Strategies Do you block your competition on your community?

[Cedric]

Competition is an inherent part of online communities. It's natural for forums within the same niche to coexist, and sometimes, these forums can be viewed as competitors competing for the same audience. And our audiences are spread our way thinner than 10 years ago. So the question arises: do you resort to censorship by blocking or limiting discussions related to competing sites? Or do you support all fellow communities knowing your audience may be divided on them?

This is a topic that touches on forum management practices and the balance between healthy competition and censorship. Let's explore the various perspectives and approaches.

Blocking Competing Sites:

Some forum administrators choose to block or restrict discussions about competing sites to maintain control over the narrative within their community. They may argue that this approach prevents spammy or biased promotion from interfering with genuine discussions. I have been banned on a similar forum to AJ because they feel threatened by us.

Encouraging Discussion:

On the other hand, many forums value open and unbiased dialogue. They allow discussions about competing sites while relying on their community's discernment to separate valuable insights from blatant promotion. This approach can encourage transparency and respect within the niche.

Navigating the middle ground:

Some forums find a middle ground by establishing clear guidelines for discussing competitors. They may allow such discussions but set specific criteria to ensure that they remain informative and constructive rather than promotional.

So, what's your stance on this issue? Do you believe in blocking or restricting discussions about competing sites, or do you favor an open dialogue that allows your community to decide what's valuable and relevant? Share your experiences and insights, as this discussion can shed light on the delicate balance between managing a forum and fostering healthy competition within a niche.

 

[Ravenfreak]

I don't block my competition, in this day and age forums aren't what they used to be and I feel that restricting certain members from joining your forum because they're a direct competitor is only going to hurt your community in the long run. To me it shows that you think you're better than everyone else, which is fine if you want to think that way however other people might just view your community as being toxic if you don't allow them to post on yours.

 

[Dismal_Bliss]

Probably that middle ground. Obviously we don't tolerate straight up spam, but most topics are welcome.

 

[Sinistra]

Running an Anime community is few and far between. So I welcome my fellow anime communities to promote on Anime Insight! This not only helps each other, but it also helps the anime community as a whole!

 

[Paul]

Probably that middle ground. Obviously we don't tolerate straight up spam, but most topics are welcome.

Pretty much this, I have many other admins on my forum and they're welcome to advertise as long as that's not all they do. One was only advertising for months so his advert got moved to archives. He didn't like it so deleted himself

 

[an0nym0us]

I have noticed that even though there is no censorship from the forums with each other, the competition has increased even more, so they do not "deal" with the members as they used to spam, but with the forum by copying its scheme and content.

 

[Arantor]

Forum competition isn't a zero-sum game. If you're that afraid of your competition, you probably shouldn't be running a public site because good ideas will be duplicated (that's just human nature)... instead of being fearful, treat it as the encouragement that it really is.

Your site is not successful because you put some categories and layout and theme in. Copying these will not produce a success in its own right. Your site is successful because of what you bring to the table, and you can't be copied, only imitated - and people don't much care for imitations when they can have the real thing.

 

[Jason]

I don't feel threatened by competition, but it if it resorts to belittling or something on my property, that's a different matter. Well, in my case, there's a clique of drummers that don't like my stuff and that's their opinion and their harassment can be quite funny sometimes, but I can't have it on my forum, but they wouldn't want to join anyway.

What the *** is this ****?

 

[Empire]

nope, that's the wrose you can do any way right

 

[Mike30]

Competition is the best thing in a free market society
Competitors are always looking for ways to improve and innovate which that benefits the end users.
Competition is the best regulator for quality/prices and promote advancements in all directions.

Competition is healthy when done based in good business ethics.

 

[SoluDome]

Never! I want them to know that we are the leaders of our segment. They should follow us 😎

 

[Senkusha]

Competition is an inherent part of online communities. It's natural for forums within the same niche to coexist, and sometimes, these forums can be viewed as competitors competing for the same audience. And our audiences are spread our way thinner than 10 years ago. So the question arises: do you resort to censorship by blocking or limiting discussions related to competing sites? Or do you support all fellow communities knowing your audience may be divided on them?

This is a topic that touches on forum management practices and the balance between healthy competition and censorship. Let's explore the various perspectives and approaches.

Blocking Competing Sites:

Some forum administrators choose to block or restrict discussions about competing sites to maintain control over the narrative within their community. They may argue that this approach prevents spammy or biased promotion from interfering with genuine discussions. I have been banned on a similar forum to AJ because they feel threatened by us.

Encouraging Discussion:

On the other hand, many forums value open and unbiased dialogue. They allow discussions about competing sites while relying on their community's discernment to separate valuable insights from blatant promotion. This approach can encourage transparency and respect within the niche.

Navigating the middle ground:

Some forums find a middle ground by establishing clear guidelines for discussing competitors. They may allow such discussions but set specific criteria to ensure that they remain informative and constructive rather than promotional.

So, what's your stance on this issue? Do you believe in blocking or restricting discussions about competing sites, or do you favor an open dialogue that allows your community to decide what's valuable and relevant? Share your experiences and insights, as this discussion can shed light on the delicate balance between managing a forum and fostering healthy competition within a niche.

I actually don't like it when I visit a forum, become a member of a competitor's form, only to find out that I'm limited in the conversations I can have. Like obviously, I'm going to want to talk about my own site and endeavors and games that I'm hosting. I'm there to make friends, not necessarily steal members -- which is what I think admins who censor competition are concerned with.

I've found that even though I'm on several forums that are general discussion boards, the flavors are different, and the topics are different too. There's some boards that I feel more comfortable talking about some topics versus other topics, just the construction of the member base.

 

[otis booard]

no, the more the merrier