Worst Way to Grow a Community?

[Danny]

I was wondering: what would you think the worst way to promote a community is?

Obviously spamming is --- but what else is something bad to do? Giving away prizes for the biggest posters? Stealing a template and using it? Free Hosting Giveaways?? :eek:

[harishankar]

I was wondering: what would you think the worst way to promote a community is? Obviously spamming is --- but what else is something bad to do? Giving away prizes for the biggest posters? Stealing a template and using it? Free Hosting Giveaways?? :eek:

Worst way is to beg your friends to join it -- especially when they're not interested.

[Rmain]

Stealing from other sites.. I think it is tacky to actually go out and send emails to people from other sites like yours.
I know a few places that do this and first they befriend you on the one site and THEN let you know about THEIR site... so it isn't spamming per se.. pretty sneaky tho! :)

[php4ever]

There is no worst way; Every method is open game. It depends what type of image you want to paint.

Jared.

[bigcurt]

Downloading a copy of vbulletin. A friend of mine did that and he got layed the SMACK DOWN on.

[Danny]

Downloading a copy of vbulletin. A friend of mine did that and he got layed the SMACK DOWN on.

I presume you mean an unlicensed version? What actions did Jelsoft take? :(

[arkstfan]

Obviously spamming.

I've had several sites steal content from site though I was quite flattered by the newspaper in Idaho that lifted a pretty big chunk of one my pieces, at least they gave credit.

I see quite a bit of stealing (that is what is since the author holds redistribution rights) by folks trying to enter the niche or a related niche.

On the other hand, the folks that copy on opening paragraph or two and then have a link... LOVE 'EM.

[bigcurt]

I remember he ofcourse his host gave him the boot, something about he had to buy the domain AGAIN and a bunch of other things.

[Bob Harbison]

I presume you mean an unlicensed version? What actions did Jelsoft take? :(

Jelsoft is quite aggressive in protecting their copyrights, and as others have mentioned, they will contact your host and ask to have you site removed under the DMCA.

I found this out the hard way, as I was unintentionally running a forum that wasn't legal. They had sent the site's own renewal notices on her leased license, but her spam filter ate them before she saw them. After several tries and a month or so of no response, they took further actions.

I mention this as a warning to any of you running the leased version (instead of owned). It's easy to loose track of when your lease is up for renewal.

On the other hand, I've found the technical support and community at Jelsoft and VB to be second to none. I've used it for several years now, and consistently gotten prompt and accurate responses to problems and questions. They listen to their customers and often add features based on members requests. This is a robust and solid program, well suited for a production environment. I currently manage 5 different forums, and they're all done with Vbulletin. Two of them routinely have 100 members or more online at once, with no problems. All in all, I highly reccomend Vbulletin.

[php4ever]

I was able to find a worst way. Banning members without giving them warnings! Stupid, very very stupid.

J

[Danny]

I was able to find a worst way. Banning members without giving them warnings! Stupid, very very stupid. J

What if the members cause chaos on your forum? Isn't it worth taking a hit of a few members each month to make the community as a whole happy?

[php4ever]

Thanks for your reply Danny;
I appreciate any realistic feedback.

What if the members cause chaos on your forum?

Chaos is one thing.
But I've been booted just for giving feedback that didn't sit well with the person receiving it. I believe in honesty NOT baby-sitting. As a result I'm real ballsy when I post in forums and although I'm patient, I'm also blunt. But I agree with you to that chaotic and abusive members need dealing with.

I personally won't boot members for being jerks, I'll close the thread or edit the post. I won't boot members for anything except threats and use of degrading terms against race or gender etc... Even in the Christian forum I built for "The-Rock" had to agree to the fact that I'm NOT going to add word sensors to their forum prior to hiring me for the design. They can do it themselves.

Jared.

[Danny]

Thanks for your reply Danny; I appreciate any realistic feedback. Chaos is one thing. But I've been booted just for giving feedback that didn't sit well with the person receiving it. I believe in honesty NOT baby-sitting. As a result I'm real ballsy when I post in forums and although I'm patient, I'm also blunt. But I agree with you to that chaotic and abusive members need dealing with. I personally won't boot members for being jerks, I'll close the thread or edit the post. I won't boot members for anything except threats and use of degrading terms against race or gender etc... Even in the Christian forum I built for "The-Rock" had to agree to the fact that I'm NOT going to add word sensors to their forum prior to hiring me for the design. They can do it themselves. Jared.

I've moderated at quite a few forums -- including this one -- and I've really seen the need to enforce the rules. Without consequences, everybody would be 'spamvertising' threads with their own URLs, and people wouldn't hesitate ripping apart other members.

In the end, a prosperous and healthy community requires justice. I do agree with you that abusive administrators and moderators are one of the worst things that a forum can have, but on the same level, lack of enforcement is just as bad, if not worse.

[php4ever]

So we found common ground to agree upon. :lol:

Yet another reason I love this forum.

Jared.

FYI: The bible says you can't have justice without mercy.

[Danny]

FYI: The bible says you can't have justice without mercy.

It also says if somebody bans you from a site, you shouldn't re-register via a proxy. ;)

[php4ever]

True;

Jared

[arkstfan]

You've got to have posted guidelines or board rules and you've got to stay true to them and if you ever make an exception and someone calls you on it, be prepared to answer why in that limited case you made an exception.

Here are our board guidelines.

1. This board exists to promote Arkansas State University athletics.
2. If item #1 bothers you, it's a free country and you are free to leave for someplace that suits you.
3. Moderators and admins reserve the right to edit, move, delete or ridicule any post made on this board.
4. Moderators and admins reserve the right to be as reasonable or unreasonable as suits them in utilizing guideline #3.
5. Don't whine on the board about decisions to edit, move, or delete posts. If you have a beef send a PM.
6. Personal attacks are generally not tolerated unless they are funny, especially if the person making the attack is so stupid that we are laughing at them.
7. Don't use the board to advertise your website, or whatever unless you know it is OK with the admins.
8. Don't post pretending to be a coach or player.
9. Don't cut and paste articles from other websites or posts from other sites. Link to it, posting the opening paragraph with a link to the other site is fine.
10. Moderators and admins make no warranty that any application of these guidelines will be fair or consistent.
11. You must have a valid email address on file to use this board.
12. As a condition for using this board you will be sent periodic emails. We don't plan to do any commercial mailings but you may opt of them if we do them.

Maybe not the best set but when you are averaging over 350 posts a day you can get away with it.

[betts01]

What if the members cause chaos on your forum? Isn't it worth taking a hit of a few members each month to make the community as a whole happy?

So we're not alone? We did that.....basically made it difficult for the chaos creators to post without actually banning them. But, the price for that is boredom, I'm afraid. A tiny bit of chaos/controversy keeps a forum hopping, I now believe, and I'm trying to figure out a happy medium......how to tolerate some criticism/critical discussion, without upsetting the majority who seem to like it peaceful, but don't really post all that much when it's peaceful.