Frontpage...

[cg admin]

Hey everyone,

I noticed that the Frontpage hasn't been used in over a year now, and was wondering if anyone had some good ideas or any desire to jump-start it again. Now since I haven't been watching over the place all that long, if there's any background I should be aware of please let me know.

 

[mom2many]

I was writing for it, but it's hard to come up with continuous parenting topics that aren't over used.

I know this is a parenting site but being able to have a wider variety of options would be nice.

I also think a less formal approach would be better.

 

[cg admin]

I like the sound of that. In what ways do you think we could branch out a little and still keep it parenting/family oriented?

And if you don't mind, would you mind explaining a little further what you mean by less formal?

 

[IADad]

What if there was a way for anyone to submit a front page article? Or maybe for an administrator to "promote" a particularly good post to the front page? Maybe then, the quality of new thread posts would go up? I certainly think it's more likely for a larger pool of potential authors to come up with something new and exciting to post.

However, is there value in frontpage posts? Do they get seen easier? Do they bring participants in?

A larger question is why do people not participate here? This used to be a much more vibrant environment, now it's hard to even think about coming here, because it's rare for there to be anything of value to discuss. Is everyone just posting on facebook and pintrest. is the age of the subject driven forum coming to an end? You would think a parents as a group have a lot in common to want to communicate about. Are other parenting forums suffering the same fate?

 

[cg admin]

What if there was a way for anyone to submit a front page article? Or maybe for an administrator to "promote" a particularly good post to the front page? Maybe then, the quality of new thread posts would go up? I certainly think it's more likely for a larger pool of potential authors to come up with something new and exciting to post.

However, is there value in frontpage posts? Do they get seen easier? Do they bring participants in?

A larger question is why do people not participate here? This used to be a much more vibrant environment, now it's hard to even think about coming here, because it's rare for there to be anything of value to discuss. Is everyone just posting on facebook and pintrest. is the age of the subject driven forum coming to an end? You would think a parents as a group have a lot in common to want to communicate about. Are other parenting forums suffering the same fate?

Those are good questions. I have witnessed before that an active frontpage will bring in more traffic, and I like your idea about allowing more people to promote posts to the frontpage. I think it would work well if all staff here could do it, admins and moderators. As long as no one has any major objections, I'll see about getting this done.

This is the first parenting forum I have ever worked with, so I can't compare it to other parenting related forums. The one thing I do know, is that any community will die once everyone gives up on it. I can assure you that forums are not a dying thing as some people have come to believe. Forums offer something Facebook and Pinterest will never be able to. We still get a lot of newcomers, so we need to try and find a way to engage them and encourage them to stick around.

I'll look into the frontpage settings and see about setting up the staff with the ability to promote posts. Let's just take everything one step at a time, and enjoy each one.

 

[mom2many]

There was a time where the front page was promoted articles within the site, and I agree that the front page does draw people in, it's usually the first thing people see, and if they like what they see they will join.

Another thing I've been thinking on, is that joining is harder then it used to be. The very thing that was supposed to help stop trolls, has made it hard for those who are interested. The restrictions seem to leave a negative feeling with any potential new members.

I come on everyday, don't post, but all you really see is "Hi, new mom to a troubled 2 year old". Then they never come back and I think it's because of the wait, they look elsewhere and when a parent is needing help 'now' that wait, well who wants to wait?

 

[cg admin]

Can anyone tell me what the difference is between these three groups?

10 posts
200 posts
300 posts

There's a custom user group for each one of those, and I can't see any noticeable differences, so if anyone can fill me in that'd be nice.

I'm all for easing up on registration restrictions. No offense to the crowd, but we cater to a lot of middle-aged people, some even elderly, who don't know enough about forums to have to fool with waiting around to be able to post their issue. mom2many is right, who wants to wait? We have good moderation, so I don't see spam being an issue.

 

[mom2many]

I believe the 300 is for the family album? That's so we can share pics with a little more confidence and know that not just anyone can see them.

I'm unsure of the other two.

 

[IADad]

The 200 gives you access to the veterans page, I think.

I think 10 maybe is something to do with attachments? maybe?

I agree, we should probably do all we can with troll prevention from an automation and moderation standpoint, and open up the first posting rules a bit.

 

[cg admin]

Okay we'll leave those as is then.

I've tweaked the permissions and hopefully that will open it up more to newcomers. I'll go back and change whatever around if need be.