Is importing old content good for a starting community?

[Sinistra]

So as most of you have probibly noticed I have been trying to convert an old IP.Board to the latest version. mainly for the member base. But I see all this potential in the old posts. granted they aren't active (Most are from 2014) but would buffing content count help a starting community?

 

[Cedric]

Short answer: yes.

Considering it’s content from years ago, that means Google has already removed that content and will not punish you for duplicate content. It will start crawling again and most likely show up in a couple of weeks/months - depending on the content nature, quality, etc.

So if you want to go with this, I wouldn’t advise you not to.

 

[Al]

Will it be under the same site name & url as the old site?

 

[joelr]

I think the answer should be: it depends.

Is the content evergreen and still applicable? Sure, keep the content.

Is the content related to the news, current events, or latest releases? You may want to selectively prune. There is value in keeping this old content but you should be intentional.

 

[Ravenfreak]

Nebulous did this with Off Topix, he used the database for Wobber and revived the forum. It's been a success too! Another person named PGen98 also did this for Game Winners too. I think it's fine and it'll actually be pretty cool if you did revive the forum! You can send out a mass email to your members and see if any of them come back. If you're in any Discord servers or still keep in contact with members from your old forum you could reach out to them and let them know that the forum is back up once you get things running.

 

[Kyng]

I mean, it's better than nothing at all. And if you've got a lot of it that's still relevant - then, that can be a good way to kick-start a forum.

However, it's never going to be a replacement for new content - especially since you aren't going to have an infinite supply of old stuff!

 

[Mike30]

I think the answer should be: it depends.

Is the content evergreen and still applicable? Sure, keep the content.

Is the content related to the news, current events, or latest releases? You may want to selectively prune. There is value in keeping this old content but you should be intentional.

I totally agree here

 

[Spartan]

I’d say if it’s not gonna be duplicated content then yeah it’s worth it. Even for questions about older versions of software some people well end up looking for that specific version and problem. It also makes the forum seem full and gives places for people to start conversations.

 

[Joeychgo]

Short answer - yes

 

[Reverie]

I think if you sift through what you pull in yes I think it’s a great idea. Get rid of topics that won’t have much available discussions to add to. You could also base new topics on some of those ideas but modernize the content. If you are able to pull in a bit as well as bring some old members back it will be a great success I think!