Good Forums & their Future

Social Media
1

I though it would be interesting to ask what makes a good forum? What do you think are their important features?
[SUP]Are @tags or the ‘unanswered threads’ page pivotal in making a successful forum? What extra functionality does ‘friends’ and ‘groups’ provide?[/SUP]

What do you think is necessary for a forums survival? And what do you think is unnecessary in most forums that are implemented today?
[SUP]What advantage does showing the number of posts in a category of a forum have? Does post count encourage quality posts? What purpose does ‘hot topics’ serve?[/SUP]

And lastly, what do you think is the future of forums? What would you like to see implemented?
[SUP]Could they take some cues from facebook, having ‘like’ buttons & news feeds? Or wikipedia providing community wide moderation? Or other social media.[/SUP]

I look forward to what you have to say.

2

i don’t think any of that stuff matters

a forum is only as good as its members

:slight_smile:

3

I think, having a number of different topics and sub-topics makes a forum readable. Their important features are, the distinct logo/symbols which differentiate them as sticky, unread, and locked/closed.
Necessary things are:

  • closed topics must appear at the last page not on the top
  • different section for announcement
  • posts must be checked by the moderator before approval to avoid spamming.

I always feel that forums and message boards are the best source of getting knowledge, because you are not only sharing your views but also see the thoughts of experts. Therefore, I think that forums having very nice future and possibly become the next data-centers in the future after search engines.

4

I agree with r937, it’s only as good as it’s members.

As long as a forum has the basic capabilities and is half way usable, it all comes down to it’s members to make it a success.

5

Yeas, as long as members are finding what they need, it will last. Features that matter are the ones that make it easy for users to navigate and find what they need.

6

The important feature of forums is providing a hub that lets its members communicate with one another. As long as the members are there, as the people here have already stated, forums are still going to remain strong.

7

Yeah this question really needs to be rephrased. The quality of a forums members are difficult to control, so basing a forum’s quality on them is hardly constructive. The question that really should be being asked is:

What is good forum design?

8

In which case, we are drifting from Social Media Content to Design. Please post your question in one of the design forums.

Thread Closed.