.

*points to self*

You ain't gonna find people like me around all the time. Gotta have a bait for your hook.

And no that doesn't mean that I'm leaving.

[Ken-Ohki]

Since you're not asking for traffic to your site but advice I'll leave it here ... just as long as you don't upset the cabbit.

I should've timed how long that took but in all about 5-10 minutes to load your site. It's also too difficult to read text on the left, either change the design or brighten the text. Other than that give it time, it may be a long time. Rome wasn't built in a day.