Do you run a player forum on any of your sites?

[baldidiot]

How many of you run forums for your players?

For those that do, what are your experiences - I imagine the hardest part is getting it started!

[pompeyrayuk]

Ive had pokerpeople over 3years now and have an artice about my experiences on Affiliate Aid

[mojo]

I've had to move twice. That's not a good thing but it couldn't be helped. I'll never move again. I advise choosing your platform carefully to start out so that it meets your needs and you don't have to move.

My latest (and final) forum has been up only a couple months now but I love it. It's the people that make it and I concentrate on the social element that I feel is lacking when gambling online. It can be lonely compared to land casinos where you meet other players. I feel we all need a place to call home online. That's my approach but that doesn't work for everyone.

Good luck!

[UltimatePokerBonus]

I do not host any forums but have given serious thought to starting one. I'll be interested to see the comments that arrive in this post. I can only assume its a lot of work and tough to get people really started and contributing to the forum in the beginning.
Those who do host a forum should give the names here. I would post in them as much as I could to help out.

[vmlinuz]

We run a Hungarian forum, which is quite big (7500 users, 160k posts) and a smaller one in Romanian.
I can tell you the hardest part is getting it going. You need to post a lot of content yourself in order to get people to join the conversations. Once you got it going it's a lot easier. You get a lot of free content and it can also help you in ranking for longer keywords in search engines.

[giggles7p]

I have run or moderated forums for over 8 years now and the best thing about a forum for an affiliate is your viewers, members are already targeted! Every single visitor you get is a gambler, as if you can catch thier attention with exclusive promos and contests for good casinos, pokerrooms, etc..you will have no wheres to go but up in the industry. They are hard work, constant work with updates, answering questions, and just overall social aspect, but if you like people, like socializing and love to advertise and get creative, a forum is perfect for you.

Good Luck

[laffit]

i've got a fairly active forum. it was a little work to get it started, but well worth it. the social aspect is great (i consider many members as close friends) and if the situation is right you'll develop better players which will help you out in the long run.

ive had success gaining membership by running free contests which can only be entered by forum members. be sure to "welcome" each member with a personal email and ask about them and if they have any suggestions for your forum. anytime you see a new member post, respond quickly and keep the conversation going. see if you can develop an interesting niche that gives members a reason to get involved.

[Nandakishore]

I wish I had a forum, but it is too much of work for me.

[AussieDave]

I advise choosing your platform carefully to start out so that it meets your needs and you don't have to move.

I can't stress this enough, mojo is spot on, choose your forum script carefully.

Granted http://www.vbulletin.com/ is not free but IMHO it's the best. When I started out I was using phpBB and although it was good, it eventually wasn't that great cause I needed stuff that only vBulletin could provide.

Back then trying to convert to another forum platform was a nightmare. Ok it's like 100 x easier these days but whyt put yourself through that drama. Your far better investing (it's an investment in your future) and pony up the $300US or so to buy vBulletin from the get go.

I think if you can spare the time and have the time to put into a forum, it certainly is a way to build a very loyal customer base. These days with the competitiveness of Google and changing alogs, a forum ain't such a bad idea if you can keep a handle on spammers.

Spammers are IMHO the #1 killer of forums.



Cheers



Dave

[Nandakishore]

Is the WP Forum Server any good?

[craig96]

It would be nice to own a forum and maybe in the future, but I could not deal with the spam.

[bonusbeast]

I currently do not have a forum, I have always considered starting one but I know the amount of work involved and I don't want to take on that task at this point in time.

[shortow]

Very recently launched one so the above tips are very helpful, thanks.

Spent a lot of time tossing up whether to go with one of the open source platforms or Vbulletin. Wasn't really a cost consideration because I don't think $200 is a lot to pay in the long run...more the fact that my host had a simple 'one click' install of SMF which seemed to be rated as on eof the better free options.

Anyway went with Vbulletin and after the inevitable learning curve and platform peculiarities i'm pretty happy so far.

Looking forward to growing a community, but not spending 2hrs a day fighting spam!