The Forum Wheel - Posting Exchange Community

[KenBrace]

The Forum Wheel
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I've been involved in several small web projects over the past couple years but I have finally decided dive in head first and start something big. I've noticed the demand for an automated posting exchange system so I went for it. I started work on the site in early March and worked all day, every day for the next month or so. I was finally able to launch the system around the first of May and it has been growing quickly ever since. We have been online for a little over a month and we already have over 816 members, 113 writers, and 20 forums that have signed up. I really like the look and feel of XenForo as well as the powerful functionality so I decided to use the software to power both my Community forum and the Gateway forum. I've linked all the aspects of my site together (including the two forums) into one master site and it has been working quite well so far. Let me know what you think. Any suggestions or critiques are definitely welcome!

Home

Community

Gateway

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[Optic]

What exactly is the difference between the Gateway and Community? I must admit I'm finding it a little confusing.

 

[KenBrace]

What exactly is the difference between the Gateway and Community? I must admit I'm finding it a little confusing.

The Gateway is more or less an "entrance exam" for new writers. A user is required to make 10 demo posts in the Gateway forum to show their skills. If they show good posting quality then we approve them. If they post stolen content, have bad grammar, etc. then they aren't allowed into the system. It's a way to weed out the poor writers.

The Community is for tech support, bug reports, questions, etc. regarding The Forum Wheel itself.

 

[Mike Edge]

The Gateway is more or less an "entrance exam" for new writers. A user is required to make 10 demo posts in the Gateway forum to show their skills. If they show good posting quality then we approve them. If they post stolen content, have bad grammar, etc. then they aren't allowed into the system. It's a way to weed out the poor writers.

The Community is for tech support, bug reports, questions, etc. regarding The Forum Wheel itself.

Just sounds like you copied http://www.postloop.com/ Same set up with 2 forums.. Same requirements, etc.

 

[KenBrace]

Just sounds like you copied http://www.postloop.com/ Same set up with 2 forums.. Same requirements, etc.

As both a forum owner and a writer I wanted an alternative to Postloop. I had heard lots of other people say the same thing as well. I searched and searched but was unable to find one. So I figured I'd make one myself.

I took the core idea of Postloop and expounded upon it. The purchasing system is different and there is no payment threshold. I've made the prices cheaper and have also added various features for admins to keep up with how much they pay (on average) per post, per site, etc. I'm also looking into adding alternative payment methods besides PayPal. Reaching out to the various different social media platforms is another idea that I'm working on.

As far as the writer approval system goes it worked quite well for Postloop so I saw no reason to reinvent the wheel.

 

[DaveM]

When I first placed my site on here it seemed to work great I was getting new content from other members but then it just stopped and I now notice my site status is showing off?



In fact this was the first forum promotion tool that I have ever found that did something positive until it all stopped

 

[KenBrace]

When I first placed my site on here it seemed to work great I was getting new content from other members but then it just stopped and I now notice my site status is showing off?

To reactivate the site just click the green circle there at the end. As soon as you do that it'll reappear in the forum list and you'll start receiving posts.

In fact this was the first forum promotion tool that I have ever found that did something positive until it all stopped

It's great to hear that your site was getting quality content.

Just reactivate it and you should be good to go.

 

[DaveM]

To reactivate the site just click the green circle there at the end. As soon as you do that it'll reappear in the forum list and you'll start receiving posts.

Thanks I was meaning to post up on your forum asking about why it was like this but always got sidetracked, as I said up until then I was really impressed with the setup you have done, job well done. I just need to get my head around the rest of it so I could also become a bit more involved in the process of it all

 

[KenBrace]

Thanks I was meaning to post up on your forum asking about why it was like this but always got sidetracked, as I said up until then I was really impressed with the setup you have done, job well done. I just need to get my head around the rest of it so I could also become a bit more involved in the process of it all

Thanks! Sounds great.

Are there any particular features that you'd like to see?

 

[DaveM]

Thanks! Sounds great.

Are there any particular features that you'd like to see?

Right now I am just feeling my way around so when I do see something I will post it up, thanks

 

[DarkGizmo]

Bit skeptical about this. @KenBrace how exactly does your system work in terms of keeping track of people's posts? Does it pull a forum's DB info and store it anywhere? :/

 

[KenBrace]

Bit skeptical about this. @KenBrace how exactly does your system work in terms of keeping track of people's posts? Does it pull a forum's DB info and store it anywhere? :/

It sends a curl request to a PHP file on the forum's server asking for the post counts of X users (their subscribers). The PHP file extracts the post counts of those users and sends it back to TFW. No other information is sent back to TFW. Anyone with a working knowledge of PHP can verify this.

 

[DarkGizmo]

So it's just the user's post counts, not their login data?

 

[KenBrace]

So it's just the user's post counts, not their login data?

Nope. No login data. The only thing sent back is an integer which represents the user's post count.

 

[vij]

Was looking forward to a postloop alternative and I am glad you stepped up. The admin at PL was getting rather cocky and competition can help everyone

 

[Robert F Schmitz]

@KenBrace going to give this a shot. It's good to see a potential alternative enter the market. Pricing structure is good and the ability to set less than 5 posts a day is a plus as I find folks struggling to make the 5 for the money and then we don't get quality posts. As our threads increase, so will the posts per day.

 

[Olly Wood]

I've signed up, and registered at the Gateway. For the life of me I cannot find any indication of how much the posts cost.
I've assumed that posts cost credits, to earn credits I must therefore post on other forums ?, at the moment there doesn't seem to be any that I can post on with any authority.

 

[KenBrace]

I've signed up, and registered at the Gateway. For the life of me I cannot find any indication of how much the posts cost.
I've assumed that posts cost credits, to earn credits I must therefore post on other forums ?, at the moment there doesn't seem to be any that I can post on with any authority.

I see that you have both registered and subscribed to the Gateway. The next step is to make ten posts. Once you've finished that, your account will automatically be submitted for review. All you need to do then is wait. Your application will be reviewed within 24 hours (most likely sooner than that). If you are approved then you'll be able to start earning credits. You can then spend those credits on your own site to generate content.

PS: After reviewing your posts (assuming you were accepted) you will be given a rating. That rating will determine how much you earn per post as well as the forums you are limited to. The higher the rating, the better. So make sure and do as good a job as you can so that your initial rating will be as high as possible. Read the Guide To Quality Writing for tips on how to produce quality content.

 

[Olly Wood]

I've read the posting tips, and I see there are differences on what is considered good grammar, if you apply the rules of American English grammar strictly, then anyone taught English in England will probably not be approved.

It may be a rule that you need to relax in order to encourage more forum owners to sign up, very few have perfect English, plus very few poster on forums use perfect English, personally I think it would be better to concentrate on the quality of the replies, rather than the grammar and construction of the post.

 

[KenBrace]

It may be a rule that you need to relax in order to encourage more forum owners to sign up, very few have perfect English, plus very few poster on forums use perfect English, personally I think it would be better to concentrate on the quality of the replies, rather than the grammar and construction of the post.

Perfect English isn't required. All we expect is that you demonstrate a decent mastery of the language. No one cares if people misspell a few words every now and then, don't break their paragraphs correctly, forget to capitalize a personal pronoun, etc. Better grammar will help improve your rating but a few mistakes is by no means a deal breaker. As long as your posts need to flow smoothly and connect with the reader then you're doing a good job.

One important thing to note is that the words themselves aren't the only thing. Your replies need to sound interesting, engaging, and thought-provoking. You need to be responding the other people's comments and generating discussion. You need to have a legit interest in the subject. Get involved in conversations and really get the forum buzzing. Sound intelligent and informative. A good sense of humor is also nice. This aspect of writing is arguable the most important part. I'd rather have an engaging member that makes grammar mistakes than a dull, empty-sounding member with perfect grammar.