InMyOpinion

The only things that I had to put off limits on my forum was extreme vulgarity and anything racist. For the most part the members wouldn't push the envelope sort of speak but there was one member in particular that I would have to remind them of the rules.

[ATTACH type=full" size="1024x1024]402[/ATTACH] Here’s an image that visually represents what your current life might look like, capturing the cozy and organized atmosphere of your home, along with details reflecting your creative and structured lifestyle. Let me know if you’d like any adjustments or additions! I'll be honest, when I have clients over that's what my kitchen table looks like. Makeup everywhere lol. I may have a chore list and I am an ENFP-A personality type. I love have they have an organizer in the back because I honestly love things organized (all my markers are colour coordinated and all of my art stuff is organized. All in all I must say this is pretty accurate. [mention=2]Al[/mention] I love how gray they made your hair lmfao

Number 12, 14, 21, 22 & 25 please

Love this thread! I'll be honest when I would run my forum (more than 10 years ago) I was not aware of all of these tips and tricks. Luckily I never really created any skins or coding myself so it never had been an issue for me. But these are amazing tips and tricks to keep in mind to help your forum & community running quickly and smoothly. Thank you for sharing this [mention=5]Cpvr[/mention]

I'll be honest with you, in the past I've struggled with getting loyal members to be active on the forum but I also realize now that there could have been things that I could have implemented that would have made a good difference . I agree that having loyal members is important because they are the ones that are going to help shape the forum/community and they will also be the ones staying active. There are a lot of loyalty building things you can do such as events, contests, recognitions etc. to help encourage and motivate members. I haven't owned my own forum in almost a decade so I must say I've learned a lot about forums and management in that time. I feel like if I were to re-open a community/forum I would have a better run at it this time, though I'll be honest I don't have the time to run a successful forum at this time. Loved your question! Think it's a fantastic thing to think about.

I haven't run my own community in close to 10 years now but I remember the thing I would struggle with the most is keeping active members. Socia media wasn't what it was today and advertising was a little more difficult. I also found it difficult to find the time to stay incredibly active as my life got busier and more demanding. I always struggled with activity and though I admit some of it was my fault (I should have done more research) I always found that it was difficult to compete with thousands of other similar forums to mine, especially if their stats were more flattering than mine. I think all in all, it was difficult to not only find new members but to want to keep them on a forum that was similar to many many many other forums. If I were to make a forum today I would implement certain things to make the forum more unique and be a better experience to the members. Wow I am soo sorry to hear that. That would be soul crushing especially after working so hard and being so dedicated for so long. Sounds like you really knew how to run an active community though so good on you =) What is the one thing you miss the most about running that community? I can understand that. One thing I keep in mind though is the forum values and whether or not that members actions can hinder my forum in any way. I wouldn't discipline the member in public or on the forum (I would send them a PM with a warning and an explanation as to why what they did was wrong or incorrect and then add in the kind of behaviour/atmosphere I am looking for in an ideal member. It can be tricky and yes sometimes it can mean that that member no longer logs on or is active but in my eyes I've kind of avoided something that could have gotten a lot worse. To me my members experience on the forum is my priority so if a member is going to sabotage that then I need to take some action before my forum becomes a crap shoot and the only people that are posting are hecklers. I agree, that can happen. Though I would still suggest to take action before it becomes too much of a problem or it may affect the activity on your forum. Some people don't take discipline very well and they don't appreciate feedback and that's okay. But is that really your ideal member? And if two members leave because I've punished a member for repeated behaviour then so be it. I may have just dodged a bullet in the sense that the other members that left could have been a potential issue to my forum in the long run. It's never easy or exciting to take action against another member but one thing you have to keep in mind is your bottom line or your mission statement. If the member is going against your mission statement or what you want for your community then it may do more harm than good to let those behaviours slide. I can understand that. Once the members have what they want they don't have a reason to come back. Is there a way to make it so people will need updates for these skins or codes? If so that may be a way to have them keep coming back. Another thing I can think of is when there is a skin that comes out that is similar to one a member already downloaded or used you can contact that member to let them know there are new skins and codes and you think they may love the updates. etc. All the best to your forum Cory =) If I knew more about coding or skins I would sign up but I'm honestly so confused when it comes to that stuff lol.

For being open about a half a month you do have good stats =) I hope you're able to find people to fill the moderator position

I would love case number 16 please =) Thank you so much

Same! I'd love to have summer or spring all year long lol the cold is horrible and should be banished lol Hahaha YESSSS oh my that's one thing I don't miss from working in an office was all the stupid meetings that would turn into hours of getting nothing done really.

I have just entered my nomination. =)

I am annoyed by the weather :P It won't make up it's mind and I can never get warm enough :P

I am soo excited for this! This will help encourage members to be active and want to be a part of the community. Great idea Cedric =) The the link you provided in the original post doesn't work and has an error code. :(

Indeed I have used it on my phone and I must say, I LOVE it 🥰

This is an excellent idea and can help make the service feel more genuine and organic. Such a great idea and I'm sure a lot of people will take advantage of it. Thank you for being so amazing and trying to give community owners the best service possible.

This is an amazing service and the discount makes it even more sweet! Thank you [mention=1]Cedric[/mention] & the team [mention=21]Debashis[/mention] [mention=53]ken_gitahi[/mention] and [mention=48]Nomad[/mention] for making this kind of service possible! ❤️ Currently I do not need any services but it's always nice to know that it's there if I need it.

Hello ConradKenzee! Welcome to Administrata, I am also new to the forum =) How long have you had your forum for? I look forward to seeing you around the forum, cheers!

I love the points that you made in this article. ❤️ So many new forum owners fall into these mistakes and then wonder why they aren't achieving as much activity as they had expected or wanted. It's challenging to be a community leader, or a leader in general but it can be extremely rewarding when things are coming along and going as hoped and planned. It just takes a bit more awareness and research. Now going off the article and expressing my thoughts/opinions to the key points. [HEADING=1]Choosing an Over-Saturated Site Topic[/HEADING] A lot of people make the mistake of having a forum genre that MANY other people have. What will you do specifically to stand out from the crowd and make people want to join your forum vs. the many other options that they have. Sometimes it can be good to have a forum topic that is popular or well-known as it may be a bit easier to get some members at first, however whether or not they become a loyal long-term member is another thing. Making Too Many Categories and Forums Many forum owners want to make sure that there community covers everything, and that's okay. There is a way to do that where the forum doesn't feel cluttered or over-whelming. Maybe get some sub-categories or make the forums a little more general and less specific. People can be turned off by overwhelming them with too many options. Sometimes having a bit more narrow of options is a good thing. Plus it can also help your forum seem a bit more active. Waiting For Posts To Come Rolling In I see this time and time again where forum owners spend lots of time and effort setting up their forums and as soon as they launch their forum they expect it to be the next hot thing and people are going to be signing up to their community like it's a free all you can eat buffet. But unfortunately that is rarely ever the truth. It takes time and consistency for you to build a community and an active spot. Usually when a restaurant opens it's doors for the first time they don't have a constant flow of customers walking in the doors. It's something that the business owners need to promote, they need to upsell etc. With forums it's important that even though the forum may not be as active as the forum owner would like it, they should still post and keep things up to date. You want people to want to come and join, register and be a part of the fun, they don't want to see that no one has posted in the last 2 weeks. It may be a struggle at first but it's all about promoting your community so people know about and then making the members experience amazing so they want to keep coming back. Too Many Chiefs, No Indians Unfortunately, I see this WAY too often in newer forum communities. It's good that you want to have staff members and people to help you run your forum and community but having too many staff can actually hinder your community. Think of a grocery store, I'm sure they have managers & workers, but do they have more managers/workers than customers? No, because that wouldn't make any sense. When setting up a forum don't make the mistake of over staffing because not only can it be overwhelming to new members but it can make your forum look less active because only staff are posting on a regular. Heavy Promotion and General Begging Promoting your business, community or forum is always a good thing but there is such thing as being pushing and over promoting. There is a place and time and as a forum owner you need to figure out when those times are and how you're going to promote. Are you going to post on social media, are you going to make posters, are you going to post on other forums etc. Neglecting Mobile Responsiveness Most people have phones and generally use them more than their laptops so it's crucial that you not only have a mobile friendly forum but that the experience on the forum through the phone is just as good as if they were on their laptiop. [HEADING=1]Neglecting User Engagement and Community Building[/HEADING] As a forum owner it is up to you to set the standards on what you want for your community and that means that you have to be engaged and know what's going on with your members, staff and forum. Again, think of your community as you would a restaurant owner, you don't just create a restaurant and then sit back and let everyone else do everything. Of course, you need to delegate some tasks and it's good that you don't do EVERYTHING especially when the community is booming and active. BUT you also have to be present and engage with the members. Not only will it help increase posts/threads but members will want to support a forum owner that they know (or get to know from around the forum) then an absent forum owner they know nothing about. [HEADING=1]Allowing Spam and Inappropriate Content[/HEADING] By allowing this you are telling your members and potential members that you have no standards and no control. That this is a free for all and no one is held accountable. It's a horrible thing to do because it shows laziness and incompetence. [HEADING=1]Neglecting Regular Updates and Maintenance[/HEADING] Once more, think of your forum like a restaurant. If you don't do the maintenance and updates on the vats, ovens, tables, chairs, staff etc. your place will eventually fall a part and people won't want to come by anymore because it's no longer what they are looking for in a restaurant. Keeping it up to date lets members know that you are still active on the forum even if you aren't able to post as much as you'd like. It also lets members know that you find your community worthy of updating and maintenance and that you care about your community. If a community is out of date and things aren't working correctly people aren't going to want to join and the members won't want to continue to log on. Instead give them a good reason to come back regularly and grow with the community. Conclusion I know I didn't touch all the topics that the article had, however these are just the topics that I had something to add. Thanks again [mention=1]Cedric[/mention] for this amazing article.

It can be very easy for members to lose sight of what the values of the forum/community are if the staff and community owner don't encourage or share with the community what the expectations/values are. How do you encourage members to create content that aligns with your community’s values? A great way to encourage members to create content that aligns with your community's values is by liking and quoting posts that you find are the type of posts/threads that you are looking for and wanting on your forum. You can even host "event's" where you can encourage members to post topics that align with your forums values and expectations. What strategies do you use to foster the type of discussions you want, without stifling creativity or freedom of expression? Hosting events and liking threads/posts that you would like to continue to see around your forum. When content starts to drift away from your community’s purpose, how do you handle it without discouraging participation? Hosting events, don't pay as much attention to the post that don't align with the forums values, Do you think it’s possible to guide content creation while still keeping the atmosphere welcoming and open? Of course! You don't have to be rude or pushy about the values however if you encourage good behaviour members will continue the good behaviour.

Hi Khan, I'm also living in Canada! It's nice to have another fellow Canadian on the forums =) I'm sorry to hear about your African grey parrot, I'm sure he was an amazing pet. I look forward to seeing you around the forum eh! Cheers

This is an amazing question and I think that every community should have a mission statement. It's a great idea for everyone involved to know what exactly they want to accomplish or what to aim for. If you don't have a mission statement you don't really have anything to gauge whether you're staying true to your community/forum/etc. Also with a mission statement everyone is clear on what the purpose of the community is. Is the purpose of the community to empower, to spread knowledge, or is it to talk about your favourite hockey players? If you don't know what the purpose of having your community is, it's going to be extremely difficult to build an ideal community and how would you measure success? Can it attract like-minded people who align with your community's values? Yes of course! If people know what your mission statement is they will know whether or not they want to support that statement, business or community. A mission statement is also important so you know who your ideal clients/customers/users are. On the flip side, does a mission statement risk sounding too corporate or rigid for online spaces that thrive on organic interactions? I don't think so, if you were to be strict and only allow your users to speak or post about something that relates to your mission statement, then yes, I can see that having an impact. But by just stating what the mission or community goal is, it's not going to have a huge impact. How important is a clear sense of purpose for long-term sustainability? I think it's extremely important because how will you ever be able to measure success if you don't know what you're aiming for or what you're looking to accomplish. With a clear mission statement you'll know how to gauge if what you're currently doing is working or isn't and what you need to change or improve to get you closer to your mission statement. I believe having a mission statement is almost crucial in order to have a successful forum & community because you'll know whether or not you're staying true to what your over all goal for the community is. I loved this question! Thank you so much Cedric for asking it.

I think it all depends on the kind of forum you want. If you're looking for more people and less intimate conversations than a bigger active forum is what you're looking for. If you want a more community like feel with not a lot of different faces than a smaller community is what would be best for you. It all depends on the person and what they are looking for. As for me, I prefer a bit of a middle ground. I enjoy the smaller community feel but I also want to meet new people every now and again. It also helps when I'm not the only one posting or replying to threads. So I'm looking for the sweet middle where it isn't too busy and hectic but there is some activity on the forum.

Okay =)

I LOVE this idea! :love: I would love to play please :D

Hi Debashis, Just curious, are their forum themes that intrigue you or you would prefer working on? Are there any themes that you are not interested in or would rather not work on? I think it would be a good idea to add these to your original post just so people who are looking to hire you for your forum services know what may be more your thing or something that you may not want to work on. Thanks =) Good luck!

So I LOVE horror but I was wondering if the moderators have to be gamers or play these horror games. Like I said I LOVE horror though I'm not much of a gamer lol.