What makes an Admin a Good Admin?

[Sylar]

what kind of skills/attitude makes an admin on a forum a good admin?
what kind of things and treatment do you expect from a good admin?  

the things i think what makes you a good admin

- respect
Treat your staff and members with respect. If you want them to show you some respect because you are the admin, you gotta return the favour. Admins that are complete assholes are not loved. Only fools stand by their side but probably are bitching about the admin behind their back at the same time anyway.  It happens...

- don't ignore
It's just rude. Though, i can slightly understand you would be ignoring a crazy kid thats only acting like an attention whore... sometimes ignorning is the only option you basically got left then but anyhow... Don't ignore your members and staff. Just do not do that. If you are busy at the moment, tell them you are busy.... send them a quick note and say you will get back to them later when you have the time..... It only takes a few seconds to send such message but a lot of people don't even bother to do that... i understand there are times when you just fed up with everything and life is not good for you.... you don't feel like doing anything.... i get it, we all do im sure .... but don't you think its just completely ridiculous if a staff or member sends you a question or any other message for that matter ... and they have to wait for an answer like 3 weeks or so... at least take the time to tell them that you saw their message and you will respond back to it asap...

- show appreciation
Your staff and members deserve this. Show them some appreciation from time to time.... that they are there, active and awesome.
Without them you wouldn't be on the forum being an admin....without members and staff your forum is nothing and you wouldnt have anything to do as admin.... Say thank you when people do stuff for you.... don't demand your staff members to do everything for you so you can sit back and relax all the time... etc etc

- be active
You don't need to be the one with the most posts around... If you  have a busy life , i say just post here and there once in a while ... if you are not that busy at all... id say be just as post active as most members are.... get in the spirit, throw yourself out there and become close with the people in the community you created ... or else it would be just a waste if you ask me... Also, members and staff on a forum like to see admins active because really, if you don't post that much around on your own forum, what does that tell them? You not care enough to take the time everyday, like 10 mins even so, to post around and see whats going on , on your own dang forum... common!
Also, i think activity also stands for admins creating events etc for their own forum every once in a while... i mean sure you can ask your staff members to do it all but what you suppose to do then? Don't you wanna interact with the members?

- don't be bossy
Don't act like a dictator. Don't let all the staff do everything for you and the forum, because thats just wrong. Don't expect them to be ready and standby to help you out 24/7 ... Ask them politely if they are capable of doing this or that and if they are available at the moment....

- don't procrastinate too much
Do things you are suppose to do and only you can do because they can only be done with admin access...
I get it , we all do it once in a while, maybe we procrastinate all day every day... but sometimes some things just need to get done. If you don't give a shit any longer about all of it, the forum and your duties as admin, than don't be an admin and let someone else take over that does care... for the sake of the awesome forum you created and its community. Its that simple.
I understand that if you are busy at the time , you will most likely procrastinate on your admin duties .... thats okay
just try to figure out WHEN YOU WILL have the time and do the stuff later on.... don't put it aside and be like whatever.... because then you are just gonna forget about the stuff and others will probably  get frustrated because they think you don't care as much

remember, this is my point of view on the things i listed up
feel free to disagree with me and post your own opinion on stuff if you wanna
​

 

[+paradox]

nice post...

 

[Jazzy]

Great post with great advice. I have nothing to add.

 

[HyperActive]

Great post. I totally agree. A good admin needs to be there for their members. Members come first, just like in a business, customers come first.

You need to respond to your members and take their suggestions into consideration. I've seen forums with "Feedback/Suggestion" sections, and admins automatically ignore the topics there. What's the point in having that type of forum if you'll just ignore the people actually visiting and using your site.

 

[Nebulous's iconNebulous]

what kind of skills/attitude makes an admin on a forum a good admin?
what kind of things and treatment do you expect from a good admin?  

the things i think what makes you a good admin

- respect
Treat your staff and members with respect. If you want them to show you some respect because you are the admin, you gotta return the favour. Admins that are complete assholes are not loved. Only fools stand by their side but probably are bitching about the admin behind their back at the same time anyway.  It happens...

- don't ignore
It's just rude. Though, i can slightly understand you would be ignoring a crazy kid thats only acting like an attention whore... sometimes ignorning is the only option you basically got left then but anyhow... Don't ignore your members and staff. Just do not do that. If you are busy at the moment, tell them you are busy.... send them a quick note and say you will get back to them later when you have the time..... It only takes a few seconds to send such message but a lot of people don't even bother to do that... i understand there are times when you just fed up with everything and life is not good for you.... you don't feel like doing anything.... i get it, we all do im sure .... but don't you think its just completely ridiculous if a staff or member sends you a question or any other message for that matter ... and they have to wait for an answer like 3 weeks or so... at least take the time to tell them that you saw their message and you will respond back to it asap...

- show appreciation
Your staff and members deserve this. Show them some appreciation from time to time.... that they are there, active and awesome.
Without them you wouldn't be on the forum being an admin....without members and staff your forum is nothing and you wouldnt have anything to do as admin.... Say thank you when people do stuff for you.... don't demand your staff members to do everything for you so you can sit back and relax all the time... etc etc

- be active
You don't need to be the one with the most posts around... If you  have a busy life , i say just post here and there once in a while ... if you are not that busy at all... id say be just as post active as most members are.... get in the spirit, throw yourself out there and become close with the people in the community you created ... or else it would be just a waste if you ask me... Also, members and staff on a forum like to see admins active because really, if you don't post that much around on your own forum, what does that tell them? You not care enough to take the time everyday, like 10 mins even so, to post around and see whats going on , on your own dang forum... common!
Also, i think activity also stands for admins creating events etc for their own forum every once in a while... i mean sure you can ask your staff members to do it all but what you suppose to do then? Don't you wanna interact with the members?

- don't be bossy
Don't act like a dictator. Don't let all the staff do everything for you and the forum, because thats just wrong. Don't expect them to be ready and standby to help you out 24/7 ... Ask them politely if they are capable of doing this or that and if they are available at the moment....

- don't procrastinate too much
Do things you are suppose to do and only you can do because they can only be done with admin access...
I get it , we all do it once in a while, maybe we procrastinate all day every day... but sometimes some things just need to get done. If you don't give a shit any longer about all of it, the forum and your duties as admin, than don't be an admin and let someone else take over that does care... for the sake of the awesome forum you created and its community. Its that simple.
I understand that if you are busy at the time , you will most likely procrastinate on your admin duties .... thats okay
just try to figure out WHEN YOU WILL have the time and do the stuff later on.... don't put it aside and be like whatever.... because then you are just gonna forget about the stuff and others will probably  get frustrated because they think you don't care as much

remember, this is my point of view on the things i listed up
feel free to disagree with me and post your own opinion on stuff if you wanna

I agree, good logic there.

 

[Duskpire]

Very good read.

 

[Wonko]

Spot on advice, shame so many wannabe admins just don't make the grade because they don't understand the advice given above by Slayer.

 

[#assassin]

I agree. Being a part of your forum is very important, i.e., posting, making topics, getting to know your members, etc.

 

[Smiley]

I definitely agree with every point, and would like to add one of my own, something I've noticed some administrators tend to do. I suppose it could fit into 'respect', or 'don't be bossy' category, but I feel like it needs to be specifically pointed out, since there are plenty of administrators out there who are "guilty" of that "crime".


Be approachable

Basically, don't play god. Make your members (both staff and regular) feel like they can talk to you without the fear of you flipping out on them, or simply dismissing them because you outrank them. Even if you think you're approachable, your members might not perceive you that way. Every single detail counts, ranging from your avatar and user title to your posting style, the way you express yourself.

For example, when I see an administrator or a moderator using a picture of someone (or something) that looks serious (or even angry) as an avatar, maybe even with a user title that says something like "The Boss", or "Hater of... [insert something the person hates here]", or whatever, it automatically makes me wanna turn around and go back the way I came from.

First impression is incredibly important in human interaction, especially on the Internet where the facial expressions and body language don't exist.

When posting, always make sure to avoid coming off as aggressive, arrogant, condescending, self-righteous, or just generally as an a**hole. If you want to make a joke, be sure to clearly mark it as such with an appropriate smiley (err, not with me ), especially if you're making a joke at one of your member's expense. If you don't, the person on a receiving end of your stick might take it serious and get offended. And not everyone will accept your apology, assuming you even offer one, which lots of administrators don't do, but prefer to swing the blame on the member they offended by accusing them of being immature and as such unable or unwilling to take a joke, or something similar. That's a capital mistake.


I could now list more examples of what do to and what not to do, how to behave and how not to behave, but it can all be summed up to this: Don't think you're better than anyone else just because you pay for the software license, server costs, own & manage the whole place and have a fancy badge below your user name that says "Administrator", because you're not

You're a flesh & blood human like everyone else. The only difference between you and your members is the fact you have the luxury of getting rid of them whenever you feel like, and they don't have the luxury of doing the same to you. If you think that power makes you some kind of god, and everyone should bow down to you just because you're trigger-happy with a banhammer, then I'm afraid, to use a popular meme:

Spoiler

Your Honor, I rest my case. Would the defense like to cross-examine the witness?

 

[Icetex's iconIcetex]

or not being complete otter Asshole

 

[Mortiferr]

Great post. I totally agree. A good admin needs to be there for their members. Members come first, just like in a business, customers come first.

You need to respond to your members and take their suggestions into consideration. I've seen forums with "Feedback/Suggestion" sections, and admins automatically ignore the topics there. What's the point in having that type of forum if you'll just ignore the people actually visiting and using your site.

Hey, I remember you from ForumPeak