Random Announcement: Help The Forums Grow!

[wilkette]

I agree that more customization options as far as the visual appeal of the board would be helpful. I think this board has some great features, but it would be nice to have more themes to choose from. Maybe more smilies. I personally don't think avatar size is a big deal :shrug:

But since you said aesthetics were not what you were going for -

1. I have noticed that some of the mods do not post very much. Granted, that might just be a momentary thing, but you do wonder when you click "new posts" and not many mods' names pop up. So perhaps have some sort of posting requirement for them? They should be the backbone of the board, IMO.

2. How about creating a private forum - one that members will not be able to access until they reach a minimum post count (100, 250, 500 - whatever you think is appropriate). This serves two purposes: first, it gives the members that have been around awhile and put their time in a place to post things that they might not otherwise want to share with just anyone and everyone who stumbles across; and two, it gives new members something to strive for, so hopefully they will stick around and post more.

3. You can start a "Member of the Week" type system. The possibility of recognition is always nice, and it's a good way to shower some love on our fellow members.

I hope some of that was helpful.

[wilkette]

Another idea would be to e-mail an administrator from another Christian forum and ask to become partner sites with them. You promote them and they promote you.

[wilkette]

And another -

Create a Polling Place board where members can start threads and attach polls to them. Members could vote in the polls (which can be made public or left anonymous) and a discussion might spin off from some of the questions.

[intricatic]

I'm going to take some of these suggestions and see what the rest of the active staff think. I usually post on a daily basis, personally, but I've been knocked out due to Fay killing my phone line. I like the idea of having a posting requirement for staff - although we do currently have a lot of staff on leave of absence right now.

[singingelk]

Fay a pet or a child?

[Timothy]

Fay would be a tropical storm that hit florida.

[intricatic]

Apparently it has some tropical waves following which might turn into serious storms before too long, as well. Yay for tropical climates.

[wilkette]

Another thought:

There are mixed feelings on this, but I know a lot of forums are set up so that only members can view them. A guest can see the board titles and the title of the last post, but they cannot actually click to access it. It gives guests an idea of the content here, but if they want the full experience they need to register and sign in. I have also seen where you must post an intro first and then the rest of the board will open up. That ensures that you at least get that little taste of someone. When I look at Who's Online, I notice that there are a ton of guests on at any given moment - but they are obviously not participating.

Some people are not big fans of the "private" approach. I can take it or leave it. I do think it increases participation by its nature, but I also know some people want to be able to see what's going on before they commit.

I dunno, I was just thinking about it as I visited another forum and thought I'd add it to the list.

[intricatic]

Once I have some free time, hopefully this weekend, I'm going to see what I can do about implementing some of those suggestions. Some really cool ideas.