Does your forum make you happy?

[Shawn Gossman]

You should always do the things that make you happy.

Sometimes you'll be faced with something you thought you would enjoy but are never happy about doing it. You should quit doing it because it isn't improving your life.

Are forums something that makes you happy?

At one time, I took a break from forums because I was unhappy with them. Now that I'm back, I've grown up a little and stopped doing things that always depressed me. Now I'm happy again running forums, even if they're not as popular as they once were.

When they made me unhappy and couldn't get the happiness back, I quit messing with them. Otherwise, I would have grown to hate forums altogether.

Sometimes you need to step back, and I want to say there is nothing wrong with that.

 

[ZandraJoi]

This is a deep question that will plague every owner at one time or another. There are times, I admit, my forum & just posting on others don't make me fulfilled, or happy. It can be deflating when you are posting so much & don't get much in return. I felt the most unhappiest when I first started. Ironic huh? lol I had joined a lot of other Proboards' forums, similar to Post Exchanges, it was more "I join yours, you join mine". I would take my time to post on theirs. Then they would come on mine to do games. It was deflating. Now mind you, I like games. I don't care to help your forum succeed & you do a simple one word game on mine. I created my forum to be educational, to discuss. Needless to say, I'm not on those forums anymore. Quitting mind-numbing forums like that helped reinvigorate me.
To stay happy, content, to avoid burn-out, I advise pacing yourself. Don't take on more than you can handle. & if you need a mini break, take it. I unplug often throughout the day & am only on forums at certain times.

 

[Shawn Gossman]

I always feel excited when I first start a brand new forum. Setting it up, writing the first posts...

Then I just focus on content while I wait for that first member.

A big active forum is nice but if all I had was a few people that showed up and we kept becoming better friends over the life of the community, I think I could be happy with that.

I used to stress over numbers - member amounts and post counts but anymore, I just want to enjoy a fun community with anyone who wants to be a part of it

 

[Dilip]

Certainly. I have been running forums for over a decade now. Been a part of my own and big 3rd party forums. These days, I do it because I like it.

 

[Elseb]

Absolutely my forum makes me happy, no way I'd have persisted with it since 2002 if it didn't! Don't get me wrong, there is times where it has had quieter periods and you get frustrated with the amount of work put In but I've learnt to deal that these days. Swings and roundabouts as they say!