I have this dilemma that I really wish I wasn't in.

See, CS is being set up with my two -online- friends. One is a girl I've known for years, and we've been buddies. :) The other is a guy we knew way back. This concerns this guy.

OK, so this guy (we actually don't know his real name, he goes by his character's name XO) is the Root Admin of the site. He actually made it, and asked me to come on board. He also asked me to round up my friend so we could build the site together. She consented. At first, he wasn't active on the site, only because we chatted offline the forum to discuss old times & the forum. I started working on the forum, and he said he appreciated me doing that. I was like, "YES! For the first time, I get an active Admin who seems like he's going to help me do this!"

Boy, was I wrong.

I asked him if he could change the URL of the site, since he had a SW_ in front of the Coruscant Streets part. I explained that I've seen a few Star Wars forums do that, so I think we shouldn't do that. He agreed, but didn't do it. Not only did he not do it, but he disappeared.
He disappeared for a long time.

Ok, enter my friend on stage right. She hops on board with the site. She was at a scholarship camp for 7 weeks this summer, so she didn't help much. When she did get on, she would discuss forum related things. I really appreciate that, since most Admins I've dealed with in the past don't even try to help. She was really busy, but she at least tried (see why we're friends?). We talked about how the guy was gone, and we wondered where he was. He disappeared with not a word. Last time he did this, it turned out he had lost the link. I emailed him, just in case. Didn't get a reply.

About 2 weeks ago, he gets on for the first time. My friend wasn't on, though. Anywho, he apologized for not being on. He had been on vacation, and ever since he got back, he's been busy. OK, that's fine. I completely understand. At this point, I was sure he would try to be active and at least discuss things, just like my friend did.
I was wrong again!

He was only on for about, oh, 5 minutes, and then he got off. Couple days later, he gets on again. Ok, couple days isn't bad, right? Well, he just puts in the Cbox 'Hey, how are you guys?' then disappears AGAIN. I said Hi after he posted, but he had already gotten off when I replied. Well, ok, maybe he gets on later? Nope.

We haven't heard from him since. There have been things I've wanted to change on the forum (like him being an Administrator account - long story short, our characters will appear as if we are regular characters, and we will only have 1 official Admin account), but I can't since he's Root Admin and only he can change his account. I tried to rename the URL, but only he can. Another thing is that he hasn't finished his application, and we asked him to do that already. I also asked him to find a play-by, since in the sidebar where staff is listed, there is a question mark where his pic of his character should be, because, again, he doesn't have a pb. I don't want to open with these things not done (although I've given up on the URL thing).

My question is this: What do I do? He has no Admin experience, not a great role player, and it seems like he won't be active or at least try to help us. I can't demote him, because he is the Root Admin.
I'm in a jam, and we hope to open sometime this week or next weekend!

:o

I'd say just make your own forum.

You could also continue on and open the forum without his consent, but that is risky. The head admin could make himself seem like he did all the work, or "get mad" about you guys doing things without him and remove you from staff, thus leaving him with a finished forum that he didn't have to lift a finger to do.

I agree with GreyScale; pack up your work and go. Explain to him that you don't see the forum working out with him as staff because his other priorities aren't giving him the time to dedicate to the site as much as you'd like. But definitely find yourself a new home.

Hmm, I worked really hard on it. Is it worth just packing up and taking it with me?
He doesn't seem like a sort of person who would get angry if we just opened. He's a cool guy, very easy going. He's just not active, and I don't want that. But is making a new forum the ultimate answer?

I dunno, I'm in such a jam right now. I like this guy; he's cool, he's funny (I've seen his Youtube videos - hilarious), but on the other hand; he's inactive, he leaves without a word. Is waiting for him to get active again worth it or not? *mopes*

Count my vote with GrayScale and Stormy. I know plenty of people who are wonderful, funny, and great to hang out with ... but also flakes of the nth degree. The sad fact is that they cannot be relied upon for anything other than a good time. Maybe. If they remember they're supposed to meet you, can be bothered, and manage to locate their car keys.

(But I'm not bitter)

Seriously, you and your friend pack up the work you've done and start your own forum. Send him the link and invite him to join. Let him play his character -- if he ever finishes the app. Hopefully it's not a crucial character, or is at least one who can be sidelined with a minimum of difficulty, because I can pretty much guarantee that as wonderful as his posts may be, you won't get them reliably, either. Make him an admin there if you like (though don't count on his actually doing any work).

Let's put it this way. Do you really think he is going to stop being a flake in the future where it actually matters?

Yes - Wait for his return

No - Follow my previous advice.

Likely, it will be a 'no'.

I, personally, have no patience for people who vanish without warning. It doesn't take that much effort to pop onto a site and write up a pm saying "life is kicking the crap out of me, I'll be back soon".

The main reason I suggest moving to a different site instead of opening the one you've got is that I don't like the idea of anyone saying "this is my site, cause I'm the root admin, so I can do what I want." What can I say, I've been burned.

But at the end of the day, do you want root admin powers over your board to rest with someone who has proven themselves to be unreliable on more than one occasion? I wouldn't. Rebuilding when you have all the info done is tedious, I admit, but it's not that hard, and would probably only set you back a few days for opening if you put your mind to it.

Being nice or cool doesn't cut it for staff- friends, sure. But when I put my hard work and effort into something, I want someone I can rely on, not someone who makes me laugh.

I have to agree with the others. He's not being active, he's being unreliable, and he's making it harder for you to get to the point where you can open the game for play. It sucks that you'll have to move everything over to the new board and do things over, but on the one hand this current board is at least a practice one, so you can know how you want things set up and all that.

Also, if he tries to hold it against you and be like "hey, you opened without me!" you can use the fact that he's been inactive and has basically been unhelpful as far as getting the game going goes. You are completely within your rights to even be considering and actually making a new board.

I also agree. Pack up, June, and take it with you. Revamp what you need to in order to remove them from the new site, so you don't have their work anywhere and aren't potentially "stealing", but... it seems like you've done most of the work already, yes? If they can't be bothered to tell you they're busy, then they can't be bothered to run a site, most likely. If someone just disappears this often, in the end, they're not going to be pulling their weight, and it's all going to fall down. All the work will be on your shoulders, yet you wont be the main admin, and there will only be so much you can do.

Save yourself the heartache.

I'm with the others on this one: get your own forum.

The first RPG I was on had the same sort of problem. The original owners didn't want to run the game anymore, so they handed it off to one of the players. For a little while, she did good, running the game well, with the help of a friend of mine. Then she just vanished. For more than a year. One of my friends picked up the slack, and ran the game without her for the whole duration, and every player involved felt that the game really belonged to her, but one day, she tried to log on and found that the password was changed. Guess who was back?

My point is, that could happen to you if that guy is root admin. That could potentially mean a whole lot of wasted work on your part, so take what's yours and set up your own forum. If you've really done all the work, that shouldn't be a problem. If it's his original idea, I'd be a little cautious, and maybe tweak the plot a little so that it's different, and perhaps give him credit for the original idea. But if it's a fairly common concept, I wouldn't even do that.

I can totally relate. I'm with the others- do your own thing. Let him get mad if he will, for he will get over it.

Plus, you could grow bitter with this friend if you don't. Believe me, it gets frustrating when you do all the work and some random root admin not only soaks up the credit but also repeats similar behaviors. But that just might be my expereince.


FYI- This sucks, because I've been stalking your sig, waiting to hear of an opening of this site, lol.

He has proven to be bad material for head admin. So, him serving as the head, is a problem. You realize that. So there's only one thing you have left to do.

Fix the problem.

That means, either having him surrender the root admin account, or making a new forum. Both options are quite doable, but if he's really as cool a guy as you say he is, he should understand your plea, and give it up without problem. He might not be good administrator material, but he still deserves a fair chance.

So, I say, don't rush to make a new one. Back up everything you've done, just in case something happens, and give him one more chance. Next time he signs on, be direct, and frank. Ask him to hand over the Root Admin account. If he denies, then the only option is to start anew. If he still wants to be involved, he can join there.

And, I reccomend, in the future, as you appear to have already figured out, keeping the Root Admin account segregated from the actual users. I myself am not an excellent leader, so that always makes it simpler when it finally comes down to handing over control to someone else, or if I no longer have the spark needed to keep the group alive.