How to make this forum successful?

[davewe]

OK, so the first topic posted isn't specifically related to expatting or traveling abroad or whatever. Here's the reason I ask:

Winston has built a successful forum at least partly by his own wild, almost troll-like postings. "Why is it that..." "Proof that Winston is..." Guys agree with him or disagree and Winston gets what he needs - lots of page views. Yet some of us grew to hate that type of crap and dreamed of a forum like this Expat Living and Dating Forum.

So therefore my question. How do we make this successful without the hype and bombast on the main board? For that matter, what constitutes a successful board? I got no answers, only the question. For me if the conversation is mature and information is readily shared, I don't care if there are 10 new topics posted a day.

So what about you all? What is gonna make this work?

[eurobrat]

OK, so the first topic posted isn't specifically related to expatting or traveling abroad or whatever. Here's the reason I ask:

Winston has built a successful forum at least partly by his own wild, almost troll-like postings. "Why is it that..." "Proof that Winston is..." Guys agree with him or disagree and Winston gets what he needs - lots of page views. Yet some of us grew to hate that type of crap and dreamed of a forum like this Expat Living and Dating Forum.

So therefore my question. How do we make this successful without the hype and bombast on the main board? For that matter, what constitutes a successful board? I got no answers, only the question. For me if the conversation is mature and information is readily shared, I don't care if there are 10 new topics posted a day.

So what about you all? What is gonna make this work?

I think more trip reports with those people asking questions, some kind of structure instead of all out chaos which most people here have gotten used too.

[zboy1]

OK, so the first topic posted isn't specifically related to expatting or traveling abroad or whatever. Here's the reason I ask:

Winston has built a successful forum at least partly by his own wild, almost troll-like postings. "Why is it that..." "Proof that Winston is..." Guys agree with him or disagree and Winston gets what he needs - lots of page views. Yet some of us grew to hate that type of crap and dreamed of a forum like this Expat Living and Dating Forum.

So therefore my question. How do we make this successful without the hype and bombast on the main board? For that matter, what constitutes a successful board? I got no answers, only the question. For me if the conversation is mature and information is readily shared, I don't care if there are 10 new topics posted a day.

So what about you all? What is gonna make this work?

I think, ultimately...it will depend on the people on the forum: I can only moderate and limit the number of trolls and stupidity on the new expat forum; but it's up to you guys to post relevant, and good material for it to grow and be successful.

[Yohan]

Winston has built a successful forum at least partly by his own wild, almost troll-like postings. "Why is it that..." "Proof that Winston is..." Guys agree with him or disagree and Winston gets what he needs - lots of page views. Yet some of us grew to hate that type of crap and dreamed of a forum like this Expat Living and Dating Forum.
So therefore my question. How do we make this successful without the hype and bombast on the main board?....

There is a difference between 'successful' and 'serious'.

Marketing of 'Crap' is often successful and very lucrative for the owner of the business/website, for example religious or feminist crap from USA. Or as you said yourself, see Winston with his own posting style exposing himself with strange personal views.

Also news/media is based on being successful and lucrative often financed by ads and surely not based on delivering actual important news. To write something like sex-BS about Miley Cyrus or Lindsay Lohan and her boyfriends will find many more readers than to report about truly existing dating problems of men and boys in USA.

Often 'serious reporting' - for example expat stories free of bar-girls-stuff - is not very lucrative and will not find many readers, just my opinion, as such stuff can be found anywhere on the internet. Many of such threads are dead after only a few comments or no comments at all.

The only way to find out if this forum section will nicely operate or not is to try it out and see the results after a few months.

[abcdavid01]

It's a little confusing. Are Trip Reports supposed to be posted here or in the Trip Reports forum? If not for trip reports, what does go here?

[Winston]

OK, so the first topic posted isn't specifically related to expatting or traveling abroad or whatever. Here's the reason I ask:

Winston has built a successful forum at least partly by his own wild, almost troll-like postings. "Why is it that..." "Proof that Winston is..." Guys agree with him or disagree and Winston gets what he needs - lots of page views. Yet some of us grew to hate that type of crap and dreamed of a forum like this Expat Living and Dating Forum.

So therefore my question. How do we make this successful without the hype and bombast on the main board? For that matter, what constitutes a successful board? I got no answers, only the question. For me if the conversation is mature and information is readily shared, I don't care if there are 10 new topics posted a day.

So what about you all? What is gonna make this work?

I would say that what would work is just what Zboy suggested:

1. Keep topics relevant to expat living and dating.
2. Talk about practical and useful subjects.
3. Keep behavior civil. No attacks, insults, quarreling, or racism debates.

If you don't like my posts and the deep abstract discussions and issues I bring up, I will simply not bring them up here in this forum. Problem solved. And others should not bring up abstract subjects or rants and vents here either. We will only talk about relevant practical subjects here that are related to living overseas.

Someone suggested that we have a board only for marriage-minded guys seeking foreign women to marry. We could create that too and put it under the umbrella of Zboy's new forums with the same policies, rules and members.

[Winston]

It's a little confusing. Are Trip Reports supposed to be posted here or in the Trip Reports forum? If not for trip reports, what does go here?

Either one. If you want your trip report to be in a section that is troll free and free of criticism, attacks, quarreling, etc. or free from people like Cornfed, then you can post it in this section. But if you don't mind having open discussion on your trip reports, then you can post them in the main trip report section. It's up to you.

[eurobrat]

Winston I want some kind of live group chat feature, I really think you should look into forum software upgrades. I'm sure theres something out there.

[Winston]

Winston I want some kind of live group chat feature, I really think you should look into forum software upgrades. I'm sure theres something out there.

Why live chat? Isn't what we're doing now like live chat too? Even if we installed a chat window here, it would slow down the loading time of this forum. This forum is outdated from 2007. I doubt if live chat exists for this forum template.

[eurobrat]

Winston I want some kind of live group chat feature, I really think you should look into forum software upgrades. I'm sure theres something out there.

Why live chat? Isn't what we're doing now like live chat too? Even if we installed a chat window here, it would slow down the loading time of this forum. This forum is outdated from 2007. I doubt if live chat exists for this forum template.

I think a live chat room would be a cool addition to the to the Expat living section. No this is not the same as talking in realtime with other members, it's not as efficient. I thought you were asian, aren't asians all about efficiency?

Heres a script i found https://www.phpbb.com/community/viewtop ... 0&t=543865
heres another: http://www.123flashchat.com/phpbb3-install-mod
and another: http://www.rumbletalk.com/phpbb-chat-plugin.php

And I think you should update the template and look a little too as it's getting stale.

[Yohan]

A chatroom option would be nice.

I also think, this new forum should have a few sectors, for example FarEast/SouthEastAsia, LatinAmerica, Russia/EasternEurope etc.

[Winston]

A chatroom option would be nice.

I also think, this new forum should have a few sectors, for example FarEast/SouthEastAsia, LatinAmerica, Russia/EasternEurope etc.

We already have those sectors. Didn't you see them on the forum index page?

[Winston]

Winston I want some kind of live group chat feature, I really think you should look into forum software upgrades. I'm sure theres something out there.

Why live chat? Isn't what we're doing now like live chat too? Even if we installed a chat window here, it would slow down the loading time of this forum. This forum is outdated from 2007. I doubt if live chat exists for this forum template.

I think a live chat room would be a cool addition to the to the Expat living section. No this is not the same as talking in realtime with other members, it's not as efficient. I thought you were asian, aren't asians all about efficiency?

Heres a script i found https://www.phpbb.com/community/viewtop ... 0&t=543865
heres another: http://www.123flashchat.com/phpbb3-install-mod
and another: http://www.rumbletalk.com/phpbb-chat-plugin.php

And I think you should update the template and look a little too as it's getting stale.

Those scripts are for phpbb3. We are on phpbb2.

Can you explain why a live chat feature is more efficient? Are you that impatient to receive replies to your posts? Why can't you wait for them? lol

[Jester]

OK, so the first topic posted isn't specifically related to expatting or traveling abroad or whatever. Here's the reason I ask:

Winston has built a successful forum at least partly by his own wild, almost troll-like postings. "Why is it that..." "Proof that Winston is..." Guys agree with him or disagree and Winston gets what he needs - lots of page views. Yet some of us grew to hate that type of crap and dreamed of a forum like this Expat Living and Dating Forum.

So therefore my question. How do we make this successful without the hype and bombast on the main board? For that matter, what constitutes a successful board? I got no answers, only the question. For me if the conversation is mature and information is readily shared, I don't care if there are 10 new topics posted a day.

So what about you all? What is gonna make this work?

First thoughts, off the top of my head, without reading the rest of the thread:

(1) Women. As in pics of women. Compare and contrast, Objectification. As racy as we can get without being NSFW. Miss Reef, Miss World, Nuestras Bellezas, etc.

(2) Nuts and bolts of finding legal (or tolerated) work overseas. E.g. my brother, twenty years ago, unloaded shipping containers in Holland, and waited tables on Mykonos in Greece, both working along side other expats. JP just posted that after 6 or 8 months, with a Lithuianian wife, he finally got a job in Lithuania. THIS stuff is what I mean b nuts and bolts.

(3) Meetups. We just had one in Tijuana (will comment on that thread). Pretty sure the guys who go to Asia have had a few meetups. Rock, Winston, XiongMai, AmericanInBangkok, Falcon et al. Nothing wrong with publicizing one several months in advance, for Rio, or wherever. Just an excuse for a guy to buy a ticket and plan a trip. Could just be a one-night stay, meet in the morning, go around together, one night, brunch in the morning. People can go their own way afterwards. From there, one might pair up and explore further afterwards (fellow archaeology/history buffs, fellow outdoor adventurers, fellow PUA's, fellow whoremongers, fellow matchmaking-bride-hunters, etc.)

[Jester]

I like the idea of Winston and others confining abstract posts about life and people to the other forum.

I like the focus on bride-hunting as opposed to whoring or ONS's. BUT... I DO want to see pictures of GG's. As racy as they would do on FaceBook, for example. I would LOVE it if we could make the new forum so independent of the old forum that we could let girls see it. Not post in it, but let them see it. And then we could have them pose for pictures, the way they love to do. I could post pictures of pairs or groups of girls from Mexico, tell them where they would be posted. Same way Falcon and others have done. Not "conquests", not my gf's necessarily, just pretty young girls so that guys could see the local "talent". TRUST me, if you tell girls that they are going to "represent" their country, they will pose.