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How To Grow The Forum

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oldboy

oldboy

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dont let people look at it unless theyve registered
this then makes them more likely to post

no lukers allowed


did it on our forum and membership shot up
it doesnt take long to joinup
 
But then don't you just end up with a load of registered users who never post? What's the point of that? Do you get extra points or something?
 
Yes, I would be inclined to agree with Freya. All that would archive is a lot of extra registered users and not extra posters. At the moment we get people surf the forum and if they think it's the kind of place for them they join. That's good! We get a lot of good new members though them lurking and seeing that it's a place they would like to be a part of. I think, also, that quality is more important than quantity!
 
I'd love to boost my member count but I think it would be shooting myself in the foot as I want people to see the quality of the content and decide that yes! this is the forum for me and join.

I've got loads of no-shows on it who sign up and never post which is annoying but I'm persisting with it. Foolishly choosing a domain that, when Googled, brings up pages of the BBC and Wikipedia doesn't help boost new users.

When I start work on the surrounding site I'm targeting a place in the top ten of a Google search for 'history'. I got bored looking for my site in Google last time I searched.
 
oldboy said:
fair dos
i just think if some1 is registered they are more likely to comment
Click to expand...

Actually, I don't know if this is true. I wander a number of websites, looking at posts. I'll comment if something catches my eye, but in some cases, I'm not enough of a regular, that anyone would probably reply. Quite a few boards have an "Anonymous" function that allows people to post without making themselves known. I've always appreciated that, due to semi-paranoid privacy concerns (See Weird Email thread...). Not an issue when no one can attribute your name to your comments.

Just my random thoughts.

Cathy
 
Cathy C said:
Quite a few boards have an "Anonymous" function that allows people to post without making themselves known.
Cathy
Click to expand...

its the interweb>>every1 is anonymous surely?
 
If you take a look at the member list, you'll see that there are already many members who never post (Of the 2000+ , I'd say half). It is easy to join, so if someone has something to say, there is no reason for them not to join up right then and there.
 
This would also make it difficult for the google spiders, and I wouldn't want to impede their work. :)
 
There's already been an influx of insane numbers of people in the last two months. From an owners perspective perhaps this is no doubt a good thing. On the other hand from mine, I somewhat enjoy the fact that many of us know each other quite well from months and months of discussing things on here together. Not that new people would impede that, but getting lost in the masses takes away some of it's appeal I think.
 
oldboy said:
dont let people look at it unless theyve registered
this then makes them more likely to post

no lukers allowed
Click to expand...

-----If i may speak honestly, i do not like this idea which seems to me conservative and a bit negative. (reasons refer to A: the first point of Abulafia, -->>"I'd love to boost my member count but I think it would be shooting myself in the foot as I want people to see the quality of the content and decide that yes! this is the forum for me and join." B: what cajunmama has said: "If you take a look at the member list, you'll see that there are already many members who never post (Of the 2000+ , I'd say half). It is easy to join, so if someone has something to say, there is no reason for them not to join up right then and there")


------Abulafia, keep working if i may say that. your website is pretty, and has some really good stuffs. I think if your members really liked your place they would like to stick around.

------True@1stlight, i cannot say that clearly but i feel that way as well. plus that i could be more talktive :eek: in a relatively familiar and friendly circumstances.

(i do not know any of you how you looklike, but only the sight of your usernames can bring me a sense of familarity/affinity, which is the reason i am being loyalty to this place. :D )

Done! k, see ya, all that are online or lurking. Have a good day! :D
 
speaking soley for myself, i beleive once a forum becomes established, and draws a crowd of 'regulars', newcomers often feel intimidated by the 'regulars' and don't want to intrude.
 
It's true that just starting out can be intimidating. In the past month or so I've seen several people who looked like they could've become promising regulars, but alas, they disappeared off the face of the earth.

Having said that, I don't like seeing "Annonymous" postings. My reasons are as follows:

1) Much less personal if you don't know who's posting.
2) No sense of committment.
3) You can't personalize it with a signature or an avatar.
4) It's a lot easier to be mean and callous if no one else knows it's you. At least if your name is attached you have some sort of accountability for your words.
 
dele said:
It's a lot easier to be mean and callous if no one else knows it's you. At least if your name is attached you have some sort of accountability for your words.
Click to expand...

Hear! Hear!

I think diversifying the forum would result in a higher membership...add some other options like 'politics', 'religion', 'physical recreation', etc...a wider range of topics would obviously mean that a wider range of people would want to be involved...
 
But surely this is a book forum? Or am I mistaken :confused: People join because they want to discuss books, not because they want to discuss politics, religion or physical recreation. If I wished to discuss history, for example, I would find a good history forum where I could discuss the subject with like-minded people.
 
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