18 replies to this topic

[Sefket]

Grammar - Being professional, using grammar, and punctuation is something that is needed. If you were on a company forum and saw staff writing like "lol, yeah I kno right" that will instantly make me not bother posting on the website or even browse their webste.The members look up to you and then they wish to be a staff member which leads to better members.

Atmosphere - Always try your best to have a great atmosphere. If you have trolling, offensive language or spam going on your boards, it pulls many guests away from your forums.

Appearance - This is another major one for your forums. You want to give your users first impression. Many people will x out of your website if they aren't liking your websites appearance. It's like going to your first interview or going out on a date, they will reject you. You want a skin that is clean, professional, and clear.

[Charles]

Some good points there and basically you're saying how important first impressions are

We actually have one client site I can think of where "Atmosphere" is such a problem even I dislike visiting there to simply answer support questions for the client.

[Sefket]

It's that bad? Wow lol.

[TaffyCaffy]

I've done tech support for a community like the one that Charles mentioned. You know you've got massive issues with atmosphere on your forum when your tech support folks don't moan about technical issues, but rather speak about having pity for all those innocent bystanders who stumble upon the mess you created.

[Zizzla_JA]

Thanks sefket totally agree with all the 3 point mentioned

[⚔ Kirito]

Grammar - Being professional, using grammar, and punctuation is something that is needed. If you were on a company forum and saw staff writing like "lol, yeah I kno right" that will instantly make me not bother posting on the website or even browse their webste.The members look up to you and then they wish to be a staff member which leads to better members.

I completely agree with this. Proper spelling and grammar can have a huge influence for me. Someone who actually takes the time to check and correct what they write out gives a much better impression than someone who could seemingly care less about how they present themselves. When you're speaking on behalf of a company, this is especially true.

Atmosphere - Always try your best to have a great atmosphere. If you have trolling, offensive language or spam going on your boards, it pulls many guests away from your forums.

Another excellent point. I'd also like to state that this point is especially true for staff members. I've been to countless forums where the moderators and admins are also abusive.

Even if it's towards a member that's trolling or just being a jerk overall, when a staff member stoops to their level by using profane language and trying to spit on them as a response to their threat, this will really drive people away from your site and give it a terrible reputation in the process. You should ensure this never becomes a problem on your boards. Only hire moderators you are certain are mature and educated enough to know how to handle trolls and properly moderate your community. More so be sure you know how to properly respond to these situations.

Bad:

User: LOL you guys suck OMG you're all a bunch of stoopid n00bs gtfo and get a life!
Admin: STFU! No one here cares what you think, you're just a now life troll that'll never amount to anything! Enjoy your ban, noob!

In more severe cases like this, I usually delete the offending post and send a professional warning to the user in private. Depending how severe the offending post was, I may temporarily (or permanently) enforce moderation on all the users future posts. If they continue trying to troll the board, simply ban the user. That simple.

Appearance - This is another major one for your forums. You want to give your users first impression. Many people will x out of your website if they aren't liking your websites appearance. It's like going to your first interview or going out on a date, they will reject you. You want a skin that is clean, professional, and clear.

This is one aspect I generally obsess over. Browsing through hundreds of templates just to find the one I want.

If you can afford it, there are some amazing premium templates available in the market place, as well as some great free ones. Of course, I'm not saying the IPBoard template is bad

It's well worth making the investment for a template that looks great and will fit the theme of your site. Don't be afraid to hire someone to create a logo for you as well, if you lack the creative ability to make one yourself (like I most definitely do). Even possibly host a competition on your site to see who can make the best logo.

[Rhett]

My top three items are the following and I was expecting to see them listed when i saw the thread title. lol


1. Content
2. Content
3. Content



Give your users something to read, give them a reason to come back, give them something to learn... "Content" does this and is the key to any good site, and also the #1 thing that will bring you traffic... CONTENT is KING!

[Lord Nowe]

My top three items are the following and I was expecting to see them listed when i saw the thread title. lol


1. Content
2. Content
3. Content



Give your users something to read, give them a reason to come back, give them something to learn... "Content" does this and is the key to any good site, and also the #1 thing that will bring you traffic... CONTENT is KING!

While yes, it's (mainly) about content, there are aspects of content that definitely are important as well, and they've already been mentioned. Atmosphere is probably one of the most important things around this.

[Charles]

Your content is your atmosphere though. Smart, engaging content creates a smart, engaged memberbase.

[Lord Nowe]

I suppose it is a bit different for those of us that run sites like mine. Our content is good, and does certainly play a role in our atmosphere, but our members interactions both on and off our site (including 15-man IM convos) help to keep the atmosphere the way it is.

[S0uth_cl8ud]

1. Content
2. Content
3. Content

Content?,

I have been to forums that exaclty suit my needs, but the forum software is awful (vbulletin 3.6 or 3.7 or whatever the hell)...

Why do the admins use vbulletin?, and if using it atleaste upgrade to 4.x, but these forums with 3.x are just awful, the content is great but its just so ugly..... it always drives me away,

and whats the point of reading something that you dont enjoy the layout,etc

vb sux @$$
vb 3.x is just.....

[Ricw]

Hmm,
and what about when you use support some of their responses are so arrogant, you think they could use a basic course in communication? Does that count for content?

Rick

[Moeru Wa]

You also forgot to mention a good reliable host, it's really frustrating using a forum that has 80% uptime rest was all internal server errors or down time. Whenever you post you are forced to copy paste your message onto notepad just in case it times out when trying to submit the message...

[.Brian]

You also forgot to mention a good reliable host, it's really frustrating using a forum that has 80% uptime rest was all internal server errors or down time. Whenever you post you are forced to copy paste your message onto notepad just in case it times out when trying to submit the message...

I agree with this.

[Sefket]

You also forgot to mention a good reliable host, it's really frustrating using a forum that has 80% uptime rest was all internal server errors or down time. Whenever you post you are forced to copy paste your message onto notepad just in case it times out when trying to submit the message...

True, but when you're looking for a host, there is many factors in it depending on what type of board you have, what add-ons you use, etc.

[BIGGGMIKE]

My top three items are the following and I was expecting to see them listed when i saw the thread title. lol


1. Content
2. Content
3. Content



Give your users something to read, give them a reason to come back, give them something to learn... "Content" does this and is the key to any good site, and also the #1 thing that will bring you traffic... CONTENT is KING!

I agree,,,content.......Appearance.....yes is also a key...but content............grammar for the admin...mod yes..

[Dmacleo]

Some good points there and basically you're saying how important first impressions are

We actually have one client site I can think of where "Atmosphere" is such a problem even I dislike visiting there to simply answer support questions for the client.

din't I alredy aplogiz fur thet?

[BIGGGMIKE]

din't I alredy aplogiz fur thet?

wat u talk'in bout

[Zambooy]

Atmosphere - Always try your best to have a great atmosphere. If you have trolling, offensive language or spam going on your boards, it pulls many guests away from your forums.

Appearance - This is another major one for your forums. You want to give your users first impression. Many people will x out of your website if they aren't liking your websites appearance. It's like going to your first interview or going out on a date, they will reject you. You want a skin that is clean, professional, and clear.

While I agree with your points it always amazes me how great Atmosphere and Appearance are defined so differently among website owners/users. I have reviewed sites which I thought were awesome in your A&A categories yet they did not appeal to the masses. For illustration purposes would you mind providing a couple of examples(links) that you feel fulfill your criteria ? Thanks.