Staffing Tiny genre sites always dying

[Bishop 172]

I think the best question to ask yourself is exactly why you are creating this board? Do you do it to make it big and get people to join? Or do you do it to write what you love. (with other people) The effort that is put into it is always returned. Always. 

 

What matters to you most? A big board or a successful board? And if the last is what you are after, what qualifies as a successful board? For two years almost I ran a big board, and I don't consider its closing a failure. I kept it open longer than I should have. I wanted it gone. I wanted out from it. No one was willing to take the ropes, and as soon as they were her poor husband got into a car wreck and she was just wild busy and told me she just couldn't do it. So we ultimately just decided to shut it down.

 

So the big genres die too. Do I feel that it was a failure? No. I learned a lot. I met a lot of great people. We had a really great time while it was there. Two amazing boards spawned from it, EVERYONE is hella a lot happier.

 

So don't give up hope, but just really think about it.

 

"What are my goals? Am I doing this for the fun or for the success?"

 

Because let me tell you, having a popular and active board certainly isn't something that they'll put on my tombstone. It is just a game!

 

 

[Kaycakes 78]

Whatever the best questions to ask might be, the question of this particular thread was pointed towards figuring out why small genres die frequent deaths. It's already been made clear that when people make niche sites, it's to fill those un-met creative ideas. Nonetheless, there's some interesting points there.

 

The site I staffed on previously was pretty big, but the environment itself was difficult to work with. On this site, it wasn't just me anchoring the site, but it was like four other people, all of who was so devoted to the survival of the site that they'd given all they could to keep it going to no avail. I think the most difficult part was after I left, watching my best friend talk about how devoted she was to keeping it going. It'd been a good home for our creative needs and as friends coming together. I always wondered why the main admin wouldn't just give it over, but I figured out that this admin took the entire member base with her and painted anyone who wanted differently as being against her own interest. Being un-supportive. This site died a slow, but predictable death.

 

I have to wonder if small niche sites may also be harder to work with if for no other reason than smaller groups mean more intimacy than anonymity. Do the bigger sites die slower deaths than the smaller ones? I still think perhaps it's the new/shiny for most players, which is why they fade out from the niches.

 

Either way, I thought the questions of whether we're getting the word out / getting new blood in wrong was interesting. @xexes, I was pretty stunned at how you got in so many members because of one person linking it in an unlikely place. That's ... you know, wow. Food for thought, definitely when it comes to giving niches a chance.

[Zahhy 130]

To add to the conversation - I think this is very normal but the biggest thing to consider is this: Is your site really dying?

 

Many RPers, as we've all noticed, come and go. Most of them do not stick around. It is a pain if your niche thrives off of larger groups - mine personally does. However, if you have a small group of still interested, loyal players, my advice is to continue!

 

Fight the good fight for those players that still care - even if there are only three of them left. They'll love you for it, and hopefully they'll be able to introduce new friends. You can always hope too that when something nice and shiny pops up on your boards, new players will swoop in - but in my experience they never stay.

 

Overall, like many others here said, just make sure you know what you want. If you want to play in this world, and there is only one other person sticking around and willing to play with you, no matter how niche it is, your site isn't dying. It's just growing smaller.