Have you been a forum administrator?

[Eve]

From what I have observed of forum administrators, the successful ones are consistently productive. The first one or two years will probably have cycles of activity and inactivity. Qualities like patience and discipline are required by the administrator, because it motivates the community to remain interested. If the administrator s not committed, the more active members become disappointed and the less active members become bored.

And that is just the community management aspect of forums.