Lack of interest from members

How do you cope on your forum when there is a lack of interest from your members, I have tried competitions, creating new discussions but quite often they go without any replies. Any good ideas to spice things up?

Thank you

 

Well I certainly will answer this thread for sure

LOL...


Assuming you are referring to people not being around to post:
"Content" is the short answer.

Long answer: every site has a theme of some sort. To me, if there is too much off topic banter then that is the equivalent of too much junk food. Nice going down but a few hours later I'd wish I'd eaten better. So maybe 75% minimum on topic in the areas that should be on topic. (there are always goof around areas)

The problem with off topic banter all over the place is it makes it much more difficult for others to follow later long after the fun was over which dilutes the forum quality.



Or if people are simply not answering you

It could be that they either do not know, or possibly very similar discussions have already occurred in depth and there is nothing else to talk about until more information is obtained. Or maybe it looks like the person that started the thread only did so to generate more posts on the forum, in which case people getting that impression might feel a little 'used'.


And of course people don't answer for a variety of reasons, medical, emotional, personal reasons, tired, pet gold fish died, who knows.

 

Any more answers would be awhole lot helpful for me too!

 

Attract and retain the best users

I think Abomination has hit on some great key points.

I completely agree that off topic banter is a huge turn off to people. Even when the off topic conversations are placed in the right areas people may still be overwhelmed by it in the "Today's Posts" or "Unread Posts" sections. While I realize that vB has the option for people to ignore specific forums, I don't think that many new users know how to use this functionality. Therefore it takes a great amount of effort to wade through all of the off topic stuff to get to the meat of the forum.

While all content isn't off topic, I believe some of it is posted just for the sake of posting. Based on my experience with AA and other forums I am part of, contests are a huge catalyst for this. People start relatively simplistic threads or bump worn out threads in order to increase their "points" for a contest.

I think simplistic posts also should be added to the "Why people do not respond" catagory as well. When the answer to a question is either yes or no (for example, "do you think vBulletin is the best forum software") then there isn't much to discuss. While the person starting the thread may have intended to get people's opinion on vBulletin and find out WHY they think it is the best, that's not the question they asked. When this happens the thread either dies out or (if you have a good moderator) the mod steps in early and elaborates on the question prompting additional conversation.

Having an active forum that provides people with good information and a place to share their knowledge is the best way to attract and retain the best users. The most important person in this effort is your moderator.

HTH,
RR

 

I agree with the above replies.
In my opinion and experience i find that forums without a subject dont really do well, because i dont believe many people would be looking for general chatter forums. So its good to have a subject for your forum if you dont already.

 

I wish i was successful as most of you users! Shame im just not fit for this i guess.

 

To be fair, shouldn't this be on the public forums here? It's a lot of decent advice, yet hardly any newer members or guests are getting to hear it, and this is the kind of discussion that makes up AdminAddict...

 

Misc.

Great point! I second this motion.... if the move is possible.

 

I'm not too sure. If this thread were moved into public view, I'm quite sure that the creator's identity would be revealed (don't quote me on this). It's ultimately up to the individual who posted this anonymously.

 

Plz keep dis private k :o

 

A good forum is a good forum. Forums flow and ebb good or bad.

The key is the people at the top of the food chain (admins). If they care at all, and treat people at least ok, then the forum will be good long term.

They will make changes, note results, take notes. Then repeat until they get things the way they want them.

 

Will do.

 

You need to get new eyeballs on your forum and get them posting. Can be difficult. Do you have friends and family that can help stir traffic and conversation? That would help. You can also ask the current users what they want out of the site.

off-topic - I think there should be a way for people to post questions anonymously in the open forums if you're going to offer the feature. Make it a privilege of this user group but put it out there where everyone can see it.

 

I always say this and I'll say it again. It's the members that run the forums so I'd think of some roles and make some usergroups / pretty tags, dish them out and get them helping the forum (not you - they help the forum). Without knowing what the content / topic is I'd be general here but I'd consider making roles for the following perhaps:-

• Link building or suggesting links for your to try and create an exchange with from related websites
• Welcoming new members (I know this is often automated but if you have a guy helping new members to find things they're looking for it creates a more personal relationship and they're much more open to suggesting improvements then when you do ask them in a month or two's time - let the person with the role keep a track of when the members need contacting)
• Category thinker (somebody to keep an eye out for spotting when new categories need creating - this will help with SEO and categorising the existing topics and encouraging new threads in the new categories)
• Perhaps somebody who's good with words to be designated to 'telling off' those that are stepping out of line and discouraging activity. Obviously 'telling off' means being really polite and linking to the rules and explaining to the 'bad member' why they're getting a polite PM etc.
• And I'm struggling to think of more that are generalised. Perhaps have a good think about more topic-specific roles.

And above all, take a look at the leading forum in your category and really try and study what makes them tick. And copy / better it on your own.

Hope this helps and good luck.