What would a webmaster interview section be without an interview from Mercury's own webmaster? Crystal Shards has been creating websites and forums since she was in seventh grade, which was back in 2001, and since then she has helped found quite a few websites and forums, including this one. We interviewed the administrative veteran for a look inside the mind of a webmaster.
Key: M: Mercury Ice, CS: Crystal Shards
M: How many sites have you created?
CS: That's actually a hard question. I have created templates and layouts for a few sites, and I've created and/or helped run several forums like Emblem of the Zodiac, Elibe Clan Wars, Fire Emblem Planet, Elemental Revolution, and many more. But I suppose my two most notorious creations would be Mercury Ice and my robotics team's site.
M: When did you first get into web design?
CS: Well, I created Water Ripple first, in January 2004, which later became Mercury Ice. Because it was Invisionfree or something along those lines, all I could really do with that place was edit the layout so it was something snazzy, or at least snazzier than the default style. Eventually Mercury Ice was able to get its own space thanks to TheIcy, and that's really where it started happening.
M: What has been the hardest part about owning a website?
CS: Getting people involved. I've been lucky to have a few regulars stay around, but Mercury Ice has gone through so much. I mean we've been hacked twice and then hosts have shut down on us and forums have crashed and it's just horrible. But it's all worth it in the end when you see your members really enjoying themselves, and we do have quite a few people who have submitted their work to be placed on the site, which is always helpful.
M: So is that the best part of being a webmaster?
CS: That's part of it. To see something you've worked so hard on grow like Mercury Ice has, it makes me proud. I mean in January 2004, all I had was some tiny little message board on Invisionfree. It was worth nothing. But with the help of content writers and dedicated members, it's pretty active. I mean it's no Gaia Online or anything, but it's good. And it's really great that most (if not all) of my members get along. I think I've only ever had to ban two people on Mercury Ice, I mean other than ad bots.
M: What makes Mercury Ice different?
CS: Wow. Good question, really. I guess it's the lack of drama that most message boards seem to generate. It's that and the fact that this site isn't created to generate money. I'm not here to make a buck; neither is any member on my staff. I mean everyone is here because we love what we do. The members are respectful and intelligent, and they're here not to cause problems but to talk about stuff, from art to philosophy to video games. We have a wide spectrum of things to choose from.
M: What was the happiest moment for you as a webmaster?
CS: Winning that $250 from AdminFusion was definitely the best moment ever. I knew straight away it would go to Mercury Ice. We bought VBulletin, which makes me very happy. I love this software; it's so customizable. I mean there are things I'd like to see added, like blogs, but that will come eventually and then Mercury Ice will add them. I'm still very excited about it. It's not often Mercury Ice gets that kind of luck.
M: What was the worst moment, then?
CS: That's a little harder to answer. It was pretty bad when a member I otherwise respected completely spammed/trolled our boards because he didn't get along with one of our admins. I was in the middle of moving and I happened to get online during the whole thing, and I had to clean up all the posts myself. That was my first real ban I think, which kind of broke my heart in a probably melodramatic way. Logging in to see my forums are gone was pretty bad too. I think that happened twice.
M: Where do you see Mercury Ice going in the future?
CS: Well I hope it grows, really. I mean I've got great staff members who are willing to work to make the site better, and we have great ideas. It's hard sometimes, because we're not as big as we used to be thanks to TheIcy shutting down with little to no notice, to do some of the things we'd like to do, but I see Mercury Ice growing. I've already got things lined up, like a new layout, a good forum layout, and some new features I'm going to add to the site. I'm not alone, so it's great.
M: Do you have any advice to new webmasters?
CS: Start small. Have a goal. Water Ripple started out just trying to get people together to talk about life; it grew because it was well-organized and took every event one day at a time. It's been managed well, or so I like to think. If you have a forum, make sure your members know that you respect them and you're looking out for them; you're still in charge but it needs to be a benevolent dictatorship. Yes, that's possible. You just have to keep positive, even when everything is raining down on you. Be nice to everyone and try to help other sites out; you never know when you'll need the help. Also, choose moderators and other higher ups carefully... Just because someone is willing to do the job doesn't mean they're a good pick.
Hopefully Crystal and Mercury Ice live on to become very popular and successful. Mercury Ice has had its own share of troubles (check the About Us section for more information) but they continued on and here we are today. Thank you, Crystal!
