[Debate] Why do you want to be an admin?

[🎶Sossity🎶]

The role of admin came my way, by default, around 18 mths ago.
The original admin lost interest in the topic/subject. She canvassed her co-admins and mods' with the offers to run the forum. However, none were prepared to take it on.

That's where I came in! Very green about the internet. At that point, I was, basically, only posting on forums and reading/sending e-mails!
Since then, I've come a long way...had to!! ;D I've now got the confidence to try things and hav even set up my own website!

Many thanks to Proboards for making things easier for the likes of me. The support has been excellent!!!

Looking at this from a fresh prospective, I'd want to be an admin, as this position allows you to dictate/lead the direction in which you'd like the topic of your forum to go.

It's a great learning curve though, especially, if (like me) you've taken over a large, established, and successful forum.

[Former Member]

I learned the hard way that a lot of respect is lost when you're just a member. I was in a writing/role playing forum for a couple months on PB... I was twice as active as the admin, but that didn't bother me too much. It was just that I came up with a list of ideas and suggestions, and she basically acted like they were her own and put them up. I was undestimated, so I just left. No note, or anything. I mean, she was revered because of her literacy and rank, so my word against hers would have been meaningless. I started my own forum, let my ideas flow, and I make sure to give credit to members who have good ideas, even if I don't use them. Making everyone feel like rank is just a name and the only difference is that moderators and the admin have responsibilities is important to me.

[WunderBunny]

I was invited to join the admin team because I have ideas and motivation to improve the forum. It is obviously more work to be an admin (over an ordinary member). I find it satisfying to express my creativity and put my ideas into action. It is a great feeling when they work. It makes the members happy. I am lucky to have reasonably well-behaved members (good debates, few flame wars, no poaching).

The god-like power of being admin can be intoxicating. It takes a mature person to exercise this power with discipline. That is, use the power for purposes of good - not evil.

The support from ProBoards has been very good. That makes my work a lot easier.

[devilinarustyHQ]

My reasons are out of need to help others.
After I lost my son in a car accident, I searched the net for Australian Grief forums. There are a couple but poorly run. (none of them were proboards )
I have a yahoo group running, but I find the yahoo groups were very limited in what you can do with them.
After visiting an American base grief site, I followed a link and decided to create my own forum.
It will start off as just a chat board, but I plan to build a website around it.

[myke]

devilinarustyholde said:

My reasons are out of need to help others.
After I lost my son in a car accident, I searched the net for Australian Grief forums. There are a couple but poorly run. (none of them were proboards )
I have a yahoo group running, but I find the yahoo groups were very limited in what you can do with them.
After visiting an American base grief site, I followed a link and decided to create my own forum.
It will start off as just a chat board, but I plan to build a website around it.

I'm very sorry to hear about the loss of your son. Of all of the posts listing reasons to be a forum admin, I think your is the most honorable.

You'll find ProBoards provides excellent support here on this forum, be it in the support board, the Get Opinions About Your Board board, the graphics design and coding boards etc. so if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask.

I wish you luck with your forum.

[indiemuffin]

I like to be in control. I like the power.

No, I have two forums and for two good reasons. One forum is about art and creativity. People can discuss their/other art and present their/other art. That includes film & animation. It's a mad world out there and many benefit from it (like me)

My second forum (a ProBoard forum) is based on a community I visited before. It's changed now and to be honest, it's bloody awful. But I've brought it back to life with a Redux-forum! And believe me, this is something else. Something special! But mostly for the people from the community I used to visit.

So those are the two forums. I could just join a forum instead of making one, but there are none! That's why. My forums are original.

[The Lamb for the Lion]

I wanted to be and Admin because you are in charge you tell people not to do things. And you get to make up the ideas for the forum the rules and everything. Basically people watch what they say to the Admi nand give respec towards you and thats what I like.

[Evieyanka]

I like the power to but i also wanted to have something that people looked forward to go to.

[Enchant]

babymarine said:

I like the power to but i also wanted to have something that people looked forward to go to.

Please make sure your post is in accordance to the board rules. This is a discussion board not a comment board. Please put a bit more thought into your post. If you cannot make a post with at least 4 sentences, then do not post. Please read and follow the rules. Thank you.

[animeanimal]

conqueringwolf said:

This is something similar to my thread on being an admin or a regular member. What I want to know is what has made you want to be the admin of your forum instead of just joining an already established forum and helping them to be successful? I still see new Harry Potter forums being opened daily along with LOTR and many others where there are already hundreds of forums that exist with the same topic. Do you feel you can create a better forum than the other people who already have one? If so then why do I see so many people in GOAYB coming in asking for rates with default or single color forums and no other customizations and saying they have the best looking forum ever and everyone needs to come check it out. What makes these people want to create a forum if they are not going to put the effort into it to customize it and provide content for their members. They want their members to do all the work for them while they just sit back and say they have made an awesome forum.

So really, what made you want to become the admin of your own forum and has it worked out for you?

Myself I have always had forums that were on topics that there were not many other boards about and those boards that were around I did not much like the design, activity, and overall feel of the forum myself so I created my own in efforts to have a large thriving community that would be of help to others. I take pride in being an admin and providing someone with a community they can be proud of and they want to return to to chat with others.

I wouldn't really want to become an admin. They have too many resoniblilties, and I just don't like people looking up to me, then hating me when I make a mistake. Staff actually have to work, and we members are carefree and have no limits(unless staff tell us so. >.<) Perhaps staff only wanted to become staff just for the privelages.

Pssshhhaa. I'd choose member over staff any day.\

enchant said:

babymarine said:

I like the power to but i also wanted to have something that people looked forward to go to.

Please make sure your post is in accordance to the board rules. This is a discussion board not a comment board. Please put a bit more thought into your post. If you cannot make a post with at least 4 sentences, then do not post. Please read and follow the rules. Thank you.

Example, I don't want to get onto people for breaking rules and such. It must be a workload to keep forums under control.

[Orkahm52]

I didn't really make my forum just because I wanted to own a forum. Honestly, I wouldn't of made mine if I had of found a forum like it that was friendly. I don't mind being an admin, but I'd prefer to just be a moderator or a member even, and not have to worry about the skins, codes, thinking up good threads, and advertising.

So I suppose I wanted to be an admin so I could be part of a friendly forum of this type, and because I thought it would be lots of fun. ( Which it is, at times. )

~Ork.

[Former Member]

I found my self to be admin on my very first forum, about 6 years ago, I was not very good, and then after a cauple of years went by I became to liking it, I even tried other forum providers, and the one that came out the best was PB, as they have better features then the other do! Then 4 years ago I made a forum Final Fantasy Nation (yes it is still going) and since then I started to make my own graphics, and try to make my own codes, but since i still hardly know how to make codes I just use everyone elses. But all the graphics are mine, Then after I got about 100 members on FFN, I became more excited, and the hardness of trying to keep you forum alive is the hardest thing to do, but you just gotta keep up on good ideas. Now I own about 6-10 forums, and help Moderate about 5-8, Ive taken one over, because the main admin went to another provider.

[VoodooBlue]

I started my own board when I was really really annoyed with a way another place was being maintained. Badly, in my opinion. I think it was the desire of having a working community that worked the way I wanted it to, at first. I never thought I was going to be the born admin, and surely I'm not, but I tried and I found I loved being admin and especially creating boards myself. I guess it's nice to have places that work your own way.

[Paper Box]

That's a tough question. I have been admining and moderating forums since I was 13 about 3 years. I know that's not too long, but it's long enough to know what makes a good forum good, and bad forum bad.
I guess why I wanted to be an admin of my own community, is to watch it grow (and be active), and I love giving support, and forums, and if I could own a whole support community, and help people daily, or weekly, I would enjoy that so much, because it's what I have always wanted to do. I also hated how other boards were run, the admins were cruel, and the mods didn't care, and I wanted something better for a community that I would own.

[kelendria]

I started my forum because I didn't like the way another one was run too. I was a Mod there & I got completely crapped on. Plus there was no organisation & people were just taking the media.
I decided I wanted a friendlier commnunity for us all to take about the music we liked.
Unfortunately that said forum was already huge & very popular but I made mine different with more to offer. But since people love to argue (not saying they can't have a debate or a heated discussion on mine) they stayed there after briefly checking mine out.
I've now made it more general with lots of perks but sadly it's just got to the stage of dying out
I'm not a power freak or a gross customiser but I just love running my own forum. I just don't get enough feedback from members as to what it needs, sometimes it takes a fresh eye from someone else to perk it up abit.
Sorry if I'm going off topic