Keeping Users

[Christian]

Hi, I am not sure if this is the right forum...sorry if not. Ok, I am a Community Liaison over at ProgrammingTalk.com, and we have been noticing that users only show up when they have a programming realted question. So, my question for you all is what do you think might keep user actively posting and showing up even if they don't have a question. We are talking about adding some new forum and some other things, but I'm just not sure if that will do it. So advice please......:)

[Aussie Bob]

. . . what do you think might keep user actively posting and showing up even if they don't have a question.
What's in it for them?

Think about forums that you're active on, and why you're active there. What do you get from that level of interaction? What's in it for you?

I post a tad ;) on WHT, because I enjoy the interaction. I can also stay up to date with what's happening in the hosting industry and make some contacts/friends along the way. I can also create exposure for my business with my sig.

So that's what's in it for me, and why I'm active on WHT.

HTH. :)

[Jan]

Looking at the forum, it appears to all be mainly in the programming area. Why not ask the members what other forums they would be interested in seeing there?

[Scott]

I dunno if this is still the same, but when I first signed up at Programmingtalk, I found it quite lacking in a community feel. It was more, ask a question - get an answer then leave.

This may have changed a bit, but you could think about trying to develop the Lounge a little bit, try to get more people posting in the Introductions forum. From what I can see in the Introductions, it looks like you're the only one welcoming people. Maybe try and get a few other mods to chip in, members can be led by example :)

[Christian]

Looking at the forum, it appears to all be mainly in the programming area. Why not ask the members what other forums they would be interested in seeing there?
I will chat with the admin and see what he thinks.... I dunno if this is still the same, but when I first signed up at Programmingtalk, I found it quite lacking in a community feel. It was more, ask a question - get an answer then leave.
So if you had the power to change the forum then, what would you add/change or do to make it so that you would stay active?This may have changed a bit, but you could think about trying to develop the Lounge a little bit, try to get more people posting in the Introductions forum. From what I can see in the Introductions, it looks like you're the only one welcoming people. Maybe try and get a few other mods to chip in, members can be led by example So how would you develop the Lounge? Ahh, good point, I am the most active moderator, in terms of the whole board, but I have contacted another moderator and he has agreed to help welcome users.

[writespeak]

... a community feel

That's key. I've been involved in a number of forums and newsgroups. I stay at ones that have information that's useful for me *and* which have a community feel. If either is lacking, I don't feel compelled to get involved.

Lois

[Scott]

Structurally, I'm not sure there is much I would change. A skin change would be a nice idea, but that would probably be a bit of work. You might want to think about including a Ruby forum, as that seems to be getting popular.

As far as developing the Lounge is concerned, have a look around similar sections of other places to see what usually goes on in there. On FU, for example, the squirrel topic started because of a situation totally unrelated to the forum.

Another idea which seems to get a lot of attention is a [insert large number] thread. Members try and post a lot to get that thread up to said number of posts. These threads aren't without problems...start one with care.

Good luck :)

[B33R]

Right now, I think NamePros has got it right. That's the forum I keep going back to.
They've got a good selection of topics, good people there, plenty of new topics to read about, their own currency (so you can do things to earn it/buy it), a calm environment and a good design.

WHT is OK but it's not that good. There's way too many topics (lacking quality) and there's also way too many people who like to jump on any statements they don't agree with. I got tired with always being "wrong" to someone.
350-something posts, member for a while, it just got too much trying to fit in and not get mad at all the bitching. A very aggressive forum IMO.
Weird considering that there's lots of good people there. It just seems to have more than its fair share of aggressive people too.

FU - The first not for fun board I've joined where fun actually plays a big element. A big plus for FU in that it isn't boring.
Shame there's not enough people here. You know things aren't going too well when your last two topics got a single response. Not saying it's anyone heres fault but there just isn't enough people contributing for my liking.

To sum up:
You need a good site design that's easy to navigate.
A more friendly environment rather than an aggressive environment.
A few "nonsense" posts like "I've got.....posts", or one of those word association threads.
Not too many sections that are underused to clog up the screen and stop people from seeing where the good stuff is.
A good welcome - a custom welcome email and/or PM from the main admins/mods and a decent welcome section where everyone welcomes the new faces.
Smilies - surprisingly underused by the big boards. Smilies can really get a community flowing especially in the off-topic sections. Just look at FU, it's fun to write a post and add the right smilies :burger:. It's also fun reading other peoples posts - beats reading blocks of boring text anyway ;)
An arcade - FU is the first forum I've been to that has an arcade. Definitely a good way of getting and keeping users.

And, of course, good quality posts. After all no one would stay member for long if your topics suck! :D

I'll edit that list if/when I think of any more.

[Christian]

Thanks Guys!!!! :) I think you have some great ideas. :) I will try to use alot of them.

[sandrodz]

yes, I believe smiley thing is very important, thanks for sharing those ideas, I'll be using those too :D