Ultimate Forum Guide

So what’s the point of having a forum anyway?  Other than giving bloggers subject matter to witter on about!  I became excited about forums because for the first time it enabled website interaction to be a two way affair.  For the first time I was able to not only explore the content provided by my favourite sites but I could go on to swap ideas with others who shared my interest and engage the site owner directly.

In the early days of the Internet basic guest books scripts allowed web surfers to leave their individual mark for the first time.  Those who remember these early scripts will be well aware of the varied success that they had in recording user comment!  Thankfully, this interactivity quickly became more and more sophisticated until the complex forum software scripts we see today became ubiquitous around the Internet.

Community

This development allowed any website to engage in complex two way discussions for the first time and subsequently opened the doors to the creation of online communities.  Investing in the development of a forum can take time and energy but the pay off is always worth it.  Visitors to your site soon come to feel that they are part of something bigger.   Not just a consumer of information but also a contributor.  They will visit your site more often, spend longer there, go on to promote content and take things to another level.

Site Evolution

Soon the forum will start to look after itself, volunteers will help moderate it, regular users will start and develop new topics.  If all goes to plan, eventually the forum itself will become a key draw to your website.  If your users are asking, and answering questions relative to your core content then this will all help to drive traffic through word of mouth and search engine use.

One of the many blogs I read touched on a relevant topic the other day. The one little duckblog provides the story behind a “competitions” site, like many successful sites it has an active forum.  Like many succesful forums it has become the target of spammers. 

The post highlights an ongoing battle between us moderators and the spammers.  Unfortunately a good quality back link from an active trusted site with a good Google Page Rank is now so valuable that people are prepared to go to any lengths to get their link shoed in. 

Are all link posters evil?

No.  As a forum moderator this is important to understand.  Google’s search works so well because counting quality back links to different sites is an effective method of gauging the usefulness of a site.   It’s not perfect.  I was just searching for the Customer Insight providing system produced by Tealeaf, only to be greeted by links to the finest, freshest, refreshing brews!

So there is nothing wrong with genuine, natural linking between sites.  Sharing good links is actually important and when I am introduced to something particularly relevant via a forum then I am only ever grateful.   If Google can then make use of this information to help someone else find the same relevant site then everyone is winning! 

So what is forum spam?

Often this will be easy to spot.  User joins.  User posts a hundred links to some dodgy site.  Moderator deletes post.  User is banned.

Sounds simple? 

Sadly such posters realise that their posts wont last long and so are starting to get cleverer.  Thankfully, as the author of the One Little Duck blog found, they aren’t getting all that clever!  As a moderator you have a number of ways to spot the rogue users.  Look through their posts, look at the quality, the quantity.  Compare with your other users.  Use Google to search for their user name.  It can be worth searching for the IPs too.

But remember, if the link is relevant, perhaps in response to a genuine query and the site provides a genuine answer, then it’s worth considering letting the link live on.  Ask yourself, what is best for your users?

So you are new to a forum, made your first tentative post, and signed off for a nice cup of tea.   You return 30 mins later to check for any replies. Excitedly, you log back in, and return to your first fascinating post.  But what’s this.  You have a half dozen replies all telling you to READ THE FORUM RULES.  Or worse, your post has just disappeared. Or worse, and this happened to me, your account has been locked out.

The sacred forum rules

Every established forum will have a set of well defined rules.  These will have evolved over time to reflect the tone of the forum dictated by its owner.  There are some important things to note:

• A forum owner can set any rule he likes
• Moderators can interprete these rules in any way they like
• Free speech is a myth
• Arguing about these rules will lead to one thing.   The dreaded ban!

Sticky

You will normally find a sticky post at the top of the forum.  This is a post that will stick to its position over time as new posts come and go.  It is also likely to be locked so that it doesn’t attract two dozen comments on the unfairness of the rules and calls to free speech.

 Hopefully there will also be a sticky FAQ (frequently asked questions).  This should also be read very carefully!  In this post you will find answers to repeatedly posted topics that the forum regulars are very tired of asking!  No one is trying to be difficult here, just put yourself in their position and remember that moderating a forum can be hard work.  A few simple steps can save everyone a lot of time!

An internet forum really comes into its own when it reaches a certain critical mass of like minded individuals.  Curiously this doesnt necessarily mean a bunch of nicey nice people - I have seen succesful forums built up around conflict and flaming.  This works aslong as all the regular participants know the lay of the land and enjoy the banter that flies back and forth in heated threads.

But how does this come about?

Maturing

The feel of a forum is shaped in the early days of its conception.  There is that painful time when there are only a half dozen members and very little chat.  You wonder if its worth pressing on with your new website.  But if the topics are strong and the site begins to draw new users it is possible to grow and evolve your forum into a bustling online community.  Sign up to our RSS feed to recieve future tips on growing your forum.

This is the critical phase.  These early days will have a large influence on the cummunity nature of your forum ongoing. It only takes a few members to upload x-rated avatars, engage in purial tit for tat flaming for the tone to be set for ever more.  Getting a balance that is right for your target audience is important.  If you are running a needlecraft forum it is likely you will want to have active moderation.  Remove inappropriate posts quickly.  Engage with rogue users.  Work to set a high standard. 

If you are running a gaming site aimed at collage X-Box players then a high level of moderation will quickly scare of the majority of users.   Most likely in barrage of “freedom of speech” threads!  Here you need to be careful to allow users to have their fun, but also not expose yourself to any illegal content.

Momentum

Once you have established a set of rules it is amazing how quickly the forum becomes self regulating.  The frequent posters will start pulling up on inappropriate behaviour and new joiners will quickly pick up on the tone.  In an effort to fit in they will imitate and conform to some extent.  At this point you can pick out a couple of helpful regulars to act as moderators and ideally your forum begins to run itself.

Happy days!