>> As with anything it takes time to build up.
Indeed - although I had a forum around for a while - setting up the forum originally was more me putting software on some cgi space I had and tweaking with what i could do on the platform and playing with skins etc.
I only really "opened" up the forums and put a link to it from the main site front page about 18 months ago.
The aim of the forum really was that I used to get an awful lot of mail a lot of it people asking the same questions eg what do you think of these stats etc.. etc... that I thought it was stupid me day after day practically typing out the same thing in reply so it may as well be "opened up" to save me repeating stuff.
I think the crux hit most about a year or so ago when I wasnt around for days at a time.... and it was probably escalated because dslMax was fairly new back then.
Mr_chris will back me up on this fact - but after one period I had just short of 100 emails waiting to be answered about adsl and further information than was already on the site. There was absolutely no way I could answer them all.
At the time when I wasnt in the best of health and it literally got to the point where I was dreading opening my mailbox because I knew I stood no chance of answering them all.
Instead I took a "snap judgement" decision - I knew I was going to be "AWOL" again and even though I didnt "know" them, roseway and astral were quite literally overnight appointed as mods and "handed the keys" to keep things running for me so that and at least people could be directed somewhere. I cant thank them enough for being landed with something out of the blue and I dont regret that decision for one min
The site hasn't ever been advertised anywhere and has slowly built up through word of mouth. It was originally started as an adsl fact depository.. and has now grown. Obviously it will never be as big as the likes of CA because I dont have the pulling power of a big magazine corp.
But for an independent "hobbyist site" I dont think that getting over 100K hits by a few thousand individual visitors each and every day is too bad.
I could (should) promote the site more but the spare time I have tends to go on either answering Q's on here or doing more content.
As you know Im also teaching myself php/sql and there's something Im working on in the background which hopefully Im going to be able to ask you guys to be guinea pigs for soon... (once Ive got over the latest stumbling block in my code).
I'm gradually trying to make the content more dynamic - some of the parts of the larger project have already been released ie the adslchecker.. the ISP prices and search the database... the next bit is just taking a bit longer than I originally thought. Unfortunately if I get stuck with something in the code I have to sit there for hours/days trying to work through it, as I dont have a panel of experts to call on or ask for help.
I also at some point want to do a redesign of the content template - and the swf flash banner will probably be going.. (the banner itself was done at a time when I was trying to learn the programming side of flash/swish and now looks a bit dated).
There really is so much more I could do with the site - the major problem is time really and keeping content up to date.
If anyone has any good ideas for relevant content/tutorials/articles that they want to do then just holler.
I have a massive loong list of content stuff that I want to do but just havent had chance to do yet, but its helping that there's some knowledgeable regs about that can quite happily deal and cope with questions on the forums. So thanks everyone - you help make the site what it is
