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Author Topic: Request: How did DonationCoder take off? (Slightly NSFW)  (Read 5928 times)

Paul Keith

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First off, I apologize to app and mouser for not informing them before linking to this old comment of theirs:

Source http://cranialsoup.b...exchange-your-2.html

sometimes i think there are only two viable approaches to writing blogs.. one is if you just say F it and don't ever worry about getting readers, and mainly just write for yourself, and pretend in your mind you have millions of viewers and try to not even look at the hit counts, etc. and the other way is to actively try to get readers and engage them, which can sometimes seem like a very frustrating process. surely there must be some good middle ground approaches but that's just my gut level feeling. im not sure which approach is better. my experience with DC is that if you want participation you have to really work at encouraging it until it reaches some threshold of participans and then it mostly becomes automatic.. but until that threshold of participation is reached no one really wants to be the only one talking.

I recently opened (or rather registered) for a free forum service and while I'm already pming someone about this issue and the forum itself doesn't have a wide net of subject that can apply to most everyone...it is a general forum open to everyone but with a particular slant towards Hikikomories (my niche if you may...sorry if I keep stating this term, I don't think lots of people read my posts)

Two other points I'm sorry of:

I didn't mean to avoid searching the forum before posting this I just didn't know what terms to search for. I already have the One Year Report linked bookmarked. I just haven't gotten the time to read it yet.

I'm sorry if this comes off like indirectly spamming the forum I hope the lack of forum link shows my sincerity and really I just wanted to use this as background for this post and I am truly interested in the history of DC and not so much gaining random member numbers to the forum. I really am not interested in the member count as much as encouraging a community to participate and share their posts and no I doubt, I have silent readers. Maybe silent spammers who occassionally spam the anonymous board but I doubt I have any silent readers and I don't plan to copy everything DC does. In fact, I want to educate myself so that I can pave my own path for the forum rather than be forced to copy an advertising methodology. Even from my niche, there are already forums well suited for most English speaking people who call themselves Hikikomories. I just wanted to create a [temporary] forum for those few who feel alienated/left out/outsiders in the other Hiki forums/boards and DC has pretty much been the only forum I've been active in lately.
« Last Edit: July 03, 2010, 03:14 PM by Paul Keith »

mouser

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Re: Request: How did DonationCoder take off? (Slightly NSFW)
« Reply #1 on: July 03, 2010, 07:40 PM »
nothing to apologize for at all.. but it's hard to tell exactly what you are asking or saying or why it's NSFW, and why this is in General Software section.

the only problem i wish for your posts paul is a bit more conciseness and structure laying out the point you want to make or the question.. otherwise i think we all just have a hard time knowing how to respond.

mwb1100

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Re: Request: How did DonationCoder take off? (Slightly NSFW)
« Reply #2 on: July 03, 2010, 08:18 PM »
Umm - more importantly, where's the NSFW material?

Paul Keith

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Re: Request: How did DonationCoder take off? (Slightly NSFW)
« Reply #3 on: July 03, 2010, 08:49 PM »
Why it is NSFW:

one is if you just say F it and don't ever worry about getting readers, and mainly just write for yourself, and pretend in your mind you have millions of viewers

Why General Software:

It was my understanding that Forums are software even though I am on a free hosted forum but it is using the MyBB software.

Question:

It seems at the time DC had few members. Almost to the point that mouser and app would refer to silent readers.

Nowadays DC is very active even ranking well in Google so mouser must have done something different since then.

mouser

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Re: Request: How did DonationCoder take off? (Slightly NSFW)
« Reply #4 on: July 03, 2010, 08:52 PM »
yeah i guess..
by the way, there is nothing wrong with a regular dc member saying "hey here is a link to a site i created, i'd like some feedback, participation, etc."
that's not spam.  everyone who participates here should feel comfortable telling the rest of us about their projects.

Paul Keith

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Re: Request: How did DonationCoder take off? (Slightly NSFW)
« Reply #5 on: July 03, 2010, 08:55 PM »
I guess I'm just not used to it. I don't want to come off like I'm advertising my niche.

Also, it's still hard for me to envision myself as a regular member. (I'm still surprised I'm mentioned in that category here) It was more like you guys were hospitable.

I think until I coded a NANY I'll never feel I belong in the ranks of those who truly made DC what it is.

app103

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Re: Request: How did DonationCoder take off? (Slightly NSFW)
« Reply #6 on: July 03, 2010, 10:19 PM »
I think the answer to your question was in the comment on my blog post, right below mouser's comment....the one from Nobby:

I have same issues on my forum, 50+ members and only really me, April and the occasional other post. The reason i keep posting, is 4 fold:

#1 As mouser said, posting for myself, i kinda like it.

#2 Sooner or later others will post, at least, thats the theory.

#3 There are plenty of thread views, meaning people are at least visiting and reading if not posting, getting them there is half the battle, posting is likely to break out at some point!

#4 The more you post the more gets indexed the more draw there is for people to find the site, and hopefully, post, this is the forum snowball effect, once you get it started.........

So follow Nobby's advice and just keep posting on your own forum. As long as you don't give up*, sooner or later you will have participation.


*Nobby gave up and sold his site some months ago. Kind of made me sad, because the new owner got rid of the forum and everything we had posted there, changing it from a site of resources & discussions for newbie webmaster to a blog about online gambling. That was a whole lot of good content lost that could have been of benefit to any newbie blogger/site owner.

Paul Keith

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Re: Request: How did DonationCoder take off? (Slightly NSFW)
« Reply #7 on: July 03, 2010, 10:44 PM »
Oh ok. Thanks app.

ecaradec

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Re: Request: How did DonationCoder take off? (Slightly NSFW)
« Reply #8 on: July 04, 2010, 07:19 AM »
It takes a lot of time and a lot of devotion to make forum live. I think I have know dc for at least one year before I posted something. It's harder to benefit from a forum than from other website because you have to engage a little bit.

Some forums where to become a member you have to post at least once to present yourself (it helps to break the ice ).
Blog & Projects : Blog | Qatapult | SwiffOut | FScript

ljbirns

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Re: Request: How did DonationCoder take off? (Slightly NSFW)
« Reply #9 on: July 04, 2010, 11:32 AM »
I joined DC in 2005.  I don't code, I don't blog etc  and in the 5 years I have only posted maybe 150 times.. But there is value here and even a non techie can see it.
Somehow Mouser  and app 103 and all the other members  far too numerous to mention have made it into a forum that I visit at least twice a day.
Lew

Innuendo

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Re: Request: How did DonationCoder take off? (Slightly NSFW)
« Reply #10 on: July 05, 2010, 12:31 PM »
I don't code. I don't blog. However, I come here almost every day.

Re NSFW: IMHO, typing "F it" is not worthy of a NSFW tag. Now I'm all disappointed....here I thought I was going to come in here and see how Mouser launched his site with a bikini car wash & we were going to see  pics of cars being washed alongside wet, scantily clad, soapy bodies....

....but I don't think any of us want to see pictures of 40hz and 4wd in poses like that.  :D

ljbirns

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Re: Request: How did DonationCoder take off? (Slightly NSFW)
« Reply #11 on: July 05, 2010, 12:56 PM »
..but I don't think any of us want to see pictures of 40hz and 4wd in poses like that

An innuendo is, according to the Advanced Oxford Learner's Dictionary, "an indirect remark about somebody's body, usually suggesting something bad,

I hope 40hz and 4wd  don't take offense..... ;D
Lew