Gamifying Forums

[Reverie]

As we are in a new era do you think it is important to semi-gamify forums? Make things earnable, reach new levels, have contests and competitions where you can beat the other people? Does this line of thinking make you want to be on forums/communities more? Why or why not?

 

[kensonplays]

Yeah, I have some of that implemented on my site already. I have multiple posts based groups that they can earn over time with different ranks that have a dinosaur theme to them, like they start as an egg, then they hatch into a hatchling, then they become a juvenile, then an adult dinosaur, then a fossil.

We also have the Dragon–byte credits and shop mods with some starter shop items that they can purchase. I did have Ozz's badges add-on installed, but I cannot figure out how to get the badges to be more contrasting to the background. Maybe XenForo 2.3 will make it easier.

 

[joelr]

As we are in a new era do you think it is important to semi-gamify forums? Make things earnable, reach new levels, have contests and competitions where you can beat the other people? Does this line of thinking make you want to be on forums/communities more? Why or why not?

Most forum users don't join forums to ... compete. We come for information. We come for exclusive news. We come for discussion among people that we respect.

Gamification is a feature that can be done exceedingly well - to help or empower users to do more of what they need or would like to do - or it can be done exceedingly bad - pure engagement for the sake of self serving activity.

 

[Al]

100% behind Joel on this. I've always seen these gimmicks as a desperate ploy to try and give people a reason to remain active when the real reason people remain active is content.

 

[Mike30]

There are all sorts of forums; some are more centered around games, while others are focused on knowledge and socializing with like-minded people, and so on.

I like to visit forums to read, interact, and find people with similar interests to engage in debates and explore contrasting points of view. I'm not interested in games or earning 20 badges, but I enjoy watching my forum account age, seeing my total number of posts increase, and sometimes acquiring fancy titles. (By the way, the other day, my wife raised an eyebrow and asked me who gave me a red heart in front of my username lol...)

In the end, the extent of gamification used in a forum depends on its specific context.

 

[Empire]

I do have a points system in place, well AJ and FP have it anyway, earn points based on posting and then use those points to spend However, I had to restart that again on my end and all members lost points ;( But working it out.

I used to do giveaways and badge awards but I stopped that, no events took place anymore just a site that people join to read, post, create and share anything based on gaming needs. Just no funds to be able to giveaway games every week ;P plus it's not like we have a very active user base.

As a gaming-related site, it has to be more than just another site about cats and dogs, it's a community for gamers to come together and even play games with each other. That should be that rather than other crap that sites should not have.

 

[Ravenfreak]

I think it can work on certain niches of forums but not all of them. If it's a forum based around games, movies, or any other hobbies you could gift people tangible items if they earn enough credits. Contests can work too on these forums, so everyone has a chance at winning something.

 

[Tracy]

100% behind Joel on this. I've always seen these gimmicks as a desperate ploy to try and give people a reason to remain active when the real reason people remain active is content.

It's kind of a catch 22 depending on the niche... awarding for participation is not a bad idea..... the problem is you need to award for "good" participation. Simply awarding based upon post counts won't qualify. Awarding based upon posts that are valid answers (or is upvoted) is.
Same with creating articles... creating an article that gathers a lot of views and awarding that is good for the site and the user... awarding someone for creating low content articles for the site is not.
Now as to what you "award" them.... that can be banners, or even physical items (like for my niche branded t-shirts, hats, red lights, etc).

 

[kensonplays]

It's kind of a catch 22 depending on the niche... awarding for participation is not a bad idea..... the problem is you need to award for "good" participation. Simply awarding based upon post counts won't qualify. Awarding based upon posts that are valid answers (or is upvoted) is.
Same with creating articles... creating an article that gathers a lot of views and awarding that is good for the site and the user... awarding someone for creating low content articles for the site is not.
Now as to what you "award" them.... that can be banners, or even physical items (like for my niche branded t-shirts, hats, red lights, etc).

We have our "Bones" (dinos; credits) set to a low value for short posts, and the longer the reply is, the more that they earn. Takes 1000 to be worth 1 USD (at least in the way to earn paid upgrades for free), so if they make longer posts, they get more.

They also get bonuses on their bday, daily login, and a small starter amount on register.