Leadership What if your partner or co-owner vanishes?

[Cedric]

Imagine this: Your forum is thriving, the community is active, and everything seems to be running smoothly. You and your co-owner have a great working relationship - no disputes, no tension, just a shared vision for the forum. Then, out of nowhere, your co-owner vanishes. No warning, no explanation, and no response to your messages. Months go by, and you’re left wondering what happened.

At first, you might give them the benefit of the doubt - life happens, after all. But as time passes, you’re faced with a tough decision. Do you remove their admin status to ensure the forum can continue running smoothly? Or do you leave things as they are, hoping they’ll eventually return? How do you handle the uncertainty while keeping the community’s best interests in mind?

It’s a tricky situation, for sure. Have you ever been in a position like this? How did you handle it? Or if you haven’t, what do you think is the best course of action?

Side note: I saw @Al online earlier and thought about this thread. Just to be clear, Al is slowly returning after being absent for a while - but I knew what was going on. This thread is different, though. It’s about a co-owner who disappears completely, with no explanation or communication. How would you handle that?

 

[Ravenfreak]

First before demoting them I would reach out to them to see how they're doing. Like you said, life can get in the way at times and if you reach out to them before straight up demoting them it shows you care about them. Sometimes a person can't communicate well and they might just up and leave for a bit. Give them time and I would start looking for a new co-admin if they don't reply within two weeks or make an effort to log back into their account. If they come back at a later date, it might be a bit more difficult for me to promote them again. I would put them on probation for a few weeks and see if they stick around. Then I would possibly rehire them if they continue to log in and do what needs to be done.

 

[Al]

Side note: I saw @Al online earlier and thought about this thread. Just to be clear, Al is slowly returning after being absent for a while - but I knew what was going on. This thread is different, though. It’s about a co-owner who disappears completely, with no explanation or communication. How would you handle that?

Hi.

 

[Shawn Gossman]

This happens to me usually when I make the first person who asks a moderator, especially those I don't know.

Here lately, I try to go with folks I know. AAF has AWS, who is someone I know. This thread reminds me that I need to get active on his forum. I've been so busy lately with everything.

 

[fdk]

Luckily I've never found myself in this kind of situation before, but I'm a fiercely loyal person so it'd certainly be a tricky situation for me.

The likely way I'd go is eventually after a couple months "removing" them from the staff team and permissions, mainly for security reasons more than anything, but sending a PM alongside letting them I know that I hope they're well, and they are welcome back on-board the project anytime they return.

 

[Bryn]

This is what happened to me in April 2019, where my right-hand man (who first served as Deputy Admin, then Developer) suddenly vanished and worse took the forum's default skin with him (which he made). That soon led to the forum's sudden closure back then plus the fact that I was going through other things also...