So, I’m thinking of adding a Forum to the blog.
But I’m not talking about replacing the blog — but adding forums as another way to discuss the topic. This blog would continue to operate as normal.
I’m thinking that the best way to handle this would be to keep the forums specific; a sort of bare-bones approach. Currently, I’m planning on having only two or three main topics — it keeps it specific whilst being more than enough to cover what I talk about.
Here is a brief outline of the way I see things:
Pros
- Forums would give readers a place to post their own thoughts and experience.
- Increased community.
- Questions can be answered better. I sometimes get questions from people — some of which I’m able to answer but many of which I don’t have time to respond adequately. The people I do answer are limited to my perspective. Forums might see answers found for more questions, from a variety of different perspectives.
- Forums would give space for ongoing discussion on topics — one of the frustrations I have with blogging is that comment threads tend to die off when the next post comes out. As a result conversations can end prematurely.
- Depending on the forums created, it could be great for people looking to sharpen their reading skills. Perhaps we could have some sort of readers exchange where people post a difficult set of cards and other people offer their interpretations? Or, we could have a place to discuss techniques?
Cons
- There is a risk of inactive forums — there is nothing worse that going to a site’s forums to see inactivity.
- Distraction from the blog — some people I’ve floated this idea with have suggested that it could detract from the blog itself. My own opinion is that this could happen but that it could also add to and supplement the blog really well. Interested in your thoughts on this one.
I’m certain that there are many more Pros and Cons but I’m not going to exhaust the list here and now. I’d rather hear your opinion.
Update
Phine suggested that I allow people to vote, which I thought was a great idea. I’ve also placed the poll in the sidebar.
Should Tarot Eon have a Forum?
- Yes (81%, 68 Votes)
- Indifferent (14%, 12 Votes)
- No (5%, 4 Votes)
Total Voters: 84
Loading ...Are forums a good idea for Tarot Eon? Why/Why not? Would you use them? What areas would you like them to cover? Your ideas and thoughts will be greatly appreciated.
29 comments… Let's discuss
Douglas -
I would love to see you add a forum to this blog. If it doesn’t work out, it can always be taken down. There is one other strong con to this, however. You would have to be on top of the responses as a moderator, so that things do not get out of hand and devolve into flaming wars and/or hand to hand combat.
One idea here might be for you to hold approval on all posts before they hit the forum – that way somethign doesn’t sneak by and bite you. This would also prevent spammers from wreaking havoc. 
Blessings,
Bonnie
Hi Bonnie,
Good idea! I’ll put that into place if I decide to launch the forums. I just have to figure out how to do that
Anything that prevents flame wars and spammers is awesome in my book 
What advice did the cards give to you?
My first thoughts: Your comment-section is pretty well frequented. If you´d split it up into the blog and a forum it could be difficult to keep the track. I know it from my own experience. A friend and I had private blogs visible for each other and a forum to discuss themes that came up in the blogs. It seemed to be a great idea in the beginning but ended up in a mess…
What about letting your readers vote?
All the best,
Phine
Hi Phine,
That’s a fear of mine. If I could think of a good way to keep the forum distinct and separate from the blog, I know it would be a good compliment.
Thanks for letting me know about your experience with Forums. It’s a good reminder not to rush into this. I think the only way I’ll allow a forum to exist is if I could be sure that it was completely separate from the blog.
If the people who just wanted to use the Forum could do so, whilst the people who just wanted to use the blog could do so, whilst the people who wanted to use both could do so … with no conflict, then I think it could work. But, as you pointed out in your comment, if it isn’t properly structured then it will eventually end up a confusing, and frustrating, mess.
Great idea – I’ve just added a poll, in the sidebar, for people to vote
Doug, It is a great idea and worth a try. The biggest con I see is the time you’ll have to put in to regulate the forum. If you are up for it, go for it. Besides, you could always give it a test drive and see what happens. I look forward to seeing your final decision.
Hi Cher,
True, that is a big factor to consider. The time spent on moderating a forum could be considerable.
The way I’m thinking about it is to keep in mind that this forum needs to be as specific to the topics covered on this blog as possible. That way, as far as I can see, it would keep the forum a very niche area. Although I certainly want an active forum, I would be designing it with the view to keeping a very focused place for discussions.
For instance, on most forums there is a place for people to introduce themselves. Does our Forum need this? I’m inclined to think that this would become unnecessary clutter (bloated) for what its designed to be. From this perspective I’m imagining that the forums will never see the kinds of activity that some of the larger forums do … which should make it easier for me to manage.
Also, I don’t want the blog to be unduly effected so I think if I plan it properly then it shouldn’t become oppressive in the same way other forums can be to moderate.
However, if I plan it wrong, it could all end up going horribly wrong
Thank you for your words of encouragement.
I’m betwixt and between about forums. They can become sloppy affairs or have that devil of inactivity. I prefer chatty comment sections.
Hi Raven,
There is nothing worse than an inactive forum … or a sloppy one.
I love having comments on my blog and would never want to jeopardize that so this isn’t something I’ll be rushing into. The more I think about Forums the more ways I can see things going wrong. In order to get it to work appropriately it would have to be planned out accordingly. The Devils in the details they say
One way you could set it up is to address the forum to being an outlet for questions to Doug. Explain that you don’t have time to answer every question sent to your email and this is a place to post questions. Although they may not be answered directly by you, members will be able to assist. I’m not exactly sure how this would be set up though. Perhaps, a section on card meanings, spreads, etc.
Hi Cher,
That’s a great idea. I had it in mind to design it to be a Q & A based forum, but you ideas on setting it up to be explicitly Q & A is definitely worth considering.
I think your right though, people would need to accept that I might not be able to respond to everyone. However, part of the benefit of it being a forum is that they can get feedback from a variety of different people, all with different perspectives. This would be a much better learning experience than simply having my rather jaded opinions thrown at them
Figuring out the sections is crucial. I do want one on Tarot cards, Techniques, but I’m not sure what the others would be? Do we need more than that? If I can get the sections planned out properly then I think that would go along way to offsetting any future sloppiness that may enter into it at a later date.
A short list could be:
Tarot Cards (which could include meanings, elements, etc.)
Techniques (which could include spreads)
Well, actually that could be your list right there. One that could be included could be: Share your reading: get other’s opinions
Actually this is giving me ideas for my blog. I’m never sure what to post, and the posting has become slim lately. If I think of it in categories, this may bring about ideas for postings.
I look forward to the forum if you decide to include it.
Hi Cher,
LOL good luck with the posts, and thank you for the suggestions
Hello Doug,
I love the idea of a small community that provides mentoring from the participants for the participants. In fact, I have been trying in vain to find something like this on the Web.
I guess there would have to be some sort of a login function though to prevent misuse etc.
I cannot see it take away from the blog as your posts are just too good for that!
Wait, let me draw a card for this ….
King of Pentacles …. hmmm, I am only a newbie so correct me if you disagree with my interpretation:
this idea will prosper and take you(r blog) to the next level
Greetings!
Hi Austriana,
That’s great! Adding the forum as a supplement to the blog is my way of promoting the idea of joint learning. Having a variety of different perspectives to a problem that someone has asked for help on can only add to the learning. Likewise, having a stab at helping others is a great way of strengthening the foundations people have acquired with Tarot.
Yes, I’m going to do my best to moderate the forum appropriately. I’ll be learning as I go but having a login function is one of the key things that shall be in place.
Thank you, I really appreciate that.
LOL, and I love your interpretation
Thanks for taking the time to do a reading
cool idea doug am always up for chat
Yeah doug
i have been on other forums and some times you get free for alls and some times that is off putting with people arguing among themselves mind you this is in other forums not tarot by the way, sounds like a very good idea for debate within the tarot world i for one would like that…
Coln
Hi Colin,
Great, I’m glad you like the idea. If it goes ahead I’d love to see you there
Moderating the forum is one thing that makes me cautious. As others have pointed out, it’s a lot of work moderating a forum. However, I do feel that good planning in the beginning can help to make that task a little easier.
yeah the moderator always has the hard work to do all the unseen stuff, yeah cool I will be there whe you go live.
Colin
Well, whaddya know–me -the double Libran just voted yes, and now after reading the comments, am feeling no. But, alas–i’m back to YES.
i think you would do wonderful job with letting the forum shape and evolve and grow. If you and *we* felt it was not going in a good direction–*bye bye*. I think it can be wonderful, and perhaps can have themes and formats that vary each week… (or longer)…for example: “reading methods”; interpretations ie single card explorations;intuition ideas;sharing fun/challenging reading experiences;aha moments; how does this quotation relate to Tarot; your current place in your tarot journey; recent growth /insight in reading…you know…stuff like that…i say go for it, with a vision toward revamping or ending if necessary….
either way–your work here is totally amazing and i appreciate it soooo much! i’ve been reading tarot for a minute (as my kidz at school would say)…and i love constantly learning new insights and trying new approaches. Bravo and Thank You, Doug!
Hi Mzzlee,
LOL, I agree. If it doesn’t work, for whatever reason, then I can always hit the delete button
Thank you for the suggestions and your kind words. The “aha moments” idea has just inspired a possible article/post
There is always a risk of inactivity in the forums…but I clearly see you have enough activity just in your comments that a forum would explode. I’ve been fortunate enough to have learned a lot about forums over the years (having had several failures and one a good success), so I can say that I have absolute faith in a forum on here.
Also check out http://www.communityspark.com. It is the very best site for anyone with questions about anything to do with community websites. You can also always appoint moderators from your visitors, I’m sure you have enough fans who would be willing to offer their time to do this. And finally, the good news about your blog is that the articles are well-written enough that there will always be conversation about them, so I don’t think a forum will detract from any discussions already seen on here.
Hi Dan,
Thanks for the words of encouragement, and the link. I really appreciate it and I’ll also be checking out that site over the next couple of days. Hopefully I’ll find lots of good information that will inspire some creative solutions to the potential problems that people have previously outlined
Hi Douglas,
Why is Taroteon on top of my Tarot blog lists?
I think of your blog almost as an online reference book. Something which provides me very useful knowledge in a no-nonsense way and where I get to interact with the “author/professor” and also see what others are thinking. I like it for its content and also its structure. Most of your users by now probably have a very high benchmark for Taroteon. If there was a forum on Taroteon it would hopefully be as different and useful as your blog. And I would hope we get to read as many blog posts from you as before and not less as you might have to work on/moderate the forum.
Why do I visit a forum?
I am a member of Aeclectic and visit it almost daily. It has many experienced members and large number of topics discussed and I keep learning from others and asking questions etc.
Forum on Taroteon?
You already have many views in form of comments though its true most comments address you and do not interact between themselves. For keeping discussions alive, could there be a sidebar with most recent comments on say your last 5-7 posts?
I am sure you must have already put a whole of of thought in this, but if Taroteon has a forum it should complement the blog. Also, there should be some way in which it differentiates itself from other forums…just like your blog.
Maybe having specific topics like people have suggested above. Some of these could be constant say like “card meanings” and “one card interpretations” and others could be revolving for a time periods like about 2-4 weeks. Something like “two card readings” and “elements”, which you could pick from your blog posts which have seen maximum activity. So they would be there for about a month when everyone could discuss and then they would be replaced by new topics. Very popular revolving posts could be renewed after sometime.
Good luck…I’m sure you’l think of something very creative.
Hi Tarotfaith,
Thank you for your kind words on the blog. It means a lot.
Good point. I used to do this, but I replaced it with the ability to subscribe to comments. However, having the comments in the sidebar could be of interest to people who want to read them, but not necessarily join in.
These are very important things that need to be put in place right at the start. That way the forum can grow naturally – because of the strong foundation that would need to be created from day 1.
Great suggestions! Part of the planning of this forum is its overall design and structure. This way, the forum can grow into a place of joint learning and discussion – hopefully missing out all the potential problems that forums can have.
Thank you for taking the time to let me know your thoughts on this. Greatly appreciated
Hi Doug
not to forget a great place to communicate with others like minded, just though i’d add that…
votes look realy cool Doug,
looks like you have the peoples vote up to now.
HI Colin,
The votes certainly look in favour of the forums
I’m going to leave the poll running for another week or so before I make my final decision on it. But so far things look good
Hey, Doug
It would be interesting because your blog’s readers would discuss among each other. By the way the begginers guide has helped me a lot. Thanks.