Case Study Members, Topics, or Posts

[Matthew]

Every community will have different metrics for success. Some value large membership pools. Others value large amounts of topics. Some may value high levels of discussion in smaller number of topics. My question to you is two fold: which do you prefer as a visiting member and which do you prefer as a managing leader?

 

[InMyOpinion]

As a visiting member, I personally prefer communities that focus on high-quality discussions, even if that means fewer topics. A smaller number of well-thought-out conversations feels more engaging than an overwhelming flood of surface-level posts. It also makes it easier to navigate and find valuable insights.

As a managing leader, I think success depends on the purpose of the community. A niche forum might thrive on depth over quantity, while a broader forum might benefit from a balance of active discussion and a steady stream of new topics. Ideally, I'd aim for a mix: encouraging high-quality conversations while ensuring there's enough fresh content to keep the community dynamic and growing.

 

[Nomad]

It does not matter how many topics or posts, or even members your forum has, what actually matters are your active user base, what matters is how many people are posting on the community in a daily basis, or even weekly basis. I am a community manager on a forum with over 2 million posts, over 70 thousand topics, and 5 thousand members but before I took the charge it did not even have 5 daily active users. When I visit forum, number of daily active users is something I look for. For me a successful community is the one where there are a lot of daily active users.

 

[Ravenfreak]

As a visiting member, I look for meaningful conversations and seeing what everyone is talking about. As a managing leader, I look for activity. I think as long as I have at least one other person other than me talking on a forum it's good. A forum is only dead if there's no one there to have conversations with.

 

[Cpvr]

It does not matter how many topics or posts, or even members your forum has, what actually matters are your active user base, what matters is how many people are posting on the community in a daily basis, or even weekly basis. I am a community manager on a forum with over 2 million posts, over 70 thousand topics, and 5 thousand members but before I took the charge it did not even have 5 daily active users. When I visit forum, number of daily active users is something I look for. For me a successful community is the one where there are a lot of daily active users.

I agree, an active user base is critical because engagement fuels more engagement. A forum can have millions of posts, but if it's not averaging a decent number of daily logins or active posters, sustaining the community becomes difficult.


However, ‘activity’ can mean different things. Some forums thrive with just 5-10 posts per day, while others consider 100-1,000 daily posts as their baseline. Every community has its own foundation and growth pace. Slow progress is still progress, and as long as a forum is seeing daily activity, it’s active in its own way.


A truly successful community is one that empowers, guides, and gives members a sense of belonging. Without that, is it really a community?

 

[Bawse]

Active members is a good measurement of success for a forum. How many members actively visit the forum each day? That's what I look at when considering the success of my own community. Posts are another priority, and ranking high in search engines is another way I determine my own success.