General Are general chat forums too much?

[Shortie]

General chat forums seem to be the niche that a lot of people choose as it is the one niche where you can focus on so many topics so there is a lot to talk about.

I myself used to have a general chat forum from 2009 to 2017 until I closed it and I will admit, with so much to talk about, it is the easier niche to build up.

Something I hear said a lot though is that general chat forums are getting too much and there are so many out there. What are your thoughts? Are general chat forums getting too much?

 

[joelr]

Something I hear said a lot though is that general chat forums are getting too much and there are so many out there.

That's an interesting statement. I would have, anecdotally, thought that general chat forums are the first to fail because Facebook, Reddit, Quora, Discord and all of the other 'mega platforms' have totally superseded general chat forums. They spend billions on being general chat platforms.

General chat forums may be the easiest to start, but they offer the least amount of value in today's web for independent communities.

 

[Darth Cognus]

I think if you're starting one of those this day and age, you have a lot of work cut out for your project to matter. I would strongly discourage it unless it would service the needs of a known group that actually wants/needs the forum.

 

[Ravenfreak]

I think next to gaming forums, general chat can be a difficult niche to get into. It's over saturated, yet I have a general chat forum because I have fun running one.

 

[Cory]

I agree that general chat forums are oversaturated and many are deemed to fail because of that the forum owner gives up quickly because unless you're offering some great things that other general chat forums don't provide, then you are pretty much reinventing the wheel. Social media has also taken over much of what general chat forums have to offer, as previously mentioned.

 

[joelr]

I wanted to take a moment to reflect on this question because I think this strikes to the heart of building a new community on the modern web:

1. In no way am I trying to discourage anyone from building a forum over any topic of their choosing. If you are passionate about general chat and your heart is set on a general chat forum, go for it! Such is the beauty of self-hosted forums, where you get to decide what you want to do. It's your forum and dream (and money)!

2. With that said, there is an existential crisis on a large subset of independent forums - gaming, social chat, lifestyle, pop culture - where the oxygen has been starved by social media. This is undeniable and shouldn't be ignored. Can you start a new forum in these areas? Sure, but I think you should do it with both eyes open.

3. Social media has some tremendous advantages. But it also has plenty of weaknesses: Social media is shallow. Social media has no organization. Social media has no taxonomy. Social media is fleeting.

If you're going to start a new forum, you can win against social media if you're strategic. But you must fight in the areas where social media chooses not to fight.

 

[Henrywrites]

I agree that general chat forums are oversaturated and many are deemed to fail because of that the forum owner gives up quickly because unless you're offering some great things that other general chat forums don't provide, then you are pretty much reinventing the wheel. Social media has also taken over much of what general chat forums have to offer, as previously mentioned.

You are right on this. A forum owner should be able to offer something unique before they can be able to say that they can achieve progress running a general forum. There are many of them, and being able to think outside the box is one of the ways to achieve tremendous success running one, and yes, you will need to be patient at that.