Do you ever sit back and wonder, "is it even worth running a forum?" I enjoy running a forum immensely, but it seems like I can never get the drive to actually stick with a host and run a forum. I am back at SMF because that particular forum host doesn't delete your board for inactivity, no matter how long you leave it sitting there! I'm wondering if I should hire some administrators to help me run the board in case I really decide I can't do it anymore? I mean, I love running forums, but it seems like one day I have the drive to do it, and then the next day or two I'm seriously tired of it! I don't know where all these mixed feelings are coming from, and I just can't deal with it anymore. Since SMFFor Free doesn't delete your boards for inactivity, I'm wondering if I shouldn't just abandon the project all together and only go on when I seriously feel like it. What do you guys think I should do?
Is It Even Worth It?
- Thread starter AnAccount
- Start date
Subz said:
Yeah, if it gets to be a day when I'm seriously tired of it or even feel like quitting all together, I should take a week or two or even acouple months off, and just kind of forget about it for a while. That does sound like a good idea. And like I say, SMF For FRee doesn't delete your board for inactivity (which is real nice of them, in my opinion! They really seem to know what administrators want out of their forums!) so if I ever do feel like abandoning it I can, and I can always continue where I left off later.
hcfwesker said:
No, that's true. I enjoy being on forums big time, but running them, some days it's just not for me. Even if I'm on a free host where they practically do everything for you.
Here's what i'd do: Close everything down, take a deep breath, and relax. Maybe try some yoga. Then join a growing forum and be an active member there. You don't have to be on staff, or even online every day. Go at your own pace and help other's out anyway you can, give suggestions. If you feel the need to be a part of how it runs then apply for staff.
Last time I ran a forum was months ago, I closed it (though it will re-open at some point) and I was staff at FP for awhile. Now after a forum break i'm back into it, and i'm taking it much slower this time around.
Last time I ran a forum was months ago, I closed it (though it will re-open at some point) and I was staff at FP for awhile. Now after a forum break i'm back into it, and i'm taking it much slower this time around.
Firstly, I think without a Co-Admin you're putting too much pressure on yourself. When I ran a small advertising community back in the day I remember bringing in a second Admin, it was like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I also remember when I was promoted to Admin here (Almost 4 months ago to the day) it allowed Fowler and Efc to relax and spend more time doing things offline.
Well, it's important to remember that starting a new forum nowadays is harder than ever. If you want to succeed you really have to push the boat out and give your members a good reason to join, but what's more important is that you give your members a reason to come back.
The most common piece of advice I give out to people who promote here is to ask their real life / online friends and family to help them make their forum active before promoting it. There's no point in joining a community with just an Admin and a mod posting. Would you join a new forum if there were no active members except the admin and the mod there?
I hate to say it, but that actually sounds like a bad idea. In fact that's completely the wrong attitude to have when making a forum. If you want to run a successful and active community you have to be committed and willing to do whatever it takes to make it successful. This means going out on promotion forums and other forums that fit into your category with your forum's link in the signature, posting around and building smoe serious exposure. If you look at it with the "Oh well, doesn't matter if it fails because the host won't delete it anyway" kind of attitude, your forum will go nowhere fast. Additionally, members will want to know your dedication to the site...and more importantly will want to see it. One of the keys to a successful forum is Admin Interaction - members love it and in most cases if you've got a friendly admin who hangs around like one of the regular members and bonds with them, that's reason enough for some people to keep coming back to your site.
...unfortunately though, if you plan on taking a month or two break every time something doesn't go to plan then that's never going to happen. Remember, forums take huge amounts of time, effort and patience. You won't always have a handful of your members logged into the site at any given time, you won't get 1000 posts, 50 members and an active userbase after your first week of trying (some do, but most don't).
If you keep changing hosts, starting over and taking breaks you'll never run a successful forum. Apologies if it sounds harsh, but it's just some constructive criticism. Good luck.
Well, it's important to remember that starting a new forum nowadays is harder than ever. If you want to succeed you really have to push the boat out and give your members a good reason to join, but what's more important is that you give your members a reason to come back.
The most common piece of advice I give out to people who promote here is to ask their real life / online friends and family to help them make their forum active before promoting it. There's no point in joining a community with just an Admin and a mod posting. Would you join a new forum if there were no active members except the admin and the mod there?
I hate to say it, but that actually sounds like a bad idea. In fact that's completely the wrong attitude to have when making a forum. If you want to run a successful and active community you have to be committed and willing to do whatever it takes to make it successful. This means going out on promotion forums and other forums that fit into your category with your forum's link in the signature, posting around and building smoe serious exposure. If you look at it with the "Oh well, doesn't matter if it fails because the host won't delete it anyway" kind of attitude, your forum will go nowhere fast. Additionally, members will want to know your dedication to the site...and more importantly will want to see it. One of the keys to a successful forum is Admin Interaction - members love it and in most cases if you've got a friendly admin who hangs around like one of the regular members and bonds with them, that's reason enough for some people to keep coming back to your site.
...unfortunately though, if you plan on taking a month or two break every time something doesn't go to plan then that's never going to happen. Remember, forums take huge amounts of time, effort and patience. You won't always have a handful of your members logged into the site at any given time, you won't get 1000 posts, 50 members and an active userbase after your first week of trying (some do, but most don't).
If you keep changing hosts, starting over and taking breaks you'll never run a successful forum. Apologies if it sounds harsh, but it's just some constructive criticism. Good luck.
Well sometimes when everything doesnt go right, I just give up, my past board which is my current url with /news had crashed, I didnt relize after 3 months of being up and only 500 posts on how much it sucked.
But I do love running forums
But I do love running forums
Yeah, but that's the bad part. I want to be dedicated to my site... I reallydo. And now that I'm with a software that's not so hard to work with, I'm having a blast. That's probably what was slowing me down to begin with, was that I was with PHPBB, and that's probably what was making me frusterated more than anything. Plus the fact that I was on advanced hosting could have been the culprit as well. It wasn't getting me anywhere. Just yesterday I brought in an arcade and installed a few games, so that will keep everyone, including me, going for a while. So I am willing to commit to it, I really am. I just gotta keep promoting some more, that's all. I think that's what gets people bored more than anything is when their forum isn't getting enough activity or whatever have you. So that's what I'm doing from now on is I'm going to start making more posts and things like that. Maybe even have a contest of some sort. Although I don't know what you can offer for prizes when you're on a free host, though...
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Running a forum can be a very rewarding experience. You can feel like you've accomplished something, and you have. You've created an online community. Sure, it's on the Internet, and it's not exactly real, but it's still a community.
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