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You just opened your first community. You got it set up like you want. You're now ready to engage in conversation with your users. Starting a community is not all roses. There will be problems that arise from the start. What do you think will be the hardest task that you will have to deal with?

Once you decide to start a community you have to decide which forum software to use. Choosing the best forum software depends on your specific needs, such as ease of use, customization, and community features. Here are some popular options: Discourse: Modern and user-friendly, with features like real-time discussions, mobile support, and extensive plugins. phpBB: A classic, open-source forum software that is highly customizable and has a large community. Vanilla Forums: Offers both open-source and paid versions, known for its clean interface and integration options. Flarum: A lightweight and modern forum software that is easy to set up and customize. Simple Machi…

Before choosing the software to power your forum, take advantage of free trials and demos beforehand. You might blindly choose a software that you end up hating to use. Then, you have to go through the trouble of merging software. Sometimes, you have to use another software just to be able to merge one to another. It can become a nightmare. Test it out first and go with what you love best. What do you all think about this sort of thing?

Thinking back - what was the hardest part about starting your forum? How did you overcome it?

Did you have any expectations in forum management that turned out not to happen? Tell us about any failed forum expectation and what you did about it!

Here's your chance to give a forum admin newbie one best piece of advice. What is your advice?

A "newbie" in a community refers to a newcomer or someone who is inexperienced in that particular community or field. This term is often used in online forums, gaming, and various interest groups to describe individuals who are still learning the ropes, familiarizing themselves with the norms, rules, and culture of the community. Newbies may have questions, seek guidance, or look for resources to help them get started. If you are new to forums a "newbie" then you've come to the right place to get tips and help starting your own forum community.

We've all seen new forum communities pop up all the time. Some become instant hits and some never take off. New forum admins tend to make the same mistakes which cause their forum to be less attractive to new sign ups. Lets start a list of the common mistakes new forum admins make. I'll start. Having a popup, usually with some ugly graphic, encouraging you to join the community. A welcome message isn't a problem it's those javascript popups you come across on so many new sites. New admins think they are cool. Another mistake new forum admins make is they will put Google Adsense ads on the site with no content. I don't have a problem with ads. I have a problem…

Simple poll for all of you to participate in. I myself have no problems with competing site owners or staff coming here and even linking to the site as long as they participate. Allowing competing sites can only do good. I see no downside to it. What's your thoughts?

Until I can get the directory installed and running lets post the sites you've owned or were a member of staff. I myself have owned many and was staff on many more. Here are the big boards I owned, sold or closed. Extreme Visual Basic - This used to be at a different URL which the new owner failed to renew. I sold it to iNet Interactive at the height of it's popularity. When I sold it there was an aversage of 500 users online at any time and 2000 new posts a day. It was number 1 in it's niche. What Pisses You Off? - This was a forum I started as an off shoot to a thread that was posted on my visual basic forum in the Random Thoughts forum. I never expected it to…