It's Hard, Hmmmm Maybe?

[Empire]

This has been posted elsewhere however different points of view here to respond..

This has been on my mind for a while now and I need to start to make that consideration since December 2023 will be among us as soon. BaysideGamers has been running for almost eight years and in the last two years, it's been going downhill, not the site to blame it's luckier to be me as life and other things going on that I can't get into it, plus I do not have the funds like I used to. I do not even know if I can able to renew it when December comes.

But got me thinking, however in the past, it has not helped in terms of people.

1. End up closing it fully, end it all. Yet I would back up and download everything so that maybe in the future if I want to return I have the site and database still, IPB. then again five years or maybe 10 years database or forum software is going to be different and might not be able to return.
2. Still being the founder of the site (CEO) of the site, however, I step down and let someone else take the role of an admin who would have full control of everything. Someone who takes over building and growing the site, still talking and contacting me for approval or ideas. I would still work doing the server backend related but the admin to take the full IPB-related stuff.

BaysideGamers is dead. I can't put enough into it myself as I used to. I love to keep it going for another eight years. however, it's eating up my cash for what! just sitting there idle. Whoever becomes admin has to accept that there is no money. You end up earning an x-amount from the ads or other related earnings that the site may receive. however, the amount of cash would need to go back into the server costs. I can't be looking at renewing in December for another three years if it's not going to grow.

I have hired many people in the past, from mods to temps admins. Most people that became mods have failed me. They came and the first couple of weeks get active by posting. however, they are helping themselves and at most; I end up dealing with simple jobs myself. Other times they don't return and so months later I had to remove them since they just lost interest. The only person that really has helped out and supported is Ash, Ash became a temporary admin who came out in his free time to change and bring ideas to the site and made it better, however, he had to leave since college and life; he had to retire the other sites that he had running and sold them.

Say what you want Open book here

 

[Cedric]

Right so, I wanted to show you some articles and snippets where you could find some motivation, tips and ideas. I'm positive you'll find some new strategies here to lift your community back to former glory and if you need help, don't hesitate to let me and the community know. We'll do our best to help you @Empire ☺️

https://admin-junkies.com/articles/...otivated-when-your-forum-has-low-activity.34/https://admin-junkies.com/articles/...e-yourself-to-post-content-as-a-webmaster.33/https://admin-junkies.com/articles/how-to-revive-your-community-in-4-easy-ways.31/https://admin-junkies.com/articles/10-big-mistakes-community-managers-make.62/https://admin-junkies.com/articles/3-ways-to-re-invent-your-community.57/https://admin-junkies.com/articles/...-forum-is-failing-and-how-to-counter-them.50/https://admin-junkies.com/threads/do-not-promote-your-forum-promote-yourself.3393/https://admin-junkies.com/threads/try-to-post-something-interesting-each-day.2835/https://admin-junkies.com/threads/dont-give-up-on-your-community.2202/https://admin-junkies.com/threads/keep-posting-new-content-every-day.2140/

 

[joelr]

This has been posted elsewhere however different points of view here to respond..



Say what you want Open book here

I hope you take this in the positive manner in which it was intended: you're asking others to help you do your own soul searching.

Only you can determine the worth, the effort, the results, and the gains from your own forum.

At the end of the day, you're asking, "why should I still run this race?"

While other people may be well meaning and have posted articles about how to run the race and how to stay motivated, nobody can help answer why you should run except yourself.

 

[Ravenfreak]

This choice is ultimately up to you @Empire, do you want to continue running the forum? Perhaps archiving the forum and keeping the database may be a good idea for now. That way, if you ever get the urge and motivation to bring back your community you'll still have access to your database.

 

[Reverie]

Do you still enjoy the niche of your forum? I would also ask if the niche is still an active one - but gaming lives live and well. What do other gaming communities have that you have/don’t have. Do some marketing comparisons. Join some discord servers. Find the hot topics that could bring people in. Perhaps a rebranding? Bayside gaming - I would assume is s clan if I didn’t know otherwise. Perhaps a name change - something more marketable would help?

 

[joelr]

Hi @Empire send l sent you a message about a community consultation.

 

[Tracy]

While other people may be well meaning and have posted articles about how to run the race and how to stay motivated, nobody can help answer why you should run except yourself.

EXACTLY this.
If you are like me, and running the site primarily for yourself and offering others the benefit of utilizing it... don't worry about traffic, how many users you have sign up or anything else.
If your site has become a "drag" on you, and you no longer get enjoyment/benefit from it YOURSELF... then it's probably time to look at handing the reigns over to someone else, or simply shutting it down.
Classic case.. my current astrophotography/astronomy site... I registered it in 2018 as I was getting into the field and was really interested in it. Due to issues with me and the hardware not playing well together... I got burned out. So, I took the site offline but kept the domain registered. Now, here it is a few years later and I finally figured out the "base shit" on what the hobby requires... so I restarted the site.
Of course, the majority of the content on the site is created by me... but again, it was STARTED for primarily MY benefit to allow me to post content in a format I am comfortable with, and have an open door for others that may be interested in the hobby.
My second site in my signature.. simply a site I set up for a "nasty pastime" of mine.. it gets NO use, but does give me somewhere to play.

 

[Bluezone777]

The one thing about giving him tips to be motivated to continue assumes he should keep doing what he is doing with no reason for why that should be assumed. I'd say if you can't explain to yourself why you should continue then why do you think you will be able to explain why anyone should even go to a site that the owner of it can't even explain why he still runs it? The thing about soul searching is you have to do the work yourself. People can help along the way but you still have to do all the "walking" yourself but you can do it as many have been in such a position where soul searching needs to take place and done it.

 

[Uncrowned]

It is certainly sad to see a fellow gaming community fade away. I still jump in to check Bayside every now and then, but my activity is not very significant over there. The final call is yours, but I agree with others that you should keep that domain name for whatever the future holds.

 

[ZandraJoi]

Many admins have asked this same question. What I feel is the answer is- Are you happy? Does running your forum make you happy? Or do you dread & even drag your feet logging on?
If your heart's not into it, then there's your answer