what are the commonest mistakes in setting up a forum ?

[murdoch]

Im keen to know from anyone who has set up a forum, what are the biggest or most common mistakes are, so I can try to avoid some of them?

Does anyone know? If so, please let me know!! Or direct me to a good place to look? Im in the very infant stages of setting up a new forum.

To follow on from my post before its a new forum to do with pet wellness/ health.

Cheers,

Murdoch

 

[reggiemental]

I would think that the most common mistake is not realising how much work goes into, and running a forum. Just dealing with spammers, before they get a chance to post, is a regular daily task for instance.

If you understand code, and can make all the changes/upgrades yourself, then that will help big time. I can't code, so consequently if I need new features, or just upgrading the site to the latest version, I have to call on the help of others.

I use vBulletin, and have to say it's a fantastic bit of software that has been running trouble-free since it was installed, 8 months ago.

Another difficult process is advertising the site, to attract new members. This can be very time-consuming.

However, even with all the downsides, there are a lot of positives.

If you can find a trusted member, who you can give 'mod' status to, then this will help dealing with many aspects of the site. Spammers are a nightmare, and very persistent, so any help you get dealing with them will be good.

Mine is only a hobby site, so if I was trying to make money from it then I might have different views, but you won't know until you try.

Good luck with your new site, and I hope it's a success for you.

Paul

 

[murdoch]

thanks paul, thats very helpful, cheers

 

[Cromulent]

The biggest mistake new forum owners make is creating too many subforums. If you fall into this trap each subforum has a very small number of posts in and thus your forum looks dead so people do not join it.

It is always best to limit the number of subforums you have to the absolute minimum (6 is about right, any more and it takes far too long to build up to the critical mass stage where people join just to enter interesting conversations).

Also don't cover your forum in adverts, a few are okay but too many and it puts people off.

 

[cycloneuk]

I think around 80% of forums fail to get off the ground, so from the beginning the odds are against you. Very time consuming and you will need to invest in paid forum posters to make your forum look somewhat active during the early stages unless you have a handfull of friends who can help.

 

[Mattonella Tile Studio]

I'd say biggest mistake is assuming people will visit. The guy who owns a tiling forum set up another forum for all home interior related questions, including tiling. It just hasn't taken off at all.

 

[Cromulent]

I think around 80% of forums fail to get off the ground, so from the beginning the odds are against you. Very time consuming and you will need to invest in paid forum posters to make your forum look somewhat active during the early stages unless you have a handfull of friends who can help.

A common technique amongst forum owners is to make lots of accounts yourself and then talk to yourself from the different accounts. A little disingenuous perhaps but it helps to make your forums seem active and draws in a few posters so that you can actually talk to real people.

 

[Orange22]

Two problems:

1, is spam. We had thousands of posts on ours because we didnt have any validation. Which we thought would make it easier for customers. We solved this problem by putting an e-mail verification in, although I'm going to change this for a 'capture' solution.

2, getting people to use it. If no one is in the forum submitting posts it makes it look like there's no one on the site, which in a customers eyes makes the site less reputable.

 

I agree with poster who talked about multiple identities to "seed posts" - get five people posting in multiple identities

Another BIG mistake is to treat a forum like "any other business". The fact is your regular posters particularly those posting new and interesting content ARE your business - they do not have to post there.

You must listen to them, and keep them onside of anything new

I have seen forums "killed off" by owners who would not listen or put the effort in - to involve key posters

 

[murdoch]

great stuff guys, very helpful... i will let you know how i get on...

 

[murdoch]

Start your forum with VPS if u planing have more then 500 members ! If u planing growing then VPS a good choice...Trust me Sharing hosting always Suspend ya account once ya board over load their Cpu .

And the web hosting owner will start complain / shout at you because just make their 1000 customers down Blah blah blah .

This will create panic for u and your members . Start a lite VPS..if increase more members then go for higher

what about this, i found this quote on another place on the net....
do you agree, if i want a forum with more than a few members i should buy a VPS hosting.... is that practical?...easy?,,, or should i wait? any members experiences??

 

[murdoch]

Other thing, if you need a lot of tech support and don't want to learn Linux, you will need managed VPS or managed dedicated which cost 2x as much since they are fixing things for you.

and any opinions on this...???
i have found some cheapish lite VPS but i dont know much about linux coding, will i need MANAGED vps, if so, what exactly IS managed VPS?!!

 

[tom111]

One of the worst potential mistakes is to start a forum with no plan as to how to make it pay its own way if and when it is successfull. Success, in terms of a forum, results in a lot of work and a lot of cost. It's relatively easy to start a forum if you have a decent advertising budget, but getting users to pay is difficult.

Once you have users there is a dodgy phase where you can't run on normal hosts, you need dedicated equipment and bandwidth that costs a large amount of money without return.