Forum Insider: Forum Insider -> Interview with Josh Barraza - Administrator of TortoiseForum.org

We've now published three interviews with developers from two major forum software providers, IP.Board and phpBB, and we have several more on the way. After reading these, a few people have asked if we'd do any forum administrator interviews, for opinions on running a forum and to get their views on the software they use. So we've done just that, here's an interview with Josh Barraza - admistrator of the TortoiseForum.org web site, powered by MyBB.

Can you tell us a little about yourself, and the forum that you run?
My name is Josh Barraza. By day I'm an environmental scientist and in my spare time I run TortoiseForum.org, an online community dedicated to pet tortoise (and turtle) husbandry.

What inspired you to set up a tortoise forum? and were you surprised by how big it has become?
Growing up I was always fascinated by tortoises but never had one as a pet until two and a half years ago. When I was researching tortoises and which species would suit me best, I realized there was no forum dedicated specifically to tortoises - so I started one! I bought the domain name and a couple weeks later installed the software. I'm very surprised and pleased at how much the forum has grown. I started out by typing out many, many craigslist ads (much to the chagrin of CL mods) inviting people to join the site. For a while I ran ads on Facebook and Google Adwords but most of our traffic has come from search engines and word of mouth.

What led you to choose MyBB to run the forum? How has the experience been? and would you still choose it if you knew when installing it what you know now?
The main reason I initially chose MyBB was because it was free. I figured I had nothing to lose, so why not give it a try, y'know? Once I installed the software I realized it's extremely easy to use and has a great support community that keeps everything running smoothly.

Do you try to make money from your forum? If so, by what means? and how successful has that been?
TortoiseForum.org generates a small amount of income via Google's Adsense, third-party advertisers that I find or that find me independently, and TortoiseForum.org merchandise. I've been real happy with the Google Adsense program thus far, but finding and courting other independent advertisers can take a lot of time and effort. Merchandise is very hit and miss, it's a challenge designing logos that people will buy and it often takes a large sum of money up front to get the merchandise before you can sell it. My recommendation is to start out with "pre-ordering" to help you raise funds for bulk orders.

Have you faced any challenges in managing the community? (i.e. legal issues, problem members, quiet periods)
We have yet to have any legal issues (knock on wood!) but there definitely have been some personality conflicts. My volunteer team of moderators do an excellent job of diffusing most issues but sometimes we do have to ask people to leave for a bit to cool off.

Do you get many requests for new features or changes to your forum? If so, what are the most common ones you face?
I think the most common request I get is to add new sub-forums and at times it's difficult to explain why we have a forum specifically for one species but not another. Of course, if the demand is there, it's not an issue, but we're trying to avoid turning the site into a page full of links to sub-forums - because that can be daunting!

What new feature additions would you like to see to make your members happier, or make your life easier as an administrator?
We've spent a lot of energy in the past year combating spam. I'd like to see that problem go away so we can focus on new features like a chat room and a fully integrated store where people can find tortoise care items, supplies, food, t-shirts, and other gear. I'd also like to get a custom theme going at some point but I haven't the know-how or design skills myself to make it happen, so it goes to the bottom of the priority list.

If you had to choose another forum software, which would it be, and why?
I've toyed with the idea of switching to vBulletin but right now there's no reason to. I like the idea of having a dedicated support staff and a GIANT support community to bounce ideas off of but I also can't bring myself to pay for something that I'm getting for free right now and am extremely happy with.


Thank you to Josh for taking part in our first Admin Focus interview, I'm certainly shocked to see such huge success in what many would consider a very niche subject. Congratulations Josh!

If you're an administrator of a forum of any size, with a story to tell about your experiences, please get in touch and you might be our next Admin Focus interviewee! We can't promise you a lot of exposure just yet, but it's always good to be talked about, right? Usual ways apply, email, Twitter or on the site here.