Thinking about Discussion Media

[benlehman]

I'm thinking about my website, and if I want to have a separate These Are Our Games discussion forum. I thought it would be neat to do some sort of blog-forum hybrid: basically a forum where the first posts are encouraged to be article-length and -depth, displayed in a blog format (so less articles per page, you read the whole article and then click through for comments.) But that might not be ideal for "quick hits" sort of questions that you get in a dedicated company forum, like "Has anyone translated the key phrases from Polaris into Swedish?" or what have you. So maybe the blorum format would be inappropriate, and I should just go for a regular forum (thinking about doing a PHPBB instead of vanilla, just to have separate forum spaces, and combining spaces in interesting ways: Polaris + Fantasy lit discussion. Bliss Stage + anime/manga discussion. Drifter's Escape + politics discussion. Stuff like that.)

Thoughts?

Comments

[tigerbunny-db.livejournal.com]

I think that the blog-like format probably suits the informational purpose of the site better, but ONLY if comments are threaded and there's solid tagging.

Otherwise, you're probably best off with a conventional forum structure.

You want to watch out for traffic dilution, too - do you want people to look to this as the main place to talk about your games (in which case you will see traffic that's only concerned with those games), or do you want to cross-pollinate with similar games and non-RPG content (in which case you might be better served by a steady presence on a broader-based forum than by a dedicated forum).

[benlehman.livejournal.com]

This would be a place for people to talk about my games which I would definitely be reading. I'd probably close down my (mostly not-happening) Forge forum. I'd be hoping to attract any folks who are specifically "Polaris fans" (like Wilhelm) and "Bliss Stage fans" (like you and Elliot and Carl.)

Really, my ideal forum experience was the Riddle of Steel forum in the early days of the Forge. That was a discussion forum about the game, but also about the cultures (in this case, western martial arts and martial history) around the game. So likewise, I'd love to see a Bliss Stage forum where people were also talking about the anime that they're watching right now, or other romantic stories, or what have you. So a place for me to connect with other fans of my games, about things which we have a mutual interest in (so the games themselves, natch, but also other related topics.)

I don't want to have a presence on a larger forum simply because it exhausts me to do so. Marketing-wise, it's of course a much better idea for me to just post on RPGnet.

[tigerbunny-db.livejournal.com]

I can see how that would be ideal. Certainly a consistent presence in your own personal sandbox is better for marketing purposes than an inconsistent and occasionally cranky presence on the majors (note how little I post anywhere any more!). Not to mention probably MUCH better for your creative process.

[yeloson.livejournal.com]

One, hearing more from you is always awesome.

Two, it sounds really cool.

Three, would XXXtreme Street Luge have a Vin Diesel discussion section? :P

[opticalbinary.livejournal.com]

The street luge forum would have space for discussions of all things TOTALLY SWEET.

[benlehman.livejournal.com]

The street luge forum would have discussion of being internet-famous.

[opticalbinary.livejournal.com]

You can always have a section for "Quick Questions," too.