If you’ve been around forums a lot you have probably heard “Don’t bump your topic” over and over. While topic bumping is considered spam and looked down upon, there is a good time and place for it.

As part of our goal to offer you the best possible support, we’re pleased to announce the “Auto Bumping” system on the support forum. Effective immediately, when a new thread goes over 24 hours without a response, it will be automatically bumped to the top and flagged for admin review.

This is just one of the many upcoming improvements to our support system.

Lets face it, companies are always trying to gain new customers but often forget the most important customers are the ones they already have. This post is dedicated to the customers we already have and why you should continue hosting with us.

1. We’re forum people
With almost all our staff having operated a successful forum in the past, we know what it’s like on the client side.

2. Customizable for your needs
We don’t have a ‘one size fits all’ approach to forum hosting. Rather, we tailor solutions to a forum’s needs, providing you with all the features and options you need to run a successful forum.

3. True 24/7 support
A lot of hosts run “24/7 support forums” but depending on what time you post, they may be sleeping. At FreeForums.org, we strategically hire support techs around the globe to ensure we have a full 24/7 coverage.

4. Features and Upgrades
Those who have been with us awhile know that we’re serious when it comes to adding new features. We are constantly reviewing suggestions, doing market research, and thinking up new and innovative features.

5. All-Star lineup
We knew from the start it would take the best staff in order to create the best forum host. Our staff consists of over 30 years hosting experience.

6. Version 3 will be an upgrade, not a downgrade
Like most other hosts, we were tempted to throw together some half written code lacking structure and features in order to be the first out there with phpBB3. Fortunately for our users, we put them ahead of our desire to be the first. When we release version 3 we want it to be an upgrade, not a downgrade.

7. We actually listen
We don’t simply have a feedback & suggestion board for the sake of doing so, we actually read and consider every post made. Customers come up with great ideas, and we respect that.

8. We’re cool
Ever increasing attach storage? Forum toolbars? You got it! At FreeForums.org we put the “cool” back in forum hosting.

9. Free Upgrades for your forum
Other hosts make you pay for every upgrade you want. Depending on the user, this can make it difficult to obtain that upgrade. We offer a new type of system, “Free Upgrades,” which allow you to earn points completing offers. You can then redeem these free points for an upgrade to your forum.

10. We treat every user’s forum as our own
If you’re having a problem with your forum, whether it is technical or not, we take the situation to heart and provide the best possible support that we are able to in order to help our users.

FreeForums.org is known for the low overhead costs associated with being efficient. Efficient severs, efficient code, efficient work schedules, all the way down to efficient use of resolving topics. We’re always looking for ways to shave seconds off the time it takes to complete a task. Which is why we recently added the “Self Resolve” button to all support posts. Now, after fixing the problem or getting your answer, you can mark your own topic resolved.

We found that over 40% of topics are resolved by the time staff get the chance to resolve it themselves. Taking the 100+ tickets a day we see, that’s 40 times a day our staff don’t have to enter a thread, read through the problem, see it’s been resolved, and click the resolve button. Estimating 20 seconds per thread, this saves us 14 minutes a day, 1.5 hours a week, and 6 hours a month!

Help us help you, resolve your own topic!

One ticket for One Issue
Keep tickets as targeted to one specific issue as possible. We actually prefer you opening 5 tickets than one long never-ending ticket. The longer the ticket gets, the more the next tech has to read in order to get caught up and can be frustrating to both the customer and the techs working on it.

Forum url
We installed a custom mod requiring you to enter your forum’s url when you post a ticket for a reason: We need it! Over 95% of problems are forum specific and we can’t fix it without knowing the url to your forum.

Come clean and admit it
If you messed with the cookie settings and can’t login, banned yourself, deactivated the admin account, or just have no idea what button you pressed, don’t worry about it. We’re not going to engrave your name on the forum hall of shame. We all make mistakes and admitting yours will get your problem resolved much faster.

Research
There is a goldmine of information out there that can help solve your problem. Half of forum questions can be solved by a simple Google search. As they say, GIYF! (Google is your friend).

Close the issue
When your problem is resolved, update it and say “thanks, that fixed it” so we know to close the issue. Not doing so will lead to stale tickets floating around and slowing down the support process.

The “Thank you”
After 6 years of tech support I’ve come to the conclusion that a support tech is one of the most thankless jobs in the world. Lets face it, when was the last time someone opened a ticket just wanting to say “thanks for all the hard work.” Never. Every email or ticket includes a problem that needs to be resolved and usually an agitated or frustrated user on the other end. When your ticket is resolved ending with a simple “thank you” can do wonders.

At FreeForums.org, we’re always moving at the speed of light. Creating this blog was no exception.

I came up with the idea for a blog only four days ago, and your feedback convinced me to set everything in motion. Here we are, four days later and I’m proud to announce the Inside FreeForums.org blog. We understand the importance of connecting to customers in every way possible. On this blog we look forward to posting the thoughts and opinions of FreeForums.org staff. This blog also gives customers a way to provide feedback that we will read.

We have quite a few exciting posts planned for the near future so keep checking back. Or, you could join the 21st century and subscribe to the RSS feed.