Discouraged...

[Abizaga]

So my forum had a point of high activity recebtly hitting over 4200 posts. Problem is that I have around 2000 posts... My problem is if it looks really bad to have me have a bit under half the posts... what should I do? Start purging my own posts? Have I gotten past a point of no return? Should I just give up?

 

[evcom]

Keep going, I am in the same situation. As posts by members pickup, you might want to think about reducing your own contributions. It's likely that this happens naturally as you are becoming more busy organizing your forum.

 

[Abizaga]

Keep going, I am in the same situation. As posts by members pickup, you might want to think about reducing your own contributions. It's likely that this happens naturally as you are becoming more busy organizing your forum.

I was thinking of taking that road. To just let the community catch up. I don't want the community to think I got bored so I may post a thread that I'm taking a break from posting.

 

[tony45]

If it isnt broke, dont fix it

 

[Abizaga]

If it isnt broke, dont fix it

Yeah I guess. I don't know.

 

[kolakube]

From a coding perspective, I've written many thousands of lines of code without many sales or much recognition but I keep going because I love the product and love the process. If you love both of those things about your community then you have your answer.

But seriously don't slow down on a project while you have the steam, EVER. Don't think that you are cutting down the number of posts, you will just dedicate that time and energy into marketing and other forms of promotion instead.

You do have a cool forum though, one day I will signup and share some things of mine that are very 90's.

 

[Abizaga]

From a coding perspective, I've written many thousands of lines of code without many sales or much recognition but I keep going because I love the product and love the process. If you love both of those things about your community then you have your answer.

But seriously don't slow down on a project while you have the steam, EVER. Don't think that you are cutting down the number of posts, you will just dedicate that time and energy into marketing and other forms of promotion instead.

You do have a cool forum though, one day I will signup and share some things of mine that are very 90's.

Very solid advice. I made the mistake of giving up on growing projects that I have started up in the past, and I now look back on those days with regret, because they may have become something some day. I don't plan to let it end that way. I'm glad you dig the site. I would love to hear your memories.

 

[sbjsbj]

I can't understand what your site is about. Imagine me landing on your site, what benefit do I get from it?
If you have no answer other than "a nice place for discussion", then yeah, you should feel discouraged.

Focus on something specific, provide useful information.

A forum is centered about a specific niche. People gather around that niche in order to discuss it to the very detail. And you need to provide something to discuss about in first place. You can't expect people to create the content for you unless your site hit it off. Chit chat is not content.

 

[Abizaga]

I can't understand what your site is about. Imagine me landing on your site, what benefit do I get from it?
If you have no answer other than "a nice place for discussion", then yeah, you should feel discouraged.

Focus on something specific, provide useful information.

A forum is centered about a specific niche. People gather around that niche in order to discuss it to the very detail. But you need to provide something to discuss about. You can't expect people to create the content for you unless your site hit it off.

If you can't tell that its about 90s and 2000s nostalgia I don't know what to tell you. We have a niche, and I'm adding stuff yet for it and trying to to really fit.

 

[sbjsbj]

GeezeZone

GeezeZone is a community for discussing all things 90's and 2000's nostalgia! Talk about anything from childhood tv shows, movies and games, to retro internet culture, websites and more!

geezezone.com

What part screams 90s and 00s nostalgia? I can't find one "giveaway". You have the most generic node and category names. Not a single mention anywhere about nostalgia or about it being from 90s or 00s.

And even then, that is not the point.

You have 0 content. Just chit chat. It will not work, sorry to be Debbie Downer. You have not answered my question about what benefit I get from visiting your site.

I mean it well, hope it works out for you. But you asked us what to do and I am trying to help.

 

[Abizaga]

GeezeZone

GeezeZone is a community for discussing all things 90's and 2000's nostalgia! Talk about anything from childhood tv shows, movies and games, to retro internet culture, websites and more!

geezezone.com

What part screams 90s and 00s nostalgia? I can't find one "giveaway". You have the most generic node and category names. Not a single mention anywhere about nostalgia or about it being from 90s or 00s.

And even then, that is not the point.

You have 0 content. Just chit chat. It will not work, sorry to be Debbie Downer. You have not answered my question about what benefit I get from visiting your site.

I mean it well, hope it works out for you. But you asked us what to do and I am trying to help.

Sorry if I came off as combatative. I didn't meant to come off that way. The beat I can do atm for content is the articlea coming in for the wiki tomorrow. I'm hoping that adds something.

 

[LeadCrow]

it looks really bad to have me have a bit under half the posts... what should I do?

Get more contributors, or stimulate activity from existing contributors.
As an admin, you can feel compelled to either start too many topics yourself (chilling effect), or responding to everything. That's not healthy and discourages further contributions from others of the type you seek.

Given your numbers, your more immediate issue might be that there arent enough 'topic starters'. From experience, we noticed that between desktop and mobile, habbits drastically differ. If you browse from mobile, its very difficult to start topics and form proper introductory posts (almost no forum software adresses that decently, and this distinction is very poorly reported about in acp statistics) and youre used to consume and react to content instead, whereas users with physical keyboards are a lot more productive, active, easily multitask and consistently write higher quality posts more adequate for generating further discussion.

Regarding the above board is about nostalgia, almost all your audience should be aged 30+, have experienced the golden age of proper computers and with the latest pandemics have been starkly reminded of how mobile devices are very poorly adapted to serious online activities and more suited to passively consume. Maybe try gaining more contributors by leveraging the fact many are unconfortable with social networks or the discussions they start there receive very little visibility. I must however agree that the visuals are a bit generic and might not contribute to foster common understanding of how this board covers nostalgia for more intellectually stimulating slower paced times - there's a viable audience and a place for general discussion, it just doesnt feel very homely with the current visual theme and logo.

 

[alsarcastic]

What are you doing to bring in new members? I know you’re doing post exchanges - as am I - but they’re fake activity and unsustainable long term. Great to kick things off but you need natural human beings who want to belong to a specific community.
Do you have social media accounts linked to the forum? Are you creating unique content to share on those sm accounts to entice new members to your discussion? What’s your long term goal for sustaining natural growth?

 

[Abizaga]

I do have a sm but I stopped caring to bother using it.

 

[alsarcastic]

Maybe it’s worth reconsidering. Even something as simple as a twitter bot which tweets out new threads with relevant hashtags. Might be something to cause an increase in activity.

 

[Abizaga]

Good idea. Thanks al.

 

[Abizaga]

Get more contributors, or stimulate activity from existing contributors.
As an admin, you can feel compelled to either start too many topics yourself (chilling effect), or responding to everything. That's not healthy and discourages further contributions from others of the type you seek.

Given your numbers, your more immediate issue might be that there arent enough 'topic starters'. From experience, we noticed that between desktop and mobile, habbits drastically differ. If you browse from mobile, its very difficult to start topics and form proper introductory posts (almost no forum software adresses that decently, and this distinction is very poorly reported about in acp statistics) and youre used to consume and react to content instead, whereas users with physical keyboards are a lot more productive, active, easily multitask and consistently write higher quality posts more adequate for generating further discussion.

Regarding the above board is about nostalgia, almost all your audience should be aged 30+, have experienced the golden age of proper computers and with the latest pandemics have been starkly reminded of how mobile devices are very poorly adapted to serious online activities and more suited to passively consume. Maybe try gaining more contributors by leveraging the fact many are unconfortable with social networks or the discussions they start there receive very little visibility. I must however agree that the visuals are a bit generic and might not contribute to foster common understanding of how this board covers nostalgia for more intellectually stimulating slower paced times - there's a viable audience and a place for general discussion, it just doesnt feel very homely with the current visual theme and logo.

Sorry for the bump. It's funny. I was originally aiming for a kind of "sites of days gone" myspace kinda look with the theme. Guess that didn't go as planned. I'm currently getting a new theme to better portray the site's theme.

 

[Joel R]

Some thoughts:
1. Communities go through a lifecycle. You're still in phase 1, where most activity and content will need to be stimulated by you. Don't be discouraged, that's part of the phase you're in. As you grow, other users will naturally step in until you no longer need to be the primary starter of content.
2. sbjsbj may be blunt, but he's not wrong. If users can't determine the explicit and unique purpose of your forum within 3 seconds, then users won't really stick around. You need to entice, motivate, or impart value in some way.

 

[Abizaga]

Some thoughts:
1. Communities go through a lifecycle. You're still in phase 1, where most activity and content will need to be stimulated by you. Don't be discouraged, that's part of the phase you're in. As you grow, other users will naturally step in until you no longer need to be the primary starter of content.
2. sbjsbj may be blunt, but he's not wrong. If users can't determine the explicit and unique purpose of your forum within 3 seconds, then users won't really stick around. You need to entice, motivate, or impart value in some way.

I appreciate that. I'm thinking of things to make better articles, getting a more fitting theme and logo and making wiki articles to add unique content.

 

[BGObsession]

GeezeZone

GeezeZone is a community for discussing all things 90's and 2000's nostalgia! Talk about anything from childhood tv shows, movies and games, to retro internet culture, websites and more!

geezezone.com

You have 0 content. Just chit chat. It will not work, sorry to be Debbie Downer. You have not answered my question about what benefit I get from visiting your site.

You don't sound sorry