Sometimes, being a staff member is really hard. You have to take into consideration the happiness of all of your members, and sometimes that goes over your own happiness. But you know what, at the end of the day, you've got to remember that it is your site. If you need to move on from some things, then you need to move on from some things. If you sit around waiting for people to move the plots forward, it will never get done. Sometimes you've just gotta move on and let go.

I would go as far as to say trying to make everyone happy isn't a realistic strategy because everyone likes different things. Every time you change something someone is going to have a positive or negative reaction to it and you are rarely going to have 100% agreement. If you set the standard the way you want things to be, you'll keep the people that feel around the same that you do and you won't have a site that you don't even want to be a part of anymore because you made too many comprimises. McDonalds doesn't stop making hamburgers just because some people don't want hamburgers, because they know there is enough demand for them regardless.

I just want and hope that my project will be well-received and will be fun for those who want to be apart of it. I put in a lot of effort into everything, and just want it to be successful, even if I only have a handful of members. But how do I keep myself from getting discouraged about that? The instant things seem to slow down, I get panicky. ;_;

I am just scared to open (and re-open) my babies. I don't want to fail. But I've already failed of I've never tried, I guess...

I'm the same way. I get so zoned in on the fact that activity is slow, or that people aren't posting as much, or that interest seems to be lacking, when, in reality, usually it's because the community is dealing with more real life issues more often than not. I have learned (the hard way, time and time again) though the creation of multiple rps over the years that sites will have slow times, and there is no way around it. You just gotta push through it. Maybe do an event or a contest to reel people back in a little. Even doing something so subtle as changing the site's skin or adding a new character class could make a big difference, and alert to everyone that you're still around, still interested.

Just make sure you're making the effort to be around and post regularly too! I've had and have seen some sites that flake off and start falling apart the minute the admin/mods begin slacking or find a new rp/hobby, and you have to have a few posting pillars in your community to keep things active if you, as a staff member, are busy/going to be away. Staff activity and presence is key. And, you just have to keep hoping for the best. Be happy about the handful of members you do have. Focus on them, and then advertise/affiliate to accumulate more gradually.

A memberbase will come. You just have to be patient sometimes. It's probably the most difficult thing to learn in post-by-post rp is the waiting for your site to grow. But, it's well worth it. And, if you still only have a handful of members after a year, then that's okay. If you're still happy posting and your current players are happy being a part of your game, that's all that matters.

The only thing you can do is try.

I always feel the same way regardless of how many members, how many posts, how much postive feedback comes my way. I think that is just what really caring about something feels like when you know that its 'life' depends on you. Forums can die even if you do your best, memberbases are extremely volatile. A lot of times original memberbases are often partially made up of people looking for something smaller & they leave, and that is where a lot of admins give up because they think that is the end. Taking care of lists on someone elses forum quickly made me realize that very few people actually stick around long term overall.

I'm actually suprised that people don't do more pop-up sites that just play out something like a cool event and then shutter after. I think as long as people are up front about it being a short term site & the app isn't a nightmare it would have an auidience.

That is more motivation to want to avoid making a site. I've never had one last longer than a couple of months and if it isn't for the fact that it goes inactive it is the depression I feel as if it was my fault for not making it a cool site to begin with. Oh what I'd give to have it last longer than a few months but I feel like only lucky sites manage to get past the year mark and keep going, regardless of the member count. I mean advertising is easy, keeping a site interesting, that is another thing entirely and it brings me great joy in seeing sites that survive instead of going inactive or closing completely.

Ya ever just read an app someone has made for your site and just.... Headdesk on repeat? Like did yall even read the information? There's only three threads of info plus like 2 of rules. How do you get so far off topic.....?

You've got to stick it out and build a core. Certain members are "sticky" and you accumulate them over time.

But yea it is emotionally exhausting because you can't really detach yourself just because people are going to leave.

I struggle when it comes to sticking to it. I mean one moment I find myself interested in the concept and the next, interested in something else unless I have people around to keep me interested in the concept. So trying to find a concept that would interest a group has been hard for me. It also sucks when they join and leave without giving a reason, I mean I can understand why I just wish a reason was given so that I could possibly make improvements on the site. But it is very exhausting for me just because I'd find myself having to keep the site interesting, making it pretty without it being too much, there is just so many things to cover and it feels like it was easier to get members ten years ago than currently.

^ It really does seem like it was easier getting members way back in the beginning. Nowadays people seem more interested in rp online in like discord or on mmos than they do in forum rp. But yet most of my members exist in my same age range, like we just liked forum rp and stuck with it. Personally, I've been on proboards on and off for the past 15 years. I've seen a lot of changes in the community over that time. I've noticed a lot more pan/fandom based rps, than originals, and most of proboards rps are like... Naruto, dragonball, HP, and Warriors related, which is ironic to me because proboards used to have more original and jcink/invisionfree back then, was more fandom based. It's really flipped around. As a staff, it's really hard to cater to new members most of the time, and it takes a long time to build a community. Sometimes it's just easier to join one, find a group of people you like being with, and see if they want to make one with you, because at least then you've got friends and aren't in it alone.

Changing things when people leave can actually make more people leave. The people who stay might like what you had already, and when you change things you risk taking away what the longer termed players like. I'm not advocating being completely stubborn and inflexible- but sometimes the changes should be soft skill related instead of changing the recipie.

Yea definitly finding friends to work with you is a major advantage.

Taking a popular fandom for brand recognition and hacking to fit your needs is a powerful tool as well. I could have probably gotten a slightly more ideal setting for what I want to do if I didn't use a fandom, but not so much that it is going to ruin what I want to write about or anything.

The best thing to do as a staff member is to write/make something that you really enjoy and won't easily get sick of just because no one else wants to join. It took over a year for me to get members, and those members have already been around for almost another year now. It takes time and persistence and I couldn't have done it without the few friends I do have. In turn, the new members liked the content so much that they brought in their friends, and now we have a fairly active community. But since it's all something I worked on for a long time and never get sick of, it really helps keep it going, even in slow times.

Do some people just...expect staff to know when their application for a new character is done and ready for review? Or like...why do people finish an app and then just never bother to let the staff know that it is indeed done and they aren't still adding to it. Like, what's the point of not communicating that way? I mean, even if you don't join the discord a message could just as easily be sent to a staff member or on the app itself indicating that it's done?