This idea just came to me, i was thinking about making a forum which is about the local area i live in. About the forests and bush. Like, if a lot of people from the community joined, we could discuss where are the areas which need tress planting or bush scrub cleared etc.. things like that.
All about conservation and protecting our wildlife.

We could create teams that do their own part and come back to report on how they went.

The forum could also be used for weather reports, farmer talk, fire warnings, discuss what they're doing to improve the nature etc...
Just like to mention, that Jindivick has some of the greenest grass in the world and also producing some of the worlds best cheese!

Its not all about Jindivick, its about our neighbours Noojee, Neerim, Neerim South, Rokeby, Tarago, Buln Buln and Drouin.

This forum, if i do it right, could turn pretty big! And the rewards for the enviroment will be just...awesome.

What do you all think of this for an idea?

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That, to me, almost seems to be too small of a niche...but then again, I am often surprised to see some people pull off certain niches (ie: flashlight forums and daughters-in-law forums)

I dunno, I don't think that the demand in my area is great enough for that kind of thing, but if you feel that the demand there is large, I say go for it!

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Small niche doesnt mean it won't work. It means you have to think long term and give it time to grow (as long as its useful). Honestly, there are some forums that have been around since I was in high school. Back then, they werent too great but simply by being there, they are now above 50k in members. Proving, that as long as you have a good idea, it will grow with time.

That was my first impression as well, but certainly if you think that your area has a market for this type of thing then why not go for it.

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If i advertise it right, dropping a letter in mail boxes all over the local community, i think i could get some people to join.

Allready, some people have created groups that actually have meetins to discuss which area theyre going to improve. Its really a great way to fix the enviroment. Why not expand on this and create a site about it.

This could turn extremely popular if hard work is put into it, i can just imagine it.

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I could only see something like this if you city was a large city with a big population. I dont think a small little city/town would make too good for a niche forum.

I no this is extremely old but did this ever get going?

I don't even think the people around where i live even have a computer, damn old villages!

It sounds find. You say it "could turn pretty big!" What if it doesn't? So what? It may still be effective. Some of the comments here suggest it may be too small a niche. Which it may be. If you expand just slightly to focus on Community Improvements for... wherever... you could set up topics for types of improvement and then expand into other areas. That could grow.

But again, what if it doesn't grow? That might not matter. It depends on why you're doing your forum. Are you trying to be a big forum? Or make a big difference in your community and the forum is just a tool you happen to be using to help organize and communicate?

One major challenge I think you'll have just has to do with the idea; not the forum. Volunteerism and leading volunteers is hard. Getting people involved and keeping them involved is a challenge in and of itself regardless of what tools your using to grow communal efforts.

In the end, there's only one way to find out for sure. Go for it!

Well i think that if it is regional it may work. I guess you have to think out your goals for the site. Like are you just doing it to promote a hobby or interest or are you trying to make a monetized forum.

niching something out and speciailzing is good to a point, but it can really screw you. i think that just so long as you include enough extra stuff so that people have a reason to stay and chat you could do ok.