Strong communities are built on shared goals and trust.
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Preferred Host?
I remember when you used Linode. I've always used Dreamhost myself. More than 15 years. They get a lot of flack but have always treated me right. They're also quick to give me support and they even explain to me what happened if I get downtime.- Shawn Gossman
- Post #6
- Forum: Platform Empowerment & Customization
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Your Most Recent Purchase
House shoes. My first pair. My wife doesn't like my cold feet to accidentally touch her in bed. Is it really an accident? Nope LOL- Shawn Gossman
- Post #35
- Forum: Off-Topic Hangout
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General Which niche do you feel is overdone in the forum world?
Gaming is probably the most saturated niche of all for all website types and entities. General forums could be one as well. Either way, it's important to try to "narrow" or "niche down" if you choose these topics. How can you make yours unique from the rest? I have a general forum (Off Topic...- Shawn Gossman
- Post #19
- Forum: Building & Growing Your Community
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Do you offer a dark and light mode?
I offer the default feature that XenForo has added. I use PixilExit themes, so they have a good setup on their themes for members to choose from. For my two vBulletin forums, I have to have two different themes. I need to see if anyone has suggested a light/dark theme feature on VB6 yet. I feel...- Shawn Gossman
- Post #21
- Forum: Website Administration & Management
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Another Admin Forum
Happy 2025 from AAF! https://www.anotheradminforum.com/ Our #3 Forum of the Month competition is in full swing. You can submit until the last week of January. Prizes include a posting package from me, advertising, and even a cash prize. Hope to see you there this year!- Shawn Gossman
- Post #26
- Forum: Community Showcase
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Strategy This ain't an airport, no need to announce your departure
If they're being dramatic and are a problem member, I'll delete their goodbye post and put them in post moderation. If they continue to be a brat, then I'll give them the boot. If they're leaving on good terms and they wish to say bye to the community, I'm okay with it. I think forums are...- Shawn Gossman
- Post #14
- Forum: Building & Growing Your Community
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Some old theme prints
Beautiful designs. I really like the last one!- Shawn Gossman
- Post #8
- Forum: Off-Topic Hangout
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Personal goals for 2025
Most people don't complete their New Year's Goals because they set too high of a goal that is hard to achieve. Instead of quitting smoking as the resolution, why not make it go from 2 packs a day to 1 pack a day. Instead of loosing 100 pounds as a resolution, focus on losing 3 pounds a month...- Shawn Gossman
- Post #6
- Forum: Off-Topic Hangout
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Advice What is the minimum investment need to start a forum?
ProBoards and other free forums are good if you don't mind rented space. That means you get what you get for free. You get what you pay for. You abide by their terms and if they shut it down, you just have to deal with it. You can also buy shared hosting for around $100 a year, a domain name...- Shawn Gossman
- Post #17
- Forum: Building & Growing Your Community
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Leadership Administrating while drunk (definitely not recommended)
Back when I used to get drunk, I got on forums a lot. I got to a point where I was drinking to ease pain. That pain is long gone, and I don't drink anymore but it used to be pretty bad. At times, I said stuff I didn't mean when I drank and used forums. Sometimes, I'd be confrontational. I'd...- Shawn Gossman
- Post #4
- Forum: Leadership & Community Management
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What advice would you give to someone looking to drive traffic to their website?
Establish communities and your brand in marketing channels where your audience is. What to avoid at all costs? Spam, of course, AND marketing on channels where your audience is not. You should know your target audience before you start marketing. If you don't, pause marketing, determine your...- Shawn Gossman
- Post #4
- Forum: Website Administration & Management
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Which payment processor is the best for you?
PayPal for me. I'm used to it and established on it. I do use Stripe for some business accounts, which makes using PayPal a pain. I also use Venmo here and there.- Shawn Gossman
- Post #8
- Forum: Website Administration & Management
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Growth Should Small Communities Focus on Competing with Big Players?
I don't think it's a very good idea. When a small entity competes with a very large one, it becomes overwhelming exhausting. That's because you have so much to compete with; instead of competing with something that will feel like it's always beating the %$#@ out of you, why not compete with...- Shawn Gossman
- Post #7
- Forum: Building & Growing Your Community
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Ahrefs: web analytics
Ahrefs is a good tool. Not cheap by any means, but used by many people for success, especially in keyword research aspects. Pretty much them and SEM Rush. I'm interested in this new feature. Might have to try it out.- Shawn Gossman
- Post #4
- Forum: Website Administration & Management
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Delegation What tasks do you reserve for yourself?
I'm the only administrator. Any other staff are moderators.- Shawn Gossman
- Post #7
- Forum: Leadership & Community Management
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Engagement How do you capture ideas for your forum?
I have a certain method I use. I look at each reply and try to create a new topic idea from it. So, if a thread gets 10 replies, I'll try to create 10 new topics from it. I also use Google. I type in a keyword and then go to the people who also ask. Each time you click one open, you get more...- Shawn Gossman
- Post #5
- Forum: Building & Growing Your Community
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How well do you take criticism when it comes to your website?
I welcome it. Feedback is feedback. I have a newsletter that has over 3,000 subscribers with an open-rate of 68% and a CTR of nearly 10% (which is really good) I blame that success on asking for feedback I added a Google form with a quick survey on each monthly issue of the newsletter...- Shawn Gossman
- Post #5
- Forum: Website Administration & Management
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Besides forums: what other websites have you managed/owned?
Too many to list that I've owned, LOL. Nowadays: 4 blogs 10 forums 4 business directories 2 events directories Multiple FB groups I use WP.org to power most of my static websites. I have a few of them, as well. This all sounds like a lot but about 5-10 years ago, I had WAY more.- Shawn Gossman
- Post #4
- Forum: Website Administration & Management
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Engagement How do you capture ideas for your forum?
I have a section on my forum called Shawn's Office. I keep a list of ideas there. I have around 100 topic ideas on there. I try to add 5-10 more each time I take one off.- Shawn Gossman
- Post #3
- Forum: Building & Growing Your Community
