When a forum runs by itself?

Not sure about the right term but...

Is there a time when a forum will run by itself without I have to post most messages and interact with everyone?

 

Depends on the forum and topic. For something like say, a company or tech support forum, the answer could well be 'it will never run by itself'. For a general chat or discussion related site, this is usually the case when it gets past a few thousand or so members depending on how active the average user is. Then again, if by 'run by itself' you just mean 'leave the forum and it'll still have a community', even many small forums meet that criteria.

 

Maybe I should encourage members to participate a little more

 

Asking users questions is good way to boast your forum activity. Its all about carry conversations and making your community prosper.

 

It definitely depends. Some forums are so built around admin interaction that if they were to disappear, the entire community feel would start declining because of it, too. If that's the goal, though, then just work on building it up so that others are actually posting new threads instead of relying on you.

 

I don't think a forum will ever be self-sufficient. That isn't its purpose. There has to be people who help or simply know more than others and that is why they started the forum to begin with (one would think). Other people look for that knowledge or wisdom (or just want to chat).

My only tip. Get yourself some moderators who are also experts on the topic of your forum and you can possibly do less work. But you still have to work at it.

I'll ask a question back at you too, because it interests me. Why would you want to have a forum, if you don't want to work on or in it? What was your motivator to start a forum?

Scott

 

This is a lie that I fell trap to.

 

What is a lie? My comments or the OPs issue?

Edit: Actually, I know the answer looking at your forum.

A forum about almost anything and everything is doomed to failure. Why? Because a forum should be about a main topic, like this forum is about administration of web sites. It brings people together due to this main interest. What brings people together in a forum about anything and everything? Nothing really. Right?

Scott

 

Well... I've slacked off on my forum a few years ago and while it has survived it did decline. I'm back now trying to revive it.

 

Your comment was spot on. The fact that a forum is self sufficient is a lie.

 

My forum would survive without me interacting with all my members, but I try to do it anyways, because it helps the community grow faster. We have a few regular members that would keep my forum running with new posts if I decided to take some time off.

So yes it's possible to run a forum without having to interact with your members, but it'll take a lot of work to get to that point. Do you think the owners of large forums interact with all their members? It's impossible for them to do so.

 

I don’t think I could ever just let a forum run itself as the admin. If I start a forum it’s because I have an interest in the topic and would generally like to talk about it. So it’s not something I could leave for long periods of time by choice.

On a side note.. I haven’t had time to post on Admin Talk the last few days, maybe even a week but I do check it on tapatalk a few times a day and try to logon at least once a day to see if there are any post in moderation or anything reported/spammed.

I’m been very happy to see everyone on the forums lately, it really means a lot to me as well as all the other @Active Members on the forum. I grabbed a screenshot of the “who’s online” last night, I’m thrilled to have 5 members online, or 12 is great but to have 17 members then the 15 guest searching around is awesome. I know many of you have very active large forums and this isn’t really anything but it does mean a lot to me. It shows this forum is doing pretty well, you guys and gals are putting out great content, starting great threads..
thank you, thank you, thank you

​

 

Don't flatter yourself, @Brandon

 

lol, I'm happy if any anyone gets some use out of the site

 

You know that this(And adex) are my two favorite admin sites and they aren't even the largest admin sites. I just like the people here!

 

I'm always lurking on tapatalk. I don't always post, but I check out new threads normally at least once a day.

Nice "active members" tag by the way!

 

When a forum runs by itself, you know you can take a break from your forum and your members will post while you're away. Heck, I believe it can take 6 months up to a year for a forum to have a life of its own. It just takes a lot of hard work and dedication to get your forum running like that.

Especially when you lead by example and you're always posting on your community. Your members will notice this effort and continue to lead because of the example and standards that you set for your community.

 

Keep up the good work @Brandon

You did say group hug... Ok which one of you farted?

 

I wish you would ride my right...I'd probably have a more active / successful forum