Al

This is an interesting one, and stems from when I looked over at [mention=617]L3gacy[/mention]'s Red Dead forum. He uses a name based on the site name, whilst here at Administrata, [mention=1]Cedric[/mention] and I use our real names. I even use my real picture. I think it's important that members can see 'the person behind the account' but there is the risk that it's 'too personal' and less official. How do you strike a balance? Do you use your own name or a username? What works best?

Let’s say you’ve just installed your forum software. Blank slate. Where do you start? Some people go straight for categories and structure. Others spend hours tweaking the theme or overthinking the rules. Personally, I start by creating my structure. Sections and nodes. But that’s just habit. I like to know how the forum will actually look before it starts getting content, and often the creation of a node will be the inspiration for the first few threads. I’m curious where your instinct takes you. What’s the very first thing you actually do and has it changed over time?

[ATTACH type=full" size="1254x101]1452[/ATTACH] Just checked and that's sorted now. Looks much better!

That's interesting. I have tried Chrome, Firefox and Opera and they all look the same.

Hello [mention=617]L3gacy[/mention] this is a really impressive looking forum. As a gamer I'm extremely jealous. You'd done a great job of capturing the aesthetic of Red Dead. Kudos! It's great to see more gaming communities out there. May I be so bold as to offer you some feedback? Yes? Okay, great! First, I love that you have picked up some social media accounts to support your community. This is one of the best ways to drive traffic to your site. Just make sure you're engaging and not just pushing your content. I good rule of thumb is 80/20. 80% engagement. Either commenting on other people's stuff, liking, sharing and 20% your own stuff. Try and tweet daily. Even if it's just two or three. With your Facebook page, join other Red Dead pages as your page and comment on stuff, share their stuff, make friends, not competitors. What are you gonna do with your YT channel? Let's move onto your forum. As I said, it looks excellent. There are a couple of things I would fix/change if it was up to me. This is entirely subjective. Other people will see things differently, so feel free to ignore me. I mean, what do I know? [ATTACH type=full" width="565px" alt="1743445467425.png]1450[/ATTACH] Your header takes up about half the page when you open the forum. Everything you see here is classed as 'above the fold'. It's the most important area as it's the first thing people see and how they decide if they want to start scrolling. Your header takes up almost half of the space above the fold and it - whilst pretty - doesn't do anything. You could display the information in your header image - which is just the site name/URL in 20% of that space. I would consider reducing it down significantly. That way people get to see more of the content when they first load the forum. You want their eyes drawn to your actual content, not just the header. Remember, content is king in all things. You have 13 nodes/ subforums and 9 threads. Before you start doing any promotions please populate these sections. The forum looks Red Dead without any content. Don't expect people to go to an empty section and start conversations. You need to be the conversation starter. Post two or three threads in each section, each posing a question that people can answer. And keep at it. Post daily if you can, weekly if not. Keep up the momentum even if it sometimes feels like you're shouting into the void. Consider placing a content order: https://administrata.net/forums/content-orders.28/ with us and we will help kick start your forum! I would rewrite your forum descriptions. These are (and if I am wrong please tell me) generated by ChatGPT. I have no issue with ChatGPT and I use it a lot. But when I read down these descriptions: Whether it's updates, rumors, or official announcements about Red Dead Redemption Whether it’s news, rumors, gameplay ideas, or just general chatter Whether you're sharing epic moments, revisiting the world Whether you're searching for an established posse Whether you're a seasoned hunter or just Whether you're hunting for treasures Whether you're a seasoned distiller Whether you're working with Whether you're a seasoned Whether you're Savvy forum users will spot AI generated text a mile off. It's a minor point, but it's a pet peeve of mine. I'd move the off-topic forum to the bottom of the list too. That's not what you want Red Dead fans to see first. You want Red Dead fans to see Red Dead content. This is probably a very minor point, but I'm on a roll so stick with me. I guess this is your account? https://www.redd3ad.com/members/redd3ad-com.1/ Consider changing your name to your actual name or to L3gacy as you have used here. It's more friendly and people will relate more to a real person than a 'corporate' or placeholder account. Keep that account for official business if you like, but have a true persona as your main account for chatting to other fans. Personality builds communities. People want to know the person behind the forum. Hence why we, here, on Adminstrata have [mention=2]Al[/mention] and [mention=1]Cedric[/mention] - it's so you know who you are talking to. We're just ordinary dudes (except Cedric is hot AF). Anyway, hope that helps in some way. All the best with the site. Please keep us up to date with how you get on.

No.

No need for the attitude, buddy boy. I was going to post it on r/Administrata to show there is an alternative to Reddit.

The irony is, I can't post this on Reddit...

Reddit’s down again. No logins, no threads, no access. If your community lives there, you’re screwed. [ATTACH type=full" width="732px" alt="1743103856518.png]1440[/ATTACH] Let this serve as a reminder that if you're building your community on Reddit, Discord, or Facebook Groups, you're building on borrowed land. The moment they go offline, change the rules, or decide you're a problem, you lose everything. Reddit’s been pushed hard by Google lately. It’s dominating search results. AI models are hoovering up its content. The platform’s chasing an IPO, which means more ads, more paywalls, more data scraping, and less stability. People act like Reddit is the internet. It isn’t. It’s a single website with a voting system that rewards snarky one-liners and groupthink. Mods can nuke your post or ban your account without warning. There’s no consistency, no ownership, and no real appeal process. Just vibes and power trips. So if you're serious about your community, stop giving it away. Own your platform. Run a forum. Host it yourself. That way: You set the rules. You keep the data. You’re not one outage away from a blank screen. You don’t rely on ad-driven algorithms or unpaid volunteer mods. You can back it up, move it, archive it, and fix it. Forums aren’t old-fashioned. They’re independent. They work when Reddit doesn’t. They aren’t trying to turn your community into ad impressions. And they’re not going to vanish because some investor wants a better quarter. If Reddit going down today has left you stranded, think about what happens if it goes down permanently. Build something you own. Stop trusting corporations with what matters.

You may take as long as you need. There is absolutely no rush. Comments on the episode discussion threads are what I was hoping for more than anything. Get people to see that people actually listen. (They do, honest). Same for you, Nomad. The episode discussion subjects would be great hits. You don't need to listen to the episode if you don't want to, and as each comes in at 40+minutes, I wouldn't expect you to. A comprehensive breakdown of each episode can be found here: https://criticalmovespodcast.com/blog/

I voted for Al is ruining forums, but I'm feeling a little bit victimised, if I'm honest.

Anything which impacts Reddit negatively, is good for forums in general. Reddit is probably the leading cause for independent discussion forums falling out of favour. That, and Discord.

You should drop in the Discord, you can be our first member! https://discord.gg/hztwB5ss

This weekend I decided to start a podcast. (Some of you may know I already have a podcast, but why have one when you can have two?). This is Grumpy Old Gamer - gog.fm About Grumpy Old Gamer We’re not here to sell you hype, pretend everything is amazing, or gush over the latest sequel to a sequel of a rebooted franchise that should’ve stayed dead. We’ve been gaming since before tutorials existed, and we’ve got opinions. Lots of them. Some even make sense. Grumpy Old Gamer is a podcast for people who remember when games came in boxes, DLC wasn’t day-one extortion, and ‘early access’ wasn’t code for ‘you’re paying to beta test this broken mess.’ We talk about games, the old, the new, the good, the bad, the ugly and everything in between, with the kind of blunt honesty that PR departments hate. Episodes are irregular because we have lives, jobs, and extremely short attention spans. When we do show up, expect sarcasm, swearing (mild), grumbling, and strong feelings about game mechanics that no one else cares about. This isn’t nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake. Sometimes the old stuff was better. Sometimes it wasn’t. Either way, we’re here to grumble about it like the aging, controller-wielding curmudgeons we are. Grumpy Old Gamer Real opinions. No fake hype. Some actual insight… eventually.

If you have used our services in the past you are an existing customer.

Since the owner isn't around, I can't see them finding the energy to ban their only staff member.

I have added a forum for my podcast. This is a forum about strategy games. There are a couple of sections I would like you to focus on. These are: https://www.criticalmovesforum.com/forums/episode-discussions.5/ - for replies https://www.criticalmovesforum.com/forums/real-time-strategy.9/ - for threads/replies https://www.criticalmovesforum.com/forums/turn-based-strategy.10/ - for threads/replies https://www.criticalmovesforum.com/forums/grand-strategy-and-4x.11/ - for threads/replies https://www.criticalmovesforum.com/forums/city-builders-and-management.12/ - for threads/replies If possible, I'd prefer [mention=48]Nomad[/mention] and [mention=96]fdk[/mention] to take this package. Happy for you guys to use a couple of accounts too so as to mix it up.

The last two spots have been re-opened. Please only tag them when you are ready to begin the task.

But does your site rank really well on google? You could be putting this effort into building something of your own, not maintaining something belonging to someone else.

If he can't be arsed, why are you? Create a competitor, stick a link in your signature, and take any active members with you.

I see the mention of the fediverse everywhere. What is it?

Hi [mention=603]Creaky[/mention] - In your footer on your forum you have something you need to fix: You're welcome. Don't mention it. My pleasure.

Massively so. Martyrdom or using it as an excuse because they don’t want to run it anymore? Someone can correct me if they wish. But this legislation would come into effect if someone made a complaint about your site. You would have to show you had complied with their checklist. And, if found to be ‘guilty’ the punishment is a %age of revenue from the site. As a hobby site with expenses and no profit they can fine me 100% and it would still amount to zero dollars.

Gravatar is used, but it requires the user to have a gravatar account. Not everyone does.

...and it's free.