(2009-11-11, 02:12 AM)TimB. Wrote: [ -> ] (2009-11-11, 01:29 AM)T0m Wrote: [ -> ]I don't. How does a forum start? How do you attract users?!
You tell 15 of your mates to start by making some decent posts, you put it in your signature and you write some nice content posts that people will value and either get found in google or linked to (by them in some cases) on forums.
Realistically, the foundation of most big forums isn't laid here. Its laid by doing lots and lots of promotion and I think sites should be here to be critiqued and "shown off" not for promotion as such.
People rarely join of off signiture links. Many people don't want their RL friends on their forums.
For starters this could be good.
Make the link go directly to your registration page - I did that for CustoMyBB when it was in my sig, and got several registrations from it. If your aim is members, at no expense, that's the way to go.
I am new but will add my 2c anyway
Don't agree. Showcase is just that. Showcase. For any forum running on MyBB. I like browsing through those threads and see what people came up with it. Don't really mind if skin is default one. Many great forums use default forum skin....
Do what SMF does - It has to meet requirements otherwise a moderator won't accept the thread
SMF showcase requirements are:
* Please post only one topic per forum.
* Your post must contain a link to an SMF board.
* No default themes. Be creative, everyone's seen the SMF default themes before.
* You may link to your website, however your topic must contain a link to an SMF board.
* The topic's title should match the title of your forum.
* You must provide a description of your forum.
* Description Suggestions:
o Describe the main focus of your board in detail.
o Describe the membership of your community. List, for example, their ways and means, age group, hobbies, maturity, etc...
o Describe, in detail the customizations you've made to your forum, including themes, custom coding, mods, tweaks, and other customizations. Is there something you've achieved in building your community that you'd like to share? Don't be afraid to be detailed, a little background on the creation of your community may lead to some discussion about it!
* If you require anyone to login before viewing your forum, you must provide a member account to login with for viewing purposes.
* No sites containing adult, warez, or otherwise illegal content.