Follow me on TwitterWritten by: Paul Omer
To those of you out there who are considering creating a forum, though have not, a very common and important question that may be going through your head right about now, is just what should the subject matter be about, and how big should the forum be?
Subject matter.
Too many people I feel will make a forum that they think will do well, even if it's on a subject matter that they don't care about. This is rarely ever a good idea. The reason why is very easy to figure out. Starting a successful forum requires hard work from the founding Admin. This in 95% of cases means that the Admin needs to have a passion for the subject(s) the forum covers. If you don't, you'll burn out quicker than the fire in my wood burning stove that I'm not tending to like I should be. This being said, pick something that you enjoy. Something that will keep you coming back to your forum to work and to better improve.
Specific or broad?
This will greatly depend on what subject you choose to make your forum about. If it's gaming, then you'll have a definite subject. This can be narrowed down even more, by making a more detailed forum regarding just one subject of the gaming industry. Take for example, instead of a forum on all consoles ever made, you have a Wii based forum. This kind of forum will generally be much smaller, but more detailed. If you decide however, to be a bit more general about it, you'll end up with a larger forum that covers all the consoles. Whatever subject you may choose, you can expand on it however you like. Whether it's everything about that subject, or specific points, your choice.
Everything I just covered though, still falls under specific. Some forums are massive, and cover everything you could possibly imagine without being too ridiculous. At the top of the forum, you could be talking about puppies, and at the bottom, you could be talking about how to stoke fires (which is something I need to be doing right about now if I haven't already mentioned that). These forums are, contrary to popular belief, the hardest ones to get off the ground. Why? They require two to three times more Staff, and because they are so broad, some people can't ever feel like they are enjoying any one specific subject to the fullest. Chances are, they will go off somewhere else, and join two or three forums that cover their interests in more detail. Not to say that these forums can't work, but you better be prepared for a larger workload. If a large and broad forum of course is what you want, go for it.
How many forums is too many forums?
Ever been to a forum where you feel like it takes you 15 minutes just to reach the bottom of the Index Page? Man I have, and believe me, I hate it. Large and broad forums require this in most situations, so it can be understandable. For some forums however, half of the forums on the page aren't even being used, or have at most 2 topics in them. This is not good for your forum's appearance. It's sloppy and gives off a very cluttered feel. Either use subforums to keep closely related subjects together, or eliminate them entirely. Having a forum for every little specific side of a certain subject is simply not necessary. Again, this is where subforums come in real handy. In short, be smart and efficient in the structural building of your forum. Also, if your forum becomes super active, and you feel it needs things to be sectioned off, then don't be afraid to. As communities grow, forums change.
Getting started can be difficult, but it can also be incredibly fun. Forum construction is something I greatly enjoy, and I think you will too. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a nearly out fire to check on. >_>
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