Managing Online Forums - Possibly a book worth reading

[MrEyes]

A moment ago I was doing my normal daily scan of slashdot and came across this review:

http://books.slashdot.org/article.pl.../02/09/1441227

In summary, the article discusses a book that many people on here might find extremely useful.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0...ref=sib_rdr_dp

Synopsis

Every day, millions of users log into their favorite online forums to keep up on the latest trends in music, politics, entertainment, and current events.

Each of these communities is led by administrators who must make tough decisions, deal with difficult users and manage the staff. Legal constraints, trolls, and technical issues can all turn the excitement of running an online community into chaos. With the right guidance, however, running forums can be a pleasure, not a chore. Patrick O’Keefe has spent years developing and managing his own online communities. Now, he shows readers how they can make their lives easier by making the right decisions about every aspect of their forums.

From developing their site to choosing the right employees, Managing Online Forums is the one book that shows site administrators how to create a safe, entertaining, and informative community that users will return to again and again.

[iogames]

Lmao+rolf

[lasto]

£16.13 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery (wow)

TBH if u dont know how to run a board then the book is gonna be no good for u.
Running a forum is what comes from experience and as admins we all make mistakes.
Its how we rectify them that matters.

[Lynne]

Originally Posted by lasto

Running a forum is what comes from experience and as admins we all make mistakes.
Its how we rectify them that matters.

Boy do I wholeheartedly agree with this statement! :up:

[Ted S]

No book is going to give you all the secrets to making a successful community, teach you everything about how to manage yours or make up for years of experience but there is a lot to be said for good information. Most admins turn to forums like this one, blogs and articles for ideas on modifications, tips on dealing with certain issues, strategies to drive revenue and a thousand other topics. A book, while a static item, simply provides an aggregate of that information in a format that can be marked up and glanced through offline.

I'm not advocating everyone rushes out to buy this or any other book but don't discount something simply because it's on paper. We all rely on information sources to help augment our own understanding... I've spent years helping businesses including many forums optimize their registration funnel and drive revenue & activity not because the owners and managers of those businesses couldn't do it but because they hadn't learned how. An article I wrote years ago on how to successfully add merchandise to a forum was a huge hit -- not because people couldn't figure it out themselves but because it jump started ideas, listed tools, vendors, product types and prices and made things easier. Whether you read a blog, discuss in a forum or buy a book the idea is the same -- getting outside ideas to drive you to think about what you are already doing and improve it.

And frankly while we all may make mistakes and have great experiences to build off of in the future, few forum owners ever develop large enough sites to know how to create the success that many want.

In the interest of full disclosure I know the author of this book and am named in it but regardless affiliations, everyone should find the information sources they like. For me most of the books I own on internet marketing & optimization serve as casual references and interesting reads during downtime while conferences, networking discussions and blogs are my source of actionable information but I wouldn't stop buying books -- both give me value, both have their place in my world.

[iogames]

I thought that just the owner of 'Sadism Forums' was happy with his job

[fattony69]

I read that book. It is a bit outdated, but it gives you the basics on how to run. It will not give you a step by step formula on how to get a successful forum.

Hello,

My name is Patrick O'Keefe and I wrote "Managing Online Forums." Thanks so much, MrEyes, for mentioning the book and for your interest. I really appreciate it.

You don't need a book to learn how to manage an online community, that is absolutely true. After all, I didn't have one. I learned by doing and so can everyone else, probably (though, different people learn in different ways). So, you don't need this book, or any other. This applies to most subjects.

What I do believe, though, is that there can be great benefit derived from the experience of others and that that experience can help you to be better equipped to deal with questions and challenges or can add to your existing experience, even if you are a veteran of something, I believe that I should always be learning, no matter how much experience I may have in something.

I look at Ted, a friend of mine, and I say that this guy is a genius. He knows marketing and merchandising and so many other things. So, I ask him, will you contribute something to it? He kindly agrees. I benefit from his experience in an area where I have much less than he does. I don't see this as bad thing, I see this as a good thing. Ted is a smart man.

What the book is, is my 8 years (now about 9) of experience in community management. It is literally everything that I have dealt with in those 8 years, from the smallest issue to the biggest one. I talk about them in detail, relaying my real life experience and the solutions that I used and use in actual practice.

The book is not a software book, it is a management strategy book, primarily, though I did recommend vBulletin as a paid solution in it. I did this for a couple of reasons. First, I'm not a programmer. And a software book would have the potential to become outdated rather quickly. Second, though, is that what I am passionate about is managing the community, talking with people, handling problems and so on. That is what the book is about and it is my hope that this allows it to maintain a sense of timelessness where it can be beneficial for a long time to come.

My goal in writing it was simply to create a manual that someone could pick up and learn from, to get a leg up on what they are about to undertake or to build on the vast wealth of knowledge they already have. To create a helpful book and to help people confidently manage their online communities. I love it, I'm passionate about it and I want to help others do it, if I can.

So, I hope this explains a bit about the book and where I'm coming from. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. Thank you for reading this message and, again, thanks so much for mentioning the book.

Thanks,

Patrick

[iogames]

So we got a free book right??? Yay! Thank You! God Bless you!

@Patrick,

... forget about Josh, he is in bad shape right now, he needs a book...

anyway, your book may be interesting, i think it could be a good thing for people to stop making classic errors, because people always "think" they get it and usually they don't...

but a book? to talk about the web ?!... i always thought a book was used for real-life content... you need a web-based book if you want to talk about the web -- my environment tought so!

it's cool to see why a guy with a 6 years registration never talked on the forum here, and display such knowledge of the software position on the market... maybe someone else need to read this book after all ... lol