Make a forum popular?

XenoKratios

I have a question, I recently made a forum (with friends) and I was wondering what I could do to attract more people? How is polycount and other forums so famous?

I know it takes time to get this big but what are some things I could do?

The forum is about games really, mostly steam and mods and all that stuff related to steam, we also have a mmorpg section and other general forums.

Any suggestions PC?

MattQ86

The growth of a community on the internet seems to be based on two things, primacy and quality. GameFAQs has been around for years and thus it's forums are constantly being posted on mostly by people who barely qualify as literate. Gameartisans has built a quality community with a reputation that makes people want to post there despite not being around for a long time. Polycount combines both positive aspects in that it has a legacy of being a place for quality game art and discussion of game art (and sometimes tanks made to look like dicks).

So, creating a gaming forum without the history of NeoGaf or GameFAQS and trying to become super popular is going to be hard. That said sites like Giantbomb.com or Destructoid, while not solely forums, have built up lively communities in recent years. So it is possible with enough quality content and incentive for people to start posting.

XenoKratios

How could I attract more qualified people who have a knowledge of mods and games?

Thank you for your thoughts, they really helped MattQ86.

MattQ86

I have no idea. Promise them free cocaine and hookers?

XenoKratios

Spent my money on the forums , dangit I knew I should have bought that crack from Harlem!

Muzzoid

You gotta be a badass and pull in respect.

Its like running a popular strip club without the strippers. It dont work.

felipefrango

Yeah, there's no magic formula to make something popular just like that, it's about the overall attitude of the people and the vision of the community as a whole. I'd go as far as to say you can't plan fame, in any field. The fame behind most artists seem to be a result of doing the right thing at the right time and being seen by the right people.

eld

Ask Belias!

rolfness

was bout to say smells like belias ...

Wells

If you're making a forum with the intent on it being famous, you'll fail.

Make it because you have a need for it. It will naturally attract others who can also use it.

Calabi

I dont think a forum on its own could be popular. Wasnt polycount, because it was attached to other things, or had a few good people and built its reputation up over time.

Forums rely on people and, and they require a certain sort of people(not many people are into forums).

You need content and opinions, words that is interesting for people to read.

Pseudo

Talent attracts talent.

Of the hundreds of small forums that pop up, the ones that stick around are the ones that start with incredible talent (like Kolby's forum, though I have no idea what happened to that over the years)

adam

There really is no formula, nor would I ever set out with the goal of 'making a popular forum'.

I would, however, set out to make a community that is based around something a group of people would love. Facepunch is one I frequent, because its based around the love of Valve titles and stems from the Gary's mod community. So there's lots of like-minded people (really, kids) in there who know quite a lot about different Valve titles. Being as active as it is, its fun to be there around launch dates of their different products.

So really, just set out to create something yourself and others will love. Forums like SA, JoeRogan Board, and so on that are an 'anything goes' approach are extremely hard to get lifted.

EarthQuake

In the early days, polycount actually provided a service. Downloadable player models for Quake1/2, and out of that spawned the community you know today. So a good way to start is to offer something of value, something unique that you cant really get anywhere else. Polycount doesn't host PPMs anymore these days, but the wealth of resources and knowledgeable users that aren't afraid to give real critique, no matter who the member is, is what makes polycount a viable community.

Y_M

Just mirroring what adam said, good forums crop up when they're built around a particular topic rather than really broad stuff.

So find who you want to target your forum at, then try and make it the best possible place for those people to engage in whatever activity it is. If there are several forums already on your topic, it's gunna be harder to get yours off the ground, so concentrate on providing the best possible service you can.

XenoKratios

Thanks for the input guys, it was all a good read .

Now I must focus on original content! If only my pc was up and running I would be making mods left and right! No worries

If you would like to join to check it out and give me more pointers I can PM you a link or something. It's all originally made, hand crafted .

ScudzAlmighty

alternatively, ask Kolby Jukes what keeps going wrong and do the opposite.

seriously, he's started up 3 or 4 now that start out with a who's who of Badass Artists and a couple moths later he shuts 'em down. Really, how can a place called the freaking Sinister Circle doesn't make it is so far beyond me it hurts.

[HP]

Just lie and tell everyone your community consists of 90% chicks, including you

leslievdb

Step1: Make Admin of popular community piss off the entire community
Step2: Start topic on popular forum about migrating to non dictated forum
Step3: When community agrees there should be a new forum, post link to your forum
Step4: ?
Step5: PROFIT

Or just stick with the many awesome communities that are already out there and try to be active on them.

Richard Kain

To be fair, it's REALLY easy to make tanks look like dicks. Those huge canons are phalic to begin with. Tanks are penis substitutes by nature.

One good way to attract some attention for your forums is to provide some manner of content to the users. A lot of forums are begun around some manner of creative project. Polycount itself was founded around the concept of producing Quake 2 models. It eventually expanded its scope, but that was where it started. Starting a forum just to start a forum is not actually a very good idea. It helps immeasurably to have a basis that people can be enthusiastic about.

You could create a webcomic, or a web video series. But one of the nicer ways to attract attention would be to offer some tutorials. Tutorials are great. They usually don't take as long to produce as webcomics or videos. They can be even better at drawing visitors. And they are great for repeat visits. They are also a fine way to improve your search ratings. People don't often search for specific media, but they are always searching for tutorials and how-tos.

Pick a focus for your forum, and stick with it. Produce some manner of content to draw users in. After that its up to the moderation and the community itself. Since the whole effort is ultimately dependent on other people, there is no sure-fire way to insure success.

XenoKratios

Richard Kain wrote: »

To be fair, it's REALLY easy to make tanks look like dicks. Those huge canons are phalic to begin with. Tanks are penis substitutes by nature.

One good way to attract some attention for your forums is to provide some manner of content to the users. A lot of forums are begun around some manner of creative project. Polycount itself was founded around the concept of producing Quake 2 models. It eventually expanded its scope, but that was where it started. Starting a forum just to start a forum is not actually a very good idea. It helps immeasurably to have a basis that people can be enthusiastic about.

You could create a webcomic, or a web video series. But one of the nicer ways to attract attention would be to offer some tutorials. Tutorials are great. They usually don't take as long to produce as webcomics or videos. They can be even better at drawing visitors. And they are great for repeat visits. They are also a fine way to improve your search ratings. People don't often search for specific media, but they are always searching for tutorials and how-tos.

Pick a focus for your forum, and stick with it. Produce some manner of content to draw users in. After that its up to the moderation and the community itself. Since the whole effort is ultimately dependent on other people, there is no sure-fire way to insure success.

Yeah we are currently creating some tutorials and offering "phree stoof" like steam games, we are also getting our own server soon.

I could look into the web video series idea, sounds good .