How To Make A Forum??

phat22 · First Time Poster Joined: 23 Jun 2007 $ 0.06

Hi....Can U All Help Me??....Im Newbie Here...

Lazarus88 · Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2007 1:26 pm Post subject:

To make a successful forum

The "DOs"

1) Before you even get started you need to decide if you have time to run a BB. It seems easy at first but if it takes off, you will soon see that it is a job. If you are running a board you need to get on pretty much every day and read every post.

2) Choose a theme or topic of the forum. Anything you can think of at all. From "How To Make Great Sugar Free Desserts" to "Chess Strategy & Discussion" Anything at all. If you like the subject then chances are other will also.

The point is to have a clearly defined direction for your site. "Just everything" will soon fade out. If you want a site with legs then you better have a real subject to focus on.

3) Do some research. Find some articles and read them through. Post your take on the article(s) and invite others to do the same. Be sure to give credit where credit is due when quoting any resource material you use.

4) Look for other RELATED subject sites and join into the discussions. Then if you like the site offer to let them post a link to their site on your forums if you can post one to yours on theirs.

5) Join a top list or two (look into them and make sure they are active top lists or it is a waste of time)

6) Be ready to hand out your web address. Not just on the Internet but to people you know. If you like paint ball for example, then talk to others you do it with and get them signed up. Whatever it is your forum is about, the best thing for it is directing a built in membership to it; rather than trying to convince people they should give it a look.

The "Donts"

1) Do not be in a hurry. Many new forums I see start up have a flurry of activity where the owner gets it all set up and looking cool. Then they see that there is no one on so they come here and say "join my forum please." The problem with that is that most all the members here have their own forums to run.

I pretty much go to them all and I see empty board, after empty board. There is nothing to keep me coming back. If you want people to sign up and be active, you MUST do the ground work and make a place that people WANT to come back to. No matter how cool your forum looks, no one is interested in an empty BB. So get some content in there BEFORE YOU OPEN IT.

2) DO NOT appoint any other admin for your forum. Not friends, family or anyone else...ever. Moderators are one thing but more than one admin will only cause you grief. I can not stress this one enough! DON'T DO IT!

3) Do not keep changing your URL. You have a membership fall-off rate for every change and it adds up fast. If you find that you must keep changing your URL, then take a break from it and put some serious thought into what you want the boards to be.

4) (Take this one with a grain of salt) Do not bother with post trading. It seems to cause arguments, and even when it all goes fine you have some posts that are destined to be derelict on your forums. The person that put them there will not be an active member and you can make better use of your time promoting your own site rather than trying to make a set number of posts on theirs. Again, this is just my opinion so others may (and probably will) disagree.

This is a very short list of things I have found to be pretty universal in the BB game. They work for me but you must find what works for you.

Best of luck and enjoy the fun of running your own on-line community.
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ServiceF1rst · Moderator Joined: 08 May 2006 $ 22.77 Location: Indiana

Welcome to ForumWise. The first thing you need to do is obviously have in mind what subject matter your Forum will be developed around. I assume since you've made it to the stage of wanting to develop a Forum that concern has already been addressed.

The next thing you need to do is read the Administrators Quick Start Guide here:

http://support.forumwise.com/support-thread21.html

After you've read and re-read if necessary the Quick Start Guide you will find additional Guides and FAQ's that will assist you in setting up you first Forum here:

http://support.forumwise.com/support-forum-1.html

The ForumWise Administration Panel is among the most, if not the most intuitive user friendly panels in the Forum world. Creating and developing a Forum here is easy, but it is not without an investment in your time. I encourage you to fully read all of the threads in the second link I have provided you with. Seldom if at all will you have a question that has not already been answered. If you have a specific question, use our search feature found in the uppermost template header - it contains a wealth of knowledge. Of course after you've read the information in the links I've given you, please feel free to come back and ask if you need clarification.

Give it a try and I wish you well with your project.

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Santarus · Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2007 1:52 pm Post subject:

Welcome! :_
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http://tekspark.forumarena.com/

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