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New BAR Admins - SuperReaderGirl & Nifty - Saying Hello

Sparhawk said:
Appoint a good moderator who is actively involved in the forum or get a lot more active yourselves - mostly get a LOT more active yourselves - the life of a forum is dependent on the involvement and active participation of the owners. There isn't a forum on the internet that survives the non-participation of the owners. Moderate the spam and step in and moderate arguments before they spiral whilst allowing freedom of expression.
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You putting yourself up for the job?
 
Sparhawk said:
Appoint a good moderator who is actively involved in the forum or get a lot more active yourselves - mostly get a LOT more active yourselves - the life of a forum is dependent on the involvement and active participation of the owners. There isn't a forum on the internet that survives the non-participation of the owners. Moderate the spam and step in and moderate arguments before they spiral whilst allowing freedom of expression.
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I can definitely be more involved. We do personally moderate spam, but I hesitated to place myself too much in the middle of arguments after my initial enthusiasm on the site seemed to have negative consequences (long-time main moderator stepping down). Most of you have been here for a very long time and I did not want you to feel I was taking over your community to make with it what I wanted. I apologize if this translated into looking like I was apathetic. I'll try to keep current with the forum conversations, but please also feel free to use the "report" feature, for any threads you think are in need of more moderator involvement.
 
Conscious Bob said:
If they do will you increase your own level of participation?
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Possibly. I don't really get along with the current layout of the site, and I don't have lots of free time away from my own sites - the time I do have is usually spent reading, when the kids aren't vying for my attention.

Most forums are dependent on the activity of its owners, and I am a person who looks at the activity of the staff/owners to see how passionate they are about it. I find that if you see minimal interaction from the owners, then chances are the forum activity itself starts to decline as members start to feel why should they put the effort in if the people who own it can't be bothered.

Sparhawk said:
Appoint a good moderator who is actively involved in the forum or get a lot more active yourselves - mostly get a LOT more active yourselves - the life of a forum is dependent on the involvement and active participation of the owners. There isn't a forum on the internet that survives the non-participation of the owners. Moderate the spam and step in and moderate arguments before they spiral whilst allowing freedom of expression.
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Sparhawk (incidentally, I love that character and those books!) hits the nail on the head right there. When the owner aren't active, the forum won't survive.

So, my advice to the new owners (as a forum admin myself) if you don't have the time to put into the site (and forums take up a lot of time, effort and blood, sweat and tears), hand it over to someone who can. Otherwise you're wasting your own time and the time of the members who want to be involved.
 
Apologies for the double posting, I didn't see this post until after I'd hit reply.

The following I post as a forum administrator/owner of over 12 years and not as a potential member. I've worked with a lot of admins over the years, helping them to build, rebuild, change, write rules etc, so I'm going to put that hat on now ;)


SuperReaderGirl said:
I can definitely be more involved. We do personally moderate spam, but I hesitated to place myself too much in the middle of arguments after my initial enthusiasm on the site seemed to have negative consequences (long-time main moderator stepping down).
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This sends the alarm bells ringing for me. As the owner/administrator, you have to understand your community to be able to deal with your community. If you haven't spent the last three months (or however long it's been since you took ownership of the site) getting to know your regular members, then what have you been doing?

Most of you have been here for a very long time and I did not want you to feel I was taking over your community to make with it what I wanted.
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But that's exactly what you've done :) That's not an accusation, simply a statement of fact. When you buy a site from someone else, it's because you think you can do it better than whoever had it before did - or because it's making money and you want the revenue lol. Either way, you (me... they.. whoever) bought it to make your own mark on it. But there are ways to do it without riding roughshod over the existing members and this is something that should have been considered before announcing your ownership of the site.

Announcing yourself as the new owners, making a few random posts and then leaving them to it isn't the way to transition a site from one owner to another.
 
Azhria Lilu said:
Possibly. I don't really get along with the current layout of the site, and I don't have lots of free time away from my own sites - the time I do have is usually spent reading, when the kids aren't vying for my attention.
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From my point of view the only thing forum members can truly offer by way of a bargaining tool is personal commitment, without that it's all stick and no carrot, besides...

Azhria Lilu said:
I hope my post spurs the new owners into action and they can bring back the glory days - god knows we need a great book forum! - but, three months in and nothing to show for it, I can't say I'm truly hopeful - otherwise I might have a start a book forum of my own.
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If you can't find the time to up your post count where are you going to find the time to run your own book forum?
 
Conscious Bob said:
From my point of view the only thing forum members can truly offer by way of a bargaining tool is personal commitment, without that it's all stick and no carrot, besides...
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I wasn't bargaining or dangling a stick and carrot, I was offering a point of view. Don't like it, that's absolutely fine.



If you can't find the time to up your post count where are you going to find the time to run your own book forum?
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I see you removed the smiley from my sentence to make it look like I was being serious. If you reread, you'll see there was a smiley there to show I wasn't being serious at all.

My own projects are completely irrelevant, (and I only take on projects that I can fit into my day) I already explained that the layout of this forum is offputting to me, which is why I don't post much. Of course, the aggressive attitude you display isn't conducive to people wanting to join in either. :)
 
Azhria Lilu said:
I wasn't bargaining or dangling a stick and carrot, I was offering a point of view. Don't like it, that's absolutely fine.




I see you removed the smiley from my sentence to make it look like I was being serious. If you reread, you'll see there was a smiley there to show I wasn't being serious at all.

My own projects are completely irrelevant, (and I only take on projects that I can fit into my day) I already explained that the layout of this forum is offputting to me, which is why I don't post much. Of course, the aggressive attitude you display isn't conducive to people wanting to join in either. :)
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Meow.

I genuinely thought you were being serious and you're not exactly backward at coming forward yourself if your reply to SuperReaderGirl is anything to go by.

All I'm saying is the only thing any forum member can supply is personal commitment.
 
Conscious Bob said:
Meow.
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I purr more often than I meow.

I genuinely thought you were being serious and you're not exactly backward at coming forward yourself if your reply to SuperReaderGirl is anything to go by.
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About opening a forum? No, not really.. it was more trying to emphasise that this place has the potential, but if it's not going to be recognised I might put some thought into it at some point. And I'm definitely not backward in coming forward, I just try to be critical without being aggressive. Aggression achieves nothing more than putting noses out of joint and causing arguments instead of results.

All I'm saying is the only thing any forum member can supply is personal commitment.
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Look at it this way - without forum members, there is no forum. That's quite a weighty impression, all on its own.
 
Azhria Lilu said:
Look at it this way - without forum members, there is no forum. That's quite a weighty impression, all on its own.
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I appreciate you want the site to thrive however we are the forum members at this moment. You want change and you're prepared to argue for it good on you but what good is all the effort if you remain noncommittal about its use?

I'm not going to hold my breath awaiting the invasion of book loving aesthetes. Better to make the place look lived in.
 
Conscious Bob said:
I appreciate you want the site to thrive however we are the forum members at this moment.
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You know that statement alone is basically telling people that BAR is elitist and unless you have x amount of posts you have no right to say a thing. Another offputting thing to see on a forum.

You want change and you're prepared to argue for it good on you but what good is all the effort if you remain noncommittal about its use?
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I'm not being non-committal at all, I'm being honest. If the site stays as stagnant as it is, then I'll drift away and find somewhere else to be. If the new owners make some good changes, then I'll stick around and post. I won't invest my time and effort in a site where the owners won't invest their time and effort.

I'm not going to hold my breath awaiting the invasion of book loving aesthetes.
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Probably wise not holding your breath, you'll start getting dizzy and eventually collapse. That can't be good for anyone.

Better to make the place look lived in.
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With the site getting little more than 15 or so new posts a day, you're not doing a very good job of it. A site this size should be getting a minimum of 100.
 
Azhria Lilu said:
I'm not being non-committal at all, I'm being honest. If the site stays as stagnant as it is, then I'll drift away and find somewhere else to be. If the new owners make some good changes, then I'll stick around and post. I won't invest my time and effort in a site where the owners won't invest their time and effort.
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That's a lot better than 'possibly' ball's in BAR's court.
 
Azhria Lilu said:
Sure they do (I'm a site owner myself) but they have to earn it. Your new (and ever so passionate) admin has made a total of 8 posts since Sunday - where's the interest and dedication there?
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Hmm, given that I've an 'aggressive attitude' whereas you 'just try to be critical without being aggressive' how does your description of the 'admin' in the context of this post fit with your personal (and professional) credo?
 
Conscious Bob said:
Hmm, given that I've an 'aggressive attitude' whereas you 'just try to be critical without being aggressive' how does your description of the 'admin' in the context of this post fit with your personal (and professional) credo?
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You're confusing aggression with bluntness. There's nothing aggressive about pointing out a fact (sarcastic possibly).
 
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