Forum Admin Failure

[Shawn Gossman]

Do you ever feel like no matter what you do, you're failing at being a forum owner?

If so, how often do you feel this way? Why do you feel this way?

How do you overcome it? What do you do to not feel like a failure anymore?

 

[Cpvr]

No, I don’t feel like I’m failing. I actually think I’m doing well with what I’ve chosen to build. I’ve definitely had forums in the past that didn’t work out, but honestly, those weren’t ideas I was passionate about. I let them go, and that’s okay.


To me, failure isn’t when something doesn’t work, it’s when you stop trying, or stop caring entirely. There’s a big difference between something not succeeding and you being a failure. If you’re still learning, adapting, and pushing forward? You’re not failing.

 

[JoelR]

A large part of the problem of hobbyist forum admins is that we define our success based "engagement activity." We think more members and more activity equates to success.

We really need to redefine how we internally measure success: if you are fulfilling the community strategy and objectives and tactics of what you defined, then you're actually succeeding based on what you set out to do.

 

[Shawn Gossman]

We think more members and more activity equates to success.

I agree that is being done and that is the problem.

Instead of trying to get 10K members, focus on the 100 members you have that are contributing to the forum and are loyal. When you get 101 members who are loyal and contributing, then change your focus on them.

I'd rather have 10 active members than 10,000 members with just a few active ones.

I go to these big boards as a potential member. I'm not heading down to the stats to see how many members it has. I'm looking at the boards and sub-boards to see if there are active discussions going between multiple people and to see if moderators are active. That's the deciding factor for me to join the forum, not member count.

 

[Nomad]

I have never felt that way and I have always believed that my communities have better chances. I always hope for the best and keep pushing on.

 

[Shawn Gossman]

I have never felt that way and I have always believed that my communities have better chances. I always hope for the best and keep pushing on.

The ones I close down, I don't think are failures in particular.

I just think the audience is wanting something different than a forum or maybe the community already exists and they're happy with it.

I tried to make VBAdmins a thing but it seems like everyone is content with just remaining on vBulletn's support forum. So, I have plans to merge that forum into this forum and close VBAdmins.

The same with my StormSpotterForum.com, at one time, I had a forum in that specific niche that had 200K posts and about 20K members. But now, they all seem to be attracted to social media and Discord. So, I've decided to shut that forum down for good as well.

Not everyone wants a forum these days. It isn't failure. It's the future.

 

[Nomad]

The ones I close down, I don't think are failures in particular.

Except the ones that were part of my blogging sites, I have never closed down forums. However, I have sold a few forums because I was experiencing difficulty in running them. However, just like you I also don't feel that I failed with those forums. Failure would be giving up completely and I have not given up on forums. I continue to run forums.

 

[Shawn Gossman]

Except the ones that were part of my blogging sites, I have never closed down forums. However, I have sold a few forums because I was experiencing difficulty in running them. However, just like you I also don't feel that I failed with those forums. Failure would be giving up completely and I have not given up on forums. I continue to run forums.

Right. The ones I am letting go like I said have audiences that either are not interested in another forum or are not interested in forums at all. It's not failure, it's trend.

 

[Cpvr]

Right. The ones I am letting go like I said have audiences that either are not interested in another forum or are not interested in forums at all. It's not failure, it's trend.

Yeah, I don’t see it as a failure either, it’s just the trend right now. But, a lot of these users saying they’re “not interested in forums” are still out there using platforms that function like forums. Reddit, Discord channels, even long-winded Twitter threads are using the same format, just different packaging.



So no, I don’t think they’re being 100% honest. I see it all the time, people saying “I miss forums” while actively choosing not to use them. If they really missed the experience, they’d go back. They just don’t want to put in the same kind of effort anymore. It’s not disinterest, it’s convenience.