Quote:
Originally Posted by The_Jazz
I think that's what he's driving at, Will. I think that it's safe to say that it's one of the staff's primary concerns.
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I see.
Forum traffic is generally determined by content, not features. Removing signatures or requiring posts before creating threads isn't really going to change traffic. I could be wrong, but I don't think the video chat or the upgraded blogs are increasing traffic, either. Aside from posting links to the forum on democratic aggregate sites like Digg or Reddit, the best way to attract new members is letting the current members do what they do and create interesting content. Are people are interested in educated rants on the pitfalls of neoliberalism? We've got em. Are people interested in naked amateur pictures? We've got those, too. Are people interested in paranoid 9/11 conspiracy theories? Oh yeah, TFP has you covered. Forums evolve naturally. User-created content is TFP's best and most honest advertisement. Compare the ability to post anonymously with that brilliant thread about the experience of having a vasectomy. Which would attract you more?
The staff shouldn't place the burden of marketing on their shoulders. The forum should market itself via content automatically. If there's a slowdown, just be patient. Or maybe one of you can volunteer to get a vasectomy. If it picks back up again (and I suspect it will some time later this year), that's great. If not, then maybe TFP can simply continue to exist as something a bit smaller and more intimate. There's no shame in that, after all.