Admin Or Member?

[Anatoly]

Apr 23, 2016 7:56:03 GMT -8 Matt said:

Apr 23, 2016 7:51:49 GMT -8 Anatoly said:

you might don't understand: Admmins do more then Moderators

Sorry, I'm not sure what you are trying to say, but you shouldn't ban someone just for the point of banning them, if you want your forum to be successful you should only ban members when absolutely necessary.
I only ban users on my forum when I have to, but I usually give members warnings before banning them.

lol i do the same, but if necessary, i love bans, keeping forum clean etc.

[Jamie lawrence]

May 31, 2006 15:34:36 GMT -8 ∞ ConqueringWolf ∞ said:

It seems to me that a lot of people who are making forums don't have the proper personality to run a forum and would probably be better off as a member of another forum and helping to make it more successful than to be an admin of their own.

I see people who throw on the first generic template they can download off the first graphics site they come across and then they throw up a few general boards and proclaim their self as the greatest forum in the world. Personally I believe one of the keys to success for a forum is a unique look that distinguishes itself from someone who just uses a template that 2,000 other boards already use. If an admin cares enough to run a good quality forum they should be willing to spend the time to learn how to design it their self so they can offer something unique to their members and also offer upgrades and changes in the future.

I also see admins who refuse to post in their forum saying, "I am waiting until I get members and then they will start posting on their own". I know from experience that members will not just come in to an empty forum and start making threads on their own. If they have something that interests them enough to reply to then they will join to do so. Once your forum becomes active and new topics are made every day then new members will come in and start new topics and join in on the fun but never will they do that with a forum that is starting off with no topics or posts. Forum activity should be driven as equally if not more by the forum admin than anyone else.

You also need patience to run a forum and I see too many people who say, "I have had my forum for a week and I don't have any members". If you are not willing to suffer with your forum and endure with it for months at a time with no or little activity then maybe you shouldn't be an admin.

Basically not everyone is cut out to put in all the time, effort, and stress that is required to run a successful forum and they would be much better off if they were just a member on a forum that they enjoyed and were helping the admin of that forum create a successful forum.

So before you create a forum, ask yourself; are you an admin or a better member?

Well said mate totally agree with you their

[Tix Mascot]

I was a member of several forums before I started my own. I knew nothing about forum building at the time, though, but I was eager to provide people with a better debate arena than the ones I had participated in before. So I searched a lot, tried a lot and failed a lot. I studied many forums and learned from mistakes, both my own and others.

I also studied SEO and different ways to promite a site. Slowly, my forum began to take shape. I could use my creativity to the benefit of others in a way that I never would have been able to as an ordinary member of another forum.

Over the last year, I have taught myself some coding, to add a uniqueness to my site in an attempt to make it stand out from its sisters in the hope that this will draw more trafffic, but so far, I haven't experienced the intended success.

I know that I both have the necessary personality and also the qualification to be a good admin, with my college degree and long career as a logistics administrator + background as a teacher and journalist. Now, I'm looking for the other type of people mentioned in this thread, namely active members that want to be something more, but lack basic admin skills. I can train them and at the same time benefit from their eagerness to make a difference by offering them their own topic board.

[Eaglenz]

All I gotta say is, you need to be both an admin and a member. You must be there for your members when they need your decisions, you need to be there for them at all times. You put a responsability in your name, handle it properly, honour your name and the name of your forum. Otherwise, you shouldn't create a forum in the first place if you aren't willing to devote yourself to it. That's what being an admin is.

But then there's the part that requires you to be a member as well. You're not a robot, you're a human being, you have aspirations, you have passions, you have a normal life like everyone else. I don't want to act nor be treated like a robot. I don't go on my forum just to see if people are misbehaving, then go away. No. I post like a normal member, I interact with everyone, make jokes, engage in everything. Admins are usually fish out of the water. I must admit I kind of pride myself in being actually one of the people behind the new trends around my forum. I bring in new stuff for them, I take part in everything. There are like, literally no threads in my forum I haven't posted in. It would be ridiculous to assume I have 11,000 posts and all of them are robotic admin attitude. I engage with my community and that is what being a great admin is. People naturally fear robotic admins. I don't want my members to fear me, I want them to see me as someone who's just like them. The only difference is, I handle the responsabilities myself along with my staff to make sure they don't need to handle it themselves, making it a better place for them. It's kind of... a form of courtesy. Being an admin is more than just handling conflicts, enforcing rules, coding plugins. It's about making your members feel good about your forum.

You can't do it half heartedly. You must love what you do.

[bricabrach]

Aug 16, 2016 15:54:31 GMT -8 Eaglenz said:

All I gotta say is, you need to be both an admin and a member. You must be there for your members when they need your decisions, you need to be there for them at all times. You put a responsibility in your name, handle it properly, honor your name and the name of your forum. Otherwise, you shouldn't create a forum in the first place if you aren't willing to devote yourself to it. That's what being an admin is.  ... 

    Absolutely!  For my part I'm merely a member of two (guess) dino-themed forums, and find joy in simply posting.  The admin of one of these is doing an excellent job in all aspects.  The forum has a well-made layout, reasonable rules, and regular innovations.  This is much appreciated by all.   Edit:  This unfortunately has since changed.

But then there's the part that requires you to be a member as well. You're not a robot, you're a human being, you have aspirations, you have passions, you have a normal life like everyone else. I don't want to act nor be treated like a robot. I don't go on my forum just to see if people are misbehaving, then go away. No. I post like a normal member, I interact with everyone, make jokes, engage in everything. Admins are usually fish out of the water. I must admit I kind of pride myself in being actually one of the people behind the new trends around my forum. I bring in new stuff for them, I take part in everything. There are like, literally no threads in my forum I haven't posted in. It would be ridiculous to assume I have 11,000 posts and all of them are robotic admin attitude. I engage with my community and that is what being a great admin is. People naturally fear robotic admins. I don't want my members to fear me, I want them to see me as someone who's just like them. The only difference is, I handle the responsibilities myself along with my staff to make sure they don't need to handle it themselves, making it a better place for them. It's kind of... a form of courtesy. Being an admin is more than just handling conflicts, enforcing rules, coding plugins. It's about making your members feel good about your forum.



You can't do it half heartedly. You must love what you do.

     Yes, when the admin posts as a member it makes a huge difference.  In the second forum, there's not much activity by anyone, including the admin.  Us handful of active members don't complain yet it I find it discouraging -- especially considering the time I've invested in this one, with 900 1200+ posts, many with original art and such.  Oh well, sorry for the mini-rant.  Really, it's someone else's problem.

Edit 2020/07/03:  Now both of the forums I'm involved with are dying, yet I cannot blame either of their admins.  The real problem is there simply not enough interest in their respective subjects to attract members and keep them posting.  That's just classic forum death, pure and simple.

[bricabrach]

Jun 30, 2020 18:18:45 GMT -8 @loverofcatsandfooty said:

Tend to disagree with plenty of people in here who probably should be re-assessing how they run their forums.
Many admins that do what is right don't need to do anything.
Those that need to are the ones that complain too much because they don't have a fair set of rules. ...

     Yes, if the admin makes more rules than needed, and especially rules that appear draconian, it's as if they want their forum to die.