Build your own site!

I am surprised that you guys are trying to find a home on these 'free' forum sites like redditt and forumotion. They are good sites, but these sites are for a different audience.

Being desis, you need to encourage desi sites.....I have www.desichatter.com, which I think is a great fit.......but I'm not trying to push it on anyone.

If that site doesn't do the trick, register a new domain, get a logo and install vbulletin. All of it can be done for <$1000 and it will be YOUR own forum. I believe you have 25-30 captive members. That would easily grow once the site is up and running.

We have enough techies / designers who can help get the job done.

On second thought, it's going to be quite difficult to get a consensus on design...probably better to use an existing site.

Since SP has been promoting redditt....I'll push my site www.desichatter.com. Please give it a swirl. It took me a long time to set it up and get rid of bot registration. I will be upgrading to latest/greatest version if members decide to move!

yes, keep pushing your site.

these are my opinions on the state of affairs:

- you were a fraction of second late in entering the scene. now that we have settled down in these 2 sites, a different set of priorities loom over us: how to increase the member base; how to reach critical mass; how to make the UI palatable to the readers ('cos we still have flexibility and choice); how to reign in the disenchanted (on reddit you can see one member already expressing weariness). so shifting to yet another site is not at a priority right now. it can always be done later after we are collectively hypnotized (and that move can be to desichatter).

- unfortunately, you have lost your reader/contributor base. no one has returned in the last 2 days since you reopened that site. members might still return -- i don't know. but had they returned (and if they return), it would have been (it might be) a huge plus in our considering moving to desichatter. i have noticed a spillover (participant "idli") in reddit from their other channels. that was a pleasant development.

- none of us are lacking financially. we know we can host our own site and that it costs <$1000. but no one wants to be burdened by yet another commitment (that involves time and patience). the financial burden is not the consideration -- the time and dedication is. ideally we want a site where no one is boss so nobody has to walk that extra mile to "maintain" the site.

- you are an invaluable member. regardless of whether we move to desichatter, i hope you will continue here.

- some of us are still optimistic about CH (i'm not) and want to wait till monday (i won't return to CH even after monday). so everything is still in a flux. we are *also* waiting and watching while trying to do something new. somehow moving to desichatter is a commitment whereas moving here is a compromise (till monday). the real decisions will have to be taken on tuesday. the funny thing is that we perceive everything as either/or. the fact is that one should register in all the places and let their natural inclination decide where they want to most participate. registration is NOT a commitment to participate. that does not mean we should STOP asking users for input and feedback. some, i repeat some, of us are also interested in developing a permanent alternative to CH and we need user feedback to ace over CH to insure that the user's natural inclination would always gravitate him to this site.

rather wordy, sorry.

Hello Huzefa

Thanks for your response.

- I will definitely follow the crowd. I hated the UI on sulekha but stuck around because it had some very interesting discussion. Sulekha needs a makeover, very badly! I can't stand the user experience...painful!

- I think desichatter is still a better move than forumotion or reddit. Being a sub-forum on a large free forum doesn't give you the feeling of belonging. It is hard to find since its tucked away in one remote corner of the internet and it's going to not hit the search engines. It doesn't have the same ring to it.

- After the initial gush, members will either return to sulekha or find some other forum...trust me...this forum or redditt wont have the same member profile 6 months down the line! I can assure you that!

- With desichatter, you know it's YOUR FORUM. YOU, AS MEMBERS OWN IT, RUN IT, MODERATE IT! You own the domain and your discussions are central to the site.

Members need to identify with the forum. That was the main draw for each one of you to Sulekha...that's why you registered there in the first place. You cannot identify with a forumotion or redditt! That's NEVER going to happen. Here, you are a subset of a big picture...not the big picture itself.

- You complained that members didn't move back in 2 days. I did not inform anyone that I reopened the site, that's why. For a forum to function, it needs 20-30 active members to form the core group...without that, the site lacks 'stickiness'. If you guys move, then I will let previous members know that the forum has been reopened and then the floodgates will open!

Take a chance and move to desichatter. You will find a much more comfortable home out there! It might take a leap of faith, but I know it will work out very well in the long run.

harharmahadev wrote:Hello Huzefa

Thanks for your response.

- I will definitely follow the crowd. I hated the UI on sulekha but stuck around because it had some very interesting discussion. Sulekha needs a makeover, very badly! I can't stand the user experience...painful!

- I think desichatter is still a better move than forumotion or reddit. Being a sub-forum on a large free forum doesn't give you the feeling of belonging. It is hard to find since its tucked away in one remote corner of the internet and it's going to not hit the search engines. It doesn't have the same ring to it.

Oh really? It just started:

http://www.lmgtfy.com/?q=%22Coffeehouse+for+desis%22

harharmahadev wrote:

- After the initial gush, members will either return to sulekha or find some other forum...trust me...this forum or redditt wont have the same member profile 6 months down the line! I can assure you that!

yes that is a good point. but do appreciate that we all (i mean the contributors and the admin) are only half-serious about this venture. let's see how it goes. we always have options and the time for taking a decision (as to which site we permanently relocate to) is not now. for now this site is good -- we can always move to our own sub-domain later.

Looks like charvaka registered on desichatter....thats a good sign. Hopefully, it's the same id.

Charvaka - if you are interested in checking out the admin console, please let me know.

harharmahadev wrote:Looks like charvaka registered on desichatter....thats a good sign. Hopefully, it's the same id.

Charvaka - if you are interested in checking out the admin console, please let me know.

Yes, it is me. Please PM me the details and I will be happy to check it out. Thanks!

charvaka wrote:

harharmahadev wrote:Looks like charvaka registered on desichatter....thats a good sign. Hopefully, it's the same id.

Charvaka - if you are interested in checking out the admin console, please let me know.

Yes, it is me. Please PM me the details and I will be happy to check it out. Thanks!

Great. You should have admin priviledges now. I'm taking a leap of faith and handing you the keys to the kingdom.

http://www.desichatter.com/forums/admincp/index.php

Thanks.

I think I made an error before...I had added you as an admin in the secondary group...it should have been primary. Made the change. You should have full admin rights now. Please check and let me know

Initially, I wanted to check out desichatter.com. Then I realized that as owner of that site, you can see pretty much all information about users (registration email address, IP address & location from where users post, etc.). You also have absolute power over the site. So, I decided not to go there.

As I have mentioned in other threads before, I am in favor of a site where no user has any more power or privileges than other users. For that reason, I am wary for this forum also.

SomeProfile wrote:Initially, I wanted to check out desichatter.com. Then I realized that as owner of that site, you can see pretty much all information about users (registration email address, IP address & location from where users post, etc.). You also have absolute power over the site. So, I decided not to go there.

As I have mentioned in other threads before, I am in favor of a site where no user has any more power or privileges than other users. For that reason, I am wary for this forum also.

Regardless of what site you register, the admin has access to the above information. If you are thinking that I'm somehow planning to misuse the above info, then you are dead wrong. The site has been up and running for over 3 years and I have over 1000 registrations / users with over 5 posts.

Afa IP address is concerned, every malware site already has access to it. The embedded images in Sulekha capture the IP address and most likely deploy tracking software on your workstation. Don't worry! I have ZERO intention of deploying any kinda malware to your desktop! Your info will be safe with me.

Yes, I know that every site admin has access to all this info. I know the owners of forumotion.com would have access to all this info as well. But what about the admins of specific forums, like Charvaka? That is why I have asked Charvaka repeatedly to check what all access the admin on this forum has. I just don't want the fellow-posters on the forum to have access to the same info. On a huge site like Sulekha or Reddit, I am a needle in the haystack and so okay with the site admins having access to the info. I have a reasonable assurance that they cannot isolate me.

SomeProfile wrote:That is why I have asked Charvaka repeatedly to check what all access the admin on this forum has.

I have been looking around. Haven't found anything more attributable to a user other than email. Honestly, I don't want to look because I don't care to know.

SomeProfile wrote:Yes, I know that every site admin has access to all this info. I know the owners of forumotion.com would have access to all this info as well. But what about the admins of specific forums, like Charvaka? That is why I have asked Charvaka repeatedly to check what all access the admin on this forum has. I just don't want the fellow-posters on the forum to have access to the same info. On a huge site like Sulekha or Reddit, I am a needle in the haystack and so okay with the site admins having access to the info. I have a reasonable assurance that they cannot isolate me.

Why would anybody want to isolate you? No admin in their right mind would divulge personal member details. Every member would bolt out of the site if that happens (plus there might be legal ramifications).

www.desichatter.com now redirects to this site.

I might send a message to erstwhile members to give this site a try....hopefully, it generates some new users.

harharmahadev wrote:www.desichatter.com now redirects to this site.

I might send a message to erstwhile members to give this site a try....hopefully, it generates some new users.

Were you able to predict that?

Hellsangel wrote:

harharmahadev wrote:www.desichatter.com now redirects to this site.

I might send a message to erstwhile members to give this site a try....hopefully, it generates some new users.

Were you able to predict that?

I am unpredictable...sometimes I baffle myself!