Post: #1

I have a game forum in spanish. Its been up for about 6 years, and yet it has less than 500 users, with around 10% of those being active posters.

Im looking for a software thats simpler to use, intuitive perhaps, that might make it easier for my members to use the forum. Currently its on Simple Machines 1.1.17, which Im aware its outdated.

Id like something that perhaps has some sort of integration with Facebook, but that still gives them the option to retain their anonymity if they want.

And of course the database has to be able to convert from SMF to whatever I change it to.

Plus, does anyone has any experience managing forums that can give me some advice? How do I increase membership base and engagement? How do I get users to actively use the forum?

I was planning on running a promotion campaign on the forums Twitter and Facebook accounts, even spending a few bucks for some Facebooks ads, until forum membership reaches critical mass and its own userbase creates enough buzz to keep it relevant. (That I calculate would be 3 to 4 times what it is right now, 1500 to 2000 registered users, with a 15 to 20% active posters) For example, the way RVF is righ now, Roosh could take a couple of months off and the forum would keep momentum.

Post: #2

myBB (the software this forum is running on) is quite easy to setup and manage. phpbb is the most used one and is very feature rich, but it's not the easiest to configure and setup. You can just google "best forum software/script" to find out more.