How close are you to your members?

Some of my members and I can have long conversations about pretty much anything. I like that affect that we have among the community, and we all know that we can talk about anything to one another if something comes up, we're there for one another.

So, I guess you could say a lot of my community members and I get along quite nicely.

So, how's your community? Are you in your members close?

 

I don't talk very much with my members outside of my forum, but we're still growing, and I expect that I'll build relationships with my members when we get bigger.

 

my members are like my second family. I love them dearly
even when they piss me off...just like family ha

 

My forum is ten years old. Most of us played a specific game together for 10 years. So yeah, I know the old timers pretty well. Then there is a new contingent that I don't know at all.

 

I believe one of the key factors for a forum to succeed is a friendly staff that include the head admin or admins participating with the community and developing such a closeness that make members feel at home.

Being friend of my community far from hurting, encourage them to be active and make the site grow.

I know of forums that may presume a large community, but ask members about their overall satisfaction being members and 9 out of 10 will tell that they are in such forums because they need to be to sell their stuff or make business and not because the community is friendly. In fact, most of them may hate both moderators and admins that often use their signatures and profiles to warn people about refraining from contact them or befriend them.

Really sad to my taste.

 

A couple have become like good friends.

Most are acquaintance that is people I'd wave to or so hello to but not necessarily make plans to have coffee/beer with.

 

It really is nice. I consider some of my users as family members. I'm glad we have a family-like atmosphere and everyone gets along. Everyone keeps their cool unless some drama happens, but it usually settles down pretty quickly.

 

ha yeah same here

 

very very well. i run regional forums so we meet up all the time.

 

I'm 50 / 50 on this and I'll explain why as briefly as possible while still touching on key factors. While I do believe that a staff members relationship in a community setting should be an open door policy with plenty of involvement, I also believe that staff should conduct them self in a professional manor that represents the community as the spokesperson they are by default.

It's a balancing act really. You want your members to feel cared about and know that you are listening to what they have to say. However, at the same time you don't want to go overboard and start displaying any favoritism or lose focus to the fact that at the end of the day, your forum community is more than likely a business model in some fashion. Everything you say or do can and will reflect on your brand as a representative of that community. Granted, some forums have no desire to generate any revenue, however for the most part most community owners would sleep more comfortable at night knowing their community covers it's own overhead (E.G. hosting, renewals, payroll, advertising, upgrades, licenses, etc.) along with some form of return on investment (Time or finance). Even if all your forum is used for is a leads generator for other products and services you own, it still plays a vital roll in your business model.

With the above said I'll reiterate; I'm all for making sure all members know that I care and that my door is always open to listen to any problems they may be having, or to new suggestions they may have. However, I also try to make it clear to everyone that I have a business modeled community to run. I play no favorites, treat everyone equally, and try my best to give everyone the same respect they give me.

I learned long ago that if you are way to lenient and start to play favorites, people will start to take advantage of you and turn the inch you gave them into a mile. Equality is the only solution to that problem.

Eric Lyon

 

Not close at all to the membership. It took me five years to give my co-administrator my home phone number.

 

Given that I run a free classifieds advertising forum, different rules apply. I presume most people visit to buy, sell or promote something, not to befriend the admin. I do provide social networking functionality in the forum and encourage users to interact that way, though, just like they do while shopping in brick-and-mortar stores.

 

I'm very close to my member,if you know what I mean.

 

Only one of my staff members have my cell phone number and that's for emergencies or whenever they need my help with something.

 

I love to communicate as much as possible with my members and really make conversations flourish, way past just a one answer per thread deal. I really do enjoy it and my doors are always open to talk to people.

 

I think it is important for the admin to have some connection with the members. There were tons of forums that I joined and the admin was barely active every week. There are times where I talk to some of the members and find out they only come on to talk to me.

 

I like to keep a personal relationship with as many of my members as possible. I would consider myself friends with quite a few of them. I think its very important to maintain relationships so they continue to return to your forum

 

I use to grow close bounds with members on smaller communities, or on the communities I have been since it's beginning. Mostly because it is easier and people are usually friendlier.

About big communities... Hm, well I usually have a pretty decent relationship with few members, but that's about it.

 

Because I live in Austria and nearly all of my members are from germany, I've never seen them in real live, but in the forum we talk and chat together, and with some members I stay in contact through skype

Before I started my forum, a lot of the users and myself were in another forum leaded by another admin; but this forum was suddenly shutted down, and the whole community of this forum moved to my forum

 

Well, as I have mentioned in previous posts I no longer run a forum, but I am friends with a select few who were members of my forum, we have even met up for drinks in pubs every now and again. It isn't common, but it can happen.