A Successful forum?

As admins we all know the amount of work that goes into websites and setting up running forums, the amount of decisions that are needed to be made, and the countless hours put into them.

So I was wondering what target you had/have set yourself where you will look at the site and when you reach that target in your mind it is a success - I am not talking about when you think the website is done as I don't believe anyone's website is ever done there are always ways to improve - i mean when you will say it is successful according to your own goals?

 

When I have read the other admin say I have done a good job. pretty much he was why I started getting into softwares and site coding. He is a great admin during the time he looked after Pisoga. He used to say he wanted me as a member rather to have me as a mod, here I am now!

So when I see people logging on to watch Anime and he says that, I woul achieve one of my many goals for my communities.

 

When the members continue to actively participate and "come back for more", that's when I'll declare a community of mine as successful.

While they are important, I've never considered the statistics of a community to be the main deciding factor when it comes to determining how successful a forum is. Yes; having a community that receives a large influx of new posts and/or threads on a daily basis is fantastic, but what truly matters (in my eyes) is the actual quality of these posts. If each post (or the majority of them) can be considered as helpful and/or informative, that is what matters - to me, that is.

In addition, hearing a member(s) tell you that they "love" the community is also a fantastic feeling in itself.

 

When my forum reaches 1 million post, and 25,000 - 30,000 members, and continues to rank #1 for its targeted keywords, then I will consider it a success.

 

I started PSAirsoft with the intent of getting all of GA's airsoft players onto one forum, to get us all united and have a great time just talking about our favourite sport. Once I do get all of those people, then I will declare my forum a success.

MLA on the other hand, is the first time that I have been an admin for a forum that I did not start. Let me just say that before I was the admin, things where way out of control, and the guy really did not know what he was doing. I am going to already declare that forum a success, because I have had over 20 new people register and post regularly, just since I redid the site.

 

i usually see a decent amount of unread posts when I check into my site at the end of the day...and i always see 40-50- members that visit daily...which is cool.

My site has came a LONG way..but still has a way to go..

I'll know when I can sit back and look and say "yeap...its done......for now"

actually .... my OCD is so bad...it'll never be done.... they'll be a million posts and ill still be wanting to change sumthing around!! LOL

 

Kneel, I know exactly what you mean in regards to your OCD - I'm the same way.

 

Totally agree with Chris' statements!

 

My forum will be successful, when I am happy.

 

LOL I wouldn't describe myself as particularly OCD, but I cannot rest if I know the smileys are out of order or not lined up well next to the post form!

 

I don't have any set member or post goals. My forum is successful since it serves its members better than other forums of its genre.

 

oooo! I am the same way! That annoys the crap out of me. I once had to deal with all of my smiles except for not displaying in the smilie sets to the side of the post, but they worked fine in the post!!! Aggravating!

 

Absolutely
The hardest thing to do is get members to signup and come back for more. When you get them doing so continually, you know you're doing something right!

Suggestions are good to. When a user makes a suggestion, it shows that they might actually have a bit more than a casual interest in the forum and the topic. Of course, there are other suggestions as well, but usually, those are the best kind of members, those wanting to keep the site up to date and running for you.

 

When the site becomes self-sustaining, meaning that my interaction is not needed to keep the site going. I can leave for a week, month or more and come back and find the site just as lively as before. The staff know how to do their job, and the people enjoy coming back. Top that with a site that is doing better then paying for its own costs, that sounds like a success to me.

 

Absolutely!
It really does depend on the site though. One of my sites is primarily informational, not really pushing for user content, but it's needed in the same respect.

It depends, as well, on traffic. If you're getting decent traffic, then you've done something right, BUT, there's just got to be some sort of interaction. That is a serious catch 22.

 

A successful forum is one that can be control by the moderators & staff, while the members continue to update and post.

It's hard to get a forum going, but harder to stop one from growing after it starts to grow. Some take off from the beginning, then others hit a stand-off, because the owner & mods fail to post.