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Can a new general discussion forum survive?

DarthHazard Level 1

August 15, 2017, 9:51 pm

26

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Can a new general discussion forum survive?

I have noticed that a lot of people have recently been creating their very own general discussion forums. Now, general discussion forums are extremely oversaturated because of how many there are out there. Most of the time, they will just die down after an initial burst of activity which is sad really but that's what happens. Do you think that new general discussions can survive even though there are loads of them? What unique features should they try to introduce to differentiate them?

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rage35

rage35

I think that newly launched general discussion forum can still survive nowadays, it just depends on how you market it to the readers and potential posters. Most of the general forums died down as a result of poor activity that cannot compensate with the costs of running the forum. Forum promotion and marketing is essential for the forum to survive, even if there are tons of them in the internet, it can still survive if the owner knows when and where to advertise their forum to gain more users. Also, you need to introduce some features that would attract members such as giving of special reward points for being an active member that can be redeemed into cash or other items.

9 years ago

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giovanniiiii

giovanniiiii

Unless one is able to cater a lot of attention from active social media groups then I believe it can survive for months. A general discussion forum needs a lot of active members that are also from social media too. In my opinion though forums that are based on an interest or specific topics may last longer than a general discussion forum as the former often has objectives as to what should be tackled in the discussions.

9 years ago

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Corzhens

Corzhens

It depends on the so called "core members" of the forum. If there is a substantial number of core members who would persist in making good posts that are attractive to replies then there is a reason for the forum to survive. I had been to a local forum with an array of topics that the General Discussion was the most popular. Maybe it's because that board is the easiest to understand by a layman. Again, if the posts are interesting and worth a reply, I would probably continue in patronizing that General Discussion forum.

9 years ago

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overcast

overcast

General categories and chatting won't survive. The reason being advertisers can't properly monetized. Because they don't know the niche of the forum. Also the amount of adblcokers are running it'd be harder to monetize as it is. So the only issue here would be to stick with the discussion forums which are niche based. And you have to also make use of the advertisers which can properly add up in multiple options for the monetization.

9 years ago

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augusta

augusta

No matter the number of things in existence,all can survive.What each person needs is unique features, not everyone doing the same thing e.g everyone having the same designs,outline,style or features.Do something different.Varieties is the spice of life.You could bring in story telling Discoveries,supernatural occurrences etc.Something very different

9 years ago

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Fuzyon

Fuzyon

It can survive but I don't think it would have a lot of success. People have services like Discord to talk about random things, I can't imagine people would instead hop on a forum which isn't as convenient.

9 years ago

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TheArticulate

TheArticulate

I think that's the draw to make a forum specific to a particular topic or niche. I have plenty of opportunities to talk to friends, family, coworkers, or whoever about general topics, so I don't feel a need to chat on a forum with strangers about that. Now if the forum were specifically for photographers, filmmakers, or drummers, then I would be more inclined to become part of the community because I associate with those things. That way I know the forum would potentially be able to give me something I want: more knowledge.

9 years ago

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TheArticulate

TheArticulate

I think the difficult thing about making a general chat forum survive is the fact that user retainability is focused entirely on the community as opposed to the niche of the forum. The community plays a huge role in any online forum, don't get me wrong, but if a forum operates on a very general, open theme, then it's almost completely about interaction between users as opposed to passion for the niche.

For instance, I'll be likely to stay on a forum about filmmaking because I'm passionate about film and video. This might make me overlook some of the downsides to a community like some rude members or a little inactivity, but I don't think you have this luxury with a general chat forum. You'll need to find other ways to get people invested in the community and to stay.

Someone above mentioned that it would be difficult for advertisers to properly monetize the site, which is a good point as well I think.

9 years ago

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centurion

centurion

You said right. There are huge and huge new discussion forums are available. All them are not same. Some are unique and some allows duplicate contents also. Basically I am a search engine optimizer. On a search need I search and find out the necessary forums and search the content for collecting data or for replying my services. Every one has been using the same types. Because forums are regularly changing and getting close also. So for collecting data every time search gives me a new taste.

For making a forum useful regular the forum content should need to be unique must 100%.The forum should have a privacy option. The forum should have some funny option also.

Thanks
Centurion

9 years ago

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galegatling

galegatling

It really depends on the main theme of the forum. General discussion threads can always be based on what the forum is about. It is not the same as off-topic posts so it will still be relevant to the forum, right? For instance, if it's a gaming forum, you can have a general discussion category that is all about gaming etc. So yeah, I believe it would depend on the forum itself.

9 years ago

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vinaya

vinaya

Any kind of new discussion can bring the forum back from the dead. However, you need to have good numbers of members and the members who are active on the forum. The most important aspect of any forum is active member base.
Secondly, the discussion should be on the topic that interest many people. Instead of choosing a niche, a general discussion can be a great help because people can have theri say on general topics.

9 years ago

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kgord

kgord

There are a few such discussion sites on the web. Mylot is one that I know about. It seems like some of the others have not survived. People have to be able to relate to the content being posted in order for a site such as this to be successful. Core members have to start on it, and like it. Also, the admin has to be consistent with payouts for a forum like this to survive in my opinion.

9 years ago

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Tronia

Tronia

Yes, it can. I truly believe that anything that's ''general'' can always survive since it applies to such a large mass of people. However, it is always down to you and your promoting/advertising methods. I agree with you that the market for general discussion forums is extremely saturated that's why you will have to attract people with something... for example; with things like giveaways, contests and so on.

9 years ago

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JoeMilford

JoeMilford

We are living proof that these discussion forums can survive. I see a lot of the same posters coming back to forums which are general--no matter how old they are--so, I would say, Yes--these forums can survive and be revitalized if those who are interested keep responding to one another.

9 years ago

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ballyhara

ballyhara

I feel the same way too. As long as there are people that keep coming back for posting, the general discussion can get longer and longer. Specially when members decide to reply to others, some inquiring about the different opinions, some can create controversy and extend the main issue.

9 years ago

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JoeMilford

JoeMilford

ballyhara,
I definitely need to get better at responding more to others and their posts and responses to me. I get so busy every day, and I am never trying to be rude, but there are times when I just don't get around to responding to those who have been nice enough to respond to me. Like you, I agree that new forum posts can continue as long as we keep our conversations going and learn from one another.

9 years ago

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peachpurple

peachpurple

It depends on the niche of the forum genre. If the forum is basically a general chat forum, I don't think so it will survive long because the advertisers are not interested to invest in it. A specific theme for the forum is better such as money making forum, recipe forum or parenting forum are well received and generate more traffic from home makers, working adults and SOHO owners. I had participated in a new forum but it had ceased working due to lack of members and topic to share. It does not indicate what type of forum , so in general, it is a chit chat forum . Gain nothing from there. No useful information.

9 years ago

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Pixie06

Pixie06

Nowadays we have many discussion forums. However, this does not mean that a new discussion forum won't survive. I strongly believe that if you manage to write quality articles and attract maximum people to join your site you can be successful. You need to have a look at the existing discussion forums and decide how to make yours different and more appealing to others. You will also have to think about your advertising methods.

9 years ago

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galegatling

galegatling

These simple things are the key essentials to a long and lasting forum, specially if its a general one. The main mistake people make specially when they are posting on forums is they don't make use of the search function. I mean, I am always visiting different kinds of forums every day and what bothers me most is that I keep on seeing familiar threads and post. There are good quality posts already but people still need to make new ones of the same kind. It floods the forum and it divides attention from other posters.

9 years ago

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Soulwatcher

Soulwatcher

I am a forum owner myself and I think in today's day and age making a forum period is a bad idea little alone making a general discussion board. Social media, youtube, and google are killing forums and you really need to have something unique to survive in the forum industry. And like you said there are a million general discussion forums. And if your going to make a general discussion forum you really need to ask yourself what's going to make my forum different than the 1000's of other general discussion forums. And whatever forum your going to make, don't spend any more money than you're willing to lose because 99% of all new forums fail.

9 years ago

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Corzhens

Corzhens

I agree that the competition is not just stiff but very stiff. It is so difficult for an ordinary forum to survive. However, I think there are exceptions. If you have a group of friends who are into general discussion and that they use the forum for their daily pastime then you can give the competition a run for their money. General discussions need not be so general at all times. There are many interesting topics under the sun and all it takes is for someone to cultivate.

8 years ago

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jpyy

jpyy

There is never too much of something. Instead, the question becomes, "What can I do to make my forum stand above the crowd?". What can you do? Well, you can use ads to force your forum to get enough traffic to survive. You could also use SEO and/or social media. Basically, in the end, users will enjoy whatever they're exposed to, assuming it isn't bad, of course.

9 years ago

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MidlifeFitness

MidlifeFitness

Survive? Sure. Be successful? Guess that would depend on your definition of successful. Is 20 posts a day success to you? If so, great but only a little over 7000 posts a year. If you're not doing it purely for your own entertainment and enjoyment, it's going to be a pretty dark and lonely road.

IMO, there are way too many general topic and video game forums. If you check out any of the forum admin sites, I'd say 50% of new forums launched are in one of those two genres and very few are still operational after a year.

9 years ago

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mildredtabitha

mildredtabitha

General discussion forums can survive but a niche based forum is better. As long as you have members posting daily and moderators to moderate the forum, you can trust that it will last for a long time.

9 years ago

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chuoi

chuoi

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9 years ago

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Jeane

Jeane

I've seen many general discussion forums go under. One reason could be because most people hate to look through numerous posts to find something that interests them. I'd liken it to blogs that cover everything. It would be hard to create content that everyone would like.

In the past general forums could and did survive but social media has killed them off because in your newsfeed you'll find everything that could be found on a general forum - news, celebrity gossip, etc.

8 years ago

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