What attracts you to a forum?

Activity, a laid back community and usually some kind of immediate plot hook to dive in with. If I can see where my character can fit into the overall posting/story, that makes it easier to hop into the forum

 

I help admin a browser game and looking for new ideas for player engagement and attracting new players and retention.

 

I like to see recent activity and have the ability to crawl among the threads to see if my crew fit....no flashy gifs on forum pages sorry...eyes

 

Having a theme that doesn't hurt to read helps a lot (super low contrast or tiny text is an immediate no). Usually I look at the rules and setting after that, the more restrictive the less I'm likely to consider it. Then whether it's active, if there's a community that talks to each other (on discord or elsewhere), etc.