What is your forum's weakness?

[Cedric]

It's important to regularly assess the strengths and weaknesses of your forum. While it's easy to focus on the positive aspects of your forum, taking the time to identify areas that need improvement can help you create a better experience for your members and this will help you in the long run.

So, let's talk about your forum's weaknesses. Every forum has them, and it's nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, acknowledging your forum's weaknesses is the first step towards addressing them and making your forum even better.

One of the most common weaknesses of forums is a lack of engagement. While you may have a large number of registered users, if they're not actively participating in discussions or contributing content, your forum can quickly become stagnant. This can be due to a variety of factors, such as a lack of interesting topics, a difficult-to-use interface, or an unfriendly community.

Another weakness that many forums face is spam. Whether it's from bots or human spammers, unwanted posts can quickly detract from the quality of your forum. Not only can spam be annoying for your members, but it can also harm your forum's reputation and make it less appealing to potential new users.

Lastly, many forums struggle with moderation. It can be challenging to strike the right balance between allowing free expression and keeping discussions civil and respectful. If your forum is plagued by flame wars, personal attacks, or other toxic behavior, it can drive away members and harm the overall community.

Identifying and addressing these weaknesses can be a challenge, but it's an essential part of running a successful forum. Whether it's by implementing stricter moderation policies, improving the user experience, or offering more engaging content, there are many ways to make your forum a better place for everyone. So don't be afraid to face your forum's weaknesses head-on – it's the best way to turn them into strengths.

So, have you identified your forum's weaknesses?

 

[Cory]

I think my forum's primary weakness is posting activity. Seeing as we cater primarily to resources, people mainly come for the resources and then leave. It's not necessarily something that discourages me to a large degree seeing as the resources are what we're all about anyway, but it's always nice to see more posting activity from time to time. Part of this is to blame me due to not posting fresh, quality content very often since I'm so clueless when it comes to posting unique content.

 

[Cedric]

I think my forum's primary weakness is posting activity. Seeing as we cater primarily to resources, people mainly come for the resources and then leave. It's not necessarily something that discourages me to a large degree seeing as the resources are what we're all about anyway, but it's always nice to see more posting activity from time to time. Part of this is to blame me due to not posting fresh, quality content very often since I'm so clueless when it comes to posting unique content.

I remember when I used to have resource forums that I would require 10 posts in order to see the resources. Would that not be a good idea for jCodes? It could lead to low quality and spam posts now and then, but that’s easily taken care of.

 

[Cory]

It could lead to low quality and spam posts now and then, but that’s easily taken care of.

Indeed, that's what it would mainly lean towards. I'm fine not having a plethora of posts a day and just admiring the fact that I see X log-ins today to ensure there is interest in the resources. I think requiring you to be a registered member is good enough to help the member registrations grow and have gradual activity for those that do wish to stick around or seek support.

 

[Uncrowned]

My forums certainly suffer from a lack of active members. The sites are focused on news and guides, so it is hard to also push the forums at times. In the perfect world, I'd have the money to hire a community manager lol.

 

[Kale]

Overdone niche/genre
Lack of activity and active members - that is a given nowadays with forums sadly...

I wish I also had the money to hire a proper community manager or so too, tbh.

 

[Cory]

that is a given nowadays with forums sadly...

Not all forums, have you seen Something Awful or Blue-ray forum? Usually 1000+ members online. I'm sure there's more.

 

[Kale]

Not all forums, have you seen Something Awful or Blue-ray forum? Usually 1000+ members online. I'm sure there's more.

Yeah, I have. Those forums have a big following and have been around for a long long time.

 

[Tracy]

Mine is really simple... my knowledge of the field is a beginner... and it's really hard to get experienced folks to join, as they are typically "comfortable" where they are at.

 

[Cedric]

Mine is really simple... my knowledge of the field is a beginner... and it's really hard to get experienced folks to join, as they are typically "comfortable" where they are at.

I stumbled upon a Facebook group with your niche. It’s crazy how much people invest into decent capture material like you do. They all offer great photo’s to look at. Hopefully your hard work pays off sometime in the near future.

 

[Kale]

I stumbled upon a Facebook group with your niche. It’s crazy how much people invest into decent capture material like you do. They all offer great photo’s to look at. Hopefully your hard work pays off sometime in the near future.

Oh yeah for sure. All great stuff I feel big time.

 

[Heatman]

If you have ever run and managed a paid to post forum, you will realise that its biggest weakness is SPAM!

Most of these guys don't care about what they post as long they make a post to earn them points they will withdraw. No matter how much you try to tackle it, the cancer never goes away completely.

 

[Cedric]

If you have ever run and managed a paid to post forum, you will realise that its biggest weakness is SPAM!

Most of these guys don't care about what they post as long they make a post to earn them points they will withdraw. No matter how much you try to tackle it, the cancer never goes away completely.

I often see posts that don’t make sense. They are talking about the subject but it’s clear they have nothing to add.

 

[kolakube]

Mine is really simple... my knowledge of the field is a beginner... and it's really hard to get experienced folks to join, as they are typically "comfortable" where they are at.

Maybe it can be worth playing into their experience to get them to participate? Some basic examples like posting interviews and "Ask an expert" type of threads to help them use their knowledge to get others into the field... if they care about that type of thing.

 

[joelr]

One of the most common weaknesses of forums is a lack of engagement. While you may have a large number of registered users, if they're not actively participating in discussions or contributing content, your forum can quickly become stagnant. This can be due to a variety of factors, such as a lack of interesting topics, a difficult-to-use interface, or an unfriendly community.

Lack of (valuable) engagement is a symptom of a problem, not the problem itself.

Lack of engagement usually means ... You have no audience, you have no brand, or you have no value to attract people to begin with.