i was given a challenge to create a forum from scratch without inviting everyone i know
the making the forum was easy but now how do i go about finding members to make it sucessful, cos at the moment i am losing the challenge lol

It's hard going these days. There is so much competition and so many forums about.

I suggest you make sure there are plenty of posts/threads on your board. Nobody likes an empty board.

Originally posted by Lickszz

I suggest you make sure there are plenty of posts/threads on your board. Nobody likes an empty board.

The old catch 22.

So, would putting a hyperlink to it in your signature on here contravene the rules? (See any post by Vidster for example)

i have the topics lol i just need the members to post in them, as i say this is a sort of challenge to see how possible it is to do it from scratch
i've deliberatley not added the link to my sig because that sort of seems down right cheeky
i just need ideas,
i suppose if anyone would like a look they could pm me for the url or something, it would be quite handy to get some general feedback but i am not after poaching members :)

Originally posted by ritzy
i have the topics lol i just need the members to post in them, as i say this is a sort of challenge to see how possible it is to do it from scratch
i've deliberatley not added the link to my sig because that sort of seems down right cheeky
i just need ideas,
i suppose if anyone would like a look they could pm me for the url or something, it would be quite handy to get some general feedback but i am not after poaching members :)
It's not poaching. Loads of us are members of more than one forum. And it cuts both ways - if members from here join yours, eventually Sheffieldforum will get a mention to your audience too.

i have got a forum on the site for people to promote sites on
lol i lost my pc for about a year so haven't posted on here for ages,
i must say i like all the added bits :)

Originally posted by ritzy
i have the topics lol i just need the members to post in them, as i say this is a sort of challenge to see how possible it is to do it from scratch
i've deliberatley not added the link to my sig because that sort of seems down right cheeky
i just need ideas,
i suppose if anyone would like a look they could pm me for the url or something, it would be quite handy to get some general feedback but i am not after poaching members :)
It will take time. It's important that you first retain the small amount of members you have and then look to build slowly.

so can i post the link so i can get some feedback

Post the link and we'll give you feedback :).
The forum in my link has been running since Christmas eve last year (although you might not be able to access it at the moment due to switching servers :( ). It is indeed a patience game i'm afraid. We were lucky because we had quite a few members from another forum and we have a few from here as well.

To get your forum showing up in searches you need to register it with each one. Google,Yahoo, MSN search etc... are just a few that spring to mind.

It's worth noting that MSN search is bringing in quite a few guests compared to the others. They refresh their records every 2 days too compared to every 2 weeks that Google take.

ok the link is
http://www.chumster.co.uk/forum/index.php?mforum=ritzy

i have registered it with google but could not find the addys for yahoo search and msn
i think i'm out of touch after being computer less for a year
also how many mods is enough is another thing i would like to know

*sits back and awaits constructive feedback* :D

The one thing I would say is to cut down the number of topics, and combine similar ones.

I began my forum last year, and last month finally trimmed away the flak that was doing nothing. Since then the board has flourished, and I find that I can't get away from it most nights as there is so much activity. By reducing the amount o scrolling needed to see all the threads, more people will look at more posts. A huge list of threads on every topic...whilst definitely all encompassing...is off putting.

Find a theme for the boards (mine is movies, so the topics are entertainment based - music, tv, games, Computers) with a "Down the Pub" section for just general chitter-chatter.

You will find that the starting months of hosting a forum are taxing, and take a lot of time. I spent a lot of nights adding features to the boards (new logos, warning systems. a chat room for live chat and quiz nights), but mostly I was trying to plug my site everywhere. I set a competition that the first person to introduce 20 people becomes the first moderator....that got some new faces to join (who I didn't know). Remember...everyone likes power!!!

When it does become busy, get ready for a nightmare keeping order when people get a bit...shall we say...wound up! But in the end, it is worth it.

Enjoy

you probably have a point with the amount of topics i've got, i suppose i'm just trying to cover most things that gets picked up in searches, ones that i have some knowledge of and ones that are popular, i'll probably give it a couple of months then weedle out what is not being used
i am lucky i now work from home so i do have the time, but i must admitt alot of it is spent just playing with the various buttons and trying to change stuff around
i will be some excited if it does take off tho
anyone got any idea of how many mods i should have and more importantly if i dont know people well how do i pick them

I've run a couple of very succesful forums, but the key to their success was that they addressed quite specific topics and were on websites which attracted lots of traffic due to other worthwhile content on there. Once you have that, it starts to build momentum. The hard part is, there's now so many decent forums out there covering every topic under the sun that it's very hard for a new one to make any impact.

The first thing i noticed is the default theme. IMO you could do with one a bit more pleasing to the eye. Most people make their mind up about a forum in the first few seconds, so having a nice theme is a good idea.
I also agree with the others about the amount of forums you have. It may be worth bunching them together and even having sub-forums.

With the mods in mind, i would make my mind up as i went along. At first you might not need any mods and as you go along a member may stick out as mod material. Our forum now has about 70 members and 3 Moderators. Even 3 Mods are too many at this stage as there is hardly any Modding needs doing. I doubt we will be needing any more for a long time yet ;).

I have 3 moderators and 60 users. The moderators are in charge of specific boards (decided by seeing what they post, or hang around, more frequently on)

To decide on moderators, there is no set answer as to how many...it is up to you. Bear in mind that the more moderators, the less running around you have to do, watching every thread etc. However, too many, and the power balance becomes useless. I probably won't promote another person to moderator until I reach 200 users, and I will possibly promote one moderator to Jr Admin at the same tome (to allow me to relax even more).

As to how to choose a moderator....look for people who make good posts, and who try to keep the peace. You will know who is worth giving power to, and it isn't necessarily the one who posts the most....in fact it is very rarely these, as they don't always add much to the boards. One of my moderators has a very low post count, but he does look out across the board for any problem topics and then acts.

I also have a hidden MODERATOR CHAT section, where only moderators can view/post. This allows us to each post messages about any potential problems to each other, to ensure we are all on the same track. If I warn someone, I explain why in the moderator forum so other moderators can look out for it. In addition, we hold polls on who are potential future moderators there.

Hope all that helped somewhat.

thankyou Beakerzoid all of that has been most useful and i will definately be bearing it in mind
i do already have a hidden mod lounge which is good, but i only have female mods at the mo so i might just go for one more thats male just to counter it out a bit and to give advice opinions that i haven't looked at if you see what i mean,i think its handy to have view points from the opposite sex

Originally posted by vidster
The first thing i noticed is the default theme. IMO you could do with one a bit more pleasing to the eye. Most people make their mind up about a forum in the first few seconds, so having a nice theme is a good idea.
I also agree with the others about the amount of forums you have. It may be worth bunching them together and even having sub-forums.

With the mods in mind, i would make my mind up as i went along. At first you might not need any mods and as you go along a member may stick out as mod material. Our forum now has about 70 members and 3 Moderators. Even 3 Mods are too many at this stage as there is hardly any Modding needs doing. I doubt we will be needing any more for a long time yet ;). lol yup i agree the default theme is awful i need to find more buttons and do more twiddling, it would be nice to have something that makes it more personal and stands out more, i also need to look into a better banner

you need to be online on your forum also

Just noticed that Guests can post on your boards. Is this restricted to just one forum (I spotted it in Entertainemtn and TV) or all of them? I would advise against Guest posts, as it gives people the opportunity to annonymously flame someone.

If people have to register, then there are ways to block them if they get out of hand.

Here's the links to register your site ritzy ;)

http://search.yahoo.com/info/submit.html


http://search.msn.com/docs/submit.aspx?FORM=WSDD2


Good luck :thumbsup:

thanks guys you have been a great help and thanks to those that have signed up
i been fiddling about with the lay out and colours etc, dont think i've quite got there yet
thanks vidster for the links they are much appreciated :D

The first thing that jumped out at me is the inconsitency in the naming of the sections. Some start with capitals, some with out. Doesn't look professional.

The other thing is that I can not see a theme to your forum?

The skin isn't too easy on the eye either.

Hope these comments help...

hi there Skatiechik thanks for posting about the capitals lol it stood out once you mentioned them, i will of course correct that bit

as i tried to explain the challenge was to get the forum up and running so i didn't really think about the theme, hence the name bits and bobs, even now if i tried to theme it i have no idea as to what the theme would be

the colours i admitt are bright, i spent a good 2 hours on saturday just messing around and seeing what colours i could come up with, unfortunatley its all done by codes and takes absolute ages so i had to just finish it where it was, i will be working on it

i am hoping to host the forum on a different server in the hope that if i do i will be able to download a whole lot more stuff to make it all a bit more individual

Can you not just go to the phpbb site and download new skins ?.
There are 100's out there ;).

i spent most of the weekend trying to do just that but for some reason the version i have wont accept anything other than what i have, hence i'm going to try running it off my server or a different web hoster because then i can play about with a lot of new stuff
lol it would be such a help if i knew what i was doing :D

Originally posted by ritzy
lol yup i agree the default theme is awful i need to find more buttons and do more twiddling, it would be nice to have something that makes it more personal and stands out more, i also need to look into a better banner

Well I actually quite like the banner / logo :)

As already said, there are too many sections, and it seems a bit strange to have 'Political and World Events' in the same forum as 'Rabbits and Guinea Pigs'. :D

Originally posted by Tony
Well I actually quite like the banner / logo :)

As already said, there are too many sections, and it seems a bit strange to have 'Political and World Events' in the same forum as 'Rabbits and Guinea Pigs'. :D opps it isn't is it
brb :D

Actually...that kind of makes sense!! :)