Sometimes it's hard to find what you want. I've been a member of the roleplaying community. . . far too long. But in that time I've discovered the different types.
1. The 'Population' Forum: I'm sure everyone's seen these. It's the forum where there are over 300 members and over 50 online each moment. Now, I'm not trying to slam, I've just never been akin to those kinds of forums. To me only a fourth know who you are and there isn't the intimacy there that I enjoy in small forums. Some people, like me, have trouble getting involved in those kinds of forums. And with this type, there are bound to be cliches.
2. The 'Closed' Forum: Not literally, and I don't mean dead ones. The closed forum is all but closed to new members. Similar to the problem of the Population forum. There's already a close, histories established group of people. They're buddies and thread with each other constantly. Leaving new members alone and unsure what to do. Some forums even have members openly indifferent or rude to new members. If that's the case, just aren't looking for new members. Otherwise realize you aren't the only ones that want to have fun.
3. The 'So Obviously Dying It's Sad' Forum: The most common forum in existence. At first it looks promising, then you realize the last post was two months ago. This is probably the most depressing thing you will see. Pretty simple, avoid these and honestly if the last time someone said anything in the c-box was a month ago then nothing's going on.
4. The "Oh God, Oh God! MY EYES" Forum: Plot? Check. Interesting? Check. But what's that? The font's color is nearly the same as the background! That's when you exit. Unfortunately too many forums are just painful to behold. Fonts are off, colors are too powerful, the setup is wrong. So many forums could fit into this category. I just think admins don't realize how ugly it is, or that it's set up wrong.
5. The "Join If You Want To See ANYTHING" Forum: These bug me. It's hard to get a grasp of what a forum is like if you can't SEE ANYTHING. When I'm thinking of joining a forum I like to see beyond the rules and regulations, I want to see posts, and plotting pages and character apps. But some people are so afraid of 'stealing' that they have to hide everything.
These are some of the negative types of forums. If you'd like me to rate your or someone else's forum and see what you get then just post a comment with the link and I'll try and help make your forum the best ever!
