Forum ownership and management

[Twilight Phoenix]

Hi everyone,

I wondered if people who own/manage forums (including our admins and mods) could please give me advice ? I'm looking forward to creating my own forum but as a 1st time admin, I'd need some experienced people to help me.

Where would you advise me to start ? What should I look for when selecting an host ?
How do you get a forum properly referenced without spending too much money ?
Also, I'd like to invite people from other forums to join mine. Am I forced to join any single related forum to advertise mine with a post, or is there some way to make advertising easier ?

Thanks for your inputs !

 

[Timewalker]

What do you intend your forum to be about?

What can you offer that other forums don't? (in other words, what extra incentive would people have to join?)

Do you intend it to generate income, or is it strictly for fun?

How complicated do you want to make it? Some forums have lots of bells and whistles that go unused because people either don't know about them or don't care. Others would benefit from a few extras that the members like.

Just tossing out some questions to mull over, as I've seen a lot of people jump on the "I want to make a forum!" but they haven't thought about what comes next after registering with the hosting service.

 

[Avro Arrow]

I'm not sure I'll be able to help you with most of your questions, sorry. However, just in case you haven't seen it, here's a page on Wikipedia which compares various forum software.

Not to dissuade you at all, but I just feel I should mention: my understanding is that, in general, internet forums are on the decline, as everyone moves to social media sites such as Facebook. (The TrekBBS being a notable exception to this rule! ) I just thought I should bring this up, since you may end up having difficulty finding an audience.

Am I forced to join any single related forum to advertise mine with a post, or is there some way to make advertising easier ?

This is probably something you'll need to research on the individual forums. This forum, for example, frowns on such posts, and we would most likely either remove a link, or the post altogether. (Usually a discreet link in your signature is OK, though.) Other forums may of course have other standards or rules.

But I would like to wish you the best of luck, and I hope that everything goes well for you!

 

[Twilight Phoenix]

Not to dissuade you at all, but I just feel I should mention: my understanding is that, in general, internet forums are on the decline, as everyone moves to social media sites such as Facebook.

Yes, I'm totally aware of that, but I still prefer forums over FB and I came across many people who feel the same. If I finally end up creating my forum, it probably won't have thousands of members, and that's okay

This forum, for example, frowns on such posts, and we would most likely either remove a link, or the post altogether.

Umm...Is there a reason for that ? Or a solution to it ?

 

[Avro Arrow]

I still prefer forums over FB and I came across many people who feel the same.

Oh, I totally agree with that feeling too!

Umm...Is there a reason for that ? Or a solution to it ?

I think it originally started as a prohibition against posting links to sell things, but we have also removed them when there are no sales involved, since the intent is to direct traffic away from here. I believe the workarounds are:
a) put the link in your signature, then it will be visible on every post you make (you have probably seen similar sigs around the board?)
b) get approval from T'Bonz before posting
c) As long as it is strictly a no-sales situation, as this seems to be, we have the "Web Sites/Design" forum, where I believe you can post about your forum without any problems.

Hope this helps!

 

[Twilight Phoenix]

Okay, thank you @Avro Arrow

 

[Nakita Akita]

I'm am tired of Facebook myself.
I like forums better.

 

[Kor]

Trying to have a coherent discussion on the Facebook platform just turns into an absolute mess.

Kor

 

[Random_Spock]

I'm am tired of Facebook myself.
I like forums better.

Same here. I use it occasionally, but I like interacting with other members in a forum setting better.

 

[John Clark]

When one of the old forums I used to frequent closed, they tried to do it over facebook instead. It wasn't my style and I don't think it got to fifty posts either.

 

[Twilight Phoenix]

Well, my forum is created. Let's see how it will evolve now !

 

[rhubarbodendron]

Congratulations! =)
I totally second that boards/forums are far better than FB. Far more data security. You wouldn't catch me dead using FB. Have you read their small print thoroughly? It's very well hidden behind a chain of links and you have to search long for it but in the small print's small print they say that anything, down to the last letter of what you post belongs to them and they can do with it whatever they want. In other words: they may sell all your private pics, videos and text. You have no control whatsoever over what lands where in the net. And what's more, FB not only may sell your contents but the instant you post it they gain full copyright including royalties. If you are a photographer and post a pic on FB it becomes theirs and if you sell it o someone else and get royalties for it they can actually sue you for an infringement of their copyright!

 

[Clerk Kant]

I'd recommend InstaFree for hosting and phpBB for software. Those are what I use for mine.

 

[Twilight Phoenix]

I'd recommend InstaFree for hosting and phpBB for software. Those are what I use for mine.

Too bad I saw your post after creating mine. It's on ProBoards. Maybe not the better or most optimized platform but at least I don't have to pay for a hosting service, and everything is done on server so I don't have to upload data. I only have limited internet data with a satellite connection, so I try to avoid uploading heavy content as often as possible.

 

[feral.cherub]

Hope ProBoards works out for you! I've been using forumotion.com for mine and it's confusing compared to the old school phpbb .Plus they started charging for higher grade packaging that makes you only able to see first ten posters on list. If you don't know who they are then...yeah.

There are paid hosting businesses, but they often throttle bandwidth based on how much you give them. Let us know how yours works out!
Personally, I find Facebook far less effective in actual connection and conversations since everything seems to end up a meme nightmare.
I still stand by old fashioned forums. Perhaps make a PayPal link on your home page for donations. If you can't find how to on FAQ, YouTube ofters tutorials on many thing. And you could also just Google it.
Good luck with your forum!

F.C.

 

[Twilight Phoenix]

Well so far I find Proboards easy to use. The options are clear enough and I can easily custom most things. There are paying options available if I want, but they're not need for smooth forum use anyway. My biggest difficulty isn't related to forum management, but mostly to getting my members interested in the contents so they feel motivated to post xD

 

[feral.cherub]

Well so far I find Proboards easy to use. The options are clear enough and I can easily custom most things. There are paying options available if I want, but they're not need for smooth forum use anyway. My biggest difficulty isn't related to forum management, but mostly to getting my members interested in the contents so they feel motivated to post xD

It depends on what the general theme is. If you know people who'd be interested put the link on your Facebook Homesite section. Not sure other forums would appreciate drawing members from them to you, but I guess it would go by a site by site basis.

Oh! Look through WordPress for your topic and see if anyone would let you put your link in. WordPress is mostly personal blogs, so lots of people don't mind.