Interview with Shortie: Reviving Postloop and Supporting Forum Communities

Online forums have played a huge role in building communities across the internet for decades. While social media has changed how people interact online, many forum enthusiasts still believe that forums have a strong future ahead. One person working to support that future is Shortie, a long-time forum administrator who is currently reviving the well-known content platform Postloop.

In this interview, Shortie shares her history with forums, the inspiration behind bringing Postloop back, and her thoughts on paid posting and the future of online communities.

1. Can you introduce yourself and tell us a little about your history with online forums?

I am Shortie, and I am a mother of 4 from England, UK. I have been using forums and also running forums now since 2004, with my most successful forum, Chat Addicts, running from 2009 – 2017.

2. What originally got you interested in forums and online communities?

I first started using forums in 2004 when I was searching the internet for technology related information, and I found a forum that had the answer, but was also a very welcoming community at first. I became an active member on that forum, but over time, I started to realise how not so great the forum was, to the point where members were afraid to give their opinion or speak their mind. The forum is now no longer around and has been closed for quite a while now.

3. You’re currently reviving Postloop. What inspired you to bring the platform back?

Having been using and creating forums now since 2004, I have a strong passion for forums and hate seeing how much they have declined over the years since social media took over. For quite a few years now, it has been sad to see how quiet forums are and how community managers struggle to gain the activity they need for their forums, and I am hoping that reviving PostLoop will help in bringing that opportunity back to community owners who wish to invest in their communities by providing them with high-quality content that helps spark discussions, improve retention, and create a more vibrant atmosphere.

4. For those who may not remember it, what was Postloop and what role did it play in the forum world?

PostLoop was an online system that bridged both writers and community owners. Community owners would pay PostLoop for content on their forums, and they would receive content from users of PostLoop who would then be paid a certain amount depending on the quality of the content they posted on that forum. This was measured based on the length of posts and threads, as well as the grammar, ensuring that community owners received high-quality content that would help their communities.

5. What can users expect from the new version of Postloop compared to the original?

With the new version of PostLoop, we know how important it is for community owners to receive high-quality content that engages members, but also helps build up the foundation of a forum. With that in mind, we aim to keep PostLoop similar to how PostLoop used to be, but instead, we will have a dedicated team of writers who are chosen by us to ensure quality content.

We have heard from some on how they are worried about those whose first language is not English, and how you can tell, and we fully understand what they are saying, so this will also be looked at closely. We would only hire based on content that we have seen that we would be happy to see on our forums, nothing less.

6. What challenges have you faced while working on bringing Postloop back?

So far, it has been the trust from writers who have been let down in the past by those who have tried something similar but have instead closed due to a lack of interest. We are also facing a lot of comparisons to pay-to-post forums, which again, have not always been successful over the years, letting people down who have trusted them and then not been paid for their time.

PostLoop is not a pay-to-post system; instead, it is a content marketplace that connects community managers with real users who can contribute high-quality and meaningful posts.

7. What features or improvements are you most excited about with the revival?

I am most excited about the team of writers we will build for this revival of PostLoop. The original version of PostLoop allowed anyone who registered to be able to take on jobs and get paid for their contributions, and as much as most of the content was great, there were some cracks.

We are hoping that picking out a writer’s team ourselves who will be eligible for payouts will ensure high-quality content and remove the possibility of spammy, low-quality content.

8. Paid posting has always been a big part of Postloop. What are your thoughts on paid posting in forums today?

You are correct, paid posting has always been a big part of PostLoop, and I feel that is why PostLoop gets confused for being a pay-to-post forum rather than it being a bridge between writers and community owners.

I don’t have any issues with paid posting in forums today, as I feel that if you can find writers who provide high-quality content that helps build the content on your forum, then that helps a forum greatly, especially if your forum is new and needing content, or has slowed down and needs that boost.

Relying on just paid posting for content, I don’t feel should be something community owners should do; instead, they should balance paid posting with promotion to increase the chances of gaining active members who want to be part of the community because they enjoy your community.

9. How can paid posting help forum owners grow their communities when used correctly?

Paid posting can help forum owners when used correctly by helping to continue building on the foundation that has already been laid by community owners.

As someone who has created and ran forums over the last 22 years, I know how difficult it can be to start to fill up your forum with content, and with very little content, you are not always taken seriously. Paid posting can help build up that content so you can then focus on the promotion side of things to help bring in genuine members and traffic.

10. Some people are skeptical about paid posting. How do you respond to those concerns?

I can fully understand the concerns regarding paid posting, and that is a lot of the time based on bad experiences with paid posters in the past. Many will offer paid posting, but in most cases, their content is not always high-quality and can, in some cases, be spammy or not what you were looking for.

We are hoping that with the method we have of hiring writers for PostLoop, and going by the content we would want to see within our communities will in turn build trust not only for PostLoop but also for the writers we hire.

11. How have forums changed since the original Postloop was active?

Forums have changed a lot since the original PostLoop was active, mainly due to the rise of social media and many on the internet preferring quick interactions rather than waiting for responses like you have to on forums.

Forums nowadays tend to be more like information portals, a place in which you can find information without having to scroll or search like crazy on social media.

Social media may have somewhat taken over, but many are still looking for information and even answers on the internet, and I feel that forums still have a place on the internet when used in that way.

12. Do you think forums are making a comeback in recent years?

I would say that forums are slowly making a comeback in recent years, but I am also seeing a lot of opening of forums and then closing them when things do not take off as quick as they had hoped.

I feel that with the right services in place, such as PostLoop, and community owners willing to invest in their communities, we can see forums make more of a comeback over the years.

13. What advice would you give to forum owners who want to grow their communities today?

The advice I would give to forum owners who want to grow their communities today would be not to expect too much in a short space of time. Growing a forum takes time, especially in today’s internet and the domination of social media.

If you are serious about owning and running a community, you should have short goals and create new ones as you complete the goals you have set. This can help a great deal in giving you something to work towards, no matter how slow your community grows.

You should also never be afraid to invest in your community if you are serious about your community.

14. Outside of forums and online projects, what hobbies or interests do you enjoy?

Outside of forums and online projects, I also enjoy playing video games, and my daughter and I are huge fans of BTS (BTS ARMY), and we enjoy taking part in fandom events as well as going to events for BTS.

I also enjoy spending time with my family and heading out for days out and long walks with my family.

15. What are your long-term plans for Postloop and the future of the project?

At the moment we are still in the early days of reviving PostLoop, and our main goal right now is to start building a writing team that we are happy with in terms of the content that we see on the PostLoop forums.

Work is also being done on a full custom platform for PostLoop that will ensure the smooth operation of purchasing content and the content being completed by our team of writers.

I know that forums still have a lot of potential, and PostLoop is not something I will give up on easily. I just hope that in time, the trust for a system like PostLoop will get stronger and that many will realise this is a lot different to pay-to-post forums. Instead, it is a bridge between writers and community owners who wish to invest in their communities and see their communities thrive and grow.

Together, we can help forums thrive again and help beat the social media domination that so many forums face today.

Conclusion

Shortie’s passion for forums is clear, and the revival of Postloop aims to give forum owners another tool to help rebuild active and engaging communities. While the internet has changed dramatically since the early days of forums, initiatives like this show that there is still strong belief in the power of community-driven discussion platforms. With careful planning and a focus on quality content, Postloop may once again become a valuable resource for forum owners looking to grow and strengthen their communities.