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Firlefanz
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April 2006 Board of the Month
The Board of the Month for April 2006 is
Temple of Illusia
Congratulations, Lesigner Girl! Your board scored best in the judging system we have, which includes layout, graphics, forum arrangement, friendliness and so on.
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Lesigner Girl has been so kind to answer the same question I've given to all winners so far. 
~~1. What made you decide to start a board?~~
I've always enjoyed contributing to society any way I can, whether it be to provide technical assistance to someone who needs it, to help a friend with a personal dilemma, or to inform others on important issues that affect our world. With the Temple, I wanted to create an atmosphere that promotes this type of open communication and sharing, and I hope I have accomplished this.
~~2. What made you choose Runboard?~~
Many message board providers either seem to be run by people who only care about making money without regard to the people who use their services, or the boards aren't customizable enough to satisfy me, or both. A lot went into my decision. I read the Terms of Service for various providers, read up on the features, looked at the source code of different types of boards to get an idea of their customizability, and checked out the support forums to get to know the staff a little, before setting up boards with the best candidates as the final test (I later deleted the runners-up). I am very happy with Runboard overall, which provides the best mix of features, security, and prompt/respectful support that I have ever come across.
~~3. What's your target audience?~~
My target audience is the whole world, because the issues we discuss affect everyone. Those who have understanding of our world can share their knowledge, those who don't understand can learn from it, and I hope everyone who visits realizes that they can't possibly have all the answers, just like I don't have all the answers. I am there to learn as well as to teach, and I am a part of that audience.
~~4. How did you get people to join? How did you advertise your board?~~
Before advertising it, I made sure to start enough threads to create interest for first-time visitors. Once I was ready to advertise, I listed the Temple in the Runboard Directory, of course, advertised it to members of Whoosh, an entertainment board I admin at another board provider, and submitted it to DMoz to get it on the search engines. After Kev invited me to advertise it in his links forum at Freelance Writers United, I took him up on his offer. I also have a link in my signature and list it as my personal home page in my Runboard profile, so any time I post or lurk at another Runboard, people can follow me through those links. Now, thanks to this wonderful honor, I will have a nice banner at the bottom of this board.
~~5. What's the central theme of your board?~~
The board has two main focuses: world issues and help with learning how to do one's own Runboard customization (not just picking up codes here and there, which is also nice to have). There is also an off topic area for people to kick back and relax or rant about their day.
The ancient Roman design reflects the world issues theme, in that much of the Western world is still influenced both politically and religiously by ancient Rome.
~~6. What are the board rules and how important are they?~~
The most important rule is to respect each other and try to understand where others are coming from. I also have a rule about backing up opinions with evidence whenever applicable, because the truth cannot be revealed through mere belief or speculation.
~~7. How important is the look and feel of the board? Or, is content and member involvement more important?~~
Content and member involvement are much more important than bells and whistles, but it's important that the design of the board is easy on the eyes. Nobody is going to want to stick around and read, much less contribute, if the board has a screaming yellow background with lime green text, because they won't even be able to read it without getting a migraine. I think it does help to have a nice-looking board, because it makes a good first impression when someone sees that some thought was put into it and it wasn't just thrown together on a whim. But without content and member involvement, the board would have no reason to exist.
~~8. How do you keep interest up?~~
On the world issues side, I try to come up with topics that people feel strongly about so they'll be more likely to add their thoughts, and I add my own thoughts and findings to threads that the members start.
On the design front, I created charts to help Runboard admins visualize what they're trying to accomplish, because a lot of design questions I have seen on the Support and Tips 'n Tricks boards are mainly questions of which classes to use in order to affect which parts of their board.
I plan to add more design topics in the near future, and people are always welcome to start their own thread asking for help, of course.
~~9. What's the best feature of your board?~~
The members and the ideas they come up with, hands down. If you're speaking technically, I personally like its simplicity.
~~10. What are your plans for the future, boardwise?~~
To attract a large, diverse group from various cultures and philosophies around the world, religious and non-religious, scientific, etc., in order to gain a mutual understanding of each other, as well as a greater understanding of the world as it really is. This is my contribution toward the larger goal of eventual world peace.
~~11. What would be your advice to a new Board owner? ~~
I could write a book on that, lol, as I've learned from plenty of mistakes, mostly witnessed of others but a few of them my own, and I've had enough success along the way to speak from experience.
My first bit of advice would be to participate in other boards before even thinking of starting your own. Take mental notes of what you like and dislike about each board and the staff, but more importantly, make sure you know how to communicate (and listen) effectively on a message board before even considering starting your own. If I had started my own board before taking this step, I'm sure I would have made more mistakes than I have.
My second bit of advice would be to know what you are doing, both technically and on an inter-person level, before you open a board to the public. If you don't know how to close or sticky a post, how could you possibly know how to set up security preferences for your board? If you cannot be fair when enforcing your rules, how can you attract a crowd that will feel comfortable engaging in real discussion? Another thing is to always look at yourself honestly, admit if/when you've made a bad judgment call, and rectify it. Who wants to post at a message board that's run by someone who can't admit when they've made a mistake? This has caused me to leave a few message boards in the past.
There are many other things that can help, but this is pretty much the place to start.
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Thank you, for taking the time to answer my questions in such a thoughtful and extensive manner. I'm sure that many will appreciate your insight.
Last edited by Firlefanz, 4/1/2006, 3:51 pm
--- - Firlefanz
Reading: "Optatio Onyx" - Timo Bader (ed.)
Writing: Rewrite of "Evelina Unicorn Girl"
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4/1/2006, 10:05 am
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Joshin Josh
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Re: April 2006 Board of the Month
I love your Layout lol. Keep up the good work 
Congrats Lesigner!
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4/1/2006, 10:24 am
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Lesigner Girl
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Registered: 11-2005
Location: SW MI, USA
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Re: April 2006 Board of the Month
Thank you Firlefanz, and everyone who voted, for this great honor!  I have to say that it was a bit of a shock to find out the Temple had won so shortly after qualifying. You're welcome for the extensive answers to your questions. I was actually a little worried that it might have been too lengthy, lol.
Thanks for the thumbs up, Josh!
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4/1/2006, 10:55 am
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Sertab
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Registered: 05-2005
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Re: April 2006 Board of the Month
Congratulations and as Josh so rightlsays keep up the good work. Like him I love the great fresh look of the board. Well done
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4/1/2006, 12:11 pm
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sasastro
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Registered: 11-2005
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Re: April 2006 Board of the Month
A well deserved honour LG. Well done 
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4/1/2006, 8:45 pm
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Joxcenia
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Registered: 11-2005
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Re: April 2006 Board of the Month
Way to go Le!
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4/2/2006, 12:21 am
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Lesigner Girl
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Registered: 11-2005
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Re: April 2006 Board of the Month
Thanks, sertab, Moose, sasastro, and my right hand gal, Jox. I appreciate it!
A belated congrats to Moose and sasastro for winning January and March. You both deserve it as well!
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4/2/2006, 5:27 am
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wwfcpogue
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Re: April 2006 Board of the Month
congratulations on your award ,it must be a great honour to wim ,again well done ,great answers too
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4/4/2006, 6:46 pm
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IvanTheNotSoTerrible
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Re: April 2006 Board of the Month
I love your answers and the layout of your board blows me away! Great muted color scheme with gorgeous graphics. Now to check your postings out.
Congratulations!!!! Your award is well deserved.
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4/4/2006, 7:10 pm
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