Forum Failures

Rather than complain about forums people make, I'm going to give advice to those of you who are planning to run or have recently started running one:

• Give it a purpose. Don't create a forum on the basis of just wanting one. Make it based around a specific subject and make it clear what that subject is. Don't try and cover too wide a subject or too many subjects. Creating a forum based around everything in life is pointless and too open ended. Going to the toilet is part of life, do you really want a discussion about that?
• Don't start with lots of different categories and boards. To new members, this can look overwhelming and stop them from posting. Also, rows and rows of 0's don't look impressive, as you might imagine. Start with some basic boards and build up over time if necessary.
• Don't use text speak. Using full words, spelling correctly and implementing grammer well will make your forum look more professional and so attract people to join in conversation.
• Try your best to implement a template. Using the basic colour scheme looks dull and boring. It doesn't seperate your forum from the thousands of others. If you are putting on a template/colour scheme, don't forget to put the buttons on there too. The default buttons do not go well with most colour schemes. Also, use a good template. Don't try and make your own if you haven't got an eye for colour. It will look stupid and the colours are likely to make text unreadable.
• Make your forum different. Give users something new to see. Give them different conversations and discussions to elsewhere. If you do, they'll post more.
• Don't think that giving away moderator and admin permissions will help. You're forum could be over-run. It's also very intimidating for new members when the only people who post are moderators and administrators. You need normal members to keep your forum...normal.
• Write some rules and put effort into them. Make sure you know what your forum will do and how it should be used. Never have rules that contradict each other. You'll look like an idiot. Never steal rules from another forum. You'll look like an idiot.
• Make it clear what to do. New members and guests want to know what they can do and where to go. If you leave them without clues, they'll leave. Simple as.
• If you're using invisionfree, don't ignore the "Portal" feature. It makes a nice front page for your forum and allows members to access important and recent topics in just a few clicks.
• On the other hand, don't get obsessed with gadgets on your forum. Sure, you can add money, shops and many other things. But they are pointless. You don't need them. They just make members post boost to get "money" which they will in turn waste on rubbish.
• Finally, a point on management: Be strict but not mean. You want to make yourself an authority but at the same time ensure that members feel comfortable talking to you. This is true in most aspects of life ;)

Sorry, it's a long list. But it's a helpful one. Don't neglect it.

Thanks to AKH for grammer points :D