If you do not take your froum serious, do not expect me to

Titled " If You Do Not Take You Froum Serious, Do Not Expect Me To "

Agreed:slow:

Forum*

Hee Hee...
Spelling Bee???

 

Everybody has to start somewhere. Learning on the job/from your own mistakes is one way of doing so.

 

I disagree - it's called "learning from experience".

 

Right... how are you supposed to get the experience without jumping in and doing it? From a book?

 

I agree. People say content is king, maybe even I have for the sake of saying it, but for me, it's not 'king', it's just another thing factored in to what I think about the forum.

 

I think I got missunderstood I do not mean that people with no experience shouldn't get into this but if you do not even know how to install an forum then you should learn how before you get into it.

 

Yes, but once again, how will you "learn" how to install a forum script without experiencing the process first hand?

 

Paul, I have to somewhat agree with John - but not totally. Forum owners should have enough knowledge to keep their forum updated - or pay someone to - and keep the modifications updated.

There are certain things that go along with running a website - blog - forum - and some of those include security updates and customizations.

But I also understand that some people do not want to invest the time - or can not - and some things are neglected.

Its like getting in a car - you put your seat belt on and there is no excuse for not putting your seat belt on. Being lazy or not having the time is no excuse not to learn basic operations of running a website.

 

Keeping a forum updated is not the same as customizing it.

You can keep a completely default forum fully up to date.

 

This,

Customizing a board can run you hundreds if not thousands of dollars while keeping a board updated is free.

 

If you learn how to do it your self it wouldn't...

 

Yes but not everyone has the aptitude to learn this skill nor the time. And a lot of the programs you use to build custom skins isn't cheap either. Photoshop could set you back 500.00 when I can pick up a custom skin 200.00 or less.

 

I think creating a template is a completely different skill set than installing and running a forum.

 

It absolutely is.

You don't even have to purchase a custom style. A few vB designers will customize the header image, forum status icons, and side column for under $100. By the time we're finished it looks like a customized template.

But even the default vB template can be made to look really nice with a custom header and status icons for $50.

 

I would definitely disagree with you on that. Nobody is going to stay around your community because it's "pretty" and many studies have shown that too much visual integration is distracting. Some of the most popular sites (Google, plentyoffish, etc etc etc) are well, UGLY, but you know exactly what they are for and put what they do at the forefront. I'm not a big fan of graphically-intense sites but it definitely is nice to make it look somewhat appealing.

 

At the same time, Google is going for a different goal than most online forum communities. I don't think one should go overboard with visuals, but even a free theme shouts "Hey, I took the time to change something on my forums!" Sure, it could probably be customized beyond just a free template, but changing it is the first step. I do feel that there are exceptions, though, but that's generally how I feel about it.

As for people who don't know how to do anything not running a forum, I agree to an extent. You do need to get your feet wet in order to get where most of us are today.