Does age of the owner matter for a forum's success

Sometimes I noticed that younger owners seem to use free forums over paid licenses forums. And some get lucky and become successful. So, my question do you is simple, do you feel that age matters especially if a younger is older?

Or is it all about how mature an owner is?

 

No. I've seen people of all ages who've run successful forums, and people of all ages who've failed miserably at running forums.

Maturity has more to do with it (and that's not really directly correlated with people's ages), but to a degree it's also very much dependant on things like luck and timing. Not a very popular opinion, but frankly luck and chance play more of a part in forum success than people like to think. How many sites went big despite the owner not having a clue how to run a forum or because of one otherwise minor thing that people liked?

And how many big companies and 'professionals' are there out there failing miserably at running forums or sites despite having a ton of money to throw at their projects and all those 'experts' on board? I've seen a ton of 'kids' set up successful forums despite having no real experience and a whole bunch of supposedly 'experienced' adults with fancy backgrounds and stuff fail miserably.

Age has nothing to do with forum success.

 

Yes it does, because younger forum owners have less experience, and don't know what it takes to build a successful community. I'm not saying that someone young can't do it, it's just unlikely that they'll have any success, because they won't be as dedicated as another forum owner that's running their forum as their job.

I'm young, and failed multiple times trying to build a successful community, because I lacked dedication to my community, not anymore.

 

I have to completely disagree. Age has very little to do with it.

Take a 14 year old and take a 41 year old, I would bet the 14 year old builds a larger community faster, however the 41 year old will be able to keep it going.

I started an investment forum very early on, and am still young... well, 30 is not that young but you get the point.

What it has to do with is maturity and how well you know your niche.

A 14 year old will likely not succeed running a politics forum, however they will run ciricles around an older person trying to run a forum about teen issues, or what not.

First and foremost.... it is PASSION. Passion about the topic of your forum.

If someone is trying to run a general forum, then your age does not matter, they will both likely fail.

 

I didn't say someone young couldn't run a successful forum, it's just unlikely. It's rare to see someone young with passion about a topic, and dedication to create a successful forum.

 

Unlikely based on what?

The vast majority of forum owners I know are younger people, sub 30. For various topics, yes, they will be older.

The point that I was trying to make is that age is not a determining factor at all about the success of a forum or not.

Passion about the topic is.

A 14 year old is not going to be passionate about Wine or Wiskey for instance, as much as a 68 year old is going to be passionate about the Harlem Shake or what not.

 

Not always. I known plenty of young admins who can be (and/or act) as mature as someone twice their age and manage successful forums. I acknowledge the fact that someone's who older may have more experience and the resources to pay for things younger people couldn't, but experience doesn't always grant success, and neither does how much money you invest on a site.

 

I am sort of a bit of both sorta guy. The age matters because if you are like 12 you are less likely going to be able to invest and understand the needs of a forum (domains ect.) but maturity is a huge thing for the future of a forum. Maturity will make people more interested in staying around.

So 50/50 between age and maturity I guess?

 

Age doesn't matter. What matters is maturity and knowledge.

 

I turn 21 this month and I have owned built online communities, not just forums, for many years. Age is completely irrelevant, if you have enough drive and determination, you stand the same chance as anyone else.

 

I think age can play a part. If you are under 18, the best thing for you to do is not tell your age unless you are running an age-related forum such as a teen forum. I personally think kids can run forums alright because I did when I was young. I got into forums at age 13 (that was about 15 years ago, that makes me feel old ) and I ran quite a few successful forums throughout my teenage years. I wasn't allowed to say how old I was though, as instructed by my parents so that may of helped.

 

Another issue is being able to do online transactions to pay for services. Unless you're working with an adult that is helping with that, it could prove problematic.

 

Well I am 17 years old...and i have been running my forum for almost 2 years. Didn't have a clue really how to run a site and I Still have tons to learn but i don't think age matter's to the success of a site...but more the dedication and drive and uniqueness you have to set your site apart from others.

 

no. Age cannot be a factor here. I am near 40 and I am just starting out with a free phpBB forum. I will put it all on the temperament and attitude of the owner. The next problem at times is the question of investing - as we all know, there are zillions of forums around and there are plentiful in every niche. So to get one going and then making the investment is what I would opt for.

 

When I was about 12 I started my own free forum. I don't know how but we got plenty of new members, and around that time I started up a gaming team so eventually I purchased hosting/a domain and we moved onto a phpBB board. I got about two hundred members on that site despite the fact our team consisted of about twenty people. Not bad really considering it was never meant to be that big of a community.

So, I guess what I'm saying is age doesn't matter. Being 12-14 people didn't seem to be put off with my running the site.

 

I don't think age is a concern. If anything, being young enough to still be in School or College is only going to help you as you can let all your friends there know about your site and get them to create accounts and join in with the discussions to help get the forum started.

If I tried to do that now and told my workmates about my site, half of them wouldn't even know what a Forum is and the other would be too busy to even take a look.

I started young, around 14 - However I never got anything worthwhile started then it terms of traffic or revenue. But it's not to say that other young teens can't achieve it, that's the beauty of the internet after all!

 

I feel that different ages will appeal to their respective age group.
As an older guy I would probably not be communicating with a much younger group in the same way that a younger person would.

If the owners of any forum puts in a genuine effort, then it is likely that his or her forum will flourish.

 

Well, depending on what their forum is, age does not matter.
Although if your forum was about...something aimed at older people, then older aged owners may be better suited.
But, probably there are more younger people going on the internet than there is older, so I think younger people may have a better chance of suceeding.

 

Like a wise sage once said, age isn't nothing but a number, the bigger the fire in you the younger you will always be. Looking at it from a different angle however, you can see that it is easier for an old guy to be a bit lazy compared to a younger fellow.

 

Age matters not. Experience matters. As Harvey Keitel said in U-571, "You're the Captain, and the Captain always knows, even when he doesn't."
If you demonstrate maturity and responsibility to your forums and your membership no one cares your age.
It's only when your actions demonstrate immaturity that age becomes a question / concern / problem.

 

Age matters not. Experience matters. As Harvey Keitel said in U-571, "You're the Captain, and the Captain always knows, even when he doesn't."
If you demonstrate maturity and responsibility to your forums and your membership no one cares your age.
It's only when your actions demonstrate immaturity that age becomes a question / concern / problem.

 

Age matters not. Experience matters. As Harvey Keitel said in U-571, "You're the Captain, and the Captain always knows, even when he doesn't."
If you demonstrate maturity and responsibility to your forums and your membership no one cares your age.
It's only when your actions demonstrate immaturity that age becomes a question / concern / problem.

 

Age matters not. Experience matters. As Harvey Keitel said in U-571, "You're the Captain, and the Captain always knows, even when he doesn't."
If you demonstrate maturity and responsibility to your forums and your membership no one cares your age.
It's only when your actions demonstrate immaturity that age becomes a question / concern / problem.