New 'FORUM' (1 Viewer)

kk405

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No, this is not about a new chipping forum. It's something I've been thinking about for a while, and potential customer/consumer/user base is in the 50-100MM+, but definitely not 500MM+ (this is not Snapchat/twitter/FB or even Reddit stuff).

At its core, it is something similar to to what PCF is all about: chats, conversations, lots of help to and from members, discussions of topics, providing solutions, etc. But the issue I've been grappling with is the UI/UX part. Although forums such as PCF are great for smaller, niche products and services (this is true for gaming, lots of various tech products/services/verticals, health, food, pets, and all sorts of things), the general look and feel of a forum is a bit 'old' in the context of newer social media and socially interactive products such as FB/Twitter/Snap. This is NOT a product for millennials or Gen-Z, but in the age of smartphones, I can't see how a PCF (or any forum) can scale up and be used by 20MM or 50MM users (this is not about the back-end, which can be solved, but about UI/UX).

I am asking to see if you are aware of other 'forum' type sites, where they are community and discussion based, yet they UI/UX doesn't look like and feel like a 'forum'. Has anyone seen or thought about anything close to this? or does this need a completely new/custom approach?
 
Sounds interesting. Do you have something comparable in mind? What don't you like about the PCF format? IMO PCF has the smoothest and cleanest design of all forums I have used. 2plus2 seems so busy and a bit clunky. However, 2plus2 is still functional though not pretty. I am not a fan of modern social media platforms like Twitter and IG and that is probably just because I am old. I understand you may not want to reveal too much but if you can give some indication of the field you are considering that might help. Like is it medical or collectibles...
 
I think Reddit is probably the best example I can think of. There’s a main topic and then replies can be contained within their own threads to encapsulate different discussions under the same topic.
 
I think Reddit is probably the best example I can think of. There’s a main topic and then replies can be contained within their own threads to encapsulate different discussions under the same topic.

It takes some getting used to though. It really depends on your demographic. The first few times I went to Reddit I left very quickly as I just hated the cluttered layout. Now I am hooked but it took me a while...
 
Sounds interesting. Do you have something comparable in mind? What don't you like about the PCF format? IMO PCF has the smoothest and cleanest design of all forums I have used. 2plus2 seems so busy and a bit clunky. However, 2plus2 is still functional though not pretty. I am not a fan of modern social media platforms like Twitter and IG and that is probably just because I am old. I understand you may not want to reveal too much but if you can give some indication of the field you are considering that might help. Like is it medical or collectibles...

I obviously can't reveal too much, but let's assume it's about pets and potentially 50-100MM users could be chatting, discussing pets. It's not a niche product such as classic cars or poker chips, but it also doesn't appeal to 1 billion or more people.

I also agree, PCF is one of the cleanest and most well-thought out forums I visit. 2+2 and more than a dozen tech, non-tech, poker, and various hobby-based forums ALL suck. There is not much I don't like about PCF's design. And if I were to do a forum, it will probably have a similar look and feel...but given the product/service I am thinking of, I am wondering if there is some other platform that I should be looking at.
 
I think Reddit is probably the best example I can think of. There’s a main topic and then replies can be contained within their own threads to encapsulate different discussions under the same topic.

Reddit is a great product, but I find it to be a 'mess' at times. I personally find the structure of a PCF-type forum more clean and useful, with information clearly marked in categories that can be navigated efficiently, but again, forums are generally not used as a platform for something that you may think millions of users would be using on a daily/weekly basis.

I don't know what is the most popular forum, but don't believe there are many/any? that have several million daily users.
 
I obviously can't reveal too much, but let's assume it's about pets and potentially 50-100MM users could be chatting, discussing pets. It's not a niche product such as classic cars or poker chips, but it also doesn't appeal to 1 billion or more people.


Hey Man,

I run a digital marketing agency in Grand Rapids. I'd be happy to provide some basic consulting on your project as a professional courtesy if you'd like some advice. Send me an email at mike@moxiemeninc.com if you'd like to chat.
 
The big problem with Reddit-type designs is that they don't support ongoing discussion in a way that encourages other users to engage. A thread that is active on a forum moves to the top, but what you see on any given subreddit is the last 24h worth of content that has been upvoted to the top and then fades away, regardless of what is happening in the comments.
 
I obviously can't reveal too much, but let's assume it's about pets and potentially 50-100MM users could be chatting, discussing pets. It's not a niche product such as classic cars or poker chips, but it also doesn't appeal to 1 billion or more people.

I also agree, PCF is one of the cleanest and most well-thought out forums I visit. 2+2 and more than a dozen tech, non-tech, poker, and various hobby-based forums ALL suck. There is not much I don't like about PCF's design. And if I were to do a forum, it will probably have a similar look and feel...but given the product/service I am thinking of, I am wondering if there is some other platform that I should be looking at.

The general public has already been programmed so to speak to use forums. I think any format that is user friendly can succeed assuming people are interested and want to discuss these topics. With the prevalence of many online forums, Twitter, etc people are already accustomed to the forum layout in its various iterations.

Something to consider would be the structure used by Facebook for their group discussions. This is a format almost everyone is familiar with. A structure that resembles FB would make migration of new customers very easy. I think the biggest thing is that it needs to be intuitive and user friendly. People don't want to take time to try and figure out how to use something new...they will just move on.
 
I find reddit super hard to navigate (probably because I'm over 40), but I like the concept of branching conversations. On forums like PCF, you can have two or more conversations going on in the same thread, and they're hard to separate when all the posts are just sequential.
 

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