Off Topic Section on Your Forum

[Nomad]

Do you have an off-topic section on your forum? Well, I am running four forums and none of my forums have an off-topic section. The reason I don't have an off-topic section is when you allow members to post off-topic, there will be a lot of posts on off topic section and fewer posts on the on-topic section.

 

[Cedric]

Do you have an off-topic section on your forum? Well, I am running four forums and none of my forums have an off-topic section. The reason I don't have an off-topic section is when you allow members to post off-topic, there will be a lot of posts on off topic section and fewer posts on the on-topic section.

I think it's important to have an off topic section, since that is where a lot of community building goes.

 

[Anachiwo]

If your forum is a niche that members would find it difficult to contribute freely, it's better to have an off topic section.

If it's a general discussion niche, there's no need for off topic section because it's going to be free to use.

 

[Heatman]

It's good to have off topic section in every forum. It gives members the freedom to start discussions they will flow very smoothly and easily in. If you have no off topic section in your forum, you're cutting off over 70% of your forum discussion.

 

[Cory]

Yes, I have quite a variety of off-topic forums on my board, mainly in the form of subforums. People don't post in them that much though and mainly come there for the true intention of the board.

 

[Nomad]

What if your members post more on off-topic sections rather than on-topic?

 

[Cory]

What if your members post more on off-topic sections rather than on-topic?

It's just a preference of where members like to post or what they can relate to the most. As long as the primary forums are receiving some activity, I don't think an off-topic forum is necessarily a bad idea. In the end, members will generally post where they can most relate to.

 

[Ronald]

Do you have an off-topic section on your forum? Well, I am running four forums and none of my forums have an off-topic section. The reason I don't have an off-topic section is when you allow members to post off-topic, there will be a lot of posts on off topic section and fewer posts on the on-topic section.

I think off-topic sections are actually quite advantageous. These sections help to build a culture of friendliness, and conversations can flow much more smoothly.

 

[Georgeadawara]

Allowing or creating a place for off topic or general topic on your forum is a nice idea, when one is contemplating about a specific post topic, he can just create the post in off topic section.

 

[Shortie]

The forum I used to run before I closed it down in 2017 was a general discussion forum that had an area for almost all discussions so an off-topic area was never really needed. In the case of the forum, I co-own now though, with it being more pushed towards gaming and streaming we do have an area where anything that is away from streaming and gaming can be discussed and we call that The Lounge where people can discuss anything off topic in there. I think having an off-topic section on your forum can work really well to keep activity going not just for what your niche is but also for other discussion.

 

[Reverie]

If you intend on your forum being a forum that people go to daily to post I would suggest an off topic area. People will post about the niche, but it is nice to have a break away from the topic and be able to discuss general things in our lives and kind of get to know eachother better. Yes - the off topic area may have more topics and posts, but that does not take away from the genre either.

 

[Ravenfreak]

Whenever I have a forum based around one single niche, I'll add a off topic section. This way, if any of the members wish to talk about subjects other than the main niche they have a place to do so. Plus you get to know your members a bit more too.

 

[Clarice]

I forgot to add one so I just did add it.

 

[Jason]

I have an off-topic section even though I know a lot of people don't know much about music performance. Anyway, though, a lot of people not so much into music performance still post a lot about the topic.

 

[Arantor]

I’ve always thought it was a good idea - people came for the content, stayed for the community, and needed somewhere to be that wasn’t the content comments.

 

[Tracy]

You almost alwasys should have (even on a specific niche site) an off-topic area for your users to discuss (like most adults do IRL) items that are not niche specific.
In "sync" with my niche... mine is simply called Landing Pad

 

[ClicketyKat]

I tried going that route of no off topic area, and people still didn't post niche threads, so I realized that I had to succumb to the wants of my members.

 

[Reverie]

I tried going that route of no off topic area, and people still didn't post niche threads, so I realized that I had to succumb to the wants of my members.

It is interesting you did try this route and it didn't appear to make a difference!

 

[Progrumz]

I think that it's always nice to have an off-topic forum. It's impossible for a forum to have a designated section for every single thing someone could want to discuss with other users.

 

[John]

Yeah, unless you want to create literally a million subforums, an off topic section is probably necessary. I mean you can decide you want your members to post in specific areas as much as you'd like, but the reality of a forum is it's a place for conversation. Conversation can't happen without context, and context is a pretty basic definition for a forum/subforum.