I didn't see a better forum to post in, so I figure I'd just throw this up in general discussion and see what becomes of it.
I need some advice on running a forums on my website. I've set up an entertainment & reviews website ( http://www.theblastrag.com/) with a forums community. The first thing I did before I put up a lot of content on the front page was invite all my friends from when I was in high school to join the forums. The problem is that I grew up in an isolated town in Alaska where the only thing to do was wander around and make fun of people, and as a result we have a lot of inside jokes. My old buddies probably make up at least 3/4 of the membership, and it seems like all they want to do is repeat in-jokes and mention people who no one outside of the town has ever heard of.
We all agree that we want to expand our membership and get more people, but I'm certain that no guests to my site would want to join the forums if they don't have any idea what anyone is talking about. It's kind of frustrating me because it seems to be getting out of hand. I don't know if I should come down on people for it, or if I'm just overreacting.
Has anyone else had a problem with "cliquiness" on a forums? Is there a way to work it out without coming down on people? Or should I purge my forums of some of the worse members? |
