Okay, I love Marie 1988, and I love being an administrator of a forum and making new friends and things, but at the same time, there are a lot of other forums like mine out there, and they all seem to talk about the same things. However, I don't want to close the board down because we have almost 600 posts. I could turn it over to my co-administrator, or make my moderator a co-administrator and then turn the board over to him, and then I could post as a regular member or step down to moderator position. But I just don't have as much passion as I once did, and I think it's because there are too many boards like mine out there. And all are talking about the same things, and that's what's making me lose interest. What do you guys think I should do?
Sticking with a forum
- Thread starter AnAccount
- Start date
Depends. You may have the drive again later on, so I wouldn't give up entirely. However, maybe it's another thing if you lack the money or the time to run it. If that's the case, maybe you'll really want to pass it on then. I wouldn't shut down a forum entirely due to inactivity or lack of interest (especially inactivity) if you can afford it, unless you felt that you truly weren't going to run it again. In either case, things could very well pick up again.
Jaosals said:
Well, we're on a free host, so I'm not worried about money. I think it's more time than anything. I always seem to open a forum when it's an inconvienent time. And it's always when I have ten million things going on in my real world life as well. I just want to learn to close a forum or give it away, and then be done with it. I just feel burned out more than anything, and I think it's the advertising end of it that's burning me out.
I think a forum will only succeed if it's staff are 100% behind it, so if you don't have the same passion you once had i think it's worth changing something, i think your best solution is to hand it over to someone else you know and trust, and then continue posting around the community, you never know, one day you might want to return, and at least the forum will still be there for you to do so 🙂
hcfwesker said:
Well, I have taken your guys' advice, and I have handed over the forum. The new owner has made some awesome changes already, and I'm liking them so far. Plus, I think it'll be easier for me to be a moderator, because then there won't be so much to worry about, other than deleting nonsense posts and that kind of thing.
HCF, I am actually willing to take your advice this time. Because really, and I've said this before, too, it just seems that every time I want to open a forum, it's always at a really unconvienent time. Health, real life, as well as other things tend to get in the way. I'm taking your advice, and I am stepping down as a gmod. Heck, who knows? The new owner will probably come up with things that I've never even thought of before during my forum owning phase!
Red Herring
Paragon
Well, I know you've been closing boards on and off for quite awhile now. While I'm not usually tempered by such things, the FP Community does get annoyed with it, so here is what I'm going to suggest.
Don't shut down your board. But DO give it to someone that you trust. You're a very wonderful community member Ashley, but you may not have the hypes to run a forum.
As for how to solve your addiction to forums, here's what I suggest. Try taking on a Co-Admin position at another community. It will give you almost all of the satisfaction of running a board, and you won't have to have the difficulty of the decisions of Advertising, or wanting to shut down your own board. And if you do want to do your part, you can try helping the Owner out with a few ads here and there. But this is the way to help you kick this habit/addiction...giving you all that you want while running a board, but removing quite a bit of the stress involved.
In fact, if everything goes according to plan and myself and a few other gents get our board up...I would LOVE to have you in a Administration/Management position.
But if you simply close or give away your forum...then decide to try and quit forum life...chances are, you'll come back. Forums give you a very nice euphoric feeling like no other, and it's very difficult to stay away from something like that.
So I hope these words help you out a bit.
EDIT: Seems you made a decision while I was typing this. :lol:
Don't shut down your board. But DO give it to someone that you trust. You're a very wonderful community member Ashley, but you may not have the hypes to run a forum.
As for how to solve your addiction to forums, here's what I suggest. Try taking on a Co-Admin position at another community. It will give you almost all of the satisfaction of running a board, and you won't have to have the difficulty of the decisions of Advertising, or wanting to shut down your own board. And if you do want to do your part, you can try helping the Owner out with a few ads here and there. But this is the way to help you kick this habit/addiction...giving you all that you want while running a board, but removing quite a bit of the stress involved.
In fact, if everything goes according to plan and myself and a few other gents get our board up...I would LOVE to have you in a Administration/Management position.
But if you simply close or give away your forum...then decide to try and quit forum life...chances are, you'll come back. Forums give you a very nice euphoric feeling like no other, and it's very difficult to stay away from something like that.
So I hope these words help you out a bit.
EDIT: Seems you made a decision while I was typing this. :lol:
Michael Valentine said:
I think I've already taken about 95% of your advice already. There's no way I'm quitting foruming in general, because I love joining up with forums in general and trying to become an active member, but I am willing to kick the habit of opening and closing forums, because I know you guys are ticked at me about it, and personally, I'm ticked at myself about it really. I'll gladly be an administrator of someone else's forum. Then that way, if they decide to close their own forum for whatever reason, the only thing I'll have to be sorry about is losing my position as a staff member. Especially if I had the position of Administrator or Moderator.
Red Herring
Paragon
Alright then. 😀
Once I finally get this one project going, if you're ever looking for that type of Staff Job...I'll be glad to take you aboard.
😉
I hope that this'll finally help you kick your habit, and good luck
Once I finally get this one project going, if you're ever looking for that type of Staff Job...I'll be glad to take you aboard.
😉
I hope that this'll finally help you kick your habit, and good luck
And (hope I'm not being too pushy) I could always use one last mod and I'll be done with my staff-hiring. Never have found anyone that's truly interested...
And don't try and leave forums as a whole though, as leaving them is harder than dealing with the stuff that goes on in them. Personally, I like the occasional drama. :lol:
And don't try and leave forums as a whole though, as leaving them is harder than dealing with the stuff that goes on in them. Personally, I like the occasional drama. :lol:
Sbfc said:
Very funny. I really am looking forward to kicking the habit of opening, closing, and opening forums again, and that's no lie. I really want to kick the bucket with this habit, because it's a bad habit to get into, and it's a one that I wish I'd never gotten started on to begin with. This is something I would wish for nobody, because no one should ever have to go through what I did when trying to run a forum to begin with. I actually even wish I'd never even heard of free hosting, really.
1. Don't give up so soon! Any forum you start will always get worse before it gets better. You just have to tough it out, and you will get a break.
2. If you have a passion for it, don't close a board and open another. Stick with 1 and offer something the 'many' other forums don't. You say there are a lot more forums that discuss the same, but if you can find something to offer that they don't that almost guarantee's more members.
3. Don't listen to negative thoughts. More and more admins are closing forums because of others saying 'they can't do it' or 'oh no, another forum'. If you like doing it then stick at it. Just don't keep opening and closing forums.
Just thought I would say my bit.
2. If you have a passion for it, don't close a board and open another. Stick with 1 and offer something the 'many' other forums don't. You say there are a lot more forums that discuss the same, but if you can find something to offer that they don't that almost guarantee's more members.
3. Don't listen to negative thoughts. More and more admins are closing forums because of others saying 'they can't do it' or 'oh no, another forum'. If you like doing it then stick at it. Just don't keep opening and closing forums.
Just thought I would say my bit.
John1 said:
Thanks for the tip, John, but I honestly don't feel like I can do it anymore. I like experimenting with different hosts and stuff and seeing the variaty, but I don't like owning forums, and I think that's why I get in trouble with FP all the time is because an experiment always turns into a forum. It's a bad habit that's been going on for a year, and I'm really willing to give it up. It'll be tough, and it'll take a lot of willpower, but I'm ready and willing to do it. None of this has to do with my listening to negative thoughts. It's just that in recent weeks I've just been losing passion for it, and I don't have the strength I need to do it anymore. So I am actually going to give it up.
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