The AOL Community Info Blog

MyBlueAngels was wondering how to open a new message board. We don't see this question all the time, but I think it is good information for everyone to know.  

Currently there is no way for you to create your own message board, the way you can create your own chat room. However, we have been known to create message boards for people from time to time.  

We don't always create a board because someone asked for it, though. This is because there have been a lot of people who said they wanted a board created and either never used it or used it for a while, then abandoned it, leaving a dead board to clutter the rest of the Community.  

We have some guidelines that help us decide if we will create message boards.  

* Is there a business need for the board? (We create message boards every day for news stories, new programming initiatives or any number of reasons. If the answer is yes, we create it.)  

* Is there another similar board? (If the answer is no, we do not create it.)  

* Have you asked the right person for the board? (If the answer is no, then we didn't know you asked.) By the way, the right e-mail address to request a board is AOLPeopleMGR@aol.com.  

* Is the requested topic broad or niche? (We won't create message boards for people to talk about their thumbtack collection. It is not likely that there would be enough interest for this particular collection, so we may suggest that you join another more general collecting message board.)  

* Would there be enough interest to keep the board active and on topic? (Don't expect the underwater basket weaving board is going to be promoted on aol.com to encourage more people to join your community. We love the community members and would love to help, and we would love to be able to do this for everyone, but it simply isn't possible.)  

* Does the board seem like it could have a commercial purpose? (If the answer is yes, we will probably not create the board. We understand that your business is very important and that it could have a good community tie to it; however, although the board may serve your business, it may not serve ours.)  

What happens if it is a board you will create? These are just some guidelines that we use when deciding which message boards to create. If your request makes sense and meets our guidelines, we will forward it to the appropriate Community Programmer, who will ultimately decide whether or not to create the board.  

If it is created, we will let you know, so you can begin posting and promoting it among all your friends.  

Share ideas about how you have created, developed or maintained your community on AOL.  

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