InMyOpinion

Ooooo I love this!!!! I've sent mine out :D Hope everyone enjoys my package 😜 ..... I mean their packages 🥰

Of course! It is REALLY HEALTHY to keep an eye out on your competition no matter what field you're in. It isn't about copying them it's about staying in the loop and learning from what's out there. By keeping an eye on your competition you can: 1. Stay relevant and stay ahead of trends to make sure you are always offering something fresh and updated. 2. It can help you spark innovation and inspiration. If you see what other competitors are offering or doing it may spark ideas for improvements or even a whole new direction you haven't even thought of yet. This has happened to me personally when I was running my own forum years ago, I would keep an eye on my competition to see what was working for them (and not working) and one of their ideas gave me a fantastic idea for a great forum contest I wouldn't have thought of if I hadn't kept an eye on what the competitors were doing. It actually ended up being a huge success and I was thankful that I was able to use a completely different idea to come up with (what seemed like) a better idea. 3. It also helped me realize and find my strengths and weaknesses. Understanding where I stand compared to others helped me highlight what I do best and find areas where I was able to improve. In my opinion it's all about growing and not really comparing. 4. It gave me user insights with how my competitors were interacting with their members which provided me with valuable insight. I could see what they were doing right and where they were falling short. It gave me the chance to step up my own game without making the same mistakes my competition was making. 5. It allowed me to make strategic adjustments. If I seen a competitor launch or try something that's getting a lot of attention it is very important to know so that I can either try to do something similar (though I always try to tweak things so it the exact same as the competition). It also allowed me to adjust my strategy if needed without getting blindsided. All in all I believe keeping an eye on the competition is crucial to your success because you can learn from them and not make the same learning mistakes as they do. You can observe to see what is working, what isn't and it can even help you come up with some of your own creative ideas on how to improve your forum or website. If you aren't aware of what your competition is doing how do you know if what you're doing is better or worse than them? How can you truly know if you are successful or not if you don't know what to compare yourself to?

Yeah I would have a problem with that too. Like you've mentioned if they were honest from the start maybe I'd let it pass (though I wouldn't want 1 person making 2 separate accounts) but then finding out that you've been sending money to the same person just different accounts would be upsetting to say the least.

I think it depends on the theme and whether or not you're able to keep up with a website as well as a forum. I think it could be such a great add-on and way to get people introduced to the forum. If you're going to have a website and forum you have to make sure that everything is updated because if not it's going to look bad and make people not want to log back on.

Honestly cash is the best however I do enjoy having themed prizes such as trophies that are based on the forum theme etc. As for hosting prizes or domain prizes I couldn't care less because I don't have my own forum so those services wouldn't be helpful for me.

I have, I was thinking of starting a makeup forum which I decided against because I have found a makeup forum that I like and there are actually a few Canadian's on there who I've actually worked with on set. Though I must admit it isn't as active as I'd like it to be, and they have been pushing for premium membership (they've asked me twice since I've joined like a month ago). Ultimately, I don't think I'm going to start a makeup forum primarily because I have already found a makeup forum that I enjoy, and I also don't have the time that I can dedicate to being a forum owner. So for now just posting on a makeup forum is good enough.

I was an early 90's kid. Love the fact that I grew up before all of the technology and phones to be honest lol

As mentioned above, attending workshops, joining forums and being observant, reading about forums and learning more about what makes a forum successful as well as what makes a forum unsuccessful.

There is a lot that can make someone a bad community owner. Someone who isn't willing to listen or learn. I see this A LOT where the forum owner doesn't listen to feedback from other staff or members. I have met some pretty stubborn forum owners who think they know everything about owning a forum, so they ignore crucial feedback. Someone who is unwilling to work with others I've also seen some forum owners who are difficult to work for or mistreat their staff or even expect a lot from the staff when they themselves don't do much for the forum. Someone who only cares about stats I see this A LOT and it is why a lot of forums fail in my opinion. They care more about the stats than they do their members and adding value to the forum. If you only care about stats then forum owning isn't for you. Those are the only things I can think of right now however I'm sure there is a lot more forum owners can do to make them a bad community owner.

When your forum is going through a slow period and you have few posts a day from members do you ever get annoyed if one member is just posting like crazy around your forum? Does it make your forum look slower when one member member just reply to a bunch of posts and their name is basically taking over most threads and posts of each category? Do you encourage it? For me I would love that but only if the posts and threads added value to the forum. If the member is only posting a few word replies and a phrase reply I would kind of feel like they are posting for the sake of getting their post count up and not really caring to add value to the forum. I would still be thankful that they are posting during such a slow period but I would also want to post in the same threads and reply to previous poster(s) to try to encourage them to log back on and continue to be active. I will forever be thankful for posters, and as long as they aren't spamming the forum I wouldn't mind if they wanted to reply to every single thread, it helps with forum stats and at least one person is getting joy out of the forum, even if they aren't posting long posts they are still contributing so I still appreciate them being part of the community and forum.

I'll be honest, if I have a troublesome ex mod and they reapplied I would kindly decline their offer. I would let them know that it wouldn't necessarily be a no forever, but for right now I do not need their help. I'd also let them know that I'd like to see x,y and z completed before I would consider them. For example, if the troublesome ex mod was being troublesome by being rude or mean to members I'd likely remind the ex mod that that behaviour is not acceptable on the forums and I would like to see a change in their behaviour and the way they treat people before I'd reconsider them. If the ex mod was being troublesome by being power hungry then again I would explain to them that that kind of behaviour is not acceptable and that if they want their job back (and I needed the help) that we would start off slow and with very minimal power/mod access. Go from there and see if they have changed or not. If the ex mod created a lot of havoc, drama and affected a lot of members/the forum in a very distasteful way then I would have no problem telling said ex mod that I am not interested in having them as a mod on the forum. After all the forum isn't anything without my members and I want my members to have a great experience while on my forum. That being said, if any of my mods were being harmful to my forum and they didn't seem willing to work on things I would demote them. I can replace mods easier than I can replace new active members after a member poisons a forum.

I agree with this. Yes, there may be a lot of the same niche or themes but sometimes competition is good. However, if every forum you go on seems to be the same threads and the same posts then really it can seem boring and overdone.

I would definitely wish them well and thank them for being a part of the community. If the thread starts to be more of a drama type post or they are being disrespectful or calling people names then I would definitely delete the thread. However, if it was just a farewell post or them letting the forum know that they will no longer be posting then I would allow it.

Good luck with the forum =) It looks nice and fun! Unfortunately, I am not online enough to sign up and be active but I do see potential in your forum :D

This service is currently unavailable throughout the Christmas Holidays; it will be available again in the new year. Thank you for your understanding, I look forward to your requests in January.

I have completed your forum review =) Thank you ❤️

Congratulations [mention=62]Ravenfreak[/mention] for the promotion =)

6

I have completed your review, thank you for your patience you can checkout the review here -> https://administrata.net/topsites/rts-hq.6/reviews Thank you! I will get right on that :D

16 please =)

Let’s Talk Admin Wins and Woes: What’s Your Most Memorable Moment? Hey fellow Admins, 👋 I know we’re all pros at juggling 100 things at once, (I forgot how much time, planning and dedication it takes) from dealing with impossible deadlines to keeping teams on track (and somehow making it look effortless). But let’s be real—this job is anything but boring or easy. I thought it’d be fun to swap stories. What’s your most unforgettable moment in admin? Maybe you pulled off a last-minute miracle, dealt with a bizarre request, or simply had a day where everything fell into place. (Or didn’t—those count, too!) I’ll go first: A couple of years ago, I was an admin on a forum, and they were going to hide Easter Eggs around the forum for a scavenger hunt. Unfortunately, the night that we were setting it up we ran into a lot of issues with trying to code the eggs on certain posts/threads. At one point I just decided to scratch the original plan and then just create small egg pictures and hide them in different forum threads and replies. It turned out to be a huge hit AND it worked 💪 Your turn—spill the tea! P.S. Feel free to drop tips and lessons learned, too. I’m all ears for ways to keep leveling up. 🙌

Can I purchase a service but use it at a different date? I already asked for the free service I got through Deal or No Deal but I'd also like to purchase some more services =)

I love this forum so I will definitely participate in this =) My starting post count is 112 (113 after this one)

This is amazing =) thank you so much for these great deals

Thankfully I've never had to "sack" any staff as it sounds like it can get pretty awkward. I always hired people/members who were on other forums and didn't seem to let the power get to their heads.