Hidden Forums?

Do you have any hidden forums, the ones that are out the peeking eyes of members?

We have forums for people who donate, paid subscription etc and forums for the staff.

What goes on behind your boards?

 

In addition to the hidden staff category, we have a forum for premium members.

 

I have staff forums and paid subscription member forum. But its different from forum to forum because some have more then one forum for paid subscription and some only have one.

 

We have a Staff forum but we also have a Wh*re House for those with over 1000 posts (it's a surprise and not talked about in public), one for all other Admins/Mods of live music torrent sites, and one for a special group of video tapers to talk about taping shows. None of them are shown on the site (in other words, they aren't listed at all like some sites do with the word "Private" shown next to them).

 

I like the idea of a surprise forum when someone hits a certain amount of posts. My only concern is how long the members that know about it would be able to keep it a secret.

 

We started the forum in early 2006 and it is still a secret. Once, when someone linked to a post in that forum, we 'punished' him by changing his profile/signature. We gave him a Morris Albert avatar outlined in purple and a signature with several lines from the song "Feelings" An image of his profile is in the Welcome message as a warning not to talk about the forum.

 

Other than the Staff forums we have a section for forum donors - but it's not used at all. We have 33 donors and there have been 66 posts in the Premium Member forum in the site's lifetime. Oh well - can't say I don't offer it. :p

Lynne, I like your idea of having a private forum given to users who have attained a certain post count. I've seen it used on another forum and just like with you, the secret hasn't been let out. I have actually been considering setting up something similar here.

 

Private forums are iffy, but I like Lynn's idea. I may use that in the future. I think premium donor forums are cool, you tend to get more interesting topics in them since the general public doesn't get to see it unless they paid to subscribe.

 

I have only one "in use" hidden forum, which is just the staff forum. Beyond that, I have a bunch of completely hidden forums (only visible through the ACP) that are there in case I need them in the future.

 

A forum for premium members and one forum for staff members.

Premium members chat about whatever and the forum for staff members is also chat, staff only.

 

Do you have any hidden forums, the ones that are out the peeking eyes of members?

We have forums for people who donate, paid subscription etc and forums for the staff.

What goes on behind your boards?


I Have Two Hidden FOrums And Two ONly. V.I.P Section And Staff Discuss Area.

The Stuff That Go On Are About What Improvements Should Be Done, And New Styles
Updating.

 

Men have a men only forum, women likewise, as will 'others' shortly.

We have a set of staff forums for various purposes, as well as a set of mentoring forums.

Over 90% of posts are hidden from public view on Elliquiy - the above are just things approved members cannot access. Donors have voted against having a forum solely for them.

 

We have staff forums. In addition, we have a "contact the staff" forum, which is a forum where a member can create a thread for the entire staff to view. Almost like a semi-public PM. Of course, members can only see threads they create in that forum. So in a sense it's a private forum.

 

I've seen something similar to this used before - good idea.

 

I've seen forums like these before and have considered using them but never actually have. Maybe it's something we'll bring to AA at some point.

 

It's much more convenient than one staff member having to quote all the PMs back and forth. Plus, there's no need for the "let me check with everyone else before I give a response" answer. Everyone has the chance to see and address the issue.

 

I just implemented this on my forum and have been considering the use of it here, too. It makes things so much easier.
Usually, members PM me when they have a question and I don't always get back to them as quick as one of my moderators could. By having them present their question to the entire moderating team at once (using this forum "helpdesk" setup), they are ensured the quickest response by the first staff member available.

 

It is indeed one of the more speedy methods when it comes to staying in communication (on a personal level) with your members.

 

I don't have any for general members but do have some basic staff forums on my site.

Just a staff zone, an article staging area, a forum to stick infractions, and another for reported issues. Mind you my forum is new enough that there are neither infractions or reported issues yet but I figure its a matter of time.

I don't like having a large number of forums and categories and prefer low forum IDs so thought I should just create them now and get it done with.

 

Now if it doesn't change the topic to much, what is the benefit of a paid sub forum? Is this an anything goes sections...including R rated discussions? I mean why would a member wish to pay for this section when s/he can access the rest for free?

I'm not really arguing the issue but trying to get membership ideas for my own site.