Removing my "Forum Games" board

[James]

I've considered removing the Forum Games board, due to the fact that I want to encourage posts in the on-topic boards(gaming,anime,etc.).



It also made the general discussion look like it had more posts than the boards to our niche.

As for now, I've moved it out of sight, but I haven't deleted it just yet.



Yea or Nay? Because I'm sick of seeing a lack of posts in the niche boards, considering there's enough topics to post in.

 

[Jazzy]

Have you asked your members how they feel about you doing this?



How many members are active in the Forum Game board?



Just because you remove Forum Games, doesn't mean members will post in other sections. As a matter of fact, it might make them angry enough to leave. Some members go to forums to relax and play a few games. If you take this way, then you're opening yourself up to potentially lose members. Is it worth the risk is what you need to ask yourself.

 

[Gizmo]

Maybe keep it but have it so they can't post to it until they have 1000 posts?

 

[Fatal Dawn]

I think you have to weigh whether or not it will work for the benefit of your forum.



Forum games tend to be very popular because they are a good way to break the ice and if members don't like the content of your forum then they at least have an incentive to be active. Though I think some members only appreciate forum games because it is a quick and easy way to increase their post count.



However, I don't think it's a good idea to make it so that so that members need a high post count to participate in forum games.

 

[About Lee]

I don't make one anymore. I like 100% chat

 

[Sinon]

Removing it seems like it would hurt, rather than heal. Getting rid of a place to post doesn't mean members will suddenly think Hey, I should post somewhere else instead! If all they do is post in forum games, and don't participate in the rest of the board, getting rid of the only part they use won't make them use the rest of it. They'll just find a different forum that doesn't have such a big stick up its ass. Sure, if all they do is post in the games section it's not a huge loss, but it will reduce the visible activity. Two things I've noticed people don't like regarding forums. Little/no activity, and administrators being the only ones posting anything.



Simple solutions to forum games: Provide engaging content, turn off post count in forum games, move it to the bottom of the board, etc.

 

[Fatal Dawn]

Removing post count is a nice way to experiment. If things remain the same; if you find that member activity is still concentrated in forum games, then that should tell you that members aren't posting for the post count. They appreciate forum games more than your other forums.

 

[Ashley]

When I still had Chatting Time, we eventually ended up having to do away with a forum games section, because too many people were posting there and almost no where else. So we archived the topics and deleted the section. Yes, I understand that it was a general chat forum, but there was more to the forum than that section, which is why we removed it at the time. I think we even had post count turned off in there as well, but it didn't seem to make much of a difference, though. In the end we did away with it.

 

[Scarbo]

Forum Games are stupid and I've never made a forum dedicated to them. If people started them in the Off topic board I'd just delete them. Why fill your forum up with spam?



Get rid of it.