Problems of (flarum) forums and 2020's people internet habits

TB54

I don't know where to post this, as it's not a suggestion, more a question.

When trying to share my forum with people directly concerned by its subject, they are all interested (sincerely, I think), but for most of them don't come back to it. And when I talk later about it with them, I always have the same answer: "I don't have the reflex to check it".

They basically explain me they are used to one common thread (like on facebook, instagram...) in which every of their subscriptions (to people, to chatroom...) is centralized, and therefore they don't have the habit to check something else from time to time. Most of them, for that reason (or others) don't use forums anymore. Maybe it's also why discord and reddit are more popular.

Sure, it's not a magical explanation for my forum (if a place is awesome, people go to it anyway), but I wonder it there were already attempts to think a solution to this? A way to centralize all forums in one, or even a way to integrate it inside another thing (facebook or else), even if of course it would just be links to the actual forums and threads (because I don't see how it could work otherwise).

I don't know it it existed for phpbb forums, and i don't see how it will be possible exactly. There are RSS feeds, but i don't know anyone who use them.

luceos

One of the things I've been talking about with our @blomstra team is a mobile app. I know @mekici is working on something related. A mobile app would be easier for people to use and to stay connected to the community. Without direct mobile notifications, we rely on email notifications primarily for users that are slightly interested in your community, for users that are highly interested alternative notifications channels exist like browser, discord etc.

Although Flarum is already mobile ready and the PWA bridges the gap towards mobile even more, I think having some kind of adaptable mobile app would certainly remove a roadblock with the users of communities in engaging.

Aside from that, building a community hasn't been about just writing content for a long time. I firmly believe that if you want to create a successful community you really need to engage on different levels and different channels to reach a long term relationship with users that will form your inner circle.

TB54

I didn't thought to mobile, but indeed it would probably help with notifications! (even if I don't know if people would install an app for one forum)

luceos Aside from that, building a community hasn't been about just writing content for a long time. I firmly believe that if you want to create a successful community you really need to engage on different levels and different channels to reach a long term relationship with users that will form your inner circle.

You mean for one forum, or a community for all flarum ones? (I don't know if such a community exists already, in fact)

If it's for a single forum, well I'm fully convinced there is no point to advertise it if there is not already 4/5 people speaking daily on it. Or else people don't dare to participate and/or don't want to (the same way you won't enter a bar in which there is just a single costumer). But i was surprised by how much it's difficult to built this "core users group": people who still use forums are rare, people from the forum's subject are rare, so find so ones who checks the two boxes is hard 🙂