Retaining new members

[FlyingJesus]

As you may well know if you've been hanging around the feedback section this week, there's been talk of forum membership declining and ways to improve on that. Had some fairly heated discussion about how to bring in new members, but frankly after looking through some of the stats I don't think that's the true issue - rather, it's more important that we give the new members we're already getting something to talk about so they stick around. Thought it best to make a new thread rather than posting all this in the current one as it's not really the same topic.
I'd say we're still #1 by far in terms of membership and traffic, so I don't see that as the biggest issue we face. Let's have a look see -

http://home.compete.com.edgesuite.net/clubhabbo.net+habboxforum.com_uv_310.png
http://www.statsaholic.com/clubhabbo.net+habboxforum.com (http://www.statsaholic.com/clubhabbo.net+habboxforum.com)
(What the hell happened in January/February?)
Tried getting post per day stats for both but CH isn't on any other stats site I could find, not that I looked very hard, and I cba going through their member pages unless I really have to.

As for us...
4 new members today so far, 12 yesterday. Of those 16 only 5 posted at all, three of whom only posted once and the most having 4 posts. Only 15 of this month's 233 new members have gone over 10 posts while 157 of them haven't posted a single thing.

http://www.big-boards.com/img/graphs/wp1557.png
http://www.big-boards.com/img/graphs/wm1557.png
Looking at the first and last bars on each of these (ie: today and this time last year) we can see that membership isn't actually all that different but post count has massively decreased.

Clearly we have enough people joining but need much more to keep new members not only interested, but also comfortable. I'll be the first to admit to not being the most welcoming of people (not just because I don't spam up the welcome threads with a generic smiley post) but to a new member on a forum of this size I'm sure it can be quite daunting in general.

I haven't really got a solution that I can think of right now so I'm just laying out the foundation and you lot can hopefully build something on it. Got to be a group effort really, this is about the community so it's not something that can easily be sorted out just by tweaking the forum settings and other technical stuff so if you have a plan get involved :P

[Nixt]

Excellent post, Thomas. It's nice to see some cold hard facts that reflect what problems we are having. You're right though, it is difficult to think of ways we can retain these members that don't seem to be posting. I agree that community is an issue in the fact that certain members aren't so welcoming. I can't really think how we might solve this though! See, we can all comment on what's going wrong but it is very difficult to provide solutions. I will most certainly have a think about it though and see what I can come up with.

[nvrspk4]

Hey,

Its a good point you made, and I like that you are going with facts that are in short supply.

But I'm curious about your new member things...because vBulletin doesn't agree. Maybe its broken but from the user registration in AdminCP this is what I get for the past few days:

http://www.uploadpicz.com/images/69UserReg.png

I agree we have a problem with engaging new users in the community. I think it has a lot to do with the exclusive attitude a lot of our users have. I'm sure you've seen posts where people's points were considered valueless based on their join date (comments about rl things or Habbo things, not Habbox things because they have a point in that instance.) Also our community quite frankly isn't very tolerant of noobs.

The people who com on here typin lyk dis get laughed at. HabboxForum is very unique in that was in that our members tend to communicate legibly (plenty of people use chatspeak but do it deliberately, almost satirically.) We were ALL noobs at one point and typed like that - the difference is people were more understanding about it back then than they are now.

Another issue I think we're having is just that we're not drawing as many Habbo users in. That's just something we need to work on with our departments, drawing more users in.

Keeping them is also an issue but we need to change the community attitude for that, and that's something that is unlikely to be successful when done from a management level.

[e5]

Reason post count decreases is because we get told off for posting pointlessly for tinyyyyyyy little things tbh:P

[FlyingJesus]

But I'm curious about your new member things...because vBulletin doesn't agree. Maybe its broken but from the user registration in AdminCP this is what I get for the past few days:

http://www.uploadpicz.com/images/69UserReg.png

Is that the figures you get for how many people have signed up on those days? Mine were just from the members list sorted by join date, so maybe a lot have already been banned or something :P Not sure, but you're right that doesn't seem to match up


The people who com on here typin lyk dis get laughed at. HabboxForum is very unique in that was in that our members tend to communicate legibly (plenty of people use chatspeak but do it deliberately, almost satirically.) We were ALL noobs at one point and typed like that - the difference is people were more understanding about it back then than they are now.

This has always been one of the biggest problems I've seen in the community. I know for a fact that when I first joined I typed like that satirically as you said because that was the done thing at the time, but even then when everyone was doing it you still got the odd smartmouth posting "try typing in English I can't understand you" in every thread, and especially as the users here are getting older now I think that's often what happens because people want to look mature when possible. Just a human flaw really


Keeping them is also an issue but we need to change the community attitude for that, and that's something that is unlikely to be successful when done from a management level.

You mentioned earlier the problem of the way we have this "exclusive attitude", and I'd entirely agree but think maybe we could use that to help the situation. In the forum's history there have been plenty of secular activity from the old spam crew and the Runescape fanatics who used to invade each other's area every now and then to KKK and whatever various rivals have sprung up and all the other more general divides (new spam, tech kids, Habbo players, graphics... just basically divides based on where you spend most of your time here). What I'd suggest is something that's come up before but not been implemented - more groups that people can actually join.
Currently we only have pixel artists and IT crowd as public member groups, which doesn't really do a lot for bringing people together as far as I know because they're rather too general. I'm not at all suggesting the system CH have where anyone can make any stupid group like "we like food", but allowing people to apply for having a group of like-minded friends could be to the benefit of the community. Of course, it sounds like it would just further ostracise new members who aren't part of a group, but the reality is that people like being accepted and like being part of something, so even a "new members" group could be made so they at least can get to know the users that are going to grow to be their peers, and when they're no longer so new they'll have whatever friends they've made there to make a new group (or stick around to welcome the even newer people if they so wish).

The truth of humanity is that no matter how much you try to be individual and promote individuality, we always look for a way to connect with others and it feels good when you do. HxSS is a popular and very successful example of this - the teams are still up on group memberships page btw - so a community driven group system could if left unabused and properly managed help strengthen the forum's sense of belonging

[Ekalb]

Could go for some good competitions like back in the old days...

[Inseriousity.]

Could go for some good competitions like back in the old days...

If you could go into further detail, maybe we would.

I agree there are various cliques (spam, forum, graphics, all the ones flyingjesus mentioned basically) in the forum and it is normally very hard for a newbie to get into these. As the average age of Habbox increases, topics are becoming more and more for the older community. Would a Year 7-9 really want to post in a topic on Personal Statements, for example?

[The Professor]

Yeah, there are a lot of underutilised featues that VB introduced in that update ages ago (I remember the groups thing and there was some social networking stuff that we never bothered to implement). People just need more reason to come and try and get into the exclusive community (I don't think that's a bad thing at all btw, you always have to earn your place in a group by making the effort to get on with the people you want to join in with), and in the era of social networking where facebook has everything and its dog, expecting people to just come for a text based forum is very old style thinking. Its all about the extras!

[Jordy]

After reading FlyingJesus/Nvrspk4's posts I've had a little thought on it. Pretty much all Habboxforum members sign up as Habbo users, past and present. Almost everyone signed up to Habboxforum cause of the Habbo related forums and that still seems to be the case.

The negativity in the Habbo related forums could be an issue with older members tending to take the piss out of others because of things like addiction, taking it too seriously and needing to get a life. It's mainly the people who no longer play Habbo going into the Habbo related forums to jeer at these people.

I've brought it up in the past how this goes on but it was always pretty much ignored but I'd certainly look into that. The forums source of new members is Habbo, so make sure the Habbo sections are all good and entertaining for them and regulate all the petty arguments and things there which could be off-putting to the newer members. And once you've sorted the Habbo related sections, they'll slowly role into the other sections therefore keeping the forum sustainable.

[Grig]

Hey,

Its a good point you made, and I like that you are going with facts that are in short supply.

But I'm curious about your new member things...because vBulletin doesn't agree. Maybe its broken but from the user registration in AdminCP this is what I get for the past few days:

http://www.uploadpicz.com/images/69UserReg.png



Just to clarify on the issue of the 13th of October was a challenge for the HabboxLive team to get referals, thus the sudden spike in members during this day, so no, nothing was broken!

As for the issue of getting new members to stay, it is difficult to say why they sign up and don't stay in the first place, maybe that is a thing to find out before we start jumping to conclusions? Maybe more promotion of the real life sections could do, as most people would think well this is a Habbo fansite forum, I might as well go to somewhere else that specialises in real life disucssion.

[Nixt]

HabboxLive then, is obviously an excellent source of members. Perhaps we could make a HxF jingle that could be played by DJs on HabboxLive and DJs could also mention the Forum where possible just in attempts to attract members? I don't know to what extent this might be done already as I never listen but yeerrrr.

[Immenseman]

Good thread, backed with statistics. Now we know it's an issue it's the hardest job of all, determining how to resolve it. It's not going to be easy, no practical solutions spring to mind. All ideas are probably going to be backed by some and opposed by just as many. However, I can't stress enough that management are going to have to take risks to aid the situation.

I would suggest taking the post approval away completely. I know I said it should be reduced to 5 only a few days ago and it was done. Maybe that will suffice. The thing is when there was no post approval on your first few posts there wasn't an issue with retaining new members. Maybe now this has been altered it will come better. I have no proof this has an influence - just a thought. A well educated guess so to speak. We have a moderation team to deal with spam bots and inappropriate posts. It was never a huge issue before. They were dealt with then they posted ~ they could be again.

Referral competitions. This could be quite annoying though. Maybe the top 5 people who get the most people to sign up over a one month period can with a month of VIP or something like that. I know other forums do that and it can be successful. As Grig above me highlighted it can make quite a difference ~ if this was done over a 1 month or even a couple of weeks period then you'd see an influx of new users. Whether they stay or not is another thing. I know this doesn't totally counter the issue but say 100 people sign up a month (for arguments sake). Doubling or even tripling this will surely see that more people will stay. It's a quantity thing. If 100 people start the marathon maybe only 60 will finish. If 1000 people start maybe 600 will finish. Another downside is that they won't be signing up because they like the forum but more because their friend told them too - in the hope they'd win the VIP. Could be worth a shot though.

That's just two ideas I can think of. I'm sure there are more. I know both of them have their downsides. However, if it's going to see more new users staying around then it could easily be argued that the positives out weigh the negatives.

[Nixt]

I agree with you, Jake, on the removal of the post approval system. People will inevitably argue that it's a very useful tool that has prevent spam bots but I don't think they're actually that common and we had coped for ages before without the post approval system despite the fact that it had been available for a while.

I am not sure about referral competitions. My experience on them is limited but where I do have experience I remember people cheating the system in an attempt to win the competitions. Certainly something that could be considered though!

[Robbie]

HabboxLive then, is obviously an excellent source of members. Perhaps we could make a HxF jingle that could be played by DJs on HabboxLive and DJs could also mention the Forum where possible just in attempts to attract members? I don't know to what extent this might be done already as I never listen but yeerrrr.

I've already suggested this to Matt, nvr and Catzsy in a PM, along with some other ideas - no replies though yet. Well, Rosie is away and Matt thanked me on MSN :)

[FlyingJesus]

The negativity in the Habbo related forums could be an issue with older members tending to take the piss out of others because of things like addiction, taking it too seriously and needing to get a life. It's mainly the people who no longer play Habbo going into the Habbo related forums to jeer at these people.

I entirely agree. I don't go on the hotel any more and so I hardly see anything of the Habbo section here but when I do it seems to be a large amount of people telling others how sad they are for caring about it and generally being unpleasant. We've all been there and all at some point cared about what happens on there so it really is unnecessary, and as Habbo is our main source of members I can totally see why that section needs an attitude overhaul if it can be done


Just to clarify on the issue of the 13th of October was a challenge for the HabboxLive team to get referals


it is difficult to say why they sign up and don't stay in the first place

Might be because as you said, it was just for referrals :P


I would suggest taking the post approval away completely. I know I said it should be reduced to 5 only a few days ago and it was done. Maybe that will suffice. The thing is when there was no post approval on your first few posts there wasn't an issue with retaining new members. Maybe now this has been altered it will come better. I have no proof this has an influence - just a thought. A well educated guess so to speak. We have a moderation team to deal with spam bots and inappropriate posts. It was never a huge issue before. They were dealt with then they posted ~ they could be again.

Having never had to make an entirely new account and go through the post approval process I can't really say how it affects a user, but if it really does take as long as some people say then I can see why this might be a good idea. I've always thought that only one approval is needed anyway (as opposed to 10, now 5) as it's obvious from that post if someone's a spambot or not. I can't honestly say how much of a problem for moderation the spambots were in the past as I was never part of the team but really I saw maybe 10 a day max which is far less than how many approvals are needed, so changing or removing that system may be a good start


Referral competitions. This could be quite annoying though. Maybe the top 5 people who get the most people to sign up over a one month period can with a month of VIP or something like that. I know other forums do that and it can be successful. As Grig above me highlighted it can make quite a difference ~ if this was done over a 1 month or even a couple of weeks period then you'd see an influx of new users. Whether they stay or not is another thing. I know this doesn't totally counter the issue but say 100 people sign up a month (for arguments sake). Doubling or even tripling this will surely see that more people will stay. It's a quantity thing. If 100 people start the marathon maybe only 60 will finish. If 1000 people start maybe 600 will finish. Another downside is that they won't be signing up because they like the forum but more because their friend told them too - in the hope they'd win the VIP. Could be worth a shot though.

Referral competitions would only really increase the number of new members I'd say, with hardly any sticking around. It makes sense that more members = more posts but from the charts in the first post it looks like that's a minimal correlation if any. My figures from the member's list might not be entirely accurate as nvr's shown but when such tiny percentages are becoming anything close to what we could call active the boost in membership would have to be collossal to make a real difference to actual posting. Worth a try perhaps if only for something to do but (and I can of course be wrong) I can't see it being the best way, let alone a long term solution

[Grig]

Even with referal competitions etc. it doesn't solve the fundamental problem which is the fact that they do not stay. Sure, they sign up take a look around and probably forget its existance after as while. Many of the forums active members from when I could probably go to the fact or observation being a more accurate word (tell me if I'm wrong here) that many more people were signing up in past years. Though as all these people age and many grow out of Habbox and leave there is a sort of a hole left to fill, and not many newer members are taking as much of a proactive role posting around the forums.

[AgnesIO]

http://www.habboxforum.com/showthread.php?p=6104261#post6104261

Perfect example why new members leave.

Member with 3 posts makes a thread (just a fun thread) - one member straight away effectively bullies him - that is why members leave - because of other idiots.

[Jordy]

http://www.habboxforum.com/showthread.php?p=6104261#post6104261

Perfect example why new members leave.

Member with 3 posts makes a thread (just a fun thread) - one member straight away effectively bullies him - that is why members leave - because of other idiots.Yeah exactly, not only do they rip on him straight away they go hideously off topic and turn it into a rather personal argument.

Another suggestion might be to play around with the forum settings. For example when Guests view more than 5 threads it should force them to sign up if they wish to continue browsing, things like that.

As for referals, although they won't all continue using the forum, if just 5% of referred people began using the forum it's something.

[FlyingJesus]

http://www.habboxforum.com/showthread.php?p=6104261#post6104261

Perfect example why new members leave.

Member with 3 posts makes a thread (just a fun thread) - one member straight away effectively bullies him - that is why members leave - because of other idiots.

Agreed, some people just can't wait to have a go (and some apparently can't wait to carry it on into an argument despite being staff..) and it's really just not needed. I'm all for a bit of bullying because I honestly think it helps create a sense of true community but I'm selective in who I go for rather than any and all. Guy joined just this month, he can't have already done anything to warrant such behaviour against him


Another suggestion might be to play around with the forum settings. For example when Guests view more than 5 threads it should force them to sign up if they wish to continue browsing, things like that.

This is what I was arguing against in the other thread (by Wolves, I think) :P basically forcing the many guests we have to join, who mostly come here just to read news and such I believe, is entirely likely to make a large number to just not bother, and so we lose not only potential future members (many many people browse for a long time before actually signing up) but also the traffic generated from them being here just for a few members who statistically are unlikely to become active

[The Professor]

If the post approval process is still taking ages, why not have someone who's job it is to approve posts? I seem to remember when Ostinato was doing it it worked pretty well!

[GommeInc]

Hmmm, now that you mention it... I very rarely see or talk to newcomers... Do they hide in the Habbo forums? I suppose we need to gage their interests, but doing so would be difficult and verging on impossible.

[N!ck]

If the post approval process is still taking ages, why not have someone who's job it is to approve posts? I seem to remember when Ostinato was doing it it worked pretty well!

The thing with post approval is that it isn't always obvious that a post needs approving. I know that on occasion I've been looking at a thread and missed a post that needs approving just because it isn't very obvious to us that it is an unapproved post.

Perhaps if there was an auto-updating list of unapproved posts (is that even possible on VB?) for us moderators to see then post approving would be much quicker and more effective.

[AgnesIO]

The thing with post approval is that it isn't always obvious that a post needs approving. I know that on occasion I've been looking at a thread and missed a post that needs approving just because it isn't very obvious to us that it is an unapproved post.

Perhaps if there was an auto-updating list of unapproved posts (is that even possible on VB?) for us moderators to see then post approving would be much quicker and more effective.


o.O I always assumed that it did come up with a list!

I didn't realise that you actually had to read the thread to know a post is there!

[Immenseman]

I think the super moderators have some sort of list. Don't quote me though. I'm pretty sure they can do it via ModCP.

[Robbie]

I think the super moderators have some sort of list. Don't quote me though. I'm pretty sure they can do it via ModCP.

Everyone has a list - and every moderator now knows :D

[AgnesIO]

So I guess MOD's have NO excuse to not do posts for new members.

[N!ck]

So I guess MOD's have NO excuse to not do posts for new members.

Yeah, the list exits but no-one told me about it :P.

[Grig]

http://www.habboxforum.com/showthread.php?p=6104261#post6104261

Perfect example why new members leave.

Member with 3 posts makes a thread (just a fun thread) - one member straight away effectively bullies him - that is why members leave - because of other idiots.

Absolutely, this same member made a welcome thread and he got insulted; http://www.habboxforum.com/showthread.php?t=608164

So this is the point, where everyone jumps to rudeness. Thus, of course if I was a new member I wouldnt of wanted to stay at such a place. I think something needs to be tightened slightly. Sure, it's no problem to have your own opinion but there is a fine line to that and dissing people.

[Jamesy]

Absolutely, this same member made a welcome thread and he got insulted; http://www.habboxforum.com/showthread.php?t=608164

So this is the point, where everyone jumps to rudeness. Thus, of course if I was a new member I wouldnt of wanted to stay at such a place. I think something needs to be tightened slightly. Sure, it's no problem to have your own opinion but there is a fine line to that and dissing people.

I am appalled by that thread, Grig. I definitely agree that this is an area moderation and management need to clamp down on - elitism gets us nowhere.

[Blinger1]

I am appalled by that thread, Grig. I definitely agree that this is an area moderation and management need to clamp down on - elitism gets us nowhere.
Is it bad if i post saying that others only post here for the post count? (in the welcome threads).

[Cheryl]

TBH get the events team bigger and get a few events (if possible a day), advertise in Habbo, by making an event, and as new people come to the event just advertise the Forum and HabboxLive, as if the like Habbo, and most people like to listen to music or watch TV whilst on Habbo, they would listen to HxLand maybe find their way eventually to the Forum

[Immenseman]

Is it bad if i post saying that others only post here for the post count? (in the welcome threads).

It's not bad because it's your opinion. However, it doesn't affect you in the slightest. I know my first thread on any forum determines my opinion on the forum altogether. If people are posting welcome just to get their post count up. The new member won't care and just be happy that many people are welcoming them.

I personally make a thing of trying to +REP them as a form of welcome to the forum. I do it when I see new users post in feedback also. They may not understand the ins and outs of Habbox but they're still trying to contribute and their efforts shouldn't go unnoticed.

[AgnesIO]

It's not bad because it's your opinion. However, it doesn't affect you in the slightest. I know my first thread on any forum determines my opinion on the forum altogether. If people are posting welcome just to get their post count up. The new member won't care and just be happy that many people are welcoming them.

I personally make a thing of trying to +REP them as a form of welcome to the forum. I do it when I see new users post in feedback also. They may not understand the ins and outs of Habbox but they're still trying to contribute and their efforts shouldn't go unnoticed.


I'm new!

Well I was 3 years ago :P

Anyway. I do think the biggest problem for those who do post is they are not welcomed very well. I mean, very often I see a new user (normally under 50 posts), post something, then first reply he gets is 'yeh but you are a ****' or something. Io that is not needed, and when thins like that happen there is absolutely no wonder why new members leave.

[nvrspk4]

I think the majority agree that a big problem is elitism, rudeness to new members etc.

I happen to agree.

Now...how do we fix it?

[AgnesIO]

I think the majority agree that a big problem is elitism, rudeness to new members etc.

I happen to agree.

Now...how do we fix it?


Instead of going through the:

'Usernote; Kind PM; Warning; nfraction' process just warn then infract straight away?

Like only if a member has <50 posts or using the forum for the first month.

Would cut down, as if people end uip with 6 points, they normally stop to let them expire.

I know some users won't like this as apparently they cannot contain themselves. But still :)

[Jamesy]

Instead of going through the:

'Usernote; Kind PM; Warning; nfraction' process just warn then infract straight away?

Like only if a member has <50 posts or using the forum for the first month.

Would cut down, as if people end uip with 6 points, they normally stop to let them expire.

I know some users won't like this as apparently they cannot contain themselves. But still :)

Problem is any increase in force will a: drive the older members away or b: make us look incredibly harsh and put off the new members anyway - that and at least the pm -> warn system gives us moderators some breathing space incase of a mistake - and you've seen the threads that come about from simply mistakingly editing a post ;).

Elitism on the internet is always hard to get rid of - perhaps we can have a greater use for the forum specific bans in keeping those who are rude and disrespectful out of the problem areas. This doesn't disrupt the other areas where older more confident members hang about, while keeping their hostility away from the places new members go.

[Nixt]

I agree that the above would be a good idea. Excluding members from the Forums in which they target new members would, theoretically, make them think twice about doing it in the future. Again though, that would be seen as quite harsh. Perhaps you could expand on the "bullying" rule, adding that it is against the rules to target members specifically because they are new and have the Moderation team really drive this home through the use of the usernote > warning > infraction process. If the individual in question turns out to be a repeat offender in a particular Forum then the specific bans can be used. This way you are not being any more harsh than normal but you are establishing the targeting of new members as against the rules.

There is a massive grey area here, though. For example in the Sports Forum you see quite a lot of banter and it can be difficult to establish between banter and bullying sometimes. In retaining new members, we don't want to piss off the older members! So if such a rule could be implemented and appropriate punishment exercised properly without pissing off new members too much, something like this could work.

[Immenseman]

What's wrong with the days when you tried to speak to people first! I'm sure if you as in nvr (it won't be half as effective if anyone else produces it) made a thread in announcements telling everyone you're having an issue with retaining new members and outlined the reasons why. We believe this is due to elitism, whether it is or not remains to be seen. If you then asked the members to rally and try and prevent doing this I personally think you'll seen an improvement - especially with older members.

However, it's going to be the people who are established on HxF but not quite 'senior' members so to speak that are going to cause the issues. They don't really respect management in my opinion. Although I often disagree I fully understand the last word is with the General Management team and they're only doing things to make Habbox better. Anyway, try talking first then if that fails implement other ideas.

I don't believe elitism is that much of an issue anyway. If you all believe it is then try and speak to all members first. They will listen.

[ihatehash]

One thing to boost numbers could be instead of events on habbo do events on the forums. I noticed they do this on habbable and i believe thats where alot of our members will go if they dont like hxf. you could do things like a trivia, or a quest etc. that way when a new member sees these events on it will make them want to continue checking back to see when the next forum event is on.

[Inseriousity.]

There was a recent HabboxForum quest (feedback was that it was quite difficult and we will take that on board but if it was too easy, it'd be -yawns-). They'll only remain on the forum if people stop pointing their noses up and start treating newbies as equal. Get tougher on the people who post simply to abuse members who are 'beneath' them.

'Nooby not snobby' :D

[AgnesIO]

One thing to boost numbers could be instead of events on habbo do events on the forums. I noticed they do this on habbable and i believe thats where alot of our members will go if they dont like hxf. you could do things like a trivia, or a quest etc. that way when a new member sees these events on it will make them want to continue checking back to see when the next forum event is on.


THAT is a GENIOUS idea.

Perhaps if threads were made and stickied in forums then you would have to log in to complete the quest.

Like:

Random forums have stickied threads.
If you come across this thread you will need to collect the letter/word found in that forum.
Once collected ALL letters/words you need to try and guess the password.
If you are correct you are put into a number generator
Then the first number would get the top prize, then you could have 3 prizes or something.
Sounds good to me :)

+Rep

[Blinger1]

THAT is a GENIOUS idea.

Perhaps if threads were made and stickied in forums then you would have to log in to complete the quest.

Like:

Random forums have stickied threads.
If you come across this thread you will need to collect the letter/word found in that forum.
Once collected ALL letters/words you need to try and guess the password.
If you are correct you are put into a number generator
Then the first number would get the top prize, then you could have 3 prizes or something.
Sounds good to me :)

+Rep
I dunno about stickied threads, it'll clog up the forums.. ;)

[StefanWolves]

Very nice OP.

I agree with the person who said have a couple of people dedicated to approving posts. Hell, I would take the job, it'd be something to do, and i'd be helping HxF out, if posts get approved quicker, users will keep coming back, if they take ages to go through (sometimes hours) then users won't bother coming back, FACT. I also agree with the person who agreed with my idea of limiting the amount of threads that guests can view, but I don't think that is going to happen. People keep saying it will be a disadvantage to the forum, but I am yet to see proof of that.

I don't think we should be doing things like 'quests' and forum games, I think that is totally off the mark, yes it may HELP users stay on the forum, but it still doesn't sort out the problem of actually getting people to sign up. If more people sign up = more chance of more active members, FACT. Which is why I suggested we bring in the limit on guests viewing threads, even if it's for a 1-3 month trial, try it out, that's the only way that we will find out if it is worth it. Then if we see an increase in USERS, then we can implement changes into the forum itself in order to make those newer members stay on the forum, and encourage them to become more active.

And yes I agree, maybe our main problem is Elitism, maybe we could have a section for new members just to post, and where only HxF staff can post back (this could be called the 'Sand box' or something, or just make the 'welcome forum' staff replies only). This would mean they would get nice polite replies from high forum members, and it would encourage them to stay, they would feel more welcome.

1. Make the 'welcome forum'/new 'Sand Box' staff replies only.
2. Trial: Introduce the limit on guests viewing threads.
3. IF the trial is successful: introduce newer forums or forum activities like 'quests' and 'games'.

I also agree with the person who said advertise via HabboxLive, that is A GREAT IDEA, it could be a great source of getting new members, and could be an even greater source if we take advantage of these newer members, with the three suggestions that I have given above.

You could also introduce a very strict rule where something like if new members get taken the piss out of but without actually breaking rules, then they could get a warning or something. Just something needs to be done about newer members getting flamed.

1. Give out a notice/pm to the WHOLE forum telling them that they need to change their attitudes towards newer members. Also notifying them of the 'new rule toward newer members'
2. If they are still rude and have bad attitudes towards newer members, enforce the new rule and give them a warning straight off, and if they continue then make it an infraction.

Just a few ideas I thought up there, most of you won't agree with all of these, but hey, this is the feedback forum, and those are the changes that I believe need to be brought in.