Have you noticed how rebranding and merging seem to be the thing lately? It feels like every time I turn around, another platform is getting a fresh name or joining forces with a competitor. Not saying this is a bad thing of course. I've done both a rebrand and merge myself. Here's what I've spotted so far:

 

Rebranding:

 

• ForumDir is now Administrata.
  
• Chatosaur decided to switch it up to ForumIsland.
  
• CrowdTopics became DiscussBB.
  
• NerdZone is currently rebranding as XenForums soon.
  

Merging:

• Agora found a new home with Administrata.
  
• AdventureAds teamed up with Chatosaur.
  
• The Blogging Collective joined forces with AnotherAdminForum.
  

And all this has happened within just a few months! :D

 

Is it just me, or is everyone trying to shake up their identity to stay relevant? What do you think about this trend? Smart moves or just try to keep it fresh (not a bad thing)? What merges do you predict will happen?

 

• Agora found a new home with Administrata.
  

Did you notify all members on Agora that they were going to be merged here? I don't seem to recall getting any notice whatsoever of this action.

 

I am pissed beyond belief that my data could be used over here too. :mad:

 

/s

 

What merges do you predict will happen?

ForumPromotion into one of my forums if [mention=74]Cam[/mention] takes me up on my open 5 or 6-figure offer.

 

https://forumpromotion.net/threads/roflmao.184512/page-2#post-1859759

Would constant rebranding eventually lead to member confusion? Unless the forum was in its early days than I would think that would be an issue.

Would constant rebranding eventually lead to member confusion? Unless the forum was in its early days than I would think that would be an issue.

Social hideouts was a small forum when it merged with SWC as was another forum, so I don’t see a big issue there.

 

Forum mergers have been happening for years, but I do believe it can lead to member confusion especially if it’s done on a more larger scale.

 

Just imagine if Digitalpoint or WebmasterWorld merged.

 

TheadminZone was merged with AnotherAdminForum back in the day along with AdminExtra.

 

Having more than one forum in the same niche is vital for the growth of an industry.

I've been laughing on the sidelines at all the small communities merging together. Don't start a forum if you don't plan to see it through.

Thee Zone was a merger of three of my existing communities so I think merging and rebranding can really help a community out! It is interesting that a few different communities have done this within the past month or so, perhaps seeing it happen often is giving the same idea for other admins and they decide to jump on the rebranding/merging trend while it's hot.

I've been laughing on the sidelines at all the small communities merging together. Don't start a forum if you don't plan to see it through.

You have no idea of the story behind some of the mergers. Do not assume it was a lack of desire or time. Other reasons exist.

Merges aren't a new thing, but I certainly agree that there seems to have been a bit of an explosion of them lately. As long as they're being done for the right reasons, which in my view would be to build a more long-lasting and larger community base with more resources/features/activity than each individual site offers, I don't have a problem with them.

 

Not quite sure how I feel at this time about the whole "one login, many forums" idea I've read about... I remember something sort of similar being tried back in the early 2010s, and if I recall correctly it ended promptly when one malicious forum owner decided to add what was essentially a keylogger to his forum's login page to harvest logins to access other user's accounts on other forums... and I'm not quite sure I'm aware of a technological solution, short of mandatory activation of 2FA (which will put off a lot of forum users) that could counter this at the current time.

 

I've been laughing on the sidelines at all the small communities merging together. Don't start a forum if you don't plan to see it through.

 

I think that's somewhat unfair. There can be many reasons for a merge to happen - not necessarily someone "not seeing it through". Sometimes it's a good thing for two similar communities to join forces and work towards "breaking through" a bit. I certainly don't laugh at admins who want to take that step to potentially elevate their community to the next level. That being said, I take on board what I think might have been your point - there have been a few very small forums lately being merged into others, and I personally find the practice of merging old/inactive forums into newer ones just to bump up the stats a bit off-putting.

 

ForumPromotion into one of my forums if [mention=74]Cam[/mention] takes me up on my open 5 or 6-figure offer.

 

https://forumpromotion.net/threads/roflmao.184512/page-2#post-1859759

 

What an entertaining read that link was, thank you. :ROFLMAO:

 

What an entertaining read that link was, thank you. :ROFLMAO:

I try my best.

About a month ago, I merged my phpbb forum with another phpbb forum and then we started using XF. The forum has grown really big. So, I think merge is good. I have also been on a forum that rebranded, and the rebranded forum looks better. So, I also believe rebranding is also good

What an entertaining read that link was, thank you. :ROFLMAO:

And, it got even more entertaining as I made my last reply before bed.

 

They got some tall horses up in the stables of ForumPromotion. (High horse pun)

 

I can drag this on for as long as they keep replying. 🤷‍♂️

So, I also believe rebranding is also good

Rebranding from RS was also necessary as I was unaware that they'd be all uppity with the domain name alone, not comparing it with the content, to toss it into Safe Search, which isn't an obvious thing to be made aware of (there's no messaging that your site is in Safe Search in Webmaster Tools, etc. — I accidentally stumbled upon it by VPN hopping and trying to see what my snippets visually looked like).

Not quite sure how I feel at this time about the whole "one login, many forums" idea I've read about... I remember something sort of similar being tried back in the early 2010s, and if I recall correctly it ended promptly when one malicious forum owner decided to add what was essentially a keylogger to his forum's login page to harvest logins to access other user's accounts on other forums... and I'm not quite sure I'm aware of a technological solution, short of mandatory activation of 2FA (which will put off a lot of forum users) that could counter this at the current time.

Well this is solveable in the modern era with OAuth style authentication, and where you end up is essentially what Mastodon does. Which is fine until your home instance/server/forum shuts down, leaving you stranded from the entire network, not just your corner of it.

 

Which means you get people running their own Mastodon instance just to ensure they’re never booted off the wider network, which is firmly ah unintended consequence.

You have no idea of the story behind some of the mergers. Do not assume it was a lack of desire or time. Other reasons exist.

I don't need a story or care for one. This is just an observation. I've seen a lot of communities merging, and it's also my opinion. You don't have to agree with it. 😎

I don't need a story or care for one. This is just an observation. I've seen a lot of communities merging, and it's also my opinion. You don't have to agree with it. 😎

It’s not about agreeing with it, it’s about how insulting it is to some of the people who chose to merge, because you think it’s only ever about how weak they are, that they can’t stay the course. Don’t laugh about people I’m situations you have no understanding of, because it makes you look like an arrogant fool, with limited empathy.

 

Some of the people that have merged forums over the years did so to ensure that the information wouldn’t be lost before they died. Some of the people I have called friends over the years have died, and you think it’s fine to laugh at the idea that they want some of their legacy preserved.

It’s not about agreeing with it, it’s about how insulting it is to some of the people who chose to merge, because you think it’s only ever about how weak they are, that they can’t stay the course. Don’t laugh about people I’m situations you have no understanding of, because it makes you look like an arrogant fool, with limited empathy.

 

Some of the people that have merged forums over the years did so to ensure that the information wouldn’t be lost before they died. Some of the people I have called friends over the years have died, and you think it’s fine to laugh at the idea that they want some of their legacy preserved.

How was it a insult? I'm sorry I think it's funny that I see people start countless forums then merge them. Maybe if more attention was put to one forum, you wouldn't need to merge. Merges only help with content, maybe get a few members, not if all the sites are small though. Probably a lot of the SAME members so I think the merges are basically pointless. Again, not a insult just my opinion.

How was it an insult? I'm sorry I think it's funny that I see people start countless forums then merge them. Maybe if more attention was put to one forum, you wouldn't need to merge. Merges only help with content, maybe get a few members, not if all the sites are small though. Probably a lot of the SAME members so I think the merges are basically pointless. Again, not an insult just my opinion.

Like I said, not everyone who merges forums does so the way you think is funny. Just have a bit of empathy for others who aren’t as fortunate as you. (Not everyone who merges is a serial forum starter. Not everyone who merges does so because they’re bored. Not everyone who gives up their forum to a merger lives to see the other side of 10+ years of history trying to be preserved.)

Like I said, not everyone who merges forums does so the way you think is funny. Just have a bit of empathy for others who aren’t as fortunate as you. (Not everyone who merges is a serial forum starter. Not everyone who merges does so because they’re bored. Not everyone who gives up their forum to a merger lives to see the other side of 10+ years of history trying to be preserved.)

I never said everyone, but I won't go back and forth here. Good luck with your merges. I'm not hating. I do wish you success, but I don't see how merging smaller communities helps, and I stand on that.

I never said everyone, but I won't go back and forth here. Good luck with your merges. I'm not hating. I do wish you success, but I don't see how merging smaller communities helps, and I stand on that.

I didn’t say I was merging. I’ve just been around long enough to have lost friends who merged as one of their final acts to ensure their work didn’t get lost. I do not find it funny, at all.

I didn’t say I was merging. I’ve just been around long enough to have lost friends who merged as one of their final acts to ensure their work didn’t get lost. I do not find it funny, at all.

You're using an emotional argument and applying it broadly to all mergers, despite it being relevant only in uncommon cases.

 

The fact is, mergers happening within the past 3 months have, for the most part, been all small communities, and the number of mergers that have occurred in this fashion probably outweighs the number of mergers in the scenario that you proposed by a great deal.

 

I don't know how you can take insult to 98 mergers of small forums over 2 forums that have merged over the decades. But, I'm not going there.

I never said everyone, but I won't go back and forth here. Good luck with your merges. I'm not hating. I do wish you success, but I don't see how merging smaller communities helps, and I stand on that.

The only way I see it helping is if they are in the same niche and don't have a membership base with a ven diagram like this, which has been the case with the most recent mergers that I've witnessed.

 

 

Some of the rebranding feels lateral, but this is the power of running your own forum - your vision, your inspiration, your privilege to choose a new domain and design and name.

 

Excited to see the future of these communities!

Merging can be good. Merging can be bad.

 

Depends how it's done and who's judging whether it's good or bad.

You're using an emotional argument and applying it broadly to all mergers

Not at all. I'm specifically against the attitude of standing back and being all smug about choices other people made, without any understanding of why that choice was made.

 

My point appears to have eluded you as well, I see: it doesn't matter why it happens. It matters that you don't take a dump on choices other people made without knowing why they were made.

It’s not about agreeing with it, it’s about how insulting it is to some of the people who chose to merge, because you think it’s only ever about how weak they are, that they can’t stay the course. Don’t laugh about people I’m situations you have no understanding of, because it makes you look like an arrogant fool, with limited empathy.

 

Some of the people that have merged forums over the years did so to ensure that the information wouldn’t be lost before they died. Some of the people I have called friends over the years have died, and you think it’s fine to laugh at the idea that they want some of their legacy preserved.

My point appears to have eluded you as well, I see: it doesn't matter why it happens. It matters that you don't take a dump on choices other people made without knowing why they were made.

The basis of your argument here was an appeal to emotion, especially when this is a rare circumstance.

 

It's as simple as that.

You should probably have read my very first post on the matter first where I laid out the exact same thesis - don’t dump on what you don’t know. Yes, there are emotional ones in my case, but there are people who merge for financial reasons (namely they can’t afford to run the site any more), some merge because they’re moving on, some merge… there’s any number of reasons, far more than just the ones you and Bawse are pointing to.

 

People invested a lot of time and energy into forums. Giving them up for any reason is not trivial. Don’t sneer at it just because you find a subset worthy of derision.