Have ever considered stepping down as owner to work as staff?

[Cedric]

Have ever considered stepping down as owner to work as staff?

So, I wanted to ask you all: Would you ever consider stepping down as owner and working as staff on your forum? What would be your reasons for doing so? And what are the potential benefits and drawbacks of such a decision?

On the one hand, being an owner means having the ultimate control and decision-making power over your forum. But on the other hand, working as staff can be more hands-on and allow you to focus on the day-to-day operations and community-building aspects of the forum.

I think this is an interesting topic to explore, and I'm curious to hear your thoughts on it. Have any of you made this transition before? What was your experience like? And for those who haven't, would you ever consider it?

Let's start a discussion and see where it takes us! Whether you're an owner, staff member, or just a curious observer, I'd love to hear your perspective on this topic.

 

[Strawberry]

I think that would be such a difficult decision to make, especially if it's a forum that you've owned for a long period of time. It almost becomes like your pride and joy, so giving it over to someone else would mean giving over complete control. I'd be nervous that they made a mockery of it and sent the forum into a downward spiral. Personally, I don't think I could just step down to being a staff member, I think I would need to leave the forum altogether. Ignorance is bliss I suppose.

 

[Cory]

I've never done so, but I would probably only do so under the condition that I am too busy to run a forum and only have enough time to moderate the forum a be active from time to time.

 

[Debashis]

I feel an owner would step down as a staff member only if he/she trusts the new owner with running the forum as per the expectations or even beyond it. But it would happen mostly when the owner is not able to manage the entire site on his own. In such a scenario, a better option would be to hire a co-admin or more moderators. Because even as a staff member, there will be some duties to fulfil. It won't make much difference. So it would be better to get some more helping hands than stepping down as an owner.

 

[Paul]

I kind of did about 3 years ago. Just the effort of being the main person really. I have a couple of other admins who can override me, they only tend to come to me now if they're unsure of what to do.

 

[Shortie]

As much as this would be a difficult decision for me to make, it is something I would consider under only certain circumstances only.

The circumstances that would make my decision easier would be if I no longer had time to be able to put into being the owner and, stepping down would be a option for me and the site in question.

I would definitely want to stay on as staff for sure but would know that there was not as much pressure for me to put the time in that I could no longer give.

 

[Ravenfreak]

The only time I would do this is if life got super busy and I couldn't keep up with the forum anymore as the owner. Instead of selling the site, I'd just ask to be a co-admin or possibly even a moderator. That way I'm still part of the community and can continue to contribute to it, but wouldn't have to worry too much about admin tasks.

 

[JennyorAlice]

Well, I could see myself doing that if I were to sell the forum to someone else and they kept me on as a staff member.

But, other than that, I don't know....

 

[Empire]

Not yet but it's finding that person to step up.

 

[Dismal_Bliss]

I did this with one that I started. I'm still a member and on board as the tech geek who does the under the hood stuff, but I no longer have ownership control over the community. I'm an admin, but my ideas get voted down all the time. That part is frustrating, lol

 

[kensonplays]

No, I most likely would not. Not unless I did a co-ownership with another person who has a PG community that might want to merge or something.

 

[synpastel]

I think I've done this maybe once. It was on a vampire writing site where my life was just getting overwhelmed by other things. Site still lasted a pretty good long time.

 

[Nomad]

I once sold a site to another person and agreed to work as a staff on the site. I was a staff for 10 months on the site until the owner sold it to another person. I made more money as a staff than selling the site.

 

[Reverie]

I don't think I could take a step down and work as a staff member. If time was not available for me and I'm having to step down to ensure the community still goes on I would hope for a special group/Former-Admin/VIP something like that. If I had enough time to be a staff member, I would likely still have enough time to be an admin.

I've been on forums where owners decide to sell and often if it is just a transaction for them, they never return to the forum and have no interest in the forum after that.