When I started my first online community, my main goal was to make money. I did well with ads and eventually sold the community. Now, I run two new communities, still with a business mindset but I focus more on helping people connect, learn, and share.

 

Why do you run a community?

I run a community to connect like-minded people, share knowledge, and create a space where everyone feels supported. It’s fulfilling to watch members grow, help each other, and build something meaningful together.

I run a social media community because I love connecting people, sharing knowledge, and creating a supportive space where members can learn, grow, and feel heard. It’s rewarding to see friendships and collaborations blossom through our shared interests.

I run a religious/general discussion community and a new music lesson community. I run these things because I love those niches. I also enjoy talking with people, but you know, these days nobody has the time unless it's via post exchange or a paid deal.

I run my community because it’s something I’ve always been passionate about. I originally launched it as a directory back in 2004, but I wanted more than just listings, I wanted a space where people who shared the same love for games in my niche could connect, talk, and grow together.

Back when I started, there weren’t many games in the space. Now, it’s thriving. And I’m proud to say my community played a part in that growth, we’ve referred thousands of users to games, helped indie devs get noticed, and built a place that genuinely supports the niche.

My forum has been a part of my life since I was 14. It’s not just a website to me, it’s a legacy, and I don’t plan to let it go. As long as people are still passionate about the games, discussing them, learning how to manage or build them, I’ll always keep the doors open, no matter what. If my platform helps even a few people connect or learn something new, then I’ve done my job as a community owner.

I've been running online communities off and on for about a decade and a half. Forums have always pleased and relaxed me. I disregard most social media these days, and it seems when I do, I'm happier. Forums, on the other hand, I've always enjoyed running a forum resource board for specific forum software with my front-end web developer skills to help people with coding issues and produce new features or modify existing ones. It's a passion and hobby of mine that I've always enjoyed, and as long as forums keep going, I shall continue to participate in them.

I prefer forums to social media. Recently started a mental health forum. really hard though to get members but I know that I do need patience.

42 minutes ago, Lavender said:

I prefer forums to social media. Recently started a mental health forum. really hard though to get members but I know that I do need patience.

Mental health forums are always a sensitive area. I see you’re using Invision — do you allow anonymous posting?

2 minutes ago, Cedric said:

Mental health forums are always a sensitive area. I see you’re using Invision — do you allow anonymous posting?

Not yet. Hadn’t real thought about it.

Just now, Lavender said:

Not yet. Hadn’t real thought about it.

Worth considering. People are inclined to tell more about personal stuff when they know it's anonymous.

I run my communities because I love forums more than any other means of communication online. Also I enjoy sharing the knowledge of topics I'm interested on my forums! I think forums are more organized and fit certain niches better than a Discord server or Subreddit can. Plus I know my communities will remain online as long as I pay the hosting bill, and remember to renew my domain name before it expires. :V

I own a community to network and share knowledge but I also have the business aspect in mind too. I feel fulfilled by creating a space where people become valued and can contribute to something important.

My first community was run just because I was introduced to the world of having a website, back in the early 2000's. Then it morphed into a purpose. I was a fan of a fictional character, and changed the site to reflect that. Thus began my community building phase. I ran that site for nearly a decade. Fast forward another, like, ten years and I wanted to share my hobbies of anime and role playing. I wanted to talk about them. Today with a new forum, I have a community to support the hobby of Play by Post role playing.

I created and run my forum because as someone who works in the industry of modeling and acting, I found myself bouncing between Facebook groups, Instagram chats, group texts, and even random email chains just trying to stay in the loop, network and find new opportunities. It honest felt like I needed a personal assistant just to keep track of it. (And maybe even a second phone).

So, I created my community because I wanted one place, one space that felt professional but still fun and welcoming where photographers, models, actors, casting agents and other people in the industry could connect, promote their work, stay updated, and grow together. The community is about making real connections and supporting each other whether they're just getting started or they've been in the industry for years.

It's fun and I like to tinker/build things.

On 5/7/2025 at 10:59 PM, Nomad said:

When I started my first online community, my main goal was to make money. I did well with ads and eventually sold the community. Now, I run two new communities, still with a business mindset but I focus more on helping people connect, learn, and share.

 

Why do you run a community?

I run a forum because I'm passionate about the niche and want to connect with others who are also just as passionate as I am.

This is why I only create forums in niches that I'm super passionate about.

I love making forums, so AAF is a highly passionate project of mine. I love to hike so my hiking forum is a good idea. I sometimes play Sims 4 but not enough to want to have a forum about it even if I know I can get a lot of members. I only choose a forum niche that I can discuss about every day without getting sick of it.

On 6/19/2025 at 7:13 PM, Cedric said:

Worth considering. People are inclined to tell more about personal stuff when they know it's anonymous.

I agree. set it now so members can post anonymously in the mental health section.

I don't like blogging that much. The exception would be the blog section of the religious forum I have.

You may start your own forum and your forum could be your community in some way. It could be possible that your forum could be related to a specific community only. This depends a lot on the kind of forum you are running. Having said that, not all people run community-specific forums. This depends on the niche of your forum.