General Biggest forum challenge to date

[Cory]

Another good thing is to reply to every post and use AI to help you if you can't think of what to say

I try and reply to a large percentage of topics on my board, but as Cedric said, if you can't relate to the topic then there's not much of a reason to post. I don't want a bunch of AI replies on my board that are from technology and not the human mind. For instance, I'm not much of a sports person, so I rarely post in the Sports forum on my forum.

 

[Shawn Gossman]

I try and reply to a large percentage of topics on my board, but as Cedric said, if you can't relate to the topic then there's not much of a reason to post. I don't want a bunch of AI replies on my board that are from technology and not the human mind. For instance, I'm not much of a sports person, so I rarely post in the Sports forum on my forum.

I suppose that makes sense.

However, if you get any new members who post a topic and never get replies, they'll leave your community in most cases.

Those are the topics that I would focus on the most - the no-reply ones.

If you don't resonate, ask more about it as if you want the member to help you understand it more or teach you about something new. People love to do that, as well.

 

[Cory]

If you don't resonate, ask more about it as if you want the member to help you understand it more or teach you about something new. People love to do that, as well.

That's true that people love being asked questions about subjects they're knowledgeable about. That's partly the reason I own a resource board, I can attend to people's questions and offer my services to people less knowledgeable than me in fields that I am knowledgeable in. It can be a good feeling to talk about subjects you have a passion or keen interest in. Questions can be a great way to keep members coming back, but there are also those you find disappear and leave the question unanswered.

 

[Nomad]

I have been running forums since 2017 and the biggest challenge for me is always bringing in organic activities. I cannot get members who voluntarily joins my forums and remains active on the forum. Most of the members on my forums are either form post exchange or from posting packages I buy from promotional forums. I also have paid posters.

 

[freelancermaria]

Keeping the motivation in check at all times can be a tough challenge. Sometimes you feel like drifting off your forum due to a lack of motivation. This can often be caused by little activity from your user base, the feeling that you're the only one putting in the effort, and sometimes people will try and drag you down to their level and you feel like it's pointless catering to people who do not respect you as the forum owner.

It can be difficult to stay motivated at times. It is natural to feel unmotivated, especially when activity in your forum is minimal. In order to offset this, contact your active members and encourage them to participate more, as well as inviting others to join the website. Consider providing rewards or incentives, such as special titles or badges, which will motivate them.

 

[Cpvr]

Another good thing is to reply to every post and use AI to help you if you can't think of what to say

I’ve seen some forums using AI chatbots to respond to user topics, and I think that’s a disconnected way to build an online community. It sets a bad precedent for the community as well. I believe this method won’t help the community in the long run and could alienate the entire forum-building process, especially since it removes the human element that makes communities thrive.

 

[2TonWaffle]

I agree in using AI for getting topic ideas for within your forum categories are okay. It's using it as a basis for responses can lead to a lack of understanding from your members or even yourself as the reply wouldn't be from you and you wouldn't remember its context.

Thinking the biggest challenge is getting organic traffic and membership into the forums which is a unique niche (in my opinion.)

 

[Ravenfreak]

Finding the motivation to come up with new posts and keep things running has always been my biggest challenge when owning forums. I'd like to think I'm doing a bit better at this, but I know I can do better with posting new content on my forums. I think I get overwhelmed at times and get cold feet. I've been this way my entire life though.

 

[Bawse]

The biggest challenge for my forum was getting players to play my daily poker game and buy-in. It was hard to get our game to start up everyday, and continue to grow the community.

I think I finally got a good balance, and things are moving along smoothly.