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Forum Building and Management

29 guides in this category

  1. Why should you offer both a dark and light theme?

    As an administrator I'm sure finding a theme that not only works for your site and aesthetics, but also works for your members and yourself is a difficult task. This article is intended to help enlighten you on why you should offer at least 2 versions of your theme. A dark theme and a light theme no matter which is your default.

    Type: Member/Forum Management
    • 1,804 views
  2. What to Expect When You’re Expecting (to be a Forum Admin)

    Being an admin of a forum is a lot like getting a puppy. It seems like a good idea at first because it’s cute and you want something to cuddle with. But puppies need to be housebroken and they need to be trained and you’ve got to spend money on their food and take them on walks.  A lot of people go into it thinking it’ll be easy- and like with adopting their first puppy, most of these people are in for a rude awakening. You don’t have to be, though!

    Type: Admining
    • 2,055 views
  3. Uploading Inside CPanel

    CPanel is one of the most comprehensive web server management software available. When it comes to uploading files to Cpanel the easiest way is to use the built-in file manager.  This means that you don't have to learn how to install and configure a complicated FTP service, especially since you can upload zip files and extract them directly on the server.

    Type: Admining
    • 1,824 views
  4. This person is obnoxious but isn't breaking any rules - what do?

    A common problem I’ve seen people asking help with is dealing with unpleasant and difficult members. They aren’t breaking the rules, but they make you feel like you aren’t at home on your own forum. When an admin doesn’t want to be a part of their own forum this is a big issue, and the cause of this should always be dealt with as swiftly and carefully as possible.

    Type: Member/Forum Management
    • 1,880 views
  5. Spellbuilding

    If you've ever roleplayed as a wizard, you've found yourself using spells regularly. In the case of wizards from the Potterverse and other fantasy fandoms, there's only a limited amount of information available for spells - so creating your own spells is encouraged! This guide will teach you the basics on how to make your spells and charms canon-friendly.

    Type: Worldbuilding
    • 1,383 views
  6. Rune's Guide to Advertising on other Boards

    Advertising should be the easiest and probably most ignored part of your site. That makes it no less important, but there are a wide variety of ways you can make it both easier on you and more tolerable to handle. I'll try to sum up how to effectively advertise, how to handle your own advertising boards and some common issues people run into. All while simplifying things as much as possible in order to make it a relatively untouched part of your site in terms of the work you have to do.

    Type: Promotion
    • 1,258 views
  7. Roleplaying Defined

    While we focus on specific types of roleplays here on RPG Initiative there are many other types of roleplaying out there. This is a quick and simple guide defining what roleplaying is and the 5 types of roleplaying that are out in the world.

    Type: Admining
    • 1,158 views
  8. Rethinking Link Backs

    As hobbyist webmasters/administrators, we often simply copy what has been done before us within the community, assuming that if the bulk of the community does it, than it must mean that it's effective. We already know that that isn't true to a degree, tiny font is probably one of the the biggest complaints on directory forums and yet tiny fonts are still very common.

     

    Link backing is one of those practices that should probably be interrogated by admins as they're setting up their site. This guide will explain why.

    Type: Promotion
    • 2,611 views
  9. Rehosting images and why you should do it

    There are numerous benefits to rehosting images on your site, to your site's server and no benefits to not doing that. So much so, that the use of remotely hosted images on your site is considered bad practice. We will discover why below!

    Type: Admining
    • 1,446 views
  10. Quick and Dirty Advertising Format Advice

    There are some things that you might do, that really doesn't help you in your advertising goals. This guide will look at how you format your ads, whether it be in your signature or when you're dropping an ad on a roleplay directory.

    Type: Promotion
    • 1,588 views
  11. Positive Adminning and Why it Works!

    As an administrator of a site we all have the good and the bad moments. From nasty guests to shitty members to those moments that you feel like you're a failure. This guide is meant to guide you on better strategies to administrating, not only for your members but for your own personal sanity.

    Type: Admining
    • 875 views
  12. On the Matter of Off-site IM Services

    There are strong feelings in the roleplaying community about using programs like Skype or Discord for your community. This article is going to lightly dissect the matter and address some points of concern, as well as give brief instruction on how to fairly integrate such a service.

    Type: Member/Forum Management
    • 1,608 views
  13. IPS vs JCink Premium: The Showdown

    In this guide, we have a look at the features and benefits of the IPS forum software, compared to the most common option for roleplayers: JCink Premium.

    Type: Member/Forum Management
    • 2,109 views
  14. How to write Rules: The good way!

    Don't be put off by the title, everyone has their preferences for rules however I am someone that has walked away from more sites because of poorly written rules than any other reason. This is simply a guide on my personal recommendation on the do's and don'ts of rule writing.

    Type: Admining
    • 2,612 views
  15. How to write an effective Quick-Start Guide

    How do you make sure that new members see everything they need to, without overwhelming them? A quick-start guide! Here are some tips to writing a useful and effective quick-start guide for your RP.

    Type: Admining
    • 2,938 views
  16. How to write a newsletter for you site

    How to write a newsletter for you site.

    Type: Member/Forum Management
    • 1,918 views
  17. How To Use Fan Fiction Forums To Advertise!

    How do you use the FanFiction.net forums to recruit new members?

    Read on!

    Type: Promotion
    • 1,758 views
  18. How My Site Welcomes Lurkers

    Lurkers are an important part of any community. This guide shows how my site has encouraged lurkers and guests to get active.

    Type: Member/Forum Management
    • 1,672 views
  19. Handling Staff Inactivity

    At one point or another, almost every admin encounters a time when one of their staffers goes AWOL, or otherwise stops doing their job. It can be tough to know what to do in that situation, but this guide's designed to help you out!

    Type: Member/Forum Management
    • 1,621 views
  20. GDPR

    This guide will work on explaining what GDPR is and how to comply with it's rules and regulations. As GDPR grows we will work on making changes so that it is always up to date.

     

    Type: Member/Forum Management
    • 2,374 views
  21. Don't Panic! The Truth About Your Roleplay

    Opening a new board is hard. It's easy to feel like what you're doing is somehow wrong, or that you could be getting more traffic if you just did this one other thing. Or like your board is a complete failure. Before you give up, here are some hard truths about running your own forum... and when you should really throw in the towel.
    Type: Admining
    • 2,172 views
  22. Dealing with Problem Members

    This is a guide designed to help admins more easily deal with all varieties of problem members. It's a touch simplistic because there isn't enough space to cover every possible instance/outcome. But it should help regardless.

    Type: Admining
    • 1,875 views
  23. Dealing with plagiarism on other's sites.

    The unfortunate reality is that at some point admins may have content taken from them and placed on another site. Here is a guide on how to deal with another site stealing from your site. 

    Type: Admining
    • 1,958 views
  24. Cyber/Bio-punk

    Something Sci-Fi often crosses into, on a "Earth Based" Sci-Fi, are two elements called Cyberpunk and Biopunk. For the most part these two genres tend to crossover in some aspects so instead of creating separate articles for both of them I'm combining them into a single article. This article will include some details including some pop culture references and images for your visual pleasure.

    Type: Worldbuilding
    • 1,314 views
  25. Beta Testing vs. Soft Openings - what are they and when do I use them?

    The phrases "beta testing" and "soft opening" get tossed around a lot like they're the same thing- but they're not! This guide is here to clarify the difference, and explains how to reap the benefits of each.

    Type: Admining
    • 1,621 views
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