i am laying out plans for a forum and tyring ot organize topics people are interested in. What in your opinion makes a forum a great forum? how do you suggest attracting people to your forum?
A great forum is one that you enjoy running and your members enjoy visiting. Simple as that. You want to start one on something you are interested in. Sit down and make a list of the things that interest you. Once you have done that, next to them write what kind of competition already exists and what you would be able to offer that is unique. You need something that you are interested in and can offer something which no other forums like it have.
On my latest forum i started with basic things about aibos, when it got members i asked them what they would like to see and added some more forums and deleted/edited a few based on votes. I always ask the members for suggestions and get them involved. The members keep a forum alive
A great forum is one in which there is a stable community and which you actually enjoy running and that your members enjoy visiting, as was mentioned above. Something unique to your forum alone cannot be stressed enough, be it a cool mod, a unique section or offer or anything else! People do need to see your forum stand out from the crowd though.
I had started a thread just today. Take a look. http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?p=8245745
A great forum site has a community of experts and newbies who are willing to carry each other as they share the same passion and interest. A great forum site has a judicious forum admin who know when to be soft and when to be hard on implementing necessary rules. A great forum site has fresh content everyday. In this link, you will learn how to make a forum site and get the most out of it.