Found a website that's great for other forum members? Want to advertise your own site? Do so here but remember to watch the content of your links.
Sat Mar 25, 2006 9:22 am
http://empirebeyond.proboards99.com/index.cgi
It's just started so it's really empty. But that's what I have all you lovely people for right?
Sat Mar 25, 2006 9:46 am
I feel like giving a brief review. This is not to put you down, but to help ya out.
Even if there are people willing to help you out, people join communities to be part of one, not to get one going. You should work on posting numerous threads that you think will stimulate meaningful discussion and debate to help get the ball rolling as you continue to promote.
Many of your forums, such as "Suggestions", "Debate", and "Art", have uninspiring names that may strike one with the feeling of deja vu, sense of blandness, and maybe even the feeling that you just are not willing to put in much effort (regardless of whether or not the assessment is fair). Try looking at other forums to see how they label the same subjects; PPT, for instance, uses "Ye Olde PPT Gallery" instead of "Art", and "The Debating Table" instead of "Debate"; my forum, The Infinity Program, uses "Info Desk" instead of "Suggestions", and, as a plus, the name is not verbose yet is inclusive of all forum-related input. You can also use an online thesaurus as you try to come up with a more creative name. Though the forum names themselves won't do much for you, they help instill a sense of uniqueness, and they help give potential members the sense that you're putting more effort into your forum. You should be creative in the names, but not too much; the names should have a decent amount of relevance to the subject they stand for.
Judging by the URL you provided, the name of your forum is "Empire Beyond", yet I see "Message Board" upon visiting your forum. You should change this ASAP. I also recommend you get a good banner that will do well to match the template. This will add to the atmosphere of uniqueness and help distinguish your forum aesthetically.
I give kudos to the light colors and easy-to-read text. The descriptions provided for each forum are sufficient.
Where are your rules? If you don't have any, you should consider posting some soon, if you haven't. If you were to post these rules, where would they be placed? Consider: would these rules be justifyably easy to find? And where would you post your announcements? I advise you make a forum to post your rules, announcements, and other important details, such as your mission statement, or what your forum is all about.