Dog Forum | Why is it so inactive?

It seems like the board has a lot of finite information sections, like one is suggestions for dog friendly restaurants. Unless new restaurants open up regularly in your area, it's not likely people will post there. It's not really forum thread content, that's more something you'd expect to see on a page or blog.

Then I saw one about dog legal stuff, but .. is anyone there qualified to answer legal questions?

It might be more helpful to think about how a message board is about discussion, what forums/content can you have that creates discussion?

The dog diaries seems like a nice touch.

If it has good traffic, why are they coming? And why aren't they staying? Are they just looking for an answer to a common dog question, read the thread, then close the site? Are you tracking incoming page views?

In regards to engagement, maybe some sort of contest. Photos of dogs maybe.
Ask people questions for them to answer? Board games, but dog related?
What are the points for? Can they use them for anything? Wasn't clear to me if it's gamified or just listing points.

Personally, I love my dog and I'm very fond of dogs in general, but I would never join a vague message board about dogs.. even one that wasn't littered with ads.

Nonetheless, 72k members is pretty impressive.
 
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  • (y) Great domain
  • (y) Good traffic volumes
  • (n) Bad view to sign up rates
  • (n) Bad engagement
Why?
As far as I can tell, you've done a really good overall job with dogforum.co.uk
🙂👍Top show mate!

I realize this probably isn't all that hrlpful, however I actually do find myself in full agreement with cherrysodastar too, yet of particular note would be where cherry mentios: "Personally, I love my dog and I'm very fond of dogs in general, but I would never join a vague message board about dogs.. even one that wasn't littered."

Something I've been contemplating lately is regarding motivations for anyone, including myself, to actively participate with any particular fora...and honestly at first I had just assumed I already knew.

Only I soon realized I actually don't participate with any fora except mine as well as a few friends ones too... though primarily only to support my friends, secondarily as it's my responsibility as co-admin for each of them.

I wouldn't even be here @ xf commune if not for this being the official Xenforo "Customer Support Community".

Practically every fora I've tried participating at over the last few years have proven a common pattern of increasingly presenting the same general social vacuum, more often also extremely toxic as well. The fora lacking activity are obvious straight away so there's no point hanging around, while the fora that still seem as though to be active, in literally every case I've experienced, quickly become intolerably repulsive due to the few lingering members of these pseudo-"actuve" fora apparently always being afflicted with cluster b behavioural predilections. Eg: "narcissistic", "sociopathic", and all manner of variably severe destructive personality dysfunction.

Basically what I'm saying is that I think the antiquated legacy fora as they currently still haunt us in this highly polished '90s form, are long dead and merely being propped up by those who once gleefully lorded over many thousands of members during the online fora glory days. Power trippers desperately clinging to memories of fruitful days long gone where their delusions of grandeur were adequately satiated by the masses.

Unfortunately they're ignorant to actual reality and simply blind to the obvious fact that these fora have been left stagnant for a very long time now.
Not just XF. All of them. They're all apparently hellbent on polishing and re-polishing the same things all while proclaiming variable nonsense.

Fora fanatics typically say the opposite of what I have here, and usually blame "Social Media" for why fora are slipping ever further into irrelevance.
However, by stepping out-side these fora communes it quickly becomes apparent that the overwhelming majority perception of fora is generally the same.

Predominant control over the developmental direction of fora has clearly been taken over by predatory individuals who prioritize personal "power" over others. Which is probably why almost all "upgrades", "improvements" and so forth ars specifically designed for further imposing that common stifling environment of absolute control over community members as if they're slaves, rather than actually bothering with improving the conditions for positive social environments to develop naturally by members positively benefiting from such environments.

Bottom line is that fora admins adhering to the twisted communal legacy fora ideologies dominating places like XF community, are all doomed and nothing can save them.

The only solution is to step outside these literal cult echo chambers and seek out novel new concepts. Can try presenting new ideas here among the cultists but as they've repeatedly proven, they simply attack everyone who fails to conform to the cult ideology.
 
The only solution is to step outside these literal cult echo chambers and seek out novel new concepts. Can try presenting new ideas here among the cultists but as they've repeatedly proven, they simply attack everyone who fails to conform to the cult ideology.

I feel that more and more people these days are actively rejecting the brain-hijacking allure of social media and looking for a "lo-fi" feel. The nostalgia of a MB, and a slower life (checking back for responses later, rather than instant notifications) comes with a return to the old ways, because it's what we know.

One post in particular on dogforum stands out where one of the members is upset that the forum has recently updated and changed so much that he has to learn how to navigate it again. I'm running into this same issue, where I set up a forum and asked my friends to test it out and they're just overwhelmed by all the options.

What type of novel ideas have you tried and are they working on your own forums?
 
I feel that more and more people these days are actively rejecting the brain-hijacking allure of social media and looking for a "lo-fi" feel. The nostalgia of a MB, and a slower life (checking back for responses later, rather than instant notifications) comes with a return to the old ways, because it's what we know.
Yeah you're probably right aye.

One post in particular on dogforum stands out where one of the members is upset that the forum has recently updated and changed so much that he has to learn how to navigate it again. I'm running into this same issue, where I set up a forum and asked my friends to test it out and they're just overwhelmed by all the options.
Same thing hundreds of thousands of others say too.

Yet the fanatical fora cultists aggressively reject this simple reality though. According to the cultists, we're not allowed to do anything other than the exact same dumb antiquated '90s fora ****e the cultists obsess over ceaselessly.

Spend enough time here, you'll soon begin stumbling on some of the buried threads where great new ideas were presented only to become shutdown by cultist derailing nonsense. Seems like a sick sport for them.

What type of novel ideas have you tried and are they working on your own forums?
Currently we have several dozen novel projects in development, though only a few of the minor personal hobby ones have anything to do with xf.
Was considering sharing these here over the months ahead....even started a thread barely two days ago specifically for the purpose.

Certain members of this community apparently can't recognize nuanced humour or I dunno what the hell is wrong with 'em really.

😏Last I checked, we were up to around page the 3rd, of, lmfao, mostly just resident fora cultists orgiastically smearin' feces everywhere.

I don't mind sharing some deets, though absent apologies from every single abusive pos here, there ain't a frozen chance in hell these dishonourable cowards get nothin'.
 
I don't think the inactivity problems really boils downs to the content of the website, but because of the number of forums dedicated to the subject.

In a Google search alone, I found around 15-20 pet forums in the results, and that doesn't even include subreddits like dogs or cats or any other animal specific subreddit. I think this forum really suffers because of that.
 
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