Hi there fellow Heartlanders!
I just want to make sure that it's not my intention to steal people from this forum or something like that. I just want you to know I've been making I new forum for the Nephilim and their sideprojects.
http://www.imaginarywalls.com/forum
Reason for making this forum is mostly to complete a course in "publication on the web" that I've been studying this summer. I'll check how things go and if there's enough interest I'll buy a new web hotel and then move it there (like http://www.dawnrazor.com).
Please send your comments and suggestions to me, that will be much appreciated (I need that for my evaluation for the course).
Thanks,
Johan
EDIT: I've bought a new domain name for the forum: http://www.dawnrazor.co.uk - but we're still on the same server, only a bit more easy to remember.
New Nephilim Forum
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TheBoyNextDoor
- Utterly Bastard Groovy Amphetamine Filth
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Last edited by TheBoyNextDoor on 23 Aug 2006, 11:46, edited 1 time in total.
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Quiff Boy
- Herr Administrator
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cool!
some things to consider:
1) get a unique selling point
there are already 2 neff mailing lists that i know of - sumerland and psychonaut (clicky) - you need your site to offer something different - something more - than the rest.
from day one i conceived heartland as filling a very different remit from the officially endorsed dominion mailing list
not just was the medium different (bulletin board rather than email list), i also wanted the message to be different: at the time i started this place dominion was not in good way. the sisters themselves were going through one of their quiet spells, and consequently the list was pretty quiet. this situation was not helped by the fact that friendly banter was discouraged by some of the list "elders", and flame wars were an everyday occurrence. frankly, it was a bit of a state. i figured there was a gap in the market for a place that sisters fans could come and just "hang about", discussing the band as and when it seemed appropriate, and chatting about everything else the rest of the time.
have a look at the other neff-related sites out there and make sure you find something unique to offer.
2) market yourself
no one is going to hang around a place with only 3 members. you need to get your site know. a decent url helps, as does google.
if you aren't already a member, join those other neff lists and hang about a bit. get yourself known before you start plugging your wares there, or you'll probably not get too good a reaction..
however, hanging around there a bit will give you a better feel for what that gap in the market i mentioned i point 1 actually is.
if you also contribute to their discussions your own attempts at starting a community are more likely to be accepted.
3) professionalism
the site has to look professional, and you should treat it in a professional manner - otherwise it will look like someone's hobby site, and will probably descend into cliquey "mates" banter before you know it. and that's not going to appeal to new members.
that's not to say you should be deadly serious about the whole thing - a sense of humour goes a long way - its just that you should remember that you're doing something for potentially a lot of people you don't know, and they are going to judge the place by how you run it. and your way of handling the admin side of stuff will generally dictate the tone of the place.
4) be unbiased in your moderation
always a sensitive one this, but its crucial you set the right tone
you're going to get some people who will cause trouble. some of them might even be your mates. it's a fact of life i'm afraid. another fact of life is that you are going to have to be prepared to give them a bit of a ticking off from time to time... or at the very least you're going to have to goive them a gentle reminder of where they are, and rein them in from time to time
if you don't, two things will happen: 1) they will get worse, and 2) others will see it as favouritism, and that way cliqueyness beckons...
my own approach is to nip trouble in the bud quickly. i hope that i am seen as fair and consistent in my approach, but i know that's not always possible. however, wherever you can you should remember that just because person a is your mate it doesn't mean they might not be a pain in the arse, and that person b might not be an innocent victim of person a's general twattery
above all else, have fun with it! if it takes off its well worth it
i was an avid sisters geek before i even started this place, but my geekery has increased tenfold, as has my sisters "general knowledge"... and we don't even talk about my ever-increasing collection of sisters fanboi tat
and good luck
some things to consider:
1) get a unique selling point
there are already 2 neff mailing lists that i know of - sumerland and psychonaut (clicky) - you need your site to offer something different - something more - than the rest.
from day one i conceived heartland as filling a very different remit from the officially endorsed dominion mailing list
not just was the medium different (bulletin board rather than email list), i also wanted the message to be different: at the time i started this place dominion was not in good way. the sisters themselves were going through one of their quiet spells, and consequently the list was pretty quiet. this situation was not helped by the fact that friendly banter was discouraged by some of the list "elders", and flame wars were an everyday occurrence. frankly, it was a bit of a state. i figured there was a gap in the market for a place that sisters fans could come and just "hang about", discussing the band as and when it seemed appropriate, and chatting about everything else the rest of the time.
have a look at the other neff-related sites out there and make sure you find something unique to offer.
2) market yourself
no one is going to hang around a place with only 3 members. you need to get your site know. a decent url helps, as does google.
if you aren't already a member, join those other neff lists and hang about a bit. get yourself known before you start plugging your wares there, or you'll probably not get too good a reaction..
however, hanging around there a bit will give you a better feel for what that gap in the market i mentioned i point 1 actually is.
if you also contribute to their discussions your own attempts at starting a community are more likely to be accepted.
3) professionalism
the site has to look professional, and you should treat it in a professional manner - otherwise it will look like someone's hobby site, and will probably descend into cliquey "mates" banter before you know it. and that's not going to appeal to new members.
that's not to say you should be deadly serious about the whole thing - a sense of humour goes a long way - its just that you should remember that you're doing something for potentially a lot of people you don't know, and they are going to judge the place by how you run it. and your way of handling the admin side of stuff will generally dictate the tone of the place.
4) be unbiased in your moderation
always a sensitive one this, but its crucial you set the right tone
you're going to get some people who will cause trouble. some of them might even be your mates. it's a fact of life i'm afraid. another fact of life is that you are going to have to be prepared to give them a bit of a ticking off from time to time... or at the very least you're going to have to goive them a gentle reminder of where they are, and rein them in from time to time
if you don't, two things will happen: 1) they will get worse, and 2) others will see it as favouritism, and that way cliqueyness beckons...
my own approach is to nip trouble in the bud quickly. i hope that i am seen as fair and consistent in my approach, but i know that's not always possible. however, wherever you can you should remember that just because person a is your mate it doesn't mean they might not be a pain in the arse, and that person b might not be an innocent victim of person a's general twattery
above all else, have fun with it! if it takes off its well worth it
i was an avid sisters geek before i even started this place, but my geekery has increased tenfold, as has my sisters "general knowledge"... and we don't even talk about my ever-increasing collection of sisters fanboi tat
and good luck
What’s the difference between a buffalo and a bison?
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Quiff Boy
- Herr Administrator
- Posts: 16794
- Joined: 25 Jan 2002, 00:00
- Location: Lurking and fixing
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oh, and a couple of other tips
1) disable "guest" posting (via admin --> forum --> permissions)
ensure your forums permissions are set to "registered" at the very least, otherwise your forum will get spammed something rotten by anonymous "guest" bots
2) activate "user authentication" registrations (via admin --> general --> config)
forces them to activate their account after creation, and ensures people use valid email addresses. otherwise you will get dozens of "bot" registrations
i've also found it prudent to ban russian email addresses, as we get a hell of a lot of bot registrations using .ru addresses
.info addresses are also a pain in the arse
1) disable "guest" posting (via admin --> forum --> permissions)
ensure your forums permissions are set to "registered" at the very least, otherwise your forum will get spammed something rotten by anonymous "guest" bots
2) activate "user authentication" registrations (via admin --> general --> config)
forces them to activate their account after creation, and ensures people use valid email addresses. otherwise you will get dozens of "bot" registrations
i've also found it prudent to ban russian email addresses, as we get a hell of a lot of bot registrations using .ru addresses
.info addresses are also a pain in the arse
What’s the difference between a buffalo and a bison?
I tried to register, but exceeded my number of attempts due to getting the confirmation code wrong 3 or 4 times.
I'm not blind, so what's the problem?
Is it case sensitive?
I'm not blind, so what's the problem?
Is it case sensitive?
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TheBoyNextDoor
- Utterly Bastard Groovy Amphetamine Filth
- Posts: 873
- Joined: 04 Sep 2004, 13:11
- Location: Sweden
- Contact:
Thanks a whole bunch Quiff Boy!
I take all this into consideration and start by doing this: 2) activate "user authentication" registrations (via admin --> general --> config) since I don't want to get spammed.
As you mention above, you were a Sisters geek before and then tenfold and learned a lot, that's actually one of the reasons I wanted to start the forum: to learn more about the Nephilim. And why read in books (i.e. on internet) when you learn better by discussing.
And I am considering to buy me domain, like I said, Dawnrazor - something a bit more attainable then it is now.
Thanks for the links to the mailinglists. I'm actually in the Sumerland mailing-list but haven't got a single mail in two months, and there's a lot of news out there just waiting to be covered (like the gigs popping up since three-four months back). I want it to be like it is here, nothing about the Sisters goes un-mentioned.
I'm also member of a forum
here, if you read on the first page there you see that he seeks someone who can manage phpBB.. I contacted him month ago offering my service but no answer, sent him a mail yesterday with a link to my forum.. I think it's stupid to have two forums and his ain't very nice and not very attainable I think, so I thought we should merge them together... but since he hasn't updated his site since December I don't know if he moderats the site at all anymore.
I'll check out the Psychonaut mailing-list and will wait a couple of weeks for the right moment to burst out: "Ohh.. and check this one out"..
You are very right about the Dominion mailing-list, and that's why I'm not with them anymore. Maybe it's the same problems with Psychonaut... (and honestly, mailing-lists are fairly passé).
I take all this into consideration and start by doing this: 2) activate "user authentication" registrations (via admin --> general --> config) since I don't want to get spammed.
As you mention above, you were a Sisters geek before and then tenfold and learned a lot, that's actually one of the reasons I wanted to start the forum: to learn more about the Nephilim. And why read in books (i.e. on internet) when you learn better by discussing.
And I am considering to buy me domain, like I said, Dawnrazor - something a bit more attainable then it is now.
Thanks for the links to the mailinglists. I'm actually in the Sumerland mailing-list but haven't got a single mail in two months, and there's a lot of news out there just waiting to be covered (like the gigs popping up since three-four months back). I want it to be like it is here, nothing about the Sisters goes un-mentioned.
I'm also member of a forum
here, if you read on the first page there you see that he seeks someone who can manage phpBB.. I contacted him month ago offering my service but no answer, sent him a mail yesterday with a link to my forum.. I think it's stupid to have two forums and his ain't very nice and not very attainable I think, so I thought we should merge them together... but since he hasn't updated his site since December I don't know if he moderats the site at all anymore.
I'll check out the Psychonaut mailing-list and will wait a couple of weeks for the right moment to burst out: "Ohh.. and check this one out"..
You are very right about the Dominion mailing-list, and that's why I'm not with them anymore. Maybe it's the same problems with Psychonaut... (and honestly, mailing-lists are fairly passé).
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TheBoyNextDoor
- Utterly Bastard Groovy Amphetamine Filth
- Posts: 873
- Joined: 04 Sep 2004, 13:11
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Yes, it is case sensitive.Pista wrote:I tried to register, but exceeded my number of attempts due to getting the confirmation code wrong 3 or 4 times.
I'm not blind, so what's the problem?
Is it case sensitive?
Is it possible for you to try again?
Last edited by TheBoyNextDoor on 07 Aug 2006, 11:31, edited 1 time in total.
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Quiff Boy
- Herr Administrator
- Posts: 16794
- Joined: 25 Jan 2002, 00:00
- Location: Lurking and fixing
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2 sites serving a similar audience can work - though helps if they have a slightly different userbase
take HL and the poison door forums for example.
PD is a german-language forum, and thus has a very specific audience. HL is english language, and thus a slightly wider audience (:P) - we do however have some cross-pollination of members & discussions, and in that way i think we work together well...
What’s the difference between a buffalo and a bison?
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TheBoyNextDoor
- Utterly Bastard Groovy Amphetamine Filth
- Posts: 873
- Joined: 04 Sep 2004, 13:11
- Location: Sweden
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Yes, I understand what you mean. I use to sneak into PD once and a while, I feel like a spy though.Quiff Boy wrote:
2 sites serving a similar audience can work - though helps if they have a slightly different userbase
take HL and the poison door forums for example.
PD is a german-language forum, and thus has a very specific audience. HL is english language, and thus a slightly wider audience (:P) - we do however have some cross-pollination of members & discussions, and in that way i think we work together well...
And I don't understand german. 
Well, that must bore you to death then..TheBoyNextDoor wrote:Yes, I understand what you mean. I use to sneak into PD once and a while, I feel like a spy though.Quiff Boy wrote:
2 sites serving a similar audience can work - though helps if they have a slightly different userbase
take HL and the poison door forums for example.
PD is a german-language forum, and thus has a very specific audience. HL is english language, and thus a slightly wider audience (:P) - we do however have some cross-pollination of members & discussions, and in that way i think we work together well...
And there is that new french Sissies-forum. (Christophe runs it if I´m not mistaken?) What may be helpfull, too, would be a site to link the various shards of the Sissies fancommunity together (like Dominon has actually been doing for most of the time).
As the number of people who remember the Sisters seems to have risen strongly after the silver bullet tour I feel the once globaly present Dominion mailing list is now deteriorated into a playground for egomanic teenage riots. It doesn´t seem to make sense posting anything sensible there anymore, as the sensible replies will drown in the hippish hoppish blurp. That banter just isn´t worth being spread worlwide..
Furthermore the growing number of subscribers tend to retreat to forums that utilize their native language which gain their own momentum, thus the once globalized comunity falls into pieces that hardly comunicate. Which is a pitty.
I think an infoboard for fans from all parts of the community may be helpfull to keep this global connection up. This wouldn´t be a place for making friends or have fun, which is what the forums are there for.
But I think it would be quite usefull. I thought about starting somthing like this, but as my knowledge of computing is lightyears away from the skills required for this task (Last time I wrote a program it was on a Commodore 64), maybe somebody else thinks of it as worthwile?
Just an Idea..
P.S.: Ich bin ein Heartlander, und ein Poison Doorler, und ein Dominonite. In that order.
"These are my principles! And if you don't like the just says so, I have others, too!"
~Rufus T. Firefly
~Rufus T. Firefly
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Planet Dave
- Underneath the Rock
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- Location: Where the streets fold round
Individual angle - virtual flour?
'What a heavy load Einstein must have had. Morons everywhere.'
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weebleswobble
- Underneath the Rock
- Posts: 5875
- Joined: 09 Feb 2006, 06:57
- Location: The Bat-Milk Cave
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Planet Dave wrote:Individual angle - virtual flour?
‎"We will wear some very loud shirts. We will wear some very wrong trousers."
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James Blast
- Banned
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QB's Ghost Dance Forum is a nice small community, but then again, maybe that's down to his calming overview.
@ Herr Planet
@ Herr Planet
"And when you start to think about death, you start to think about what's after it. And then you start hoping there is a God. For me, it's a frightening thought to go nowhere".
~ Peter Steele
~ Peter Steele
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canon docre
- Overbomber
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- Joined: 05 Mar 2005, 21:10
- Location: Mother Prussia
@TheBoyND: just try to hold the Crowlians on a short lead.
Put their heads on f*cking pikes in front of the venue for all I care.
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wild bill buttock
- Utterly Bastard Groovy Amphetamine Filth
- Posts: 675
- Joined: 26 Mar 2006, 21:39
- Location: West Midlands,England
Splendid idea.
Wil register when I have 5 mins.
I occasionally use The old the new and the nephilim forum http://p216.ezboard.com/bthenewtheoldandthenephilim but it is a little quiet to say the least and they seem to speak a rather bizarre language I don't understand.
Wil register when I have 5 mins.
I occasionally use The old the new and the nephilim forum http://p216.ezboard.com/bthenewtheoldandthenephilim but it is a little quiet to say the least and they seem to speak a rather bizarre language I don't understand.
The photographs of God I bought have almost faded away
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James Blast
- Banned
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- Joined: 11 Jun 2003, 18:58
- Location: back from some place else
I'm in!
May Gawd help you all
May Gawd help you all
"And when you start to think about death, you start to think about what's after it. And then you start hoping there is a God. For me, it's a frightening thought to go nowhere".
~ Peter Steele
~ Peter Steele
Me tae anaw!!
Last edited by scotty on 07 Aug 2006, 20:52, edited 1 time in total.
Being brave is coming home at 2am half drunk, smelling of perfume, climbing into bed, slapping the wife on the arse and saying,"right fatty, you're next!!"
I was member......................13
"Number 13 I feel like you sometimes, Like I don't fit in"
"Number 13 I feel like you sometimes, Like I don't fit in"
Being brave is coming home at 2am half drunk, smelling of perfume, climbing into bed, slapping the wife on the arse and saying,"right fatty, you're next!!"
Top Posterscotty wrote:I was member......................13
"Number 13 I feel like you sometimes, Like I don't fit in"
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TheBoyNextDoor
- Utterly Bastard Groovy Amphetamine Filth
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Thanks a lot guys for register to this, as of yet, rather small forum!
I've seen there been some requests tonight and I'll sort that out tomorrow.
I've seen there been some requests tonight and I'll sort that out tomorrow.
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Dark
- Underneath the Rock
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- Joined: 27 Oct 2004, 21:26
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So that's why we don't see any Russian Heartlanders.Quiff Boy wrote:i've also found it prudent to ban russian email addresses, as we get a hell of a lot of bot registrations using .ru addresses
Tip 1: Decide on the level of moderation you want
Example: I'm on a car forum as well, and they keep a strict policy on having 1 thread on 1 topic (for instance only 1 thread on the new Honda Legend or whatever), whereas Heartland, well, is moderated differently
Depends how "informational" your forum should become, and the resource you have to moderate. How much time can you spend on it and how many reliable friends/members can you hire to imply your guidelines to the forum.
Tip 2: Add a 'Report' button to the posts
Other members can use this to report unwanted content, making your life as a moderator a bit easier.
Tip 3: Get a reliable host
Not the most prominent issue, but the more members, the more bandwidth, the more server space. And you don't want your forum to be down 5 days a month.
Good luck and... you'd better get that url soon!
Example: I'm on a car forum as well, and they keep a strict policy on having 1 thread on 1 topic (for instance only 1 thread on the new Honda Legend or whatever), whereas Heartland, well, is moderated differently
Depends how "informational" your forum should become, and the resource you have to moderate. How much time can you spend on it and how many reliable friends/members can you hire to imply your guidelines to the forum.
Tip 2: Add a 'Report' button to the posts
Other members can use this to report unwanted content, making your life as a moderator a bit easier.
Tip 3: Get a reliable host
Not the most prominent issue, but the more members, the more bandwidth, the more server space. And you don't want your forum to be down 5 days a month.
Good luck and... you'd better get that url soon!
I like these calm little moments before the storm. It reminds me of Beethoven. Can you hear it? It's like when you put your head to the grass and you can hear the growin' and you can hear the insects.
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weebleswobble
- Underneath the Rock
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- Joined: 09 Feb 2006, 06:57
- Location: The Bat-Milk Cave
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Oh Fek-can you change my weebleswooble to weebleswobble
‎"We will wear some very loud shirts. We will wear some very wrong trousers."