Cedric

It’s being completely rewritten, making it more easier that ever to create additional plugins by the community. I don’t want to “leak” too much as it may bring the source in danger. 😅 But I’ll ask if there’s anything else I can say.

As a community leader, you’re undoubtedly passionate about the vision you’ve created and the members you serve. But part of leading a successful community goes beyond internal management—keeping an eye on external factors can be equally crucial. One key aspect to consider is your competition. While every community is unique, understanding what others in your niche are doing can provide valuable insights, both as lessons and inspiration. I hear you, why should I pay attention to my competitor? The idea of competition doesn’t necessarily mean you’re in a battle for survival. Rather, it’s about staying informed. Other communities may be experimenting with new features, content strategies, or engagement techniques that you could potentially learn from or adapt. By observing what works (or doesn’t) for other community leaders, you can evaluate their strategies through the lens of your own community’s values and goals. Do they offer a feature your members might benefit from? Have they introduced a new type of event or reward system that drives engagement? Awareness of these trends helps you stay innovative and responsive to the evolving needs of your community. Great! What shouldn’t I do? While keeping an eye on competition can lead to growth, it’s easy to fall into the trap of constant comparison. No two communities are identical. They differ in structure, culture, and the types of members they attract. What works for another platform may not work for yours, and that’s perfectly fine. Instead of focusing on competition with the mindset of outdoing them, use your observations to inspire innovation within your own unique community framework. Don’t get lost into copying them. I should offer something different then? Yeah, look at your competition for gaps in their offerings. Perhaps they lack the personal touch your community prides itself on, or maybe they haven’t yet delved into certain content areas or features that your members are asking for. These gaps can present an opportunity for your community to stand out by filling those unmet needs. I get it, work together, not against each other. Exactly. Interestingly, competition doesn’t always have to mean rivalry. Some of the most successful communities find ways to collaborate with others in their space. Whether it’s cross-promotions, shared events, or even simply a mutual support network between community leaders, competition can foster collaboration that benefits everyone involved. Some final thoughts Staying aware of what other communities are doing allows you to remain dynamic, competitive, and responsive as a leader. But, it’s essential to stay true to your vision and remember that what makes your community special is what will ultimately keep your members engaged. Keep an eye on your competition, but never lose sight of your unique strengths. Do you actively monitor other communities in your space? How has it shaped your approach as a community leader? Feel free to share your experiences below!

I have never been a fan of ProBoards, ever. Jcink is nice considering out history with InvisionFree. You may or may not know, but SMF 3.0 is currently in heavy development, and we should be quite impressed with it (according to a good source).

Yes. In my experience, some guests lurk for quite a while (even months) before registering. It’s all about capturing their attention and giving them that little push they need.

Yes, I’ve changed it up a bit. There are lots of unnecessary nav links, causing a cluttered look. What’s new is Recent Activity now. Sounds better in my opinion. 😋

It’s under the navigation -> Community. :)

Hmm, yes. More than I care to admit. For me it's more a matter of free vs paid software. And I think you can distinguish the serious community leaders from the less serious. When you go paid software, you tend to care more about the community. You're willing to spend money, you (should) have a clear vision and goal. So naturally those people are taken more serious. The forum community atmosphere has hanged so much that you can't make crucial mistakes like this. Sure, you can still upgrade from free to paid, but you've already lost majority of your visitors. So, personally, I'll join a community when I see some serious investment such as a license.

Welcome to Agora. :)

Welcome aboard Horus. :)

What are your skills, what would you like to do?

If it was easy, everyone would be doing it. :D

I usually don’t care when celebrities pass away, as hard as that may sound. But as growing up with Harry Potter, the people from the cast do make a slight impact on me - as I still love HP today. So yesterday Maggie Smith has passed away at the age of almost 90. The same day with a year difference for Michael Gambon. They were also the best friends in real life. That’s quite interesting. RIP Maggie Smith. Thank you for your wonderful cast in HP.

Be careful with that. It could be quickly turned into something with other intentions. Especially when you automate it. It’s not a bad idea but I’d let them manually convert the tokens to Dogecoin. For example put a custom item for sale in the shop that they can purchase for x-Tokens. Which will then notify to of said purchase, and you can DM the buyer for the transaction.

First one I ever used was either phpBB or IPB 1.3, don’t remember exactly which one came first. But I do remember my begin days like it was yesterday. Not knowing how it was properly setup or managed. Learned a lot since then. Wish I could go back in time and relive those days for a little while. :D

Damn. As of today, preorders for the PlayStation 30th Anniversary have gone live on PlayStation Direct. However, if you're looking to grab a PS5 Pro bundle, you're out of luck. The limited edition bundle sold out within minutes. The price tag for the limited PS5 Pro bundle is steep. To get your hands on a PS5 Pro and accessories in the classic gray PS1 design, you'd have to pay a whopping $1,160. The bundle includes the PS5 Pro console, a vertical stand, a special anniversary edition DualSense controller, a DualSense Edge controller, and a charging station. Other items from the anniversary collection are still available on PlayStation Direct. You can purchase the limited edition PS5 for $527, the PlayStation Portal for $253, the DualSense Edge for $263, and the regular DualSense for $84.

Couldn’t agree more with you as I’m also looking forward to that. I’m hoping we’ll see 2.4 before the end of the year. I had a quick look at the editor and it looks promising. Crazy that the devs however need to come up with their own user interface though. So I’m really curious how it will end up looking.

Spaghetti Bologna, pizza and hamburgers. All day every day.

[ATTACH type=full" size="1203x133]56[/ATTACH] So I was browsing a forum and saw this big red header. Made me curious how you'd approach ad blockers on your forum. Some communities detect and request members to disable them, while others give an option, like going premium to avoid ads altogether. Do you use ad block detection on your forum? If yes, what message do you show to users? Have you had success with members disabling their ad blockers when prompted? For members, do you tend to disable your ad blocker when asked, or do you ignore it? Does it bother you, or are you indifferent? For admins, do you give the option to bypass ads through a premium upgrade, or is it mandatory to disable ad blockers? Looking forward to hearing your thoughts and experiences!

I admit that sometimes I'm lazy. If I'm in a good mood then I'll do my best to get everything as optimized as I can. And I have to admit that often I use ChatGPT do to that too. It seems to have a better understanding which phrasing to use than I do.

What's your favorite language? Welcome to Agora. :)

Howdy Hussein, welcome to Agora. :)

Welcome aboard Raheem. :)

Hi Chris, welcome to Agora. :)

Hi Rafi, welcome aboard! What's your most favorite thing to capture ? ;)

Of course are you allowed in! ;) Welcome to Agora :)