"Your forum is a hobby, but run your forum like a business"
Forum hosting can bring joy to one’s life. It is a hobby like
none other, where people from around the globe can meet and share support, like interests, resources,
opinions, and friendships.
A host on DelphiForums has the ability to create an online home, complete with many features, including chatrooms and colorful decorations in Premium forums.
There are also options the host can use for unruly visitors. Moderation, and many
other tools are available to help a forum run smoothly. Hosts have the space and the ability to run fun,
fabulous forums.
No matter how wonderful a forum is, or how rewarding the experience, occasionally, host burnout creeps in, and a host, who once looked forward to hitting the forum first before doing anything else online, now dreads each visit "home."
The results of a recent survey of Delphi Hosts indicate that there are many causes of host burnout, as well as signs to recognize if one is in danger of experiencing symptoms.
Common Causes
- Extra work and aggravation caused by trolls, troublemakers, and contentious discussions.
- Bickering members.
- Insufficient or unreliable staff
- Spending what the host perceives as too much time in the forum
Signs of Burnout
- The host feels like giving up on a forum.
- Avoiding one’s own forum
- Wondering why one ever started it in the first place
- When the amount of enjoyment in hosting the forum is exceeded by the aggravation it causes
- Members start to seem like one’s unruly children rather than peers
- Lack of energy and the feeling of being overwhelmed
- Lack of interest in the topics
- Feeling like no matter how hard a host works, it doesn’t really matter
- Not wanting to log on for any reason
- Realizing that the forum is just more of the same thing day after day
Suggested Solutions
- Staff
There seemed to be consensus among respondents that recruiting
a strong staff is essential to preventing host burnout. Staff can share the forum workload, be
delegated to key positions or specific tasks or specialist areas. Clear guidelines of staff
expectations are recommended. Rotating duties also may help, along with regular communication between
all staff members. These suggestions may keep other staffers from going through the same type
of disillusionment with the forum, and help the host retain good staff members for longer periods of
time.
- Forum Structure
Reorganizing a forum may also help a host avoid
burnout. New colors and themes may boost everyone’s spirits. Creating new folder topics and new
types of discussions keep a forum’s content from becoming stale and predictable. Run different types
of promotions to attract new members.
- Moderation
Trolls can try the patience of any host. Consider
using the various moderation tools available to eliminate the problems trolls can cause. Remove
troublemakers from the forum, even if they are long-time members. Log in at different times
during the day, choosing a time when one is more relaxed and eager to deal with the forum’s hidden
surprises.
- Forum Rules
If a forum seems to be overrun with unnecessary drama
and trauma, setting up a rules system may be required. Ask members for inputs on how they might like
to see situations handled in the future. A host with member support can more easily institute changes
than one who is fighting the tide of opinion. As a last resort, if nothing else works, consider
turning the forum over to someone else who shows excitement and interest in keeping the forum open.
Conclusion
Hosts who dealt with burnout and utilized the suggestions discussed here have
reported positive results. They indicated that they went back to their forums refreshed and
eager to continue hosting. Often, the side effect of one’s efforts to improve one’s hosting techniques
and bring about changes is an increase in membership. Some hosts also reported that they were able to
take vacations, knowing the forum was in good hands while they were away.
The respondents offered some final words of advice. It was
suggested that hosts not close down a forum due to burnout, but work on ways to alleviate it instead.
Remember that each forum is unique. Don’t let what happens in a negative way on one forum spill over
onto another.
A special thank you to all the Hosts who participated in the survey and contributed your personal experiences for this article. We could not have done it without you!
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