Solely for the fun of it. I don't need the money - in fact, I'd rather invest large sums of money into a discussion forum that I feel will be successful in not only the long run, but also in the short run. In return, all I ask for is an active and friendly community who is willing to "evolve" with the forum as it grows even larger. One word: dedication.
I mostly started mine for fun. I wanted a community that shared a common interest. If monetary gain came at a later time that was fine, but I didn't set out to make money. I don't see most communities as setting out making money unless that's your forum's subject matter.
Mostly for fun but I do want to make enough in time to cover my track day addiction. Other reasons I started Motoring Alliance include... Frustration with the way the 2 largest forums for the same subject turned when the owners sold to big forum aggregaters. One of them I stayed on for a year as admin and tried to keep things fresh. However since the owners seem to be in it for the cash only and don't fix broken stuff or add new features I built what I hope in time will be a viable competitor. Test bed for new products we create.
I actually started my forum out of frustration with the others in my niche and how unfriendly they can be. I thought/ knew I could do it better. I'd been kicking around the idea for over a year, then just got to the point where I said I either have to do it or get it out of my mind
I'm with 2dub... I saw a struggling site and instantly thought "I can do this better." (and I was right) It would be nice if they eventually made money though
For the fun of it. I love both anime and Setsou, I never thought of money, nor will I think of money in the future if I decide to make more forums.
I got tired of having to visit 3, 4 or 5 forums to find the information that I needed. After looking at forum software and content management systems, I knew I could do better. So I set out on a quest to build the best rounded sources of information that I could. The first year was bad, the second year was better. I started my forum as more of a journey, and a challenge to myself then anything else.
I have only created an community for the fun of it, I would like to get some money to cover servers and such stuff but I do not create an forum for the money since all the money I earn goes right back into the forum.
We started ours as a challenge as well for the fun and interest of it. It is nice seeing and aiding your forums growth, moving to a better server to provide better service for everyone, make a little money and put all of that money back into the forum to even further better the users experience Owning a forum is very rewarding
I create forums because I want to own my own big board one day. And each one I make could just be the one. At least that's how I feel when I'm making it. I feel like the forum I'm working on now is going to be pretty serious. And of course, there's AA. So, a combination of both. But I don't except money for a very, very long time.
This, is how I feel. Once I do get a job, nearly all of my excess money (excluding savings) will be going into my forums. I'm the type of person that will sink so much money into something I love, without expecting one dollar out of it, as long as the people I'm serving are happy.
I'll be the first to say that my community was made for the purpose of making money in the long term. However that doesn't mean I don't have a passion for the topic. If I didn't than I would have chosen another topic. What my community does allow though is for people to get more information about vBulletin and allows me to answer questions in better ways than I am allowed to when providing standard support for the product through Jelsoft. In the end, everyone wins.
