Admin Talk Interview with Liam W

Let's hear about @Liam W ​

How long have you been running a forum / What inspired you to start?:
To be quite honest, I have no idea. I looked at forums, and was a member of quite a few, and then I decided I wanted to be the boss of one.

So, I got vB (nulled at first, don't shoot me yet!), and uploaded it to a shared hosting provider. I made a few forums, but took many down. Once I was found using nulled software, I took it down.

Once I managed to buy a vB license, I started making vB addons and uploading them to vB.org, and that is one of the main reasons for my forums - to get the software and make addons for them.

After all my other forums had been removed, my license was being used for the support forum of a hosting company. Eventually I took it, and I made Ingress Experts.

Not long after I made Ingress Experts, I started looking into xenForo - I had always been a vBulletin-central person beforehand. I had always hated anything other than xenForo, however, once I had used xenForo for a while, and got the hang of the ACP from the demo, I was hooked. I also wanted to look into xenForo addon development

So, after much difficulty, I swapped my vB license (and $40+20%) for a xenForo license, and converted my forum (which is constantly growing!).

I've made many xenForo addons, and everything is going smoothly - I now hate vBulletin
What's your Forum Software of choice & why?:
xenForo. I like the way it works, I like the certainty of it it now, and I like the admin interface and the addon system. Makes me question why I went with vBulletin at the time...
Where are you located?:
Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England, United Kingdom. It's not 'big', but it isn't small either so have fun finding me
Where do you see your websites in 5 years?:
Well, with a bit of luck Ingress will still be going strong then - so maybe my forum will have grown to a big flourishing active community
How often do you work on your forum?:
I'm online daily. I'm the only admin, however I have a super mod that doesn't do much (doesn't need to). I actively post on the front end, and I'm the most active poster.
Of all the projects you’ve ever been involved in, which did you enjoy the most?:
This one, and my xenForo addons. I like learning, so the learning curve has been fun. Having a forum is interesting and also fun
What are your biggest strengths as a forum admin? Weaknesses?:
Well, as my forum isn't that big yet, I don't really know. I guess as I could be autistic it may have it's repercussions, but I like being online and I find I can post easily and talk to other's relatively easy

I guess it's difficult being 15, when my site is (technically) aimed at around the 25-40 mark or so (based on the niche).
How do you define the ideal Forum Administrator?:
Someone that can mulitask, knows how to sort out issues, and doesn't fly into a panic when their site goes offline.

They also need to keep active in their forum and get to know the active users well - otherwise people won't like it when they get warned by them!
Would you ever consider yourself an expert in the field of running a forum?:
I'm always finding out new information. Maybe in a few years, I'll have learnt much more about things, however right now I'm still fresh in the field. You never know - maybe I'll have one of the biggest forums online one day, and I'm classed as a super-expert!
What are your top five technology MUST-HAVE’s in running a forum?:
A decent understanding of hosting, and PHP knowledge is useful. It means if my site goes down - I know how to fix it almost straight away!
What site would you like to promote with this interview?:
http://www.ingressexperts.com