18 replies to this topic

[JVRudnick]

Hello All.....

I'm getting really tired of going to SEOChat daily....there is a growing thread there by craig that offers up similar thoughts on why us long time members are not participating as much as we used too....

lack of MODs and their enthusiasm appears to also exist....too too many posers who know everything on SEO....and then ask us to vet their META keywords....sigh....

just wanted to say that here. I have not decided on what to do about this....but I do know that if I point out that this forum exists, there will be a flood of that same "too much noise, no signal" type of new members....so I doubt that I should do that.

does anyone else have an idea on this? I know (and have spoken to) Rand and Barry and Jill on this and they all agree that forums work only as long as the knowledgeable long time members partake of the whole experience.....i.e. take the good with the bad....

anyone care to offer any counsel on this? perhaps, what I feel is "forum burnout" and maybe I should just give up trying to give back to those who've not yet gained the knowledge that I have....maybe the only way is to quit going to forums....

anyone?

Jim

[iamlost]

Forum burnout is definitely real. I registered here because I was tired of helping out (the same old) HTML/CSS questions at WMW and Cre8 seemed to offer discussions, esp marketing, that I couldn't find elsewhere. Plus of course the Cre8 'kitchen table' feel which is rare, if not unique.

I have almost registered at SEOChat several times over the years but the noise level was simply too much each time. I still lurk and cherry pick - letting folks like you and EGOL show me the threads to read by your participation.

I should like to point out that as Membership Admin it is I that would be inundated should you do a broadcast recommendation Sob.

Perhaps PM-ing specific individuals that you feel would benefit from Cre8 membership would work best? If so, please drop me a PM asap so that I don't inadvertently slam the door in their face (yes, it has happened, unfortunately ).

[Wit]

Hi JV, no one-liners here

[Koozai]

I've just spent the day browsing SEO forums and the average quality is very poor. A lot of low quality companies have used them to stuff in links and it's ruined their core purpose. Such as:

"Hey guys I found this <insert product name> site. What do you think"

If you've found a forum that is good it may be worth investing another look as it's got to be better than some of the SEO forums out there.

[EGOL]

SEOMoz recently changed the format of their PRO Q&A form.

I have been posting there for two or three weeks now. If you are looking for an "SEO only" forum what I have seen there so far has been really high quality. Lots of really smart people - almost no idiots - spammers don't exist there because signature links are not possible.

I think that most people who are interested in SEO can learn a lot there. I don't know the answer to most questions so I am learning a lot. I am also asking a couple of questions per week which I rarely did at SEOchat because dozens of people who have no idea about the topic would give you a bullcrap answer.

There is a barrier to entry.... Anyone can get in free for 30 days. After that you need to pay a monthly fee ($99). You can also get free access by earning a lifetime total of 500 mozpoints (similar to rep at SEOChat). JV... you might be able to earn 500 points during your first free month.

Betweem the forum and the blog you can find a number of people from SEOchat posting there - some who were SEOchat members a LONG time ago. Some with their SEOChat user names, some with their real names, and a couple with different usernames.

[Michael_Martinez]

There comes a point in your SEO career where standard forums, blogs, and Q&A are rather pointless. A lot of the people who post here are in that category, in my opinion.

Of course, we all know the value of staying tuned in to the discussion. You pick up a lot of trends and stuff.

I read more forums than I post in. I find little value in them but once in a while I see some interesting issues.

[bwelford]

I think your viewpoint, Michael, is one many of us share. But as is said in another recent thread, there is a great danger that the search engines will apply filter bubbles to us so that we are all less likely to spot divergent views. Depending on the quality and diversity of people who pop in on any given forum, you may well increase the likelihood that those divergent views will appear on your radar screen. It's all about signal to noise ratio.

[test-ok]

I agree with JV..I also think SEOchat is running some kind of automated software thats registering and asking many of the questions and IMO it's for content reasons. They dominate the search results for SEO forum. I can't believe there's that many out there with questions like they have and 99 percent only have 1 post.
If you look at the titles of these new threads, they are content related to SEO...dumb a$$ questions but good content none the less.
But I could be wrong.

Edited by test-ok, 18 May 2011 - 04:51 PM.

[jonbey]

I agree.

[EGOL]

I can't believe there's that many out there with questions like they have and 99 percent only have 1 post.

They are signing up to get a profile link!

99% of the membership is posting there for nothing more than the links.

If they get rid of the links they will not have a quality problem.

Edited by EGOL, 18 May 2011 - 06:59 PM.

[Michael_Martinez]

I agree with EGOL. I don't think SEO Chat is running the software. I visit the forum several times a week and the low quality posts resemble posts I see elsewhere.

[Dr.Marie]

I feel a little guilty about the fact that I have abandoned SEOChat. I got my start in learning SEO there and really learned a lot.

A few weeks ago I started a free trial at SEOMoz. The forum there is really good. And as EGOL said, there's little to no spam and everyone there is really helpful. I find I only have so much time for forums. So, there are two places I hang out...SEOMoz Q&A, and here.

I've checked back in at SEOChat a few times, but I've reached a point where I don't feel that I am learning much there. Here and in SEOMoz I feel that I can contribute, but I also have a LOT to learn from the other posters.

[test-ok]

If they get rid of the links they will not have a quality problem.

That would be a good start. I've dealt with forum spam for the last 10 years and there's something funny about the spam over there and I can't quite put my finger on it...either way it's diluting that forum.

[JVRudnick]

thanks responders....I've not yet decided on what to "do" about this...but I will PM only a few I know well and let them know that I'm leaving SEOChat...and going to hang out here...

that said...I'm sad. I liked that forum very much over the past 8 years....just....well...the noise is too much IMHO now...

:-)

Jim

[jonbey]

I found seochat a while before I found this place, probably just after I found searchguild. I used to use the tools there, but some stopped working, like the google pagerank search thing. That was handy. Once I found this place I have never looked back. Sometimes you have to wait a day or more for a reply but when you get one it is always one worth reading.

[tommr]

I noticed that SeoChat seems to have more popup ads lately but I guess they have to pay the bills some way.
I signed up for the SEOmoz and found out right away there was a serious duplicate content problem with my site as well as other problems. The fixes were right there and there was a marked improvement in my position.

It occurred to me that some of the thousands of posts at SeoChat are useful and many are outdated.

That said I will continue to brows the SeoChat forums but I find I have little time to waste so I need to concentrate my time where is is best spent. Continuing to make my site more useful and avoid shooting my self in the foot.

[edf]

I'm late to the party here -

I've read SEO Chat for over 5 years and finally removed them from my bookmarks. Nothing more to learn there, although going back through older posts by a handful of knowledgable, helpful people from the past is worthwhile.

What remains is about six rude know-it-alls who just reinforce each other's viewpoint and slap down anyone with a new idea or observation. The forum has become inbred and dominated by just a few self-proclaimed experts with nothing new to add.

The rash of weird first-time posts and simplistic answers makes sense now that it's been pointed out it's either for the links or to make the forum appear to be popular.

Anyway, I hope to find a more open, rational and knowledgeable dialog here

[jsteele823]

Quality of discussion usually comes from the quality of new posters.

SEO Chat is easy to find.

This place takes a little more digging.

Higher quality therefore abounds.

Perhaps clicking a few ads around this place will help it stay that way, and not wind up going the route of hired posts.

[Wit]

At least Nat and Josh are giving it their all.