Do You Think A Forum Community Can Be Too Big ?

[DarkAngelBGE]

Well, *too* big means that something must become wrong then with the functioning of the particular communty. What would that be ?

[Black Op]

If a community gets too large that they can't be checked by mods, then it's too big IMO.

[Klaas]

Well, I don't wish to offended the great people at HG, but some of their forums are a good example of this, especially AoMH's. I post there twice a month but read them on a regular basis, and I've encountered lots of spam and flames. My fingers sometimes really itch to click the delete and ban button that's not there when browsing those forums

Also depends on which public you have, older people are usually easier to handle.

[CodeOptimist]

Keep good moderators "on call" and it probably won't happen.

However, having too many boards to post on is also confusing and can make a community too big. (WFG definetly isn't at that point)

[Nazgul11]

Yeah I think that it is possible for a forum to get to big... But most of the time forums don't.

[akya]

when a community gets too big, as you guys said, it becomes difficult to watch everyone. ppl get inactive or don't know what to answer and who to answer, and there's a lot of posts to check each time you go to the forum so you spend a lot of time just viewing them...and it can become too much

[Quacker]

The reason I "resigned" from my senior moderator job is because it took up more time than I had.

Using that principle and past knowledge, i give this poll a resounding yes.

[ZeZar]

Then have more MODerators...!

[Murchad]

I think it becomes too big when there are so many new threads open, that the ones you just made the day before are several pages into the archives.

[CodeOptimist]

@Murchad: Very good point. A good example is the AnandTech forums.. boy there's a lot of traffic there

[DarkAngelBGE]

Also, I think, it's better for the community when there is a member base that regularly posts and thus know each other very well, than when you feel you are just one of many and are not recognized at all by anybody else.

[Black Op]

Good point Tim. I often stoped posting on big forums because I felt like I was just some generic poster that no one knows rather than the personality-filled Black Op, whom is known by everyone on the forum.

[DarkAngelBGE]

Hehe, right, Randy.

So the direct question that generates itself when finding the answer to this topic's question would be:

Should new registrations be disabled ? Meaning nobody can register anymore on the forums..

[av_nefardec]

No, it can never be too big as long as it's kept balanced and in check with good moderation, and it doesn't interfere with the real goal at hand, which is to complete two games.

[akya]

I know most ppl who register don't really post in the forums...so then there is no real expansion of the community. But I also notice here, you guys are really active and if I forget to check the forums for 2 days, it does take a long time to read all the things that have been said. So it's a balance that must be instored (sp?). Maybe put a limit to the number of threads you can create by days ? I don't know. But all those threads are really interesting anyway

[DarkAngelBGE]

Yeah, that's a good point akya. Maybe limit the number of new threads per day per forum to 5 or so. That should work...could be frustrating for some people, though. Also, this shouldn't apply to the support forum.

[Tonto_Icy_Tripod]

Personally I don't like the idea of limiting anything having to do with posting. I would say the answer to the poll is a yes though. Simply put, as long as it hasn't gotten to the point where it's "too big" you shouldn't limit anything. If the forums however do get to the point where they're simply "too big", then you can put limits. Right now it'd be more of a hindrance to the community than a gain I'd say.

[DarkAngelBGE]

Of course, of course, I just seeked some interesting discussion. It could destroy our current community if any strict limits were set to it..

[Tonto_Icy_Tripod]

Exactly. Just trying to make sure you don't get any wild ideas and do something stupid

[King Tutankhamun]

yes, maybe with the limitations to certain levels of members to their amout of posts they can do per day or week. I am very pleased with this forum, it is the best i've been on, and is the perfect size now!

[Black Op]

Now now King Tutankhamun.... people would hate it if they were restricted in how many times they could post a day. It would make them feel unwanted and ditch WFG.

[Sam]

I say the more the better.

Then you can get better feedback and discussions going

[DarkAngelBGE]

Yeah Sam, but what if you started a thread and by the time you check it again next hour there are 50 replies already, which you can't read all as you have too little time. As the thread starter you should do that though. The amount of posts that flow in every minute makes it impossible to keep track of many threads a day.

[notpete]

How about "levels" of membership? Obviously here we have forums dedicated to staff only, but I'm thinking of a scheme operating at a more general level. Forumers that post more regularly get access to a higher level forum than most; so you won't lose anonymonity at higher levels - because fewer people post at higher level forums, you'll recognise the names of those that do post. As the forum grows, the number of levels of forums increase - effectively forming a pyramid of forums, with only the most frequent posters having access to the top most forums.

Having said all that, I'm not a major forum user; this could easily have a lot of drawbacks.

[knuckles]

Yeah, I think this could really lead to forum users who have not much time to post feel left out. :-(