Realizing you're not cut out to be a forum owner...

[Ashley]

What do you think the signs are that someone, or even yourselves, are not cut out to be forum owners, administrators, whatever.



My case, for example, was that I could never settle down to one hosting site. I would be at that site for a few weeks, months, whatever, and then after a certain amount of time, I would give up on that host and move on to another one.



Another sign for me was losing intrest too quickly. I would have a forum open, and I would have a few topics going, and then I'd always be disappointed at how things would turn out in the end. In fact, it would get so bad to the point where I would send out a mass email saying we were closing.



It was getting really pathetic for me. I was tired of opening, closing, and opening a forum again. I was also getting tired of losing what could have just as easily been thousands, or millions of members. Also, the post exchanges, the package requests, the whole 9 yards was getting to be too much for me. I finally gave up on trying to run a forum. It was pathetic for me, and it's not something I'd go back to in a hurry. I also realized that if I wanted to be an administrator so badly, or own a forum so badly, I could easily be a co-administrator somewhere or help someone else start their forum and help them advertise, instead of wasting time with my own. Also, limited computer time and a real world job doesn't really help me any either.



So, what do you think are the signs or symptoms of someone not being capable of owning for running a forum would be?

 

[Nuke]

You can't maintain it.



Your luck is just bad. (Like how my co-admins are never on anymore.)



Stuff like that.

 

[Ashley]

You can't maintain it.



Your luck is just bad. (Like how my co-admins are never on anymore.)



Stuff like that.

Yeah, that all makes sense. It always sucks when you find a few decent staff members, but they never come on, or are rarely on to begin with.

 

[Nuke]

Yeah.



One actually was active, but then school hit XD

 

[Nebulous's iconNebulous]

So, what do you think are the signs or symptoms of someone not being capable of owning for running a forum would be?

Some symptoms could be:

Not being able to handle problems effectively,

abusing power & unfairly disciplining members,

practicing favoritism,

not being able to choose good a staff team,

etc etc



.......

continuously opening and closing forum after forum,

informing the community that the forum going to close for little to no valid reasons then being easily talked out of it.

 

[Jazzy]

Here are a few of mine to add:

• Lack of creativity
  
• Lack of interest
  
• Indecisive
  
• Unorganized
  
• Setting unrealistic expectations (for a new site)
  
• Bad temperment/attitude problem
  
• Relying on staff alone to keep the forum going
  
• Not open to suggestions from staff and members
  
• Opening, closing, opening, closing (well you get the idea)
  

 

[Naviero X]

What Jazzy and Nebulous said are both really great lists!

One other thing I want to throw out is mental attitude. If you don't have a strong mental attitude of where you want your forum to go, then it probably won't be able to succeed and you won't let it. You'll just cut it down before it gets on its feet.



Also, if you are too focused on statistics, you're probably not cut out for forum management. Those are good, don't et me wrong, but a forum is for discussion, and statistics just get in the way of that idea.

 

[Geoffrey]

If you aren't cut out for running your forum, you shouldn't be running it. It'll just be a burden on you, and forums should only be fun. Hand off the forum to a co-admin or trusted staff, or go the full route and close down the forum.

 

[Lone Wolf]

I think you realize someone isn't cut out to be a forum owner when they hire staff to do all the work. They should at lease half the amount of workload.

 

[BeautifulAngel]

Also favouritism, I was on this website and I have been a member on there for a few months now and they favouritise so badly that others have left because of it.



For exemple we have like a featured member or a member of the month, and the votes are supposed to be for members who are active, who participate and who also keep the forums happy and positive, yet the admins all picked people they knew in real life because they knew them more, however me and this other guys activity was tied and my posts for the month were the highest. And I'm not angry or upset that I'm not winning, I'm just upset and a a bit angry that they favoritise, it makes me want to quit the site. Oh and for they favourites they bend the rules a lot more then if you aren't there favs. I hate it, it's so pathetic.

 

[Skillet]

Here are a few of mine to add:

• Lack of creativity
  
• Lack of interest
  
• Indecisive
  
• Unorganized
  
• Setting unrealistic expectations (for a new site)
  
• Bad temperment/attitude problem
  
• Relying on staff alone to keep the forum going
  
• Not open to suggestions from staff and members
  
• Opening, closing, opening, closing (well you get the idea)
  

Great list there.

 

[Spudster]

Yes, Great List

I use to Play that basically stupid open/close/open/shut But ive learnt to atick with one forum, The biggest a forum would last of mybe would be 2 weeks then that would be the end of that.



My current forum is now 1 month hope i can reach it to many years and success