Fun fora forum? (dooyoo.forumotion.net)

Member Name: The Duke

Product:	dooyoo.forumotion.net
Date:	26/08/09 (108 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Ideal for swapping information and advice and organising

Disadvantages: Not everyone is cut out for heated debate

There have been quite a few Dooyoo-related message boards (or satellite sites as some call them) over the years. I believe that the original Dooyoo board, OpCom (the opinionators community, if I recall correctly) was the first for any of the UK-based review writing sites.

The Opinionated Community (OpCom)
ChuckleWeb
ChatterWeb
Opinionators (Optors)
(The Review Writers Forum (FOIB))
Dooyoo Lovers
*The Reviewers Room

The above is a list of all the major players in the Dooyoo-related forums (that I can remember), listed more or less in chronological order. ChatterWeb and Opinionators covered both major UK review sites from the start, though were probably Dooyoo-centric whereas FOIB was mainly a Ciao-related (and private) board to begin with, though became openly viewable and latterly added a Dooyoo-related board. The one marked with an asterisk are currently running and active (as of 19 September 2009).

Some question the validity of such forums, suggesting that they're a waste of time, but I disagree with this sentiment.

Dooyoo-related forums can be a great resource for any Dooyoo member. Those who take their review writing seriously (that's not a crime, by the way) can join up and discuss all manner of Dooyoo-related topics. Advice can be given or taken and a general feel for various Dooyoo policies or trends can be gauged. Forums can also encourage the swapping of advice and information a lot more than is possible on Dooyoo... interaction is encouraged more on forums, especially in the current climate on Dooyoo where more and more members are only concerned with their miles rather than any larger picture.

On the flip side, a busy forum can provide instant, valuable feedback to Dooyoo without them having to join up or even ask a question. Just by reading the various debates, Dooyoo staff members can gauge what the members (or at least a sub-section of them) are thinking.

A lot has been made of the "community" around sites such as Dooyoo, but I believe that I have gained more, in terms of community action, from my membership of such satellite sites than I have on Dooyoo itself. Partly, that's because I believe that too much "community" can stand in the way of Dooyoo as a consumer resource and deliberately distance myself from it to an extent, whereas on a forum, I can shoot the breeze about all manner of topics, be they Dooyoo-related or otherwise and not have to worry about "polluting" a consumer resource with small talk and digression.

There's also the fact that forums are designed and built purely for interaction, so it's much easier to do that on a forum than it is on Dooyoo, even with communications tools such as private message systems etc. in place. I think that's why reviewers' gatherings ("meets") have tended to be organised on/around the forums rather than on Dooyoo itself.

I believe that most of the acquaintances I've met and, yes, friendships formed, have been done because of the satellite sites rather than my actions and interactions on Dooyoo.

Certainly, I've hugely enjoyed each of the meets I've attended (which have involved me travelling a fair distance - Glasgow, Nottingham and several in London) and they've all been quite popular, though the last one was over four years ago now, sadly. I always leave them feeling that I've never spoken to enough people or not spoken enough to the people I really got along with. There are some photos from some of the meets floating around the place, but thankfully, not any really embarrassing ones (of me). I've even managed to meet up with a few Dooyooers in my home town when they've passed through, and this has all been arranged because of the forums.

OpCom, set up by now inactive member TheKnight, is arguably the most important in terms of what it offered. As it was set up right at the start of Dooyoo's life and before any other forum, it kind of sets the standard that other Dooyoo forums have tried to emulate. Certainly, a lot of the rules and etiquette from the successful (and, in my opinion, better) forums were taken from OpCom and have evolved very little over the years - not advertising your own reviews, the infamous "no naming" rule, having the forum visible to all etc. These are now all staples of all decent forums.

The privacy issue is one that has cropped up in the past and more recently, too. Personally, I don't believe there's any reason for any Dooyoo-related forum to be private or closed off to the general viewing public. While the topics discussed might only be of relevance to Dooyoo members, if you are a forum administrator and want your members to swap information, ideas and advice, why not make this advice open to every single passing Dooyoo member? If they like what they see on your forum, then they have the option to join up and take part themselves. Restricting access to information and resources is just selfish in my opinion and kind of defeats the whole purpose of having such a forum in the first place.

For me, there are three main influences to the success of a forum. The first is the admin team; they're responsible for the set-up and running of any forum and a properly set up forum (choosing the correct software, adding just the right amount of forums to the board, making the rules sensible etc.) goes a long way in attracting and retaining active members. The moderation team is also important as these are the people that run the board one day-to-day basis. Poor moderation can be a death knell for a new forum if potential members feel they cannot trust those in charge. Finally, the quality of content that the members supply helps a board's popularity. That's not solely related to the solid facts (e.g. a list of Dooyoo guides or a frequently asked questions list), but the debate topics and standard of debating, too.

The standard of debating is another point that has raised its head recently in the forum circles. Theoretically, your point of view shouldn't matter as long as you're able to back it up with reasoned argument. "Sandcastles are evil, because I hate sandcastles" is not, in my opinion, a valid argument against sandcastles (which are trés cool by the way) and applying such "logic" to Dooyoo-related topics doesn't really help anyone, least of all yourself. However, I've found debating Dooyoo-related topics to be great fun as well as widening my understanding of where other members are coming from. I might not always agree with them or understand them, but we are communicating and that's always a good thing between people of reasonable intelligence. Sometimes, people just want to gripe or can't debate, but these are few and far between and a decent mod/admin can usually get these members to participate in a more valued way.

As a previous administrator of a Dooyoo-related forum (Optors), I was more concerned about the quality of input - debate, information, advice etc. from all Optors members than simply the number of registered members, which is something I don't believe holds true for other review site-related forums where some forum administrators simply see the running of a message board as a popularity thing.

Sadly, I think that the heyday of Dooyoo-related forums is long over, having peaked around the ChatterWeb/Opinionators era (in 2004/2005). I still remember fondly chatting away several times a week with various Dooyoo members in the OpCom chatroom and even the interaction with Dooyoo staff members on OpCom, ChatterWeb and Optors when they posted (which was infrequently).

The decline of the Dooyoo-related forum is, I think, to do with the change in Dooyoo members and their mentality than the forums being less useful or enjoyable. However, for anyone that really enjoys writing reviews, especially on Dooyoo, I think that satellite forums can still offer a great deal for the Dooyoo member while not having any real negative factors.

Summary: Some navel gazing with respect to Dooyoo-related mesasge boards