What are examples of the best thread starters in a forum?

2. Post a news headline that is relevant to the community and a brief summary of the article.

2. Post a news headline that is relevant to the community and a brief summary of the article.

3. State a common belief and then assert a basis for challenging that belief. Perhaps something you recently 'discovered' while analyzing G's search results, if it's a SEO forum.

The objective, here, is to provide fertilizer for the minds of people who have just started or are about to start a new forum, or to help those whose forums may be languishing at the moment.

I'd like to come up with something that can be easily printed out and posted on a wall next to a monitor as brain food for forum moderators or operators. A basic first aide kit for a common 'we're stuck on the side of the road on the information highway' rescue kit.

2. Post a news headline that is relevant to the community and a brief summary of the article.

3. State a common belief and then assert a basis for challenging that belief. Perhaps something you recently 'discovered' while analyzing G's search results, if it's a SEO forum.

4. Start a thread about one of the problem areas locally and ask for input on how to begin mitigation of the problem, on a municipal forum.

5. Again on a municipal forum, post about your favorite place to eat, vacation or play - guaranteed to get feedback!

6. Talk about your favorite game (pc or console) or your preferred computer specifications/brands. Another feedback guarantee, even on fora communities where machines aren't necessarily a common conversation.

Great idea, btw!

7. Choose a topic that has "true believer" overtones, e.g., that is expresseed in terms of Mac vs. PC, Linux vs. Windows, liberal vs. conservative, Michigan vs. Ohio State, etc.

Just about every forum has a few of these kinds of topics that are guaranteed to bring everyone piling in.

(For readability, let's just add new numbers and not repeat all the preceding ones. When our imaginations are drained, Webwork or someone can do a massive summary post.)

C'mon, everyone, let's pitch in here. Don't leave all the heavy lifting to vkaryl.

everyone will chip in with their own 'correct' method and you might even get a decent argument about the best way to roast spuds!

<edited count number - can't count!>

always strong sides between those who believe they are basically 'up' and those who scream 'impossible'

ha! should i grass my competitors techniques to google being a particularily fine example!

All these are guaranteed to get hot discussions going, true - though may also cause flame wars, even on a forum with relatively mature members.

There's also always politics and religion - I've been in some thoughtful, well-informed, well-constructed discussions on those. But that's rare - mostly those are "Katy bar the door" time....

18. (Is that the right #? *sigh*) Ask for help with information about a place you're moving: what's fun to do, where's good to eat, which newspaper to subscribe to, any advice about dealing with utilities, etc....

20. I feel as if I'm missing out on real life due to *insert machine-or-programming-specific here*. What do you recommend to counteract this?

21. I SERIOUSLY need to lose 25 pounds. Where on EARTH do I start (and no throwaways like "stop eating" thankyouverymuch!)

22. I think my sigother is having an affair. Help?

23. My ancestors arrived from *** in 16** (insert family specifics), but I can't figure out how they got HERE from THERE. Any ideas where to look?

Give me a few, bound to come up with s'more....

24. What's YOUR recipe for s'mores?

25. Discuss a trade magazine likely to have been read by your members, such as "Could you believe the article about ______ in WidGetsPro this month?"

27. Discuss failure of past industry techiques: "Why do you think Widget Rotisseries aren't used that widely anymore?"

30. Is Stephen Hawking the next Albert Einstein? Why or why not?

31. Is a college degree important? What about an MBA? PHD?

32. Who really BELONGS in the Rose Bowl this year? Or the Super Bowl? Or the World Series?

33. How do you feel about the death penalty? Gun ownership? Abortion?

[Note please that with almost all of the above, you ARE risking some serious flame wars. There are cases where those topics might be logical. Then again, there are cases where YOU JUST DO NOT WANT TO GO THERE.]

Examples: professional forum = pics of recent marketing campaign, new t-shirts, new logo, shaking hands with someone famous/important, car audio forum = pics of car's sound system, any forum = pics from a gag you pulled on someone like 'covered coworker's office with sticky notes'

38. Friday word game! ;)

Scott