... to an administrator who is just starting out in the forum world? What suggestions and/or tips would you give him/her? In addition, what is the one thing that you would recommend not doing?
When you make a forum, don't go to someone, give them a link and say "JOIN." It makes you sound pushy. (lol Chris) If you want members, say "Hey, I made a new forum, check it out. <link> If you like it, you should join and tell others to join."
I would tell them to install good spam protection from the get-go, and automate/delegate wherever possible.
I would tell them to lose the phpbb and get vbulletin right away kidding I would tell them to be prepared for a long wait especially if this is their first forum and not to expect members to flock through the door without any form of good advertising. I would recommend they dont spam other forums in attempt to get attention and instead post genuinely and become a respected person of another community and have a signature link if allowed.
Me - Is your wife single? Noob admin - no, why do you ask? Me - she will be. Meaning, most people have no concept of the amount of item required to run a forum. Then there are the modifications, updates, promotion, link building, drama, dealing with members,,,,,, Maybe that is why most forums close before they are 1 year old. Because people do not understand what is going to be required of them.
Have a plan. Keep in mind however the forum is set up there will be people that like it, and people that don't like it, so go ahead and set it up the way you want. Don't spam other forums, that will turn off good people and attract the other kind (although there are always exceptions).
1. Have a plan. 2. Keep a cool head. Here's the reason behind that: Managing a forum is difficult at first. It's especially difficult if your forum becomes populated at a fast rate. What happens is you start getting confused over everything. One step at a time. 3. Pick a trusted co-admin over time. 4. And like my bud Kevin said; Don't spend a lot of time on the forum, family comes first.
