General Are forums finally outdated in the digital age? Or still vital to use?

[Cedric]

It's no secret that the internet is overflowing with new platforms and technologies aiming to connect people and share information. From social media giants like Reddit, Facebook to instant messaging apps like Discord, the ways we communicate and gather information are more diverse than ever.

This brings me to a thought that I'm sure will spark some intense discussion: Are forums a waste of time in today's fast-paced digital age, or do they still hold a unique value that we should continue to cherish and support?

Forums, including ours, have long been the backbone of online community building, serving as a hub for detailed discussions, support, and sharing in a way that other platforms can't quite replicate. They offer a structured space for archiving knowledge, fostering long-form discussion, and building a sense of community among users with shared interests.

Yet, they can't compete against the social media giants. With the rise of social media and other platforms that offer more immediate forms of communication and information sharing, forums are often criticized for being too slow, too clunky, or simply outdated. Some argue that forums are losing their relevance and becoming a waste of time, as newer platforms offer quicker, more convenient ways to communicate and share information.

So, what do you think? Are forums an essential part of the internet that we should continue to support and participate in? Or are they becoming a relic of the past, overshadowed by newer, faster modes of communication?

I realize this may be a bit controversial however I'm looking forward to your insights and spirited discussion!

 

[Arantor]

Other platforms make it easy to share, more so than forums in some ways.

Few platforms make it as easy to find things again, and even forums which are the least worst in this department could do with a few improvements.

And honestly, I’m not convinced (nor have I ever been) that humanity is *good* at being this hyper-connected. I give you the notion that physical books are on the rise and continue to be as people increasingly find a need to disconnect.

Social media only works because of the dark patterns it runs off, namely the FOMO and the dopamine cycle. Once you break that cycle, you begin to realise that it’s less about being “caught up” and much more about where you choose to be available and how you choose to spend your time. Forums, by extension, do not require or function off the same cycles and make it much easier to dip in and out when it’s convenient to you.

More on this later.

 

[Cedric]

people increasingly find a need to disconnect

I find this part more and more related to myself. Occasionally I would take a day off the internet every now and then. Those days are coming increasingly faster after one and another lately.

Those “fuck it” days will likely overshadow the others at one point I imagine. And maybe in the not so distant future.

 

[Dismal_Bliss]

General discussion forums and forums that try to be a catch-all for every category under the sun are out and are going to be impossible to start and gain momentum. Niche communities however have a place IF they offer something of value. Remember that there is still a population of people who do NOT want a Facebook or social media account, but will still join a community. I'm in a few niche communities, some that actually charge money for access. It can work.

Facebook groups are full of people who only want to post a sentence, get an answer, and move on with life. They aren't really interested in discussion. They've become the home of Q&A style forums and Answer sites, which is why all these types of sites shut their doors. Now granted, we get these types even in forums, but if you can build a sense of community with a real feeling of being a brotherhood, a small percentage of them will keep coming back, and gradually it grows and grows.

In short, I haven't lost hope yet, lol.

 

[NeoMetallix]

Isn't reddit pretty much just a glorified forum?

Forums could compete if they had government funding. A lot of these big tech companies had their start with government funding and others simply could not compete against that so they became dominant. Facebook had funding from DARPA initially.

There is a small but rapildy growing population who realize how manipulative these social media sites are and are leaving without looking back. These people will join a community who isn't using dark patterns. Facebook even has profiles on people who haven't joined and we know this because it leaked. Any site that has Facebook embedded in a pixel or login, they will know you visited that particular site. They have psychologists hired to study how to keep humans addicted and on their site and have algorithms programmed to do that using data on practically everything you do online. They know you better than your own family.

The privacy community is growing fast and the more people who refuse to be manipulated there are, the more and more relevant decentralized forums and websites become.

 

[Arantor]

Reddit is a glorified forum but with the issue of discovery being much much easier - if you’re already in the ecosystem, gravitating to a new sub-ecosystem (either because you want an answer or because you have a deeper interest) is lower friction than joining a new site because 1) you're already registered and 2) search will get you to a forum before you start.

 

[Husk]

And honestly, I’m not convinced (nor have I ever been) that humanity is *good* at being this hyper-connected. I give you the notion that physical books are on the rise and continue to be as people increasingly find a need to disconnect.

Having just come back from an internet break, I can attest to this. I recently had a nervous breakdown so I bought a ton of books and I've just been reading, reading, reading. There's something much nicer and more relaxing about reading a physical book in my hands, with the rustling of the pages and the smell of the ink that can't be replicated on any device. My husband tried buying me a kindle, didn't like it. I tried reading free books on my phone, etc. This is partly because books are expensive and I think he wanted to avoid having me buy so many but there's just no replicating that experience.

I hate reading online, there's always notifications popping up in corners, sounds from various apps, something impersonal about just scrolling instead of turning a page.

I know this got a bit off topic but that sentence really struck me with its truth.

Anyway, for me, forums will always have a special place in my heart because of its slower nature and not always having to feel "on" and available at all times. I've noticed they're nowhere near as popular as other mediums these days and some... certain areas of forums suck, but when it comes to just shooting the shit and having a nice chat and sharing information, I still have to love forums.

 

[NeoMetallix]

Having just come back from an internet break, I can attest to this. I recently had a nervous breakdown so I bought a ton of books and I've just been reading, reading, reading. There's something much nicer and more relaxing about reading a physical book in my hands, with the rustling of the pages and the smell of the ink that can't be replicated on any device. My husband tried buying me a kindle, didn't like it. I tried reading free books on my phone, etc. This is partly because books are expensive and I think he wanted to avoid having me buy so many but there's just no replicating that experience.

I hate reading online, there's always notifications popping up in corners, sounds from various apps, something impersonal about just scrolling instead of turning a page.

I know this got a bit off topic but that sentence really struck me with its truth.

Anyway, for me, forums will always have a special place in my heart because of its slower nature and not always having to feel "on" and available at all times. I've noticed they're nowhere near as popular as other mediums these days and some... certain areas of forums suck, but when it comes to just shooting the shit and having a nice chat and sharing information, I still have to love forums.

Overall they are not but I am on some forums that are still crazy active with 1000s of posts per day.

 

[Ravenfreak]

We still need forums. Certain niches like research communities cannot rely on the disorganization that social media and Discord servers bring. Reddit can work up to a point, but even then it's still not as organized as your traditional forum. Plus the way that posts are displayed on Reddit just looks cluttered too, sure you can search and find topics unlike on Discord or social media but it's still not as organized.

 

[Cory]

I think there will always be a social circle for forums because some people just don't like social media and prefer a scaled-down community that is not so dependent on instant gratification through likes/upvotes and praise. Granted, most young people these days are lured to social media through its mass advertisements and word of mouth, but I think forums can remain relevant in some aspects of the game.

Reddit is probably the closest social media to a forum, but it's way too massive for some people where everything just gets buried in the depths of the topic. I like Reddit for browsing purposes only. I used to comment and post on there, but I stopped caring so much about that when I felt like my opinions were dismissed or irrelevant.

Forums are generally a lot more customizable with scripting than stuff you can do with your average social media page. This makes them superior when it comes to the customizations the owner of the page can make.

I too feel forums are more organized as Ravenfreak mentioned, and I am a pretty organized person when it comes to being online or offline, so the layout of forums is generally much preferable to me than a social media page where you generally have a wall of content.

 

[zoldos]

I still greatly enjoy forums. I'm not interested in getting 5m views, and having to spend my entire day, every day, editing and posting videos hoping they will "go viral" or whatever. I don't need a channel with 10m members. I'm not interested in reading everyone's daily drivel on FB.

I just love forums!

 

[Tracy]

Chit-chat style forums... honestly why use them when social media interactions are as good for most.
Niche style.... social media still has a way to go for sites offering extended functionality... many of those forum functions social media sites can't (or won't) offer.

 

[Darth Cognus]

I don't think it's quite that black and white. The model has and will continue to innovate, reddit is basically a new age massive interconnected forum. Independent sites will always have a niche but it will take a serious market breakup for them to get the majority they once did, I certainly don't see them getting much more popular as-is. The good news is that some sort of breakup always happens one way or another, or something new entirely appears where a comparable cycle starts again. But I doubt it will happen for 'old age forums' without some canniness on their part. If I knew what that was I'd be rich.

If we like it, why kill it? Should market doom and gloom overcome what we enjoy irrespective of ^?

 

[an0nym0us]

While there are still people who write on the forum, the answer is here.

 

[DigNap15]

Reddit is just a big forum.
And it seems to need constant funding (just like my forum does ) I take donations)

Having said that Reddit must have taken away a lot of all of our members and viewers

 

[Arantor]

Reddit has just done a deal with Google for Google giving them a couple of hundred million bucks over the next 2-3 years for Reddit's content for AI purposes.

 

[Cedric]

Reddit has just done a deal with Google for Google giving them a couple of hundred million bucks over the next 2-3 years for Reddit's content for AI purposes.

Yep they’re about to dominate the internet.

If anyone thought the search results gave priority to reddit, wait until this deal is live, lol.

 

[Tracy]

And it seems to need constant funding (just like my forum does ) I take donations)

I don't think they've turned a profit in a while (if at all)... so they got to do whatever they can to get some income.

Having said that Reddit must have taken away a lot of all of our members and viewers

So said the BBS SysOps when the internet/forums came around. It's always a progression. I really don't encourage anyone to start a forum up now unless it's just something that they want to do as a hobby or as a site to support another hobby they have and allow others to participate. Hoping to spin a forum up and "get rich" is a thing of the past.

 

[Ravenfreak]

Maybe I'm in the minority (and perhaps I'm not) but I see Reddit as a step back from forums and not really progression. It's not as easy to find threads in a subreddit, and it looks plain and outdated. I know the main complaint I've got from those on Reddit about making the switch to forums during the Reddit blackout was the fact that on forums you have to register on many different ones whereas on Reddit you just have one global account. But if that's their main complaint, they shouldn't have an issue with Proboards because they utilize a global account, sure there's a little extra step of still having to register on a forum, but most of the time approval is quick. I guess people are just lazy these days lol. Even old Reddit was a bit better than current reddit because you could modify the CSS of your subreddit and make it look unique. You can't even do that anymore.

 

[ExplorerEvan]

I think the answer is actually in the question.

Is your forum VITAL?
If the answer is yes, you'll continue to survive
If the answer is no, then you will have a challenging time