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A Common Sense Approach To Limit Forum Trolling

Posted on February 18, 2014 by Mike W.

Several years ago, the NY Times published an in-depth report about internet trolls, The Trolls Among Us. The article focuses on the exploits of trolls from 4chan.org,’s infamous /b/ board but also recaps the history of trolling, defines the word “lulz” (among other terms), and the serious consequences that sometimes result from cyberbullying and online harassment.

A few years later, the NY Times posted a similar article: In Small Towns, Gossip Moves to the Web, and Turns Vicious. This article reports the popularity of Topix, a message board popular in rural America. While Topix boards were created as sources for local news, the article reports they also serve healthy doses of unsubstantiated and often hurtful gossip.

Both platforms, 4chan.org and Topix, provide a completely anonymous environment for posters. Not even a valid email address is required in most cases. Complete anonymity offers benefits to whistleblowers and other dogooders. However, such anonymity is a double-edged sword and one reason why user behavior on these platforms can become inappropriate at times.

At the same time, we know from experimenting with Facebook Connect and similar services that even the prospect of allowing users to go by their real life name and identity makes them uncomfortable and less likely to participate.

Therefore, with Ninja Post, we set out to strike a good balance to limit trolling but maximize participation. We allow users to select a pseudonym or “handle” of their own choosing and we ask them to provide a valid email address. This handle is to be reused whenever the user is on the forum. We know a determined troll can easily meet these requirements. Therefore, we go a step further. We help site owners prepare a welcome message to new users so they understand the community norms and that certain behavior is not tolerated. This approach has kept our forums civil, relatively fair, and inviting to those who are respectful. If a user does act out, we have mechanisms in place to flag and remove abusive content, and either warn or ban the user.

Posted in Misc. Forum Discussion | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Content Generation For Your Forum: Seeds, Nets, And Spears

Posted on February 4, 2014 by Mike W.

One helpful way to think about content generation for your forum is to borrow an analogy from the sales world. “Seeds, nets, and spears” is a phrase used to describe three types of leads that a company might use to generate sales. Putting this phrase into the context of forum software, we define each term as follows:

Seeds. Content added to your forum by the site owner or users. A seed compels other users to participate either by submitting a reply or creating their own thread. Seeds grow into threads and bring in future users via search engines.

Nets. A request or invitation to a large group of users to contribute to your forum. An example would be inviting subscribers to your newsletter to participate in the forum or putting a large advertisement for your forum on your main site to draw traffic to the forum.

Spears. A discussion led by a well respected authority in the community. One key to a successful forum is buy in from the site owner and other well known people in the community. The right person can act as a lightning rod that stimulates conversation.

The next time you’re thinking about ways to generate more activity in your forum, think about content generation strategies in terms of Seeds, Nets, and Spears. Note that these tactics are complementary. We recommend utilizing all three approaches in tandem.

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Content Generation For Forums Is Hard – But Ninja Post Makes It Ridiculously Easy

Posted on January 23, 2014 by Mike W.

Anyone who’s tried starting a forum community from scratch knows how challenging it is to create fresh new threads on a daily basis. It’s much easier when your forum has reached critical mass and hundreds or even thousands of users contribute to make your forum interesting. We have found that site owners often need help to bridge the gap between launching their forum and achieving “self propelling” status where the users take over content generation duties.

Ninja Post makes it easy for site owners to add content to their forum by creating a personalized news feed with Yahoo Pipes. This newsfeed pulls from related, relevant, and complementary sites selected by the site owner. Site owners can then visit the Newsfeed page in the admin panel (pictured below) and instantly post new and interesting threads to their forum. Adding content to your forum is as simple as a click of a mouse.

news feed to add content to your forum

Above: Create a new thread from a list of recent news items. This newsfeed is related to college football and pulls relevant stories from ESPN College Football, The New York Times NCAA Football, and other related sources.

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A Little History About Why We Do What We Do

Posted on January 16, 2014 by Mike W.

I began work on Ninja Post for two reasons. First, I had first hand experience with the power of online communities when I got to Boston College in 1997. With “always on” internet access for the first time, I joined email lists for my favorite bands (Phish and moe., especially), and quickly forged friendships that persist to this day.

Secondly, as the internet became more intertwined in my day-to-day life, I would often come across forum discussions in search results. The information was usually helpful but there was no obvious way to register and leave a reply or even a token of gratitude. Existing forum software was difficult to use and there was no assurance that my remarks would reach the intended recipients.

While in grad school at Georgia Tech in 2005, my gut told me that it was possible to create a higher standard for forum software. A few years later, the seeds were sown when I completed a very, very rough prototype as part of a computer science course in my last semester at Tech. In the spring of 2009, Ninja Post was accepted into the Shotput Ventures program. Several months later Ninja Post was officially born.

Since then, several years have passed. The thrill of bringing new forum communities to life is one thing that keeps Ninja Post going. This idea that we can help two people who would never otherwise meet form a lifelong friendship is inspiring. Even if it’s not a lifelong friendship but just bringing together people with a shared interest for a brief laugh, a new insight, or a debate that leaves both sides more knowledgeable is unbelievably gratifying. This attitude served as the blueprint for our core values and it will fuel us for many years to come.

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Thank You, Megan!

Posted on January 16, 2014 by Mike W.

I consider myself to be extraordinarily fortunate. Every day I have a chance to pursue my dream to bring forum communities to life with Ninja Post. This opportunity is largely due to my wife, Megan, who is supportive and understanding and encouraging in ways too numerous to fathom. Whatever level of success Ninja Post ultimately attains much of the credit will go to Megan’s unrivaled and seemingly limitless patience. Thank you, Megan!

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Dispute Resolution Best Practices For A Forum Community

Posted on January 13, 2014 by Mike W.

Debates keep forums interesting, even if longtime users sometimes complain about the repetitive nature of certain topics. (“WTF- another global warming thread!?!?”) Most people are reasonable folk and can be persuaded toward the truth of the matter. If not, they instinctively know enough to “agree to disagree”. Ironically, what’s true to one person is sometimes heresy to another and, often times, the “truth” changes over time. Remember when they thought the world was flat?

Healthy debates are actually a good sign and make up most discussions on a day-to-day basis. However, it is helpful to be prepared for when things spiral out of control. Therefore, Ninja Post works closely with site owners to enforce community rules and keep things civil. As Cosmo Kramer says, “A rule is a rule. And let’s face it. Without rules there’s chaos.” Ninja Post’s dispute resolution services prevent chaos.

We have found that forum disputes tend to fall into four categories:

  • Irreconcilable difference of opinion.
  • Harmless Trolling.
  • Vicious, personal attacks.
  • Hate speech.

While some truly awful offenses such as hate speech deserve an instant perma-ban most times users can be warned to play nice, help one another, and respect their point of view. We typically remove individual posts and remind offenders about the expected code of conduct for the forum community as a first course of action.

If the user’s behavior persists and attracts multiple complaints from users in good standing, then it makes sense to ban the user. A forum community is like a family. Family members don’t always have to agree with one another but they must learn to peacefully co-exist. We help site owners to achieve this aim.

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Use The “Circle Of Trust” Strategy To Launch Your Forum Community In 5 Steps

Posted on December 13, 2013 by Mike W.

We previously advised site owners to use an ever expanding circle of trust to launch their forum community. We are big believers in the power of checklists so here is a handy guide to using the “circle of trust” strategy to launch your forum community. After your forum is set up (be it through Ninja Post or another service):

  1. Ask your closest confidants and colleagues to test the software by registering and creating a new thread or replying to a post.
  2. Ask power users to test the software by registering and creating a new thread or replying to a post. Power users include any users who have sent feedback about your site, commented on a blog post, or visit your site routinely. One strategy is to pass out “beta tester” invites to these users and to make the forum private early on. We advise contacting these users individually as opposed to sending a mass email.
  3. Begin to seed your forum with provocative content and shift away from “just testing” posts. Your power users should do this for the most part but if they need help, visit similar communities to see what users are talking about. Use these topics to brainstorm ideas for your board.
  4. Announce on your newsletter that you’re testing new forum software and need feedback from users.
  5. Funnel users from your main site to your new forum. We recommend a large advertisement, and displaying content from the forum on your main site among several other effective tactics.

It is easy to over think and/or delay the launch of your forum. Unfortunately, it turns out that doing nothing is a horrible launch strategy. However, the “circle of trust” method for launching a new online community allows you to proceed in a safe and controlled manner.

Posted in Marketing Your Forum | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

How To Launch A New Forum Community

Posted on December 12, 2013 by Mike W.

Jason Fried of 37 Signals once said, “The longer it takes to develop a project, the less likely it is to launch.” Most project managers and software developers understand from first hand experience how true this statement is. From the very beginning, one of our goals with Ninja Post is to speed up the time it takes for you to launch your forum community. There is nothing worse than getting stuck in project development purgatory.

Once the set up and design of your forum is done, what comes next? When it comes to launching a new forum community, we preach feedback, not fanfare. We advise our clients to use an ever expanding “circle of trust” to launch their new forum community. Think about a steady, calculated launch as opposed to throwing a big launch party and hoping people show up.

The idea is to collect feedback, iterate based on this feedback, and slowly expand the circle of trust. In very broad terms, the launch strategy for a new forum community can be summarized like this:

  • Request feedback from users
  • Iterate based on this feedback
  • Funnel users into the forum from your newsletter, main site, search engines, etc.
  • Engage good users while excluding trolls, spammers, and other jerks
  • Get value from the forum traffic (monetize via ads, examine content trends, eCommerce integration, etc.)

For any new service, user feedback is like oxygen: a necessary ingredient to survive and thrive. The approach outlined above ensures users become part of the decision process early on. User feedback can be more valuable than gold and users become invested in the success of the community. This is especially true if early access is meted out carefully. For example, you might consider making your forum private to start.

Posted in Marketing Your Forum | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Harness The Power Of Your Forum This Holiday Season To Adopt-A-Family Part 2

Posted on December 2, 2013 by Mike W.

To make the most of an “Adopt-a-Family” campaign on your forum, we recommend taking the following steps:

  1. Set up a special email address and PayPal account to accept donations. Or better yet, create a page on your site that accepts donations directly.
  2. Do some background research on local charities to connect with a worthy family. We have found that many Adopt-a-Family programs work on a local level so opportunities vary from place to place. The Salvation Army website is a good place to start. Call your local Salvation Army to learn more about opportunities in your area.
  3. Announce the campaign on your forum prior to December 1st with a sticky announcement thread. Ask for feedback and advice from users about how to run the campaign. For example, one or more members might already be associated with an appropriate charity. Other members might be able to provide certain goods in lieu of a financial donation.
  4. Announce the campaign in your monthly newsletter to all users. Spread the word on your social media channels as well – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.
  5. Keep the “announcement thread” active by posting the amount raised and publicly thank members who contribute.
  6. Give users who contribute a virtual badge to be displayed next to their user name in thread and/or on their profile.
  7. Send an update email to the entire community updating everyone on the project’s status and with instructions to contribute.
  8. Deliver the goods to the charity and include a letter to the family from the community.
  9. Post any feedback from the family to the forum.
  10. Save the thread for motivation next year.
Posted in Misc. Forum Discussion | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Harness The Power Of Your Forum This Holiday Season To Adopt-A-Family

Posted on November 27, 2013 by Mike W.

People who gravitate toward forum communities possess an instinctive understanding about helping one another. On a good forum:

  1. It is no sin to ask for help.
  2. If you can help someone, you should try to help them.
  3. Those that dispense help in one instance often need help in another instance.

Help is in no short supply because forums are usually reciprocal in nature. What goes around comes around. Circle of life. Mi casa es su casa. That sort of thing. The desire among users to help one another is a powerful force, especially when members are called into action to aide a cause bigger than themselves.

We have found that organizing an “Adopt-a-Family” campaign during the holiday season is rewarding for members of community, the site owner, and the family in need. A classic win-win-win. We truly believe that every forum with a reasonable number of users—no matter what platform it runs on—should take steps to give something back during the holidays. An “Adopt-a-Family” campaign is often the perfect avenue for members to collaborate and share their good fortune with others.

In tomorrow’s post, we will discuss the steps a forum owner/community manager can take to organize an “Adopt-a-Family” campaign on behalf of their community.

Update: Harness The Power Of Your Forum This Holiday Season To Adopt-A-Family Part 2

Posted in Misc. Forum Discussion | Tagged , , | 1 Comment