The main site

[Mathilda]

Every forum needs a regular influx of new members to keep the conversation going and to replace the natural wastage that occurs with the existing members that get too close to the sentries in the server room.

So we've been talking about having a main website with a link to the forums.

Now because none of us are self publicising media personalities we'll probably have to have the main site actually be useful and interesting. A place to store useful resources that get posted on the forum and which would otherwise get lost over time. Hopefully the main site will be something that gets many links in its own right.

Good Without God's thread is a good example of this, although I wouldn't post it there without his permission.

The advantage to having a main site is that it brings in links, new victims members and puts us further up the search rankings.

My thoughts are that we could have a collection of deconversion stories. You can find loads of conversion stories online for any religion you are interested in. The idea being that if you are interested in joining a religion then you can listen to what other people have thought when in a similar situation. It strikes me that the same applies for those considering deconverting.

Another idea is that the main site could also act like an FAQ. Most of the people proselytising out there don't come up with the arguments themselves. They re-use what they have heard. This means the same tired arguments get used repeatedly. We've heard them all ourselves many times over (the KCA, Pascal's wager, life being impossible by chance). But if you are new to the debate then you won't necessarily figure out or know why they are unsound arguments if you are in a heated debate and are being put on a spot. So I am sure many people will go away and try googling the answers. And hopefully they will find our site.

GWOG has countered a lot of these in this thread but that acted more like his own personal pool of posts he made that he could refer to without having to repeat himself. What I would like to see is a collective effort where the best, most succinct and easily understood posts get chosen over time and if the poster is happy, for it to be published on the main site to become a permanent resource.

I have seen on other forums that have a main site, an app which shows the active conversations happening now. Sometimes forums will also put up graphs or links to hosted videos that get posted which people may want to refer to later. This could be useful for debates here when people try to come up with the same unsubstantiated claims.

It would be nice to hear what people think of this and if they have ideas about what could be good to have on the main website.

[Dom]

These apps are fun but don't help with google, it doesn't read them. We need HTML stories, no copy/paste from anywhere, short quotes are fine and need to be credited. People's stories in their own words.


We could have a "submit your story" button and anyone, even non-members, can submit their stories. We'd publish all legit submissions.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I'm ready to do anything I can to stay out of the way.  :thumbs_up:

And if you need someone to blow the tuba, I'm free for the rest of the decade.

[unfogged]

We could have a number of sections on a main site...
what do atheists believe
deconversion stories
the harm of religion
resources (local groups, forums, grieving, etc)
responses to common apologetics

but we need to get over to MyBB with a simple main page first

[Vera]

The deconversion stories is a good idea. Maybe even a before and after thing. Like how if my mum had gotten lupus while I was still religious (while my grandfather was having nightly hallucinations due to strong Parkinsons meeication), on top of everything else I was going through, I would have been wondering what I did wrong and praying for forgiveness for the suffering of my family.


Even things like a lot of religious thinking and rituals being connected to my OCD (to the extent that it was a compulsion that made me realise I no longer believed n god. And how to this day, including today, as I haven't been in a good place for a while now, I would still say a "prayer", nothing but a meaningless compulsion)


Where was I again? Like I said, brain hasn't been well and is currently melting....

[Gawdzilla Sama]

We could have a number of sections on a main site...
what do atheists believe
deconversion stories
the harm of religion
resources (local groups, forums, grieving, etc)
responses to common apologetics

Living with religious relatives/friends
Dealing with in-your-face religious people day-to-day
Should I come out to family/friends/co-workers
The political aspects of religion
I'm a none, my SO is religious

[Aliza]

Are we thinking to pique people's curiosity with a little taste of what they will find on our forums?

[SYZ]

We also need to clarify succinctly what atheism is not.  Too many people think it's simply a
blind hatred of God and religion and people of faith, with no other more subtle ramifications.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Are we thinking to pique people's curiosity with a little taste of what they will find on our forums?

In part, but if people come by, find information they need, and move on I don't think we'd mind. The front page should say that this material was provided by active forum members, and then invite them to discuss the material further on our forum?

[c172]

Be neat if there was some sort of atheist news wire that you could hook up to so the main page gets steadily refreshed with new stuff.

[Aliza]

Sounds like you guys have your work cut out for you!

I'd keep it reasonably brief and give users a reason to join the forum to discuss the topics a little further.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Sounds like you guys have your work cut out for you!

I'd keep it reasonably brief and give users a reason to join the forum to discuss the topics a little further.

Me terse.

[Dom]

Be neat if there was some sort of atheist news wire that you could hook up to so the main page gets steadily refreshed with new stuff.

That may be interesting, but it doesn't help at all with google. Google wants an HTML page, not codes it cannot read.

[Mathilda]

I don't think it's just about google search rankings, but also about making the visitors want to return here.

[Dom]

Well, for now we just need an HTML front page you can drop code into to help google and to have some content people can relate to - everyone can relate to deconversions.

Once we got that up, and we have the new forum running, we can get indexed properly, which is the purpose of the exercise - get ranked so people will come here. Google won't index us as long as there are two sites running....

Then I bet the members here will have tons of incredible ideas to add to the site... there are some really nice ideas here already.

[GirlyMan]

On the thethoughtfulatheists.com, I was just gonna post thoughts I like from thoughtful atheists. I started w/ Nietzsche obviously. You guys can still use that domain if you want it. I'm using GoDaddy to host so they have some fancy tools to help web designers.

[c172]

I don't think it's just about google search rankings, but also about making the visitors want to return here.

Yeah, this was kind of my understanding, hence my post.

[Dom]

I don't think it's just about google search rankings, but also about making the visitors want to return here.

Yeah, this was kind of my understanding, hence my post.

It's not one OR the other, it's one first, then the other. No google, no visitors to return.

[Chas]

I don't see why the forum can't just stand on its own. 

[GirlyMan]

I don't see why the forum can't just stand on its own. 

I concur. Put your logo on top of the index of the forum and be done with it. That's what atheistforums.org does and I like it. Don't market the forum. Don't be Seth.

And make sure you explicitly qualify in the introductory package  "Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate". It covers most complaints.

You're also gonna want to minimize the forum's liability. Dom knows all about this sorta thing, ask her LLC or 501©(3)? I'd go with whatever she says. .. I mean I'd ask her now that she's already signed up for it and all, I wouldn't have asked had she hadn't.

[Aliza]

Marketing is not the same as attracting new posters. We need new members to thrive.

Who is going to provide chew toys to the forum, hmm? Chew toys don't just grow on trees, you know.

[GirlyMan]

Marketing is not the same as attracting new posters. We need new members to thrive.

Who is going to provide chew toys to the forum, hmm? Chew toys don't just grow on trees, you know.

To be perfectly honest, I kind of like it without the chew toys. Don't need to dust my dander off as often. We've already recovered a few members who bailed out years ago on TTA and have come back here, there's only a couple recalcitrant members left to entice. This is a much better place for the forum, both legally and practically. Brings a tear to me eye and warms me cockles. 

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Seen too many forums dwindle and die. 

[Thumpalumpacus]

Fresh blood is vital to a forum's health.

[SYZ]

Fresh blood is vital to a forum's health.

And our membership has stagnated at around 89-90 for more than a week now.  A bit concerning?