Off Topix: Embrace the Unexpected in Every Discussion
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Forum Failure
- Thread starter Jazzy
- Start date
Trolls, flamers, hackers
---Lack of inactive users---
---The admin/owner of the forum had no money to pay for the site---
---Hackers, Trolls---
---Admin didn't assign enough moderators to watch the forum---
Well that's my list
---The admin/owner of the forum had no money to pay for the site---
---Hackers, Trolls---
---Admin didn't assign enough moderators to watch the forum---
Well that's my list
Forums don't really fail. Some could be inactive, but that can possibly be reversed at any time.
...The trick is creating a forum where people actually want to be.
I suppose it all boils down to the person/people running the forum. If they don't want to do it anymore, then they'll shut it down. Or they could let it be abandoned long enough for the hosting plan and domain name to expire.
^ Well that's makes sense! 
To be honest, I've noticed that some of the most inexperienced administrators often end up creating the best communities in the long run. Of course this isn't a trend that can be generalized too much, but honestly, it makes sense. Inexperienced admins are far more worried about creating a place for their members to enjoy hanging out than they are worried about the software, features, and theme. To be honest, I consider all of that to be secondary. I very rarely join forums because of their nice design or forum software (although I'll admit that Off Topix's design did give me a very good first impression. 
)
Ultimately, if there is nothing unique about a community, the members won't stay, and that, in my opinion, is what it boils down to. Forum administration is quite a bit more of an investment today than it was five years ago. It's just not as easy now as it used to be.
Definitely challenging and enjoyable though.
)Ultimately, if there is nothing unique about a community, the members won't stay, and that, in my opinion, is what it boils down to. Forum administration is quite a bit more of an investment today than it was five years ago. It's just not as easy now as it used to be.
Definitely challenging and enjoyable though.
I have noticed what seems to me to be an increase in forum turnovers. It could just be that I feel more experienced and have a better idea of what it takes and the time it takes to operate a forum. <-- (holy run on).
However when I first started posting around back in 2008-2009 I didn't seem to notice a massive amount of failing forums. However that could simply be because I didn't really care to pay attention or didn't look that closelt .
However yes forums tend to "fail" as soon as the forum administration either stops caring or objectively has their mindset all wrong and they think they'll be big over night.
However when I first started posting around back in 2008-2009 I didn't seem to notice a massive amount of failing forums. However that could simply be because I didn't really care to pay attention or didn't look that closelt .
However yes forums tend to "fail" as soon as the forum administration either stops caring or objectively has their mindset all wrong and they think they'll be big over night.
A forum can be ruined by success.
I remember being on a forum that was large, with a lot of members, so big it probably rivaled Off Topix when it was at its peak, that fell prey to a group of cliquish staff, and a couple of screeching trolls who would start 'stuff' then go crying to the admin. The owner sold it to a couple members of the staff who were in the clique, who then proceeded to actively kill it by flaming members who weren't part of their group.
Awhile back when I did a cleanup on the links page on one of my websites, I clicked on the long forgotten link to see what was there now. Turns out the URL is for sale.
I remember being on a forum that was large, with a lot of members, so big it probably rivaled Off Topix when it was at its peak, that fell prey to a group of cliquish staff, and a couple of screeching trolls who would start 'stuff' then go crying to the admin. The owner sold it to a couple members of the staff who were in the clique, who then proceeded to actively kill it by flaming members who weren't part of their group.
Awhile back when I did a cleanup on the links page on one of my websites, I clicked on the long forgotten link to see what was there now. Turns out the URL is for sale.
I can't say about others but in my opinion, the main reason for forum failure is lack of revenue generation. If your forum does not generate revenue, how long can you actually pay for servers from your pocket? Server is not the only cost of running a forum, you also need to pay for domain and SSL.
Like others, I've seen a great many forums fail but I've also seen some hang on even after the initial rush of members drift away.
From what I've seen, if there's maybe five or more people willing to keep going, a forum can struggle on, but because it is such a small group, may find it hard to attract new members.
From what I've seen, if there's maybe five or more people willing to keep going, a forum can struggle on, but because it is such a small group, may find it hard to attract new members.
I think a forum truly fails if the staff no longer sign in and post. If there's no effort into posting and making the community active then members aren't going to come back and post. Owning a forum takes lots of work and time, and things do start off slow but the key is to never give up.
Lots of work during the initial setup that’s for sure (just went thought that here). Once you’ve installed a few add-ons & themes and tweaked everything to the way you like it, it’s smooth sailing. After you just need to interact with your members (and get out there & promote your forum).
There has to be a real passion for what you create your forum for, otherwise, you won't be very motivated to run it and it may fail in doing so. I, for instance, have a passion for coding, and my coding forum has been open since 2018. There can be other contributing factors as well, but I think having a passion comes down to help run a successful forum.
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