As you probably know by now, we recently launched a blog hosting service. One of the main features (and what makes it’s 100% unique from other blogging platforms) is your blog will share members with your forum. If a member registers on your forum they can use the same login for your blog, and vice versa.

Blogs are a great resource for building your community as they allow you to interact with your user. You can use blogs to post news about your community, share articles you found, or allow key members and staff to post as well.

What are you waiting for? If you already have a forum, you can go to your Community Control Panel and enable a blog. Your login was emailed to you with the subject “Your Community Control Panel login”. Additionally, if you want a personal blog or something not connected to your forum you can go to UnrealBlogs.com and create a new one.

We’ve found blogging to be a blast, and you will too

At FreeForums.org, our responsibility goes beyond providing you with the very best in forum hosting. Making sure your forum is as active as possible is also in our job description. These are a few things we have done to help you build members:

1) New Register page – After extensive market research we found the default registration page to be a daunting sight to those unfamiliar with the forum signup process. In order to help speed up the registration process we removed some of the unneeded options and Profile Configuration settings. While this was actually done last month most forum owners have no reason to visit the register page and may not have even noticed!

2) Forum Toolbar - Your forum toolbar is perhaps one of the best ways to increase activity on your forum. When your members install the toolbar, they are constantly reminded of your forum when browsing the web. To install this toolbar go to yourforum.freeforums.org/toolbar.php (replace ‘yourforum’ with your domain name). You can configure it with other features via the “Toolbar” link in your admin panel.

3) Freedom – The numerous features we offer give you the freedom to create a forum just how you want it.

4) Brandable forum – FreeForums.org was the first forum host to popularize the non-branded forum by giving you the option to use an external domain (yourdomain.com) and remove the “Host by FreeForums.org” at the bottom. This lets you brand your own forum and lose the “free hosting” label.

5) Coming soon - Over the coming weeks we will be rolling out some new features and services that we’ve been working on since September. These services will provide more value to your members ensuring they spend more time on your forum!

Last week we started asking users to submit their forum story and we would like to thank everyone for their submission. I’m pleased to announce the first featured story:

My Freeforums site started out as a forum for hacking numerous online video games like Socom. That only lasted the first month or so though. I decided we should cover gaming news in general so over the next few weeks we added console sections for new, reviews and tutorials. Now we are a rapidly growing gaming, emulation and hacking forum (with nothing illegal of course) with over 1100 members!

People use the site for news and guides on how to do anything from playing Mario on their psp to how to speed up their computer.-Shane Craig
www.Codemayhem.net

Codemayhem.net will receive a refund on their already purchased domain or another domain if they choose. This is an ongoing thing so it’s not to late to submit your story and get entered to win a free domain!

To submit your story go to http://www.freeforums.org/story.php.

During the brief outages we have from time-to-time, we are constantly reminded how important our users’ forums are to their everyday lives. We love to hear feedback on our services but above all, we love to hear how our users are using their forum.

This is the reason behind our new FreeForums.org Storyboard. Please submit your story, including how you use your forum and how it benefits your members. We will print off each story and tape it next to the giant whiteboard we use to map out new ideas or plans. Every month for the next 3 months we will pick one off the whiteboard, post their story (free advertising for your forum!), and give them a free domain.

To submit your story please go to the FreeForums.org Storyboard page. Remember, this isn’t a testimonial on FreeForums.org service but rather a story on your forum and how you use it. Feel free to get creative and make it as long as you want. If you would like to upload a video to youtube, there will be extra prizes

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.