What makes a forum a success and enjoyable?

[mayk]

Just curious what are others opinion of a successful forum, not just about the Series we love, but any forum. On the flip side, what makes a forum, no matter the interest of the subject matter, someplace you will avoid at all costs (like my podcasts from the track! )

I will hold off my comments until we get this thread some life.....but this subject is dear to me for many reasons....

So, let the discussion begin!

Reasons For Forums To Be Successful

Reasons For Forums To Die

[John Thawley]

Well, I don't mind starting, since I've obviously put a lot of thought into this.

I started my first "board" in 1995 on a site called racecar.com ... now trackbytes.com. And... another that this still in operation called, He Said... She Said, at divorceonline.com

Shoptalk at racecar.com was very successful at the time, with nearly 3000 visitors per day. The divorce site also was pushing about 2000 per day.

Lately we launched automotivephoto.net .... it runs perfectly.

Here are a few things I think are important.

1. Have a plan
2. Lead by example
3. Don't over moderate.
4. Don't allow cliques to form

I have to go debug something.... I'll expand later.

[HORNDAWG]

Well I think that the 2 questions put forth can be answered with a single answer applied inversely; A place to freely exchange information with like minded people where everyone is welcome. A place where there is no one particular groupe that rat packs members because they feel they have the right to, and especially where that group does not extend into the controling body of the forum! A place that is moderated but by the same rule set for everyone. With those guide lines not being so restrictive that a person cannot express their opinions to the other members of the forum. A place where every member treats everyother member with the respect and patients that they would like to be treated with. And when that breaks down, someone who can and will bring things back to center.

L.P.

[mayk]

Well...I posted this thread to stimulate discussion, so I better add to it....

There is a lot that can add either enjoyment to a forum, or do the exact opposite and ruin it for everyone. I frequent many forums during any given week, from subject matter such as photography, to OHIO STATE FOOTBALL (ahem), to baseball,...even on landscaping...and they all have the same thing in common:

1. Easy to post and read/navigate
2. Relevant posts on subject matter
3. Moderators that are transparent (if in fact any are needed)
4. Easily understood rules of the game
5. Few flames and personal attacks (the OSU Football one fails on this miserably at times )
6. A big one for me is educational posts or thought provoking posts....One of the things that I can not stand, on a forum I used to frequent hourly, is the mindless...useless....bandwidth using posts....etc of some who just like to see their post count reach epic levels.
7. Finally, and I was guilty of this, over self promoting of personal websites....to the point, any post seems to be always directed to another website.
8. What I really enjoyed about the ALMS forum, back in 2004 and 2005, was it hit just about everything mentioned above....it was like old friends, sitting at a bar, having a chat and disucssing everything.

I truly believe this idea of JT's can bring this back, to the Series we all really love...either as fans or those whose make the Series their primary source of income (teams, mfgs., sponsors, PR's, etc)

KM

[John Thawley]

Ah.. didn't mean to leave this hanging.

The toughest part of the balancing act is keeping the site a fun place for all. Obviously, you want people to express their feelings and thoughts. But, I think we have an obligation to ALL members to make sure thoughts are expressed in a thoughtful and dignified manner. I guess everyone has their opinion and what's thoughtful, or what is dignified, but hopefully, the group will determine that and we can lead by example. And, that's the important part of this experiment... it's the old "do unto others" concept. If we're going to build a "collective" house, then collectively, we need to do our part to keep the house clean.

One of the things I've witnessed on other boards is exclusionary practices. That's not right. I believe if the sun can shine in, we'll all see a clearer picture. Can someone be critical? Sure. Can someone come here with an agenda? No.

We all make mistakes. ALMS officials, teams, driver, etc. etc. That doesn't mean they get to be publicly lynched on the Internet. Can it be discussed? Sure. But, we're not going to tolerate bashing of belittling. It's really simple... just ask yourself before you post, "would I want someone saying that about me?"

SItes have rules against linking to other sites. We have a links directory where people can add relevant sites themselves.

Sites have rules against posting links to stories on your blog. We give you a blog.

Sites have rules against posting photos. We give you your own gallery and allow you to upload your photos.

The reason sites have problems is the rules are vague and ambiguous. They're also applied unfairly. Our approach is simple. Provide the tools for people to participate WITHOUT breaking rules. Don't fence people in. The only rule is conduct yourself in a thoughtful and dignified manner. If that's too hard, the community at-large will let you know.

JT

[Nick Koske]

A place to talk frankly about the specified content...like you were having a beer with the people/person. Disagreements...fine. Belittling...No.

Ken,
The OSU Football forum only fails miserably at times?? Man the UW Husky Football forum....fails at this in pretty much every thread...They're calling for Ty Willingham's head in there right now, after our defense-less loss to Arizona.

[The Sheriff]

The small fact that nobody posting on this forum (so far) regularly consumes a 6 pack of Molson before typing.

[John Thawley]

Originally Posted by The Sheriff

The small fact that nobody posting on this forum (so far) regularly consumes a 6 pack of Molson before typing.

What about single malt (with a half teaspoon of water just to "open it up")?

[mayk]

The small fact that nobody posting on this forum (so far) regularly consumes a 6 pack of Molson before typing.

OMG!!! Your comments need to be read several times (ahem, by me at least) to get the full meaning....took a phone call to JT to understand the 'Canadian Flag..." comment.

You also need to include bottles of 'wine' before or during typing...........


KM

[Hallen]

Hmmm, well, I guess this is as good of a thread as any to make my first post.

A place where I can go to find friends who can talk on many subjects, but concentrate on a particular interest; in this case, the ALMS. Finding sports car racing fans in my area is about impossible. Being able to log into a friendly place and read, learn, and discuss about all things ALMS is a welcome ray of sunshine on a rainy Oregon day.

I find that I can hear about news more quickly, get more of the back story and discuss the meaning of it all much better on a site like this. It is important to have those "forum rats" who spend too much time here, but are also a valuable source of information.

I love to hear about the technical part of racing too. Not only how the cars work (or don't work), but how the drivers approach different situations.

What is bad is messy layouts and poor use of colors and fonts (eg white font on a green background).

Slow software or servers. I hate web interfaces for applications. Give me the local app. But, for a forum, this can't be helped. Make it as quick as possible with reasonable editing and formatting capabilities. Speed is one of the reasons it is painful to read the ALMS forum. I switch sites to check other things while pages load. It ruins the experience.

And... don't fence me in. I use a wide screen monitor. Don't force narrow column width on me. Allow me to stretch it if I want. hint hint hint.