Are there too many forums?

[MisterBobbyPin]

Do you think that there are too many forums? I think the market isn't able to support so many forums and as a result it's going to shrink to a sizeable level. What do you?

 

[Cory]

I've said it once and I'll say it again, the internet is very repetitive. You can likely find hundreds or more websites on the exact same subject with very similar content. A lot of forums tend to have a plethora of the same niches, such as general discussion and gaming forums. It's very hard to have unique content because everything has been so overdone on the internet. Of course, some communities are more unique than others, but a lot of the boards that are about a particular subject or many subjects tend to be oversaturated to the point where it's hard to find members and activity because you can find these types of forums all throughout the internet.

 

[Reverie]

I can agree with Cory. I personally find there are several of the same type of forums.

I however understand why people create new forums of "the same old thing" they get an idea and they must produce it! It's the great thing about being able to create forums. I know that was one of my reasons I pushed so hard for one of my forums to open, because I know we would bring something fresh that the communities wouldn't be as used to. Some people also like to be in charge, and think their ideas are newer and should be noted. I think we all have that freedom. The hardest part is winning over new members to join your forum.

I notice some of these communities have a lot of the same members and no one new joins - what would be important is reaching a new group of people some how!

 

[Tracy]

As a default? Not for about a decade. I may add one as an option, but my default style is targeted towards use in a dark sky environment, so I don't want falling snowflakes or twinkly lights on it.

 

[ClicketyKat]

It's not that there are too many forums, but that some people just aren't aware that some of those forums even exist. The bigger forums are the ones who get the attention and the love from Google. I was searching last month for forums and there are a lot of niche forums that are doing very well and are still active after a decade or so. Is it easy to get to the top? Absolutely not. I think forum owners give up way too easily.

 

[Tracy]

I was searching last month for forums and there are a lot of niche forums that are doing very well and are still active after a decade or so. Is it easy to get to the top?

It actually depends on what search terms you use. If you generate quality content, then yes, you can rise to the top even against the "monsters" in the field.

I mean, really.. a site with almost 9000 members and that has been around for decades (and is the acknowledged monster in the field), compared to a site that has only been active for about a year and has a whole 24 valid users, and the first search result has NO actual relation to the search term? And I rank third.... thank you very muchly!

 

[Cedric]

It actually depends on what search terms you use. If you generate quality content, then yes, you can rise to the top even against the "monsters" in the field.

I mean, really.. a site with almost 9000 members and that has been around for decades (and is the acknowledged monster in the field), compared to a site that has only been active for about a year and has a whole 24 valid users?

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You may have something that’s easier to create quality content for. Reality however is that most niche forums do not have this advantage. Like a General Chat forum is one of the hardest niches to rank. Why? Because there’s loads of them. It also low quality user generated posts with little to no value in them. They are great for community building, but very bad to rank in Google.

 

[Tracy]

And therein lay the point... no matter WHAT the niche, you need to offer your users content that takes precedence over what they find elsewhere.
That article on the EAF to Apertura 72mm install is a simple case in point.
Do you have a BS chatter site? Yep, you are going to have issues with competing with similar sites... empty chatter rarely is a good "crop" to base your site upon.
But authoritative articles/posts ARE something that will bear your site traffic, if not membership (and for some of us, joining the site is not the big thing, but giving out information is).
Once more, it's another reason that I yell that forums need WELL more than simple forum topics... they HAVE to have other resources. If one thinks that simple forum "node" chats are going to get you anywhere... keep dreaming. The AMS articles on my site (as well as the link directory, reviews add-on and classifieds) draw well more than the simple forum does when it comes to traffic.
In reality, almost ANY niche forum should be able to generate good content...it's the VERY nature of being niche. If the Admin can't create it themself, then they have entered an area that they have no base knowledge of, so how can they expect to "exceed" against other sites that actually have (and relate) knowledge that is topical?
Now, if your site is based upon blather... good luck, there are TONS of them out there.

 

[MassageMan]

You may have something that’s easier to create quality content for. Reality however is that most niche forums do not have this advantage. Like a General Chat forum is one of the hardest niches to rank. Why? Because there’s loads of them. It also low quality user generated posts with little to no value in them. They are great for community building, but very bad to rank in Google.

Content is still king when it comes to forums and boards. This is another thing, I think using the terms forums and boards should never be used today in starting a forum. These young social media people don't even know what a board means. They think it's a 2x4 or a pieice of wood you use to build something. And instead of forum I would use community. Those words are just outdated. But back to my point. For example, if we never heard of Elon Musk and someone of that intelligence started a general chat community, I bet it would do very well. The problem is the content is of low grade and sometimes you can see where one webmaster or user has even copied content from another forum. Maybe not word for word but the topics are all the same and so is the content in the topic. If you can come up with unique quality content in a general chat forum it will do very well with Google. I know it's very hard and I too wonder if it's even worth it. I recently read a thread on the Admin Zone community about forums are really dead. I'm tend to believe it may be true. But it's still fun to dabble in.

 

[Cedric]

Content is still king when it comes to forums and boards. This is another thing, I think using the terms forums and boards should never be used today in starting a forum. These young social media people don't even know what a board means. They think it's a 2x4 or a pieice of wood you use to build something. And instead of forum I would use community. Those words are just outdated. But back to my point. For example, if we never heard of Elon Musk and someone of that intelligence started a general chat community, I bet it would do very well. The problem is the content is of low grade and sometimes you can see where one webmaster or user has even copied content from another forum. Maybe not word for word but the topics are all the same and so is the content in the topic. If you can come up with unique quality content in a general chat forum it will do very well with Google. I know it's very hard and I too wonder if it's even worth it. I recently read a thread on the Admin Zone community about forums are really dead. I'm tend to believe it may be true. But it's still fun to dabble in.

I wouldn’t say it’s dead, it’s different from what we’re used to it being. This community is thriving. I see other forums / communities also thriving. On the other hand, many forums or communities are dead but mainly because there is no reason to stay on said forums. No new content, no engagement. As an admin you’ll definitely need to put more work in compared to the old days - but that’s normal. We all need to adapt. The moment you give up on your forum, that’s the moment your community is doomed. I’ve seen communities rise up from the dead after a load of work, new content creates engagement.

 

[MassageMan]

I wouldn’t say it’s dead, it’s different from what we’re used to it being. This community is thriving. I see other forums / communities also thriving. On the other hand, many forums or communities are dead but mainly because there is no reason to stay on said forums. No new content, no engagement. As an admin you’ll definitely need to put more work in compared to the old days - but that’s normal. We all need to adapt. The moment you give up on your forum, that’s the moment your community is doomed. I’ve seen communities rise up from the dead after a load of work, new content creates engagement.

Not to be the bearer of bad news, but I think most forums where the webmaster or admins work very hard and add content on a regular basis, still in the end, end up folding or not worth continuing unless you just want to do it as a hobby. Now far as a thriving community, what's your definition of a thriving community? In my worthless opinion I think a thriving community is where you have many new member signups daily that are engaged and add new content on a regular basis.

I always have wondered how some forums have so many signups every 5 or so minutes all day long-each and every day. What do they know that the rest of us don't and how are they doing it. And no some haven't been around for 20 or 30 years, some just a couple years.

 

[Cedric]

Not to be the bearer of bad news, but I think most forums where the webmaster or admins work very hard and add content on a regular basis, still in the end, end up folding or not worth continuing unless you just want to do it as a hobby. Now far as a thriving community, what's your definition of a thriving community? In my worthless opinion I think a thriving community is where you have many new member signups daily that are engaged and add new content on a regular basis.

I always have wondered how some forums have so many signups every 5 or so minutes all day long-each and every day. What do they know that the rest of us don't and how are they doing it. And no some haven't been around for 20 or 30 years, some just a couple years.

We all have different standards and opinions on what thriving could be. That’s okay though. For me it’s having an engaging community, helping members, gaining new every so often. Bringing them a home and place to stay comfortable at.

Like you said, it takes years for a community to be well established. Not a few months, communities take time, very hard work and being consistent in engagement. The moment you lack is the moment you lose.

It was definitely easier before social media, but it can still be done.

 

[Arantor]

It was easier before social media because it was an era where there weren't so many tools other than forums, so forums were what everyone used. And back then there were definitely too many forums.

These days, I think it's a mixed bag - there's enough room for all the sites in theory but it's sort of a zero sum game in that peoples' attention here means less attention there, and vice versa, so for people who have multiple forum crossovers... it gets harder to juggle the time.

 

[Kyng]

No... the more, the merrier, as far as I'm concerned.

If anything, I wish there were more of them... the internet does get rather stale when so much of its traffic is centralised around very few social media giants!

 

[Cory]

If anything, I wish there were more of them...

Wouldn't more forums mean people spreading far and wide and taking away activity from other forums of similar niches? Just a random musing.

 

[Reverie]

I can agree with more forums, but I believe it as - I wish there was more forums within communities that could be found and not just the same people are at all the same ones. I would love to find the different communities to be a part of. Like I love the people we have, but some new people would make for some new conversation or possibilities! That's why I like the idea of a webmaster/advertising forum because hopefully somehow they can find them!

 

[Cory]

not just the same people are at all the same ones.

I think that was coined as the "snowglobe effect" on ZetaBoards if I remember correctly.

 

[Reverie]

I think that was coined as the "snowglobe effect" on ZetaBoards if I remember correctly.

It indeed was. I see it happening at forum promotion as well.

 

[Kyng]

Wouldn't more forums mean people spreading far and wide and taking away activity from other forums of similar niches? Just a random musing.

Perhaps - although I'm hoping the increased competition would encourage all those forums to make improvements!

 

[Reverie]

Perhaps - although I'm hoping the increased competition would encourage all those forums to make improvements!

This is true. Some good competition can help people raise the bar!