a question on administration

wendy · #1 (**permalink**) 07-23-2008, 01:19 PM

i have always done my best to answer every post that my members make where and when i can but just recently i read conflicting views about doing this.
some say yes reply to all, this shows your members you are willing to interact and keeps them coming back, whilst others say dont do this as you may appear deperate and it may appear that i may be the only one posting as it will show in the recent topics box.

what are your views on this and how do you work on your sites and forums ?

lisa · #2 (**permalink**) 07-23-2008, 01:54 PM

This is an excellent question and it's something I go back and forth with as an admin of a forum. When you own a forum you want it to succeed and you want to help people/reply when you can. But at the same time when you answer too quickly it may prevent others from responding. So sometimes I have to tell myself to back off a bit and let others chime in.... especially now that my forum is getting a little more activity.

I reply to most posts, but not every post. Sometimes the topic may be something I have little knowledge about so I stay out of it. Other times I make a conscious decision to stay out in the beginning of the thread to let other people chime in. It depends.

Now if you're forum is new and has lower activity, you may have to reply a little more just to get the forum going. I don't think it looks desperate. Better to reply than to not respond at all. Think about the person who posted the original question. I'm sure they appreciate a reply from you rather than none at all. It may encourage them to post again. When my forum was new I did try to reply to almost every post.

A lot of people with new forums create fake usernames to reply to threads to make their forum appear more active. That way it doesn't look like you're the only one replying. It may feel weird at first but at least it may keep your forum from looking vacant.

wendy · #3 (**permalink**) 07-23-2008, 02:20 PM

thanks for your reply lisa hun

i do tend to jump straight in with a reply if its my members but i pmed my staff recently and said dont be offended if i dont answer your posts right away as it looks like im the only one posting all the time.
i will leave the thread open and reply in a day or two.

as for creating fake user names to create posts and topics, thats a lil sneaky but i have read that others do it, id be worried i got caught out lol.
i suppose if i got really worried i might try it though

i might try holding bk for a day or so on answering posts and see what happens but i know itl take some restraint on my behalf lol xxx

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