41 replies to this topic

[wingman23]

Now we all like talking to ourselves, well i talk to the PC, the fridge and the telly, but thats enough of my problems
When a new board kicks off, usually it has no members, and nobody is going to join a board that has no members or no activity,

So a good tip is to create a few members, say about 10, and just go around talking to yourself for a bit, when members start to join then you can gradually lay them off one by one until there is only you and your real members.

It might sound like a shifty way of doing it, but it does work and so long as you dont abuse it like giving yourself false feedback and so on, its harmless and can make all the difference when starting a new member base.. specially if you are Billy no mates like me

[The Guy]

Now we all like talking to ourselves, well i talk to the PC, the fridge and the telly, but thats enough of my problems
When a new board kicks off, usually it has no members, and nobody is going to join a board that has no members or no activity,

So a good tip is to create a few members, say about 10, and just go around talking to yourself for a bit, when members start to join then you can gradually lay them off one by one until there is only you and your real members.

It might sound like a shifty way of doing it, but it does work and so long as you dont abuse it like giving yourself false feedback and so on, its harmless and can make all the difference when starting a new member base.. specially if you are Billy no mates like me

I have used this method before, it is odd, but its a painful, frustrating, but easier way to get posts on your board.

[wingman23]

Oh i dont know, its not that painful, although it is a lot of work posting for 10 people, but its worth it for people who are sat there with a fantastic board well laid out but nobody will join because it hasn't any members or posts so people wont join, I came across one of those from a member on here yesterday and it was such a nice site but he/she hadn't any members or activity so it looked dead.

its like when you were a kid with your invisible friend, you just go about talking to yourself for a bit and its only a temporary thing but it does work. you have to get your links out on facebook and so on though and you as the main poster have to have some proper interesting content, there is no substitute for having good content..

[rbiss]

Just make sure you keep your stories straight. Also, create some controversy. Everyone likes to watch and it might get others posting.

[paw]

You know as hard as I try, I just have never been able to sit there and create 10 X me or even 1 X me / i really can not imagine how people have the ability to talk to themselves with so many Personalities

[wingman23]

you just need to be a bit mental paw, talking to yourself then comes easy

[CjTheFish]

I've done this often times, but not with 10 accounts, usually only 2-3.

A few good tips and I saw one mentioned earlier was
1. Create controversy-People will join in, and take a side.
2. Be-careful about signing in if you have moderators on your board. Either explain to them what you are doing, or just open up a new tab with a proxy and post that way. 1 tab with your admin account ,1 tab with your proxied fake account ,and just post back and forth.

[Moeru Wa]

Even better, invite real life friends that are into the forum subject and have them post. When we first started the site it already had 7 active members : Wife, 2 of my friends, and 3 of hers

[YoungL]

It sounds like you have too much fun talking to yourself! I can see the advantages of doing this. When you go to a forum which has no one posting and there is no activity you feel like you can't be bothered to waste your time posting. As long as you do not cross the line to the point you are creating fake reviews for yourself then I see no harm in it.

As Moeru Wa said though it is definitely better if you can get people who are real to come and join and take part. If you have a niche forum the chances are you have friends or colleagues who have a similar interest, get them over there, generating content even if you have to bribe them with a beer or two. I don't think even the best faker can beat real activity, it is hard to create multiple personalities and remember the personality of each when posting. We each have our own posting and writing style and it may be hard to fake being someone else. I would just advise you to be careful if you decide to go down this route, not saying it is a bad route but you need to do a good job of pretending!

[Sandi_]

That seems a bit tacky to me.

If I joined a board and found that they had fake members that made fake posts I would never return. I would do a lot of hard work to gain legitimate users, and if that didn't pay off I would shut it down first.

[Nevo]

The best way to fake users is to have your staff and people you know posting for awhile until the forums kick off, then they don't have to keep posting and you can thank them for their work.

Actual fake members and statistics is evil and i wouldn't look at a site the same way if i found it they were doing that.

[saturnus]

That seems a bit tacky to me.

If I joined a board and found that they had fake members that made fake posts I would never return. I would do a lot of hard work to gain legitimate users, and if that didn't pay off I would shut it down first.

yep.
i'd never do that. it just seems wrong / awkward
all of my members are legit accounts (any extras are duplicate accounts from people who forget their log-in info -.- LOL)

[Benjamin.]

Now we all like talking to ourselves, well i talk to the PC, the fridge and the telly, but thats enough of my problems
When a new board kicks off, usually it has no members, and nobody is going to join a board that has no members or no activity,

So a good tip is to create a few members, say about 10, and just go around talking to yourself for a bit, when members start to join then you can gradually lay them off one by one until there is only you and your real members.

It might sound like a shifty way of doing it, but it does work and so long as you dont abuse it like giving yourself false feedback and so on, its harmless and can make all the difference when starting a new member base.. specially if you are Billy no mates like me

ROFL

[Wolf]

I'm going to be very blunt here. This method is extremely controversial, and perhaps (no offense) one of the worst "old tricks" to make your board appear populated. Members aren't dumb, they'll either catch on that the fake accounts have suddenly stopped posting, or will see through the accounts and notice that it's all one person. The falsely generated discussions don't appear nearly as fluid as true discussions. Deceiving your members or potential members is no way to build a community. It will earn you a bad reputation, and make you seem like you simply want the power of being the administrator of a large forum. Do you know what's just as easy, and a much better way of getting posts and members to your board? Starting a community about a topic you and your friends are passionate about, and having them join in on the fun! I'm absolutely appalled at the recommendations to "Create Controversy"! Deceiving your members is no way to build a community.

[Dan13l]

I suggest better to hire people to post in the forums or start a contest where the person that posted most (take care of spammy posts) win something: coups, t-shirts, usb stick. etc. There are a lot of people that engage in contests and not the value of the prize is important but the idea of winning something.

[wingman23]

Well while i can see the point of view of people that say its tacky or underhand and stuff i really have to dis-agree..
firstly, this is only for new boards and is only a tempary measure and in reality they arent fake members, not really, what they are is you giving a point of view that is different from another point of view, from another post you made as somebody else.. these members are still posting, still contributing to the threads and making it interesting for the other members...
this is not like say those dating sites that have some programme running that says it has 1000 members that dont exist, never contribute they are just there to entice members to join and usually part with money... its nothing like that.
its just a way a brand new board can get some real members in, would anybody join a board with no members and no activety, i wouldnt and niether would 99% of people and its a shame when the new admin has gone to all that work to get his/her board looking nice...
Yes you can hire people to post, or get your friends to post, but how is that different to this, your auntys and uncles,brothers and sisters, your friends helping you get the board active is still fake in the real sense, so its no different to this do it yourself method,

[Brad`]

Seems weird, and not something i'd ever do, but I guess I can see the point. It is hard sometimes if you start it all by yourself and there are 0 other members or posts. Who's going to join a site like that?

[Ely R.]

It's something I really thought about at the start of the forum and actually, I should still do it. I've got plenty of members which are posting a lot but the main problem is that the action happens in the non-public, hidden area. I'd love to see the action moving to public areas as well to attract new members.

[xBeccax]

Start up a club and tell your members that part of being in the club is participating in the boards.

I know it sounds like a 4th grader technique, but I participate in an online gaming community and part of the requirement of membership is to show pride for your community and participate on the forums.

[IPS_Fan]

A friend of mine and I started a new forum in April. We simply invite people to join in and start posting. We have more things to do with our (collective) time, than to create multiple usernames to make visitors think the forum is more popular than it is.

I think that is a pretty low way to start a forum. There is nothing wrong with making posts yourself, and a few friends whom you have invited to join. It is called doing it the right way. Over time, it will become more popular, if your main topic is popular enough, and you started off swapping reciprocal links with others (marketing).

This idea is as bad as the "fake" stats idea that recently came up.