I like to see a support forum where people can ask questions and get answers. A search can be helpful. Experiences of other people too. And sometimes people using that host post their urls so you can evaluate how fast things seem to load.

And a support forum helps to create a community feeling vs. just hanging out there. And gives you some idea of how responsive administration is.

Do other people feel the same way?

I am surprised more hosts don't run support forums. The software doesn't have to cost much (and can be had free in many cases).

personnally i don't like forum b/c they are too easy to fake and they take a lot of time to moderate.

I prefer a fast resonse to emails or better yet instant messaging help like MSN.

Originally posted by rafiki55
personnally i don't like forum b/c they are too easy to fake and they take a lot of time to moderate.

I prefer a fast resonse to emails or better yet instant messaging help like MSN.

Forums are a great thing to have ;), customers can communicate their concerns, suggestions, feedback etc.

We don't have any problems moderating our clients (we don't have any problem clients), and the community is growing near the 800 mark :)

If a host doesn't have a support forum, they won't get my money. Simple as that.

Originally posted by Curtis H.
If a host doesn't have a support forum, they won't get my money. Simple as that.

Curtis were lucky then :D

Originally posted by Curtis H.
If a host doesn't have a support forum, they won't get my money. Simple as that.

Why wouldst thou want a support forum? What does it add? If you send me mail I get it immediatly. If you post on a forum it could take a while until I see it.

The forum concept is lost on me I'm afraid :(

It's also lost on my customers because when I set one up once noboby used it. Leaving me with a very empty forum on the site for months. Removed it because emtpy forums give a bad impression.

Many people talk about community building. I'm not a social worker. I host websites :D

Forums are good, but sometimes it's necessary to talk to a real person from the host for when something really breaks. It's not enough to just have a support forum, but it probably cuts down on really commonly asked questions though. :)

Hmm . . . . Well, how about Private Forums?

Yes, Im about to install forums on TOP of our current support center (as an additional option, not a replacement of our support center).

Thank you for posting this thread as I see some have a preference for it. :-)

Originally posted by mind21_98
Forums are good, but sometimes it's necessary to talk to a real person from the host for when something really breaks. It's not enough to just have a support forum, but it probably cuts down on really commonly asked questions though. :) Exactly!

Many times, if a member does a search in a Host's forum, he or she will find the answer to their question and won't have to fill out a support ticket or so fourth thus saving support time and effort.

Then there's times where members who are more familiar with that particular host actually help fellow members before support even gets to it. Another win - win situation.

I particularly like the fact that a prospective client can see how current clients are treated and get a decent idea as to the level of tech support that they might expect to receive should they sign up with that hosting provider. Saves a lot of possible headaches as far as I'm concerned. Hence, "If a host doesn't have a support forum, they won't get my money."

Being a webmaster who pays to have his sites hosted, not a hosting provider, this is my opinion on this topic. Yeah, I'm just the "little guy." :D

I think forums are great but only if you have the clientele that are forum addicts.
Ya have to face it, some people could care less about chit-chatting with other clients.
I do agree though it can be a PLUS IF you have the participation in it :)
SoftwareRevue has an excellent point (as always ;)
and so does Pilgrim.

Of course sometimes you need to email support. But if there are general maintenance things or problems going on, some support forums post to let customers know.

I've been backing up my forums using phpmyadmin. Well, they're maybe 5 meg zipped (hope I got that right) and I can't use phpmyadmin anymore. So I need a provider with telnet etc. But I've never used it. That's the kind of information I'd hope to find in a forum (stuff you eventually know but you don't start out knowing).

And yes, sometimes people don't post much. I've seen some forums used to give basic info to clients and I would imagine it cuts down on questions -- just like on a forum, you get the same questions over and over again.

If i were a host i'd create a searchable knowledge base.

Forums are great if you have great customers! But 'if you pick up one end of the stick you pick up the other' Forums also can give people the wrong impression especially if there was some major downtime or a problem with just one customers server. People like to come to their own conclusions and they will if they can freely post what they want. This forum proves that theory Granted thats why there is a moderator, but he can't censor everything. :)

I like having forums, as they provide much information and support. Not only does the staff moniter them, but we usually have 4+ members on the forums at any given time that are willing to help out their peers.

Also "potential" clients can ask for experiences, moniter how we work with clients, how much we are online, etc.

I love having them :D

I have had a forum and not had one over the past few years, I have tried it both ways. My customer base does not seem to be one that wants to spend much time in our forums. Only a small % have even registered and even smaller % have posted.
My customers seem to the ones that I never hear from unless something is wrong, if their web sites are working they do not want to think about hosting. Then they all have other means to contact me and when they want to chat they want to do it in via IM, email or phone rather than posting in a forum.
But I have landed a few accounts because of positive feed back in our fourm so I keep a forum in case someone does want to chat with others and get feedback on us.