As the forum grows, do you remain active?

Well, some forums take off faster than others - and when your forum becomes active enough where users are always posting and such - do you remain active throughout the whole process or do you sit back and let your members do all the work?

 

Till the end I say. I'll be my forums side till something forces me to be inactive or close it.

 

I'll remain active although anything can come up which might prevent me from using the Internet or visiting the forum,

 

As the owner, yes I always try to remain active especially on an active forum

Like the old saying goes, Follow the Leader... If the Leader is inactive, the mass will probably follow

 

I would always stay active, it's something I enjoy doing.

 

I would probably stay active until I couldn't keep up with the posts.

 

What if you get more "leaders" then get inactive?

 

How do you mean?

Do you have a lot of staff who are inactive? If so, weed them out because they are harming the reputation of your forum, IMO.

One other way that a forum will go inactive is if you have too many staff members! One of my forums has about 208 members, there are 2 forum owners (one co-owns the network with me and isn't around as much) and there is me. I also have 1 community manager (admin) and 3 staff members (global mods) and 1 reviewer. I would like to eventually get another reviewer but those staff numbers are A-Okay with me and fit based on the number of members on the forum

 

Well, what I've been doing is bringing more moderators on board, I've also moved one of my super moderators to administrator[that way she can take care of the hiring and firing of mods], I'd rather pass down some of my powers so the community can do well if I decide to take a break or not. Ya know? It's always nice to play the cards right and have staff set up that can handle anything on the boards if you're not around. What I see is, when you're a new community, you should have a few moderators[like 3] and once you surpass the 20k posts mark or something higher - you should have at least 6 - that way, the moderators can also focus on pushing new content on the boards - same as what you do.

I don't think there's such a thing of having too many staff members - the only case in this one is if your staff members are inactive, then you need to fire and bring in new quality staff members, ya know? Everyone has a duty on their forum - and that's how it should always be.

 

As my forum grow i will also grow along with that and i will be more active than now . so that i can learn many things from my member.

 

I would stay active. So if my members need any help, I can solve it immediately.

 

Well, this is the problem with many admins (self included). When things start rolling nicely we stop putting all the effort we used to. If the forum is self-sustaining, content wise, it's not a huge deal, but we should always be there, even if not as active as before. I am trying now to not lose focus and bring new topics to the table, even when my forums are doing very well. It keeps members pleased to see the 'boss' is still there taking it seriously.

 

I would stay active in my forum even after it starts to carry a life of its own.

 

I definitely think it's important to try and stay active. Even if your presence isn't needed for the running of the forum and your staff can manage without you; I still think it's important to show your face.

 

As long as time and such permits, I remain active. Any good admin would. If you abandon your forum and expect it to run itself, it'll eventually die out and then all the hard work you did put into it, goes to waste.

 

Well, I agree with you on this one that admins step back a little once the forum starts taking a life of its own, but what I also see, is some forums have a bunch of staff members working for them - so then, the lead admin, or owner can take the time out and take a break - if needed.

Ya, its always nice for the admin to come on in[daily or weekly] and post new topics for the members - even if the community is rolling on its own.

 

I will definately be there every day once my site hits the point of rolling on without me. Even if I get a job I don't think I could not visit it at least for an hour a day.

 

I'm the new guy here. But I know when (or if) my forum ever grows out, I'd like to think I'll stay active within it.

Don't get me wrong, it'll be great if it would flow normally regardless of me being there or not. But staying to remain active is like enjoying the fruits of your labor.

 

I couldn't have said it any better. Well said mate. And like myself included, a few of my staff members have my cell phone number - so if any problem arises, they can contact me to come on and take care of things.

Personally, even if your forum is taking off, lots of posts, lots of threads, you should at least always make an effort to show your community that you're still around and still care because if it wasn't for you, the community wouldn't be anything. As a forum owner, you are the backbone to the community.

 

I'll always remain active on my own forums.
If the admin gives up or doesn't spark an interest in the forum it'll trickle down to the power users in time.