Montana Owners Club - Keystone Montana 5th Wheel Forum - View Single Post

D and M On The Road · 11-03-2004, 03:56 PM

I used to Admin an extremely large website that had among other features, a forum with a membership larger than this one. After 6 years of dedication to it, I turned it over to another person in early September and I haven't looked back. It took an enormous amount of time to keep the whole website up and operating properly and to keep the members on the forum from killing each other (and me) with their difference of opinions.

From having that website and forum, I can understand the reasoning behind the forum being "closed" to the public. My forum was closed. It makes sense to be able to keep tally on the membership and weed out inactive members after a certain period (6 months was mine) of inactivity. By having a closed forum, the Admin can easily see the last time someone has logged on. If a member logs on, then they are considered an "active" member whether they post or just lurk. That definitely cuts down time spent on the bookkeeping.

It's really hard to not take the opinions and criticism of the website or forum personal when you are an Admin. Especially when all you are trying to do is what is needed for the site, or what is best for the site, or what will cut down on some of the time you spend maintaining the site.

I cared very much about the website and forum I had, and I devoted thousands of hours to it. It got to a point where I just couldn't stand the problems and stress of trying to please the members. The forum pretty much lost track of why it was in existence in the first place as everyone spent time giving opinions on everyone else's opinions and on things that really shouldn't have mattered.

This forum's topic is about Montana 5th wheels and we really need to try and stay there or we will end up like every other forum on the net with people fighting and complaining all the time. Keystone Mfg has complimented this forum in the past for it being different, I hope our luck doesn't run out.

For me, the Admin can do whatever they want. If there comes a time I don't like the policies and procedures here, I'll go find another place that is maintained by people who share my opinions or if need be, I'll go create my own site again. Creating one is easy. Maintaining it and trying to please all the members is the hard part.

I'm grateful that it's someone else running the show here. Admin, keep up the good work. You guys deserve a medal.

11-03-2004, 03:56 PM	#25
D and M On The Road Montana Master Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Orangevale Posts: 2,341 M.O.C. #49	I used to Admin an extremely large website that had among other features, a forum with a membership larger than this one. After 6 years of dedication to it, I turned it over to another person in early September and I haven't looked back. It took an enormous amount of time to keep the whole website up and operating properly and to keep the members on the forum from killing each other (and me) with their difference of opinions. From having that website and forum, I can understand the reasoning behind the forum being "closed" to the public. My forum was closed. It makes sense to be able to keep tally on the membership and weed out inactive members after a certain period (6 months was mine) of inactivity. By having a closed forum, the Admin can easily see the last time someone has logged on. If a member logs on, then they are considered an "active" member whether they post or just lurk. That definitely cuts down time spent on the bookkeeping. It's really hard to not take the opinions and criticism of the website or forum personal when you are an Admin. Especially when all you are trying to do is what is needed for the site, or what is best for the site, or what will cut down on some of the time you spend maintaining the site. I cared very much about the website and forum I had, and I devoted thousands of hours to it. It got to a point where I just couldn't stand the problems and stress of trying to please the members. The forum pretty much lost track of why it was in existence in the first place as everyone spent time giving opinions on everyone else's opinions and on things that really shouldn't have mattered. This forum's topic is about Montana 5th wheels and we really need to try and stay there or we will end up like every other forum on the net with people fighting and complaining all the time. Keystone Mfg has complimented this forum in the past for it being different, I hope our luck doesn't run out. For me, the Admin can do whatever they want. If there comes a time I don't like the policies and procedures here, I'll go find another place that is maintained by people who share my opinions or if need be, I'll go create my own site again. Creating one is easy. Maintaining it and trying to please all the members is the hard part. I'm grateful that it's someone else running the show here. Admin, keep up the good work. You guys deserve a medal.