[In Omnibus]

Originally Posted by Mattwhf

Can you share more details on this?

When needs a portal when its not?

That's a long and detailed discussion. Is the purpose of the forum to support the sale of goods or the sale of services? Is the purpose of the forum to engender a community specific to a niche? Is the purpose of the forum no specific purpose, i.e. an off-topic discussion environment?

I think if your forum is a support tool for products, goods, or services you should consider a portal as it allows for access to a website or multiple websites, a forum, an intranet, the internet, third party URLs that may be pertinent or useful, and more.

I think if the main purpose is the forum itself adding a portal is information overload and a distraction to the content.

Obviously, these are my opinions and not necessarily the opinions of others.

As an example, one of the sites I webmaster is specific to one team in one sport. Another is sports general with more than 300 team and individual sports groups. Having a portal for a one niche forum seems like overkill. Having one for a 300 team forum seems like a good idea.

Probably the best way to approach the question is: What would I want to see as a regular user of the forums? Which makes it easier for me to find the information I am seeking?