Personal forum advice

I know that a lot of members here have played around with forum software and either used to or still run some sort of forum.

What would be some valuable advice you guys could give to someone who would currently be looking to start a forum? I'm not talking about the kind of advice that a simple google search can deliver though, I'm talking about some hands on stuff, what you've learned yourself or from experience with this sort of software.

Mine would be: Content before plugins; if your site has tons of features but very LQ content, this can drive away potential members.