Any Interest in a Fiverr Break Room?

[fonthaunt]

II know there are at least a couple of Fiverr users interested in a different kind of forum. Fiverr forums are strongly utilized for Fiverr-related talk and subject to many filters, even here in Chit Chat. Not everyone cares about being able to chat, but I think some would enjoy a kind of “Fiverr/Freelancer colleague break-room.” Would anyone else be interested in a private forum as an adjunct? I’ve seen people suggest alternate forums but they were to fill other needs. I want a place that would not be for ads or selling our services. It would just be a private group/forum/chat. A zone where we could have some mods in all time-zones so that ads or junk could be deleted and abusers could be removed.



We could use it to share links to our blogs/sites, useful articles or fun stuff, give encouragement, have mini-contests and games - maybe even with prizes sometimes. We could talk about news, movies, hobbies, and chatting about Fiverr/work/improvements would still be there like in any "break room."



If you are interested you can reply here or inbox me. A FB private group is very easy to start and moderate. I might be able to set up a website just for this, I’m checking on it. There may be Yahoo or Google groups that could work. Craigslist has free forums. Those are technically public but if only invitees know the URL they stay fairly hidden and aren’t indexed by search engines. I’m open to hearing ideas but I don’t want to pick something that will take so much time that it would be too complex to bother with. We can always do an easy test run too and if it goes over well, move it to another location. Any interested? If people inbox me with interest instead of posting, I can update the thread to see who wants an invite.

[lunabea]

This sounds good and I’d definitely be interested in something like this - however I think you’d need to create something that allows the freedom of anonimity - the last thing anyone needs is a disgruntled buyer or seller that knows someone’s real name (for FB groups etc.).

[Guest digilancer99]

Sounds like a pretty good idea. It might be nice to network a bit among other Fiverr members. Google groups has so many technical issues, so it might be better to find a different website that offers a private group area. I did a quick search just now and do see a few good options, though I’ve not used them before. Let me know if you want the links.



Would Fiverr care if we did do this?

[fonthaunt]

Reply to @lunabea: I could see that. It would be nice to have a way that people could choose their username at will. If people wanted to use real name or initials they could (jsmith) or their Fiverr username, or make up something just for that forum. Of course, if it’s a private forum of some kind that should help somewhat.



People would have to ask for an invite and if the moderators were people that did use their Fiverr usernames, it might not be a bad thing to ask invitees (privately) for their Fiverr username so they could be checked out as real Fiverr users and not have a known history of problems. If anyone did manage to get an invite as a buyer or a seller but with poor intentions, they could swiftly be removed which is something not done quickly here in the main forums.



Facebook would still work technically, since people could have separate FB accounts just for this sort of thing, but since FB has tightened the reins pretty hard on multiple accounts it might not be the ideal choice. That’s part of why I posted about it before doing it, to get good ideas from you guys! Feeling it out for right now and looking into some options that would be doable.

[fonthaunt]

Reply to @digilancer99: I don’t really think Fiverr would care if it wasn’t being use to buy and sell and we could moderate for that well if we had some volunteers to help. After all, there are TONS of Fiverr related Facebook groups already out there which are mainly for advertising. There are also Fiverr forums within the Warrior forum and other obscure ones.



I think as long as this wouldn’t be a place for outside contact/buying/selling there would be no issue with it. Of course, the link would only be shared privately as well, not publicized here to pull people away from Fiverr unless they actively seek a place to take a break. I have a lot of ideas for fun stuff we could do and I think we could really get a lot out of sharing with each other as people from all over the world. Unlike this forum where buyers read too, a “break room” wouldn’t have pressure to use perfect English or worry about whether you can write what you want.



I wouldn’t want it to be just a ranting place at all, though. A place to chill! When I could afford it, I would donate or see if I could get donations for some small digital prizes for games and contests. It seems to me it would only be a benefit to Fiverr to have sellers be like a bit of a team and a family, as long as the emphasis was on the positive overall and ads or any rule-breaking would be nipped in the bud.



Please do inbox me the links you have, perhaps in a list in a text file so I can merge it with other ideas. I’m still checking too. Looking into several pre-made forum styles and some WordPress plugins that could go on any WP site. I’m open to ideas!

[fonthaunt]

Reply to @digilancer99: Don’t forget to send your links, I’ve got one nice looking option but I’m hoping for more.

[Guest digilancer99]

Reply to @fonthaunt: Nice ideas you’ve got there. I’ll send you the links in a little bit. I bookmarked them on my other computer.

[lunabea]

Reply to @fonthaunt: That sounds like a good idea - and if there were moderators to keep on top of things I’m sure no issues like that would arise or would get squashed pretty quickly.



Multiple accounts on FB would be so annoying! I never sign out of mine!

[lunabea]

Reply to @fonthaunt: It’d also be good to REALLY call out bad buyers and sellers - not to instigate hate or intimidation, but so we all know who to avoid so that we don’t keep running into the same fragglesrock people!



I think most of us can spot a bad buyer from a mile off but would be good for new buyers or sellers coming to Fiverr.

[sincere18]

Reply to @fonthaunt: separate facebook accounts? You know you are only supposed to have one of those, right, so to even start suggesting you create a forum that goes against the rules of the third party site is not off to a good start. I say not on facebook. And you have to keep it private because sellers and buyers are not supposed to contact one another outside of Fivver so you need to be careful about that part as well.

[sincere18]

Reply to @fonthaunt: so how would people know this forum exists if it will not be here publicall in any way?

[lunabea]

Reply to @kjblynx: I meant more for bots and spammers but I see your point.

[fonthaunt]

Reply to @lunabea: I know what you mean. I’m not sure yet, but if this “breakroom forum” was mainly for fun, getting to know each other, etc. I wouldn’t want calling out of people to be the main thing. (By the way, I’m writing this before reading other comments since if I set this up, I want to write each idea as unbiased as I can.) What I do think is that there is a need for a place to be able to discuss experiences of that sort - possible for sellers AND buyers.



What I am thinking is there could either be a link from this “fun” forum to a different private forum/group for that sort of thing OR maybe have a forum section that requires a different log in where “anything goes” yet still moderated for discussions that get out of hand.



That said, I think that what I may do is start getting some kind of forum set up and maybe the first goal there would be to take this whole discussion off Fiverr and talk together about what people want from it there. Then it could be developed as a group, especially with our individual skills.

[fonthaunt]

Reply to @kjblynx: I agree in that if a name-calling spot exists, it needs to be separate from what I’m talking about and still moderated. A place where it was allowed to state opinions without censoring might be nice, with the understanding that these are opinions and if they turn into flame wars, they will be closed for further comment. Just thinking it through.

[fonthaunt]

One more comment before I respond to anything else written so far… I’ve gotten some inbox messages with more comments that those that don’t want to go public with their comments but have no problem having their ideas shared. Here they are:



-One person commented that they would like to see a place where sellers could be given recognition since it is rare here. If that means we recognize each other, then OK. We could have a ‘seller of the month’ perhaps. A marking of anniversaries. Things to boost morale.



-Another said that having a separate safe place would be welcome. Even if it fails, it never hurts to try something new.

[fonthaunt]

Reply to @sincere18: Well, for one thing this thread alone would let people know they could inbox me for info. Also, I am not hard to find online since like many people here, my Fiverr identity is around the web. I don’t think this should all be connected to just me, though, especially if we had a group that wanted to be involved and some don’t mind being known as participants or mods. There could be other contacts.



2 last things I will say on this question:



One is that there are ways of utilizing obscure keywords that make it easier to find them on search engines and those could be employed, alongside advertising on other known social media and forum sites where people could find a contact address to join in.



The other thing is that if this forum were successful, anyone who knew there was such a place as a “Fiverr Breakroom” would be able to find it eventually. Of course it would have a public landing page even if it required a login to use. So, it’s just really not hard for people to find something online if they want to and others are using it. If it does not do well, it won’t be indexed well and will be harder to find after the initial period when this thread ends. If it’s doing that badly, though, then it probably means it isn’t needed and I or whoever is helping with it at the time can just shut it down.