[Michael]

Surely one of the hardest things in the game of forum administration is not getting to the top, but sticking your heels in and staying there for as long as possible; knocking off those competitiors etc ... I personally like to use a blend of continually making innovative updates to the forum keeping it new and fresh; new skins, new forums, new layouts etc .. and keeping member interaction as an optimun level whereever possibe, e.g., competitions and awards.

[SnaKKer]

Make sure you have everything your competition has, then it's just a battle of which forum people like more. Then, having added excitement/forums/contests gives you that extra push to get over them. Stay one step ahead.

[Hector]

The most important thing a Admin can do is keep in touch with the regular members. This way, they know they are an important part of the community.

Every member counts.

[SnaKKer]

Originally Posted By: Hector Every member counts.

Yes, but giving them all an equal voice is very time consuming and contentious. You won't usually get a consensus and it'll get people mad. I say that every member counts, because anyone can approach me and ask me stuff, but I don't consider everything equally, because there are people who I know have knowledge and understanding of forum mechanics and politics.

[.:Keith:.]

Just be original. That's the key to success. People won't join a site that's basically the same as the next. It's boring. Same topics, same posts. They look for originality. If you have an original board then you'll get more members. Then you would if you created a general discussion forum (as there's plenty of them out there).

Also, make sure the staff isn't too strict or members will feel pressured and not want to join and thus, you won't get many members.

The skin is also important. Make sure the skin fits the theme (Boards like these are good with light skins while, DU is good with dark skins). If the skin doesn't match what the forum is about people will see that say "Ugh..that skin..ugly!". Same goes for banner, markers, and buttons.

Those are the keys to success.

[+ Ryan]

Originally Posted By: SnaKKer Yes, but giving them all an equal voice is very time consuming and contentious. You won't usually get a consensus and it'll get people mad. I say that every member counts, because anyone can approach me and ask me stuff, but I don't consider everything equally, because there are people who I know have knowledge and understanding of forum mechanics and politics.

And people that are idiots. xD

[//Aneurysm\\]

....Im running a contest now and about 2 people have entered...

God my forum is a failure.

[+ Ryan]

Originally Posted By: //Aneurysm\\ ....Im running a contest now and about 2 people have entered... God my forum is a failure.

Why not start over? No use beating a dead horse. I was in the same situation as you when I had a forum about the same size. Nobody was active and I tried desperately to continue it. But eventually, I just went to IFDU and it was great.

[DarkWarriorXII]

Lets say you don't have any competition. How do you get the word out? With my forum, the only way is to advertise on non-related forums or tell friends. Well my friends aren't interested in my forum topic, and I can only advertise so much on forums that don't have my topic. So what else is there to do when it comes to advertising?

[SnaKKer]

Are there no sites for your subject area? If there aren't... you've got a pretty obscure forum.

[+ Ryan]

Originally Posted By: Michael Surely one of the hardest things in the game of forum administration is not getting to the top, but sticking your heels in and staying there for as long as possible; knocking off those competitiors etc ... I personally like to use a blend of continually making innovative updates to the forum keeping it new and fresh; new skins, new forums, new layouts etc .. and keeping member interaction as an optimun level whereever possibe, e.g., competitions and awards.

Hmm. Well, yeah. Keeping things original and unique at the same time helps attract people, although some don't welcome change. This is why I think that all skins made for a site should be stored and used in a skin selector, so that if one person liked the former skin, they may use it again.

Layout changes can confuse people, so I usually would keep it the same. I mean, if it's not broken, why fix it? Once in a blue moon, I will make changes and additions if I see fit, but nothing major unless I am sure that it will benefit the forum greatly.

But the most important thing is making sure that your members are happy. A large board means that not all your members are ever going to be happy. But keeping the majority happy means that they will come back. And through word of IM, they will eventually advertise your site on other boards, and thus getting the site extra hits. This is extremely important in the long range future of boards, to keep consistent flow of members. Only the great forums can keep it like this.