SUGGESTION Box - What does the Fan Box Need??

[tiffanypearl]

Yeah, it would be great to meet new people, the more the better !

[SultrySerenaSC2]

Hello girls. Thinking about what SultrySerenaSC2 exposes, is there any way to transfer the Gents theme to the Fanbox?
I have read some messages asking about them and I think it would be a good way to interact with followers who are willing to participate.
I'm sure there will be many gentlemen willing to do it.
What do you think?

Hi,
All of the gents have full access to the fanbox. They are able to post, particpate and interact with everyone here. They also have full access to the admin board. But sadly, only two or three choose to particpate since their gent pages are gone.

[TheJackler]

IMHO, take it or leave it, but I think provocative topics and subject matter that invites user participation and makes them feel like they are part of a forum community would be a step in the right direction. It can sometimes sound like the Charm regulars make topics for each other making it difficult for us to jump in with any message content of substance. And if we try, it is glossed over and the internal conversation continues.

I’ve been lurking and only really tried to participate in the forums since last month, and it can be a challenge trying to find a topic to jump in on and join the conversation and another challenge to be heard. Just my two cents.

[SultrySerenaSC2]

IMHO, take it or leave it, but I think provocative topics and subject matter that invites user participation and makes them feel like they are part of a forum community would be a step in the right direction. It can sometimes sound like the Charm regulars make topics for each other making it difficult for us to jump in with any message content of substance. And if we try, it is glossed over and the internal conversation continues.

I’ve been lurking and only really tried to participate in the forums since last month, and it can be a challenge trying to find a topic to jump in on and join the conversation and another challenge to be heard. Just my two cents.

I definitely want to improve the fan box experience for everyone, so this a very important point.
Can you elaborate more?
I need to fully understand in order to implement improvement areas.

provocative topics and subject matter that invites user participation and makes them feel like they are part of a forum community would be a step in the right direction

I'm going to be totally honest in admitting that I've never really joined, visited, participated in other "forum communities", and as the one who oversees and implements changes, my creativity here on the fan box could be lacking from no prior experience.

However, the fanbox is here for fans to participate. It was created FOR the fans and charms to be able to communicate with each other in a more personal and flirty environment completely different than cold, IMpersonal email. What I notice is that a large percentage of those who visit, don't even register, and the registered ones mostly do not participate in the discussions, posts, etc.
Because of this, I can see where it may appear that this board is used for charms to talk to charms. And I'd like to state that's simply not the roll of the fanbox. TO be honest, charms have another venue to speak to charms. THIS is for the fans.

Recently, I've added several new topic areas:
Erotic Stories
viewforum.php?f=66

This is for ALL to participate in, not just charms. And comments etc from those who post is open to anyone, not just charms.

Charm Blog Posts
viewforum.php?f=67

I do know that without a doubt, and 100% positively, comments from fans would be enjoyed and appreciated in all topics.

Anyways, please let me know which areas you are describing so I can fully understand the fans point of view. If you prefer, you can private message me. I really want to improve this forum and encourage more participation. I am open and even invite constructive criticism. Change is required, I agree.

Thanks Jackler!!

[TheJackler]

I don't know why, but I tried to post a lengthy response, but I keeps erroring out.

I do appreciate your reply to me, Serena. I'll try DM'ing to see if my post will go through that way...

[SultrySerenaSC2]

I don't know why, but I tried to post a lengthy response, but I keeps erroring out.

I do appreciate your reply to me, Serena. I'll try DM'ing to see if my post will go through that way...

Hey Jackler,
I did get your message and really don't know why the board errored out when you tried to post it.

I'm gonna post it here for you, as I feel it's very important and something that we need to remedy here on the fanbox.

For whatever reason, when I try posting this in the forums, it errors me out. I'll cut and paste here and hopefully it goes through...

Hi Serena,

The scenario you described makes a lot of sense and I didn’t consider that angle that the forums being conceived for the fans ended up not being used by the fans and therefore inadvertently became a communication stream for the Charms.  It explains why some of the threads read like they are by Charms and for Charms.

I think what would probably be a good way to invite fan engagement are individual Charm AMAs.  A format like that can call lurkers forward and offer questions and comments they don’t sweat will be “worthy enough” of being responded to by their favorite models.  That openness can perhaps lead to larger engagement in other threads in the forums if after the activity the fans know their favorite models are approachable.

I do wish fan engagement was a bit higher.  Do you think it has to do with the visibility of the forums on the main page and are just not aware of it’s existence?  I found it a couple of years ago because I scrolled to the very bottom of the page and saw the link in small print just nestled in with other links of the same nondescript size.  Some may even think the Charms don’t use the forums as it is a common theme that message boards attached to other sites are very rarely used by the content creators of the main site and are mainly used by the main site regular viewers to communicate with each other.  Maybe giving the forum link and description as well as the lure of their favorite Charms being frequent users of the boards can boost its use.

Just my opinions and I could be wrong, but thanks for taking the time to listen, Serena. It is 1000% appreciated.]

I think your suggestion for individual charm "AMA" threads is a great idea! And I'm going to Implement that asap.
I've been trying for years to get fans to participate on this board. And I don't understand why we always have so many "guests" they are unregistered and are not able to view the tons of photos that charms post here. It really doesn't make any sense.

I do know that many charms advertise the fanbox on their sites via their update text etc. But I like your suggestion on providing more of a description of the fanbox on the SC site. It never occured to me that fans might think that the fanbox is ONLY for fans. I'll put my thinking cap on before making suggestions to William the owner.

[SultrySerenaSC2]

New Charm AMA threads

viewforum.php?f=68

[TheJackler]

Wow! That was fast! Thanks Serena!

[SultrySerenaSC2]

Wow! That was fast! Thanks Serena!

I'm a woman of my word AND, I can't stand procrastination..............
Next on my list is to look into the advertising/link/no description issue of the fanbox on SC main page. Although I would love to see more interest in the fan box, I do have to keep in mind that the SC site is the main priority, and the fanbox is just icing on the cake

[CrumblingPerv]

... It can sometimes sound like the Charm regulars make topics for each other making it difficult for us to jump in with any message content of substance ...

FWIW, you aren't the only one to observe this. I have felt the same way with a few topics; I don't think it was intentional and has arisen for the reasons that have been elaborated in the follow up posts. So I guess it is inevitable that some fraction of them get to feel this way. It can be a wee bit disheartening.

However, Serena is a genuine treasure of this forum and I for one am glad she is here and for what she does. The AMA suggestion is a really good one and it is totally characteristic of her to pick it up and run with it so enthusiastically. Great idea from you and bravo to her for adopting it!

[TheJackler]

... It can sometimes sound like the Charm regulars make topics for each other making it difficult for us to jump in with any message content of substance ...

FWIW, you aren't the only one to observe this. I have felt the same way with a few topics; I don't think it was intentional and has arisen for the reasons that have been elaborated in the follow up posts. So I guess it is inevitable that some fraction of them get to feel this way. It can be a wee bit disheartening.

However, Serena is a genuine treasure of this forum and I for one am glad she is here and for what she does. The AMA suggestion is a really good one and it is totally characteristic of her to pick it up and run with it so enthusiastically. Great idea from you and bravo to her for adopting it!

Thanks!
I do like the feel of a community listening to each other and moving forward together. I just hope the AMA will be an icebreaker for any other lurkers and joining in the community.

[TheJackler]

Oh, and Serena, maybe a little bit off the subject, but is there a chance avatars could be opened up for fans? Thanks!

[SultrySerenaSC2]

Oh, and Serena, maybe a little bit off the subject, but is there a chance avatars could be opened up for fans? Thanks!

Are you guys not able to post avatars?

Hmmmmm. I’ll look into this and see if I can find what’s gone wonky

[TheJackler]

[SultrySerenaSC2]

I was surprised to see that some of you can't upload avatars. This function was always allowed, and some of the registered users do have avatars. I just thought that the ones who did not have them, didn't want them.
Anyways, I checked the board configuration and settings, and the avatar permissions are enabled. I'm not sure why some of you can't upload them. There's something wonky with the signature line for some guys too.

I'll send this over to William and ask him to look into it as I can't figure out what has changed, maybe the upload root path directory has changed from the one listed? That's something William will have to look into.

I'll let you know when I get an answer or solution.

[SultrySerenaSC2]

Avatar issue has been fixed! Everyone should be able to upload an avatar

[CrumblingPerv]

Avatar issue has been fixed! Everyone should be able to upload an avatar

Well done! Now I can keep my beady eye on you

[SultrySerenaSC2]

Avatar issue has been fixed! Everyone should be able to upload an avatar

Well done! Now I can keep my beady eye on you

How cool! I'm so excited to see all these avatars! All this time and i thought you guys just didn't want to put up one, I had no idea there was a problem

[heels1]

Avatar issue has been fixed! Everyone should be able to upload an avatar

Babe you look astonishingly beautiful and sexy in your avatar, its as good as an update xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[tantalizingjoySC3]

Much needed information. Thanks for all that have posted on this thread.