Do you prefer small forums or large forums?

[sharky]

We're a pretty small community here. I'm also a part of some larger communities like IMDb and Bioware forums. I like the constant discussion in larger communities but it's kind of impersonal as you can never really get to know anyone. Which do you prefer?

[Oskar]

I don't think there is an easy answer.

Too small a forum will give a closer knit band of posters - but it will also make people leave faster and even make people avoid joining because the fora's dosn't look used enough.

Too big a forum will remove the knowledge of most users - but the most hardcore posters and contributors.

Personally I would rather have a large forum with plenty of users, cause I like to comment more on others posts than creating my own. I visit these fora's several times a day and many times there hasn't been any new postings - if it wasn't for my irrational passion for Chloë, I would have left and never came back long ago.

Chloë has several fan-sites and fan-fora's on the net - and none (maybe the russion, as Sergey has mentioned) seems that big - and often I have wished for these fora's to simply merge into this one (considering its the most official and the forum system is the best of them) to make a better Chloë fanbase discussion.

I actually think, that the "inactivity" on these fora's are stopping many people from joining - which ofcourse makes it harder to "recruit" new people, but thats the life of a online community. Its very hard to get it up and running - but once it kicks off it will substain itself and only need moderation.

That being said, I wouldnt really like a insanely huge fanbase where threads and posts disappear (to secondary pages etc) because of too many posts. I have no time to read through page after page of comments, because new posts are being made by the second.

[Faboost]

Larger. I'm on a few really big forums and you usually always find some clique anyway where you know people in, people will stick to mostly a few threads or a section of the forum. Stuff like Bioware and IMDBs forums are terrible though, too many trolls and clueless people.

[SniperJF]

I try to read every single new post in the forum (OCD?? lol) and contribute or post in as many as needed. With a large forum that simply isn't achievable. So I prefer smaller forums.

[sharky]

I agree there's no easy answer, ideally it probably lies somewhere in the middle. Both have pros and cons. I prefer smaller forums and more intimate communities. When the users are dedicated, activity can still be decent. I'm with Sniper, I like knowing everything going on in the community, all the posts and new threads and etc.

[justinodunn]

Both, in larger forums you get a reply really quick lol, but in smaller forums things are less confusing. I have an account on this forums in my city, with over 10,000 users online everyday... It's crazy...