I need Help

[Pete]

Would it be possible for some of you to have a look at my new site which I am trying to make, Like all things involving computers I need all the help I can get, I have tried my hand at making a forum before unfortunately I was co running it with a man who professed to be ex 1 Para amongst other things, Being the naïve and slow old fool I am I trusted him. As of a few days ago this man was exposed as a “Walter Mitty” (a fake)
On doctors orders I needed a project or hobby to concentrate on, therefore perhaps foolishly in order to keep my days busy and mind active I have opted to try, try being the key word to make my own little forum for serving, ex and people interested in the armed forces irrespective of age, gender, service history etc.
I myself served with 1Para from June 1962 until January 1972 and still have the bruises to prove It ha! It would mean a lot to me if I could attract some of the regular users of this forum to join and help me out., of course I do not expect many to look and if I am honest I feel slightly guilty about “advertising“ it here as I do not want to look as if I am soliciting members , as it is a very new site and is not yet fully completed with no members it will not succeed. I need some people to volunteer as moderators to help me if you are interested
the address is http://dropofpoint.proboards75.com
Thanks a lot
And sorry if I have wasted some space in this forum with my rant
Pete

[harry hackedoff]

Heyup Pete, good luck with your site mate.
I`ll copy this into the Para forum and you will get more response that way
Wahoo Mahomet

[Pete]

Thank you Harry, I have been reading these forums for a few months now, I will kick myself for asking this later but please feel free to join, ha what have I done!
Thank you again

[anglo-saxon]

Barely have time for this forum, let alone another one.

By the way, it's "Drop Off Point", not Drop Of Point. Start as you mean to go on, I say.

[Pete]

Ha, dear god how bloody embarrassing, I shall correct it. Thank you, I have had alot of guests but no one has joined as of yet

[willhearne]

Hi Pete

I sympathise with your predicament. I'm in the same boat when it comes to fledgling forums. Developing an online community is an art and very labour intensive. The main problem is that potential members are turned away by the lack of members and posts. It's a bit of a Catch 22 situation in that the post count/content will not increase without members and visitors aren't encouraged to sign if the site is stagnant or obviously void of members.

How does one remedy this? Well in the dodgy world of web development, there is a phrase which sums up it up:

"Content is King"

This is to say that a site may have all the latest bells and whistles and look like $3000 hooker with hypnotic **** me eyes but if there's nothing interesting for the visitor to interact with, they will simply surf on to somewhere that does. This doesn't mean to say that you can just cut and paste reams of Lorum Ipsum. Content is King when it's relevant. If your site has what visitors are looking for, they stay and more importantly, they return and tell others.

Making a site 'sticky' is important in order to retain active members and encourage visitors to become members. Cramming your site with relevant content is just the start. There are numerous methods you can employ to develop your community and the more of a niche you aim at, the easier it is to attract and retain a loyal following.

Incidentally, if you are bored to the point of considering taking up crochet, give me a shout. I am in the early planning stages of setting up a security and intelligence themed community portal. I know, hardly 'niche' is it I could do with a few collaborators, especially for developing articles, posts, fact files and other data as I can handle the technical side.

[Maroon]

Hello Pete,

good luck with your venture, unfortunately your competing with other sites that already do what you are planning to acheive. Check this site out, one of the better ones:

http://www.exairborneforces.co.uk/