rogerd - 1:12 am on May 20, 2004 (gmt 0)

Web communities tend to form because new visitors stumble across the site and like what they see. They may have come from a search engine, a link on another site, a friend's recommendation, or even press coverage.

Rather than letting nature take its course, some community builders include "viral" mechanisms to speed up the process. Perhaps the best example is a "tell a friend" or "e-mail this page" link. In my experience, these don't get many clicks, but the quality of the referral is usually excellent since it's targeted by someone who knows the recipient.

What clever ways have you spotted (or used) to use your members/visitors to bring new visitors to the site?