Things that cause the fall of a forum?
- Thread starter Katrina
- Start date
Staff or the owner no longer logging in and making posts, other members notice that and they too will stop logging in.
^ Biggest problem with forums. Usually has one admin and if they for whatever reason stops being active on the forum, then the rest just falls.
Yep, that surely does it! 😵
This. Once a community turns on you, it's over.
This is one of the biggest factors. The owner or staff team is the backbone of the forum and without active leadership, the community will struggle to survive.
It’s probably the #1 cause of why most forums fall. Besides being bought by out VerticalScope.
UniqueGrace
Reputable
When the owner is died or there was a breach or whatsoever between the owner and admins, it is a biggest factor that can bring the fall of the forum.
The Raven92
Up-and-Coming Sensation
Well, I think it is quite simple. Inactivity of the forum owner can kill a forum. Lack of interesting topics or anything that would bring members to stay and hang out.
This is true. The owner needs to be active or have a staff who is representing when the owner is not available. If that doesn't happen, then the other members might as well conclude that the forum is dead.
The owner leads the pack and the community by far, however, an active staff team can take the reigns of the owner & keep the community running smooth.
Sometimes, an owner doesn't want to be the most active contributor as they've built the foundation, and that's when staff members are vital and important. Many communities actually take a life of their own once the owner builds and grows the garden. '
As for me, I'll always remain an active poster in any communities that I own, as I am a posting machine. But, I do understand every owner's perspectives and stance. It becomes tougher as a community takes off and becomes a flourishing board, but that's every owner's dream.
Not every owner wants to poke their head in everyday and post, but that's perfectly fine when you have co-admins, and various staff members running the board with you. When there isn't any staff members around to help the owner, that's when an online community will fall and go to the graveyard.
There are many things that I have seen cause forums to fall.
As others have said, being bought out by a company or person who isn't going to run the forum properly is a great way to watch a forum fall. We're seeing this with The Admin Zone. I've been a member there for a long time. I've contributed a lot to it. AAF 1.0 content went to it. Now I'm watching that all go to waste and it's sad.
Allowing toxic members to stay or toxic discussions to remain on the forum and continue to build will eventually cause your forum to become a toxic forum and eventually fall in the process.
Allowing cliques to form, IMO, is a great way to decrease member activity on your forum.
Not listening to the feedback of your members. It doesn't matter that you pay the bills, your members are what makes the community, they should get a bigger say in how the community is run. Do what they want, as long as it's reasonable, and they'll become loyal for life.
If you or your staff are jerks, then your forum deserved to fail and it probably likely will fail.
Lack of content, lack of engagement, lack of consistency = all failure elements.
That's a few at least. 🙂
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