Why won't this work on a smaller board, you ask? Simple: because it is a small board, and small boards don't have the member resources to pull from that *Site* does. If we loose a member that breaks rules here at *Site*, there will still be thousands of users that could fill any gap that the user might have filled with positive contributions. If you loose a member that breaks strict rules on a small board, you've lost that member for good, and holes start to form. Until you've reached a point in which rule-breaking causes a disruption of your forum, then you add more defined rules, but when you're starting out, keep the rules laxed, and you won't have the problem of gaps forming from positive contributors that broke (potentially) borderline rules. That doesn't mean you can't ban blatant spammers or problematic users, it just means you won't have to enforce those rules on the positive contributors to your forums.
"The Promise"
Ever read this on a forum before: "We're going to upgrade to X product here soon!" or "We're going to be MUCH better than *Site* because BLAH BLAH BLAH!"? Well, that's what I like to call "The Promise," or making promises that you more than likely can't keep. A lot of people make the claim that they'll upgrade their forums to vBulletin or Invision Power Board "soon," and use that as a selling point. Few people deliver on that promise, as those that make the claims seem to be oblivious to the fact that both of those products cost a significant amount of money, and that pirated versions of those products are illegal. Perhaps most importantly here is that it shouldn't be used as a selling point, as there are hundreds of alternative forums out there, in the same genre, that already have vBulletin or Invision Power Board installed and ready to go (InvisionFree doesn't count, as they use the older, free version of IPB, that is today outdated). It's not a selling point, as the prestige isn't there until the software is installed. Don't make the claim until you know you can deliver. Also: DO NOT USE PIRATED VERSIONS. If that's how you plan to fulfill a claim of using a paid-for product, you will be caught, and it is illegal. Don't do it. Simple as that.
Now the other part of "the promise:" the claim that a certain forum is better than *Site* because of *insert numerous reasons here*. This is not a selling point, either, as *Site* is a well-established website, with a very deep community that is next-to-impossible to match without the proper resources and money. No, an exact duplicate of *Site*' forum layout isn't going to work and No, claiming your forums are better because of a less-strict ruleset isn't going to get you anywhere, either. As I mentioned earlier, *Site* has a more defined ruleset because there is a more established community that requires a more defined ruleset. Sure, it can seem harsh at times when someone is penalized for something that others see as "harmless," but that's the way it has to be to keep a large community going. Forums that start up claiming to be better than *Site* because they use either a pirated copy of vBulletin or a free board and then stick in a "less-strict ruleset [usually consisting of "OMG respect me now!!1!!!"]" is NOT going to cut it, as they're merely carbon copies of *Site* started up by people that haven't got a clue what running a forum the likes of *Site* entails. Dont' fall for the claim, and don't use the claim as a selling point. It won't work.
Staff Members
As you may or may not have noticed, *Site* has a total staff count well over the 100 mark. That's a lot of people to watch over the forums, isn't it? Well, it sure is, but that's because the actual ratio of members:mods is probably well over 50:1. Now, when someone starts up a forum and invites friends to post there, the first instinct these days is to make friends moderators/super moderators/administrators. DO NOT DO THAT! You'll wind up with more Mods/Smods/Admins than members, and that never works out well for the overall flow of a forum. It'll eventually reach the point in which there won't be anything but staff members, and no normal members to enforce rules upon. Guests aren't looking for quantity of staff members as a selling point, they're looking for a balanced system wherein members are equal or greater than staff members. As with the posts:forums ratio, keep it reasonable and you'll be fine.
