What makes you join a new forum?

What are the points that are important for you when joining another new forum? Which features are the most important ones and what puts you off? SY

 

Well for one, i look at the forum statistics at the end of the homepage, just to get an idea of how big the forums are. Then i see if there are some interesting things, articles, tutorials,... Normally i would register because there is a interesting topic that i would like to comment on, or i need help on a particular reason. There are a lot of points for why someone should register, but the main reaon is the content and once registered the 'member satisfaction' for example by posting offers or creating a reward scheme so that members have a reason to post

Oh well, thats just me...

Regards

 

An active one about something that interests me or one that I can earn from.

 

So an adsense revenue share would be an incentive for you to join, and participate in, a new forum? SY

 

Not revenue share, because even big forums earn almost nothing with adsense. I might make $1 per day at the very most, but if they have a b/s/t section like here then I could make over $200 a day.

 

"b/s/t section" means "buy, sell, trade" correct? But would that be also attractive in a new forum with less community/ traffic? SY

 

Depends on the board.

With this board, it was recommended to me. I was told I would learn a lot, and I did.

On other boards, if there's a couple of mature debaters, then I'll sign up.

 

Yep you are correct. Not really, but if it was the only forum in that niche and I traded in that niche (random example: super fast light weight bike washers) then I would join since it would be the only place to trade.

 

I'll agree with the people above.

A Marketplace is always a useful section to have, because it allows members to buy, sell, and trade goods and services not only in your specific niche, but in general. Not to mention that you'll probably find some things that you couldn't get elsewhere!

If I was browsing a forum and stumbled upon a topic that really interested me, I would join for the ability to comment on it. I'm very opinionated and enjoy a good debate now and then.

That's how forum is. We have a lot of mature members who are well-versed on a number of subjects, and that seems to draw people in.

Somebody above mentioned the lack of revenue from AdSense, and I'll agree with that statement. However, having your forum setup as revenue-sharing doesn't hurt

Mainly, as I touched upon earlier, content is the key. People join when they see things they either want to read, or talk about. So, if you create controversial threads and posts, you'll draw in discussion.

 

but what if you share money on link sales with your members?

 

That's an interesting concept, Amroawad.

Might be complicated though...

 

How would you organize/ automate that? Great idea, btw, SY

 

depends on what i need at the time if a search took me their and i need to register for a download then i will regardless of visitors and post count

 

They need to have activity and topics that I am interested in discussing, and not too many advertisements.

-Raymond

 

Simple intuitive design
Activity in an area I wish to discuss
Non-elitist mentality from the site members
Simple set of rules that show the staff isn't power hungry...too many rules and I just move on.

 

Statistics- it is my first preference

 

I look at how much time the owner put into the development. Did the owner just throw something together? Was there a lot of thought put into the site, or is it just a copy of sites already out there.

What does the forum have to offer its members? Does it support embedded videos? Does it have a picture gallery? Does the forum have a chat room? How about an arcade? What makes this site different from other communities?

Stats is another thing I look at. How busy is the site? How many members does it have and how many active members?

Then there are the ads. If a site has pop-ups or pop-unders, I will not be back.

Is the site a paid membership site? The sites with a section for paid members tend to be of higher quality then sites that are 100% free to the members.

The nitch - does the site have information to offer me, and can I contribute?

 

Well everyone wants to make money...
and no full page ads, ive done a test with full page ads and it looses you potential members a text ad here and there is ok though.

 

so you saying forums dont make money?

i just started one

 

I used to only join forums on subjects that interest me (cars, photography...) and that have at least 10 000 members...

Well - now I join more and more forums, so I could promote stuff as an affiliate. However, I still only join forums that are active (at least 20-50 daily replies)...

Kind of ironic - I wouldn't join my own forum It's brand new and EMPTY!