petra - 11:58 am on Sep 27, 2005 (gmt 0)

Great Post Bradley,

I hope alot of forum members view this thread and learn from your wisdom.

There are many people out there that start a forum with the hopes that it becomes the next big thing but without specialization and focusing on a niche as you rightfully said they will end up with a deserted island (tom hanks talking to the volleyball kinda thing lol)

I also second your idea of having an expert(s) post in your forum, that helped my forum out alot.

Let me add one further point that I think is crucial..having an interseting site to accompany the forum is key.

Also, stay away from adding live chat to your forum, whats the point of it really? No chat room can beat msn's and even if they do use yours you'll only end up having members spending their time there (using your precious resources with no added benefit to the content of your site)