Sebbie on the Webbie

I love discussion boards. To me they are the BEST THING about the Internet. Blogs are good, but discussion boards are super duper. Running one is like combining the blog and a discussion board, people still come to your site, but you get to see them STAY even though you weren’t active for days. That is so cool.

There are different type of discussion boards though. I don’t love all of them.

1. Super popular general boards

Example: MySpace Forums
These forums rarely produce discussions that are worth following. They are riddled with people who are there just to annoy you or make you feel like shit. Even if they didn’t have that effect on you, why would you want to hang out with those people anyway?

2. Super popular niche boards

Such as: Blog Catalog Discussion
These are a little better. Everyone has something in common, so everyone cen find something to talk to, help each other and give tips. The downside is that the discussion rarely gets very interesting, as because you know there will be 30 replies in about 30 minutes, if you take time to reply people will skip your reply anyway so there’s no point.

4. Small niche board

Little like doll collectors discussions.
Easy to start! Everyone has the interesting topic in mind so it’s easy to start talking. However, things rarely get very personal on these boards, as there is that topic, and even though off topic board would be introduced it’s a bit hard to “go there” as people are a tad bit worried about their credibility as a hobbyist if they stray too far from the topic.

3. Small general boards

Such as My Old board.

Hard one to get off ground! With nothing to base the conversation on, it can start out like pulling teeth! A good humorous base group is essential, people who like talking and chattering away to each other, even if nobody else was around. On these boards discussion CAN get really interesting. On the downside, after all that hard work, as they are small, the ripple effect of one disruptive member can actually take down the whole board. At best, the conversation can go really deep and personal, and you can make real friends on these boards.

Related reading:

Handling a conflict on a forum – relating to types 3&4 really.