What attracts people to a forum?

[NesMarcos]

From my experiences, it's certainly very challenging to grow a forum or make the visitors stay and come back.

In my opinion, what attracts people to a forum is the activities. In giving such interesting activities, members tend to speak themselves, share their opinions, thoughts and knowledge to a specific topic and lastly, it gives them freedom to engage with different people.

Meanwhile, for a forum to be successful, moderators or admins play a big part of it. Members should stay motivated by posting new threads with contemporary topics that can easily catch the attention of the users.

 

[stew4]

For me, some of the most important factors which can attract people to a forum are:
- fast loading speed of the forum
- members who are eager to help others with advice or suggestions
- friendly atmosphere
- variety of topics with useful content
- there shouldn't be too many advertisements
- fresh content

 

[Lissiel]

I must agree with you, the activity of the forum makes it very interesting that could attract a lot of people. Other than that, as for me, what attracts me to join a forum is the topic of the discussion. If the topic of the forum suits me, I get attracted and join as fast as I could. Lastly, the number of active users that is in the forum.

 

[Alex from DediHost]

I think for me the appearance is very important when starting on a new site because if its easy to navigate around the site it makes me happier to use the site continuously, then while using it I can discover my type of content easier and find people to discuss new things with. So I think a decent/good looking site attracts new users but a site needs good content to have a high retention rate.

 

[Malcolmjr96]

I guess for me what attracts me to forums is how it looks, does it have content, does it relate to what I'm interested in, does it answer questions I may have etc can I learn something new. And how is it managed, is it managed professionally etc.

 

[brockmantin]

Is it the activity, the appearance or both?

Appearance and activity are important but another crucial criteria is topic. To have like minded people discussing a topic is what drives me back to a forum. Sure, some forums have real estate advices and financial pointers, but discusing bout e.g. technology is what creates the surge to come back for more.

 

[komputerking]

I think a big part about forums is that typically you can get help and answers faster than trying to reach out to an acquaintance if you needed some knowledge. That and you will get more points of view which I think is particular helpful. Appearance doesn't really matter that much in my opinion but more so the activities that really keep it alive. Although sites like gaia online just thrive on appearance.

 

[MhicaF]

The topic and the number of people giving comments and joining the forum is what attracts me. People like sharing their thoughts and ideas. So what make us stay is if we relate in the topic and we don't get out of place. Just like at the work place, what make employee stay is the the good company of good people around him. If people feel involve, they stay, if not they go.

 

[AdminKings]

Being different is one key factor, especially in these days when it’s very tough to compete with well established communities and forums are on the slight decline at the moment. So offering something your viewer which they don’t find elsewhere is a good thing and can often entice them to join and engage.

I agree with the above posters regarding user activity, nobody wants to join a dead forum. That can be tricky though if your forum is new so a few dummy accounts can help overcome this barrier.

 

[mark86]

Is it the activity, the appearance or both? For me, I would say both but I think the activity and content that members sharing will decide success of a forum. What about you? What attracts you or people to a forum? Any thoughts?

I agree with you on that. People attract in both ways,the appearance and content itself. I love forums that I can easily relate with.

 

[mystique07]

People are spending most of the time online nowadays. Forums are a place where like minded people get together and discuss about different topics. There are dedicated forums which deal with specific areas like this forum. People share their ideas, ask for help and those who have the knowledge provide support to other people. There are a lot of things that most of us don't know and when we browse through a forum we get to know new things and start implementing them for our own personal use.

 

[Jelineex]

it's always a topic that adds attraction to a certain forum. People like to interact and share their thoughts. The more people can relate into a subject the more it adds excitement and fun. It motivates a person to keep visiting on a certain forum. It's a good activity to keep one's mind busy in a productive way.

 

[Dr. McKay]

Dr. McKay

People like to interact and share their thoughts.

I add extra words to this line and...people like to read thoughts from other people and getting experience from what they read.

 

[RoseKaizer]

If the topic is related with them people get attracted to a forum. I use to join different forums and what I get attracted is really the topic if it is related to me.