Archive for the 'Forums' Category

NASCAR-Forums.net

Published
by
J.B.Slife
on February 24, 2008
in Forums
. 8 Comments

NASCAR-Forums.netNASCAR-Forums.net was one of my original failing sites that I have decided to bring back to life. It will probably take a long time to get this one to take off, but it does have a couple good members that have taken an interest in it. It also has a few other things going for it.

Many People Love NASCAR

NASCAR is one of the most popular sports around and they all need a great place to talk about it. Since my Wife and I both love NASCAR, it shouldn’t be too hard for us to be regular participants. A forum that the owner doesn’t care about is doomed from the beginning. You never know, someday all of the members may meet at the races on a regular basis.

Great Software: vBulletin 3.7 beta 4

The site is running the newest beta of vBulletin. This new version of vBulletin has allowed me to remove many of the 3rd party hacks that I normally install in my forums. I believe this software gives me at least one advantage over the big dogs like NASCAR.com. With every NASCAR fan on the net (including myself) going to NASCAR.com on a regular basis, I need all the help I can get.

Time

I have all the time in the world. I am going to keep the site going just because I like it. Whether the site takes a month or ten years to get going, it doesn’t matter to me. I think I can get this site going and I think it’s going to take time.

That’s just a little update on NASCAR-Forums.net. If you like NASCAR stop by and say hello sometime. It really is a great place to talk NASCAR.

Two Members Currently Active on CountryMusicForums.net

Published
by
J.B.Slife
on May 14, 2007
in Forums
. 9 Comments

Most people think this is nothing, but any forum owner knows what it’s like to log into your new forum and find an active user online. Today was the first day that I actually found a user on my site at the same time as myself (actually there were 2 members plus me). Even better, I don’t know either of these users (they were just random people that found my site and registered). I know, I know…yipee. Well, they both also posted on the site more than one time. Not much, I know…but it’s still a major milestone for the site.

Check out County Music Forums, the newest country music forum on the net.

Country Music Forums Style Completed

Published
by
J.B.Slife
on May 7, 2007
in Forums
. 1 Comment

Wild West Country Music Forums ThemeYesterday I posted about a new style for Country Music Forums. I didn’t expect to get it completed so quickly, but it’s finished. It’s more of a western style using black and grey as the main colors and red and yellow as highlights. I added some custom status icons and fixed up all the other images with the proper background.

Now I just have to go through it add some of my key modules back in. Hopefully I can finish that up over the next couple of weeks like I had originally said. Beyond that, the forum is ready to go. Join today and help me start adding some content. Don’t forget to tell your friends.

New Skin for Country Music Forums

Published
by
J.B.Slife
on May 6, 2007
in Forums
. 0 Comments

I originally opened Country Music Forums using phpBB and a theme that I really liked. It was a black, grey, red, and yellow based wild west theme. When I upgraded to vBulletin, I went with a theme I got somewhere for free. The original theme had an edge that I think the guests and members really liked. I’m finally going to have a little time to get it back to the way I want it. Let me know what you think.

Blah…Country Theme

CountryMusicForums.net

A Little Taste of the New Style

Country Music Forums Yellow and Red

The new skin is not ready yet, but I should have the main portion of it completed in a week or so. The new skin is a little more my style.

Country Music Forums Advertising Update

Published
by
J.B.Slife
on May 4, 2007
in Forums
. 0 Comments

A while back a posted about my advertising for Country Music Forums (you can see that post here). I had said that I secured two adds. One of them was with Text Link Ads and the other was with BlogAds. I really like both services, but my Text Link Ad converted on a higher rate. Let’s take a look at both ads and see why?

Text Link Ad on the9513.com

Text Link Ad on the 9513

The 9513 is a country music blog that I purched an ad on through Text Link Ads. This was my ad that converted rather well. My ad is just a link that says “CountryMusicForums.net” inside the blue oval in the picture above. I is right below the header of the site and looks like part of the sites navigation. The graphics of the site also show that it is definately in the same niche as my site.

I will be running this ad for at least a couple more months. At $20 a month, I can’t go wrong. I am going to try some different text. I thing “Country Music Forums” or “Country Music Message Boards” would be better.

BlogAd on Twangville.com

My BlogAd on Twangville

My ad on Twangville.com is through BlogAds. The cost was $60 per month as this is a larger site. It didn’t bring me too much, but their are a couple of reasons for this. First of all, it is in the premium sponsor section (it looks like an ad). The second reason is my own fault. BlogAds recommends changing the ad image so the ad does not get stale. I didn’t do this and I really think it would have helped. I will continue with the ad and see what I can do with it.

Overall, I am very pleased with both of the ads. It is very hard to get a start up forum going, so every member I get is important to me. Forums are started by a few dedicated people. I have a couple, a few more and this forum could get going.

Stay tuned for updates…and if you like country music, JOIN!

Later,

JBSlife

AOL Slang Destroys A Forum

Published
by
J.B.Slife
on April 24, 2007
in Forums
. 0 Comments

Let’s face it, everybody hates AOL talk (ie. u r the 1 4 me cuz i luv u). There’s nothing worse than logging on to your forum and noticing a rash of garbage posts by some kid that thinks this talk is cool. While it may be fine for instant messaging, it’s not for a forum. Let’s find out why.

Not Everyone Understands It

There is a learning curve to AOL talk. How many people really know what “bff” means the first time they see it. For all I know they could be talking about their “boyfriends fish” or a “big fat fart”. People don’t have the time to learn this crap. Even if they did, who cares?

Forums Are Permanent Content

I want my forum threads to grow into a great knowledge base for my niche. When people search for answers to questions, I want my forum threads to come up in the results. What I’m trying to say is, “Nobody searches in AOL slang.” For a thread to come up in a search engine, it must be written in a real language (english for me).

Try Translating AOL Talk

Many international guests use forums. Proper english can be translated quite well by services such as Babel Fish. Try translating some AOL slang and see what you come up with. I tried, I came up with a whole new language that nobody could understand. If you don’t want to lose your international clients, don’t speak AOL.

I Have Enough Money to Afford a Full Keyboard & I Can Type

This one takes no explaination. I don’t type on my cell phone, I hardly even use it. I don’t need to take any shortcuts, I’d rather just type what I mean.

Silly Rabbit…AOL Slang is for KIDS!

Kids might rule in todays world of iPods and cell phones, but remember, kids are only kids for a short time. If you want to attract a long lasting crowd, go for adults. Besides, adults are the ones with the money.

My Advice

My advice, set strict rules on your forum about AOL slang (and l33t speak). Make sure you have a team of moderators to enforce the rules. After all, if you can speak AOL, you can speak english.

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