General Do you still think forums are dead?

[Arantor]

Inevitable? No. But very likely.

This shouldn’t be seen as a bad thing, though, as per the people up thread who point out that change is normal.

You are one of the few people I’ve seen who might manage the “run it as a business, treat it as a community” balance and make it work - too few do and the pendulum swings this way and that.

What I think is that you’ll have a different vibe because some will have left and others will take their place. But that’s not inherently a bad thing, it’s just what it is.

 

[Kyng]

I never did think forums were dead in the first place!

Sure, they aren't as popular as they used to be (and probably never will return to their golden age) - but they still have a strong core audience.

 

[Arantor]

but they still have a strong core audience.

Citation needed, and there is sufficient evidence that the strong core audience is still in decline overall.

 

[Uncrowned]

Forums have indeed faced significant challenges, but I wouldn't say they're dead. Instead, they've been impacted heavily by intense competition in the digital space. Many forums struggled due to a lack of long-term vision and competitive strategies. In a rapidly evolving online world, staying relevant requires constant innovation and adaptability, something many forums failed to implement.

Moreover, the rise of big tech companies has drastically changed the landscape of the internet. These giants have created platforms that dominate the online experience, making it harder for smaller, niche communities like forums to maintain visibility and engagement. The internet, though vast, seems to have contracted in terms of diversity, with a significant shift towards a few major platforms.

[COLOR=rgba(var(--xgtBirincil-m))]This shift away from smaller communities doesn't mean forums are obsolete. Many continue to thrive, providing specialized spaces for in-depth discussions and fostering tight-knit communities. They offer a unique format that's different from the fast-paced, transient nature of social media. For certain interests and discussions, forums remain the go-to place for many users.

The key for forums to survive and thrive in this new era is to recognize their unique strengths—depth of discussion, community bonding, and specialized knowledge—and leverage these in ways that big tech platforms can't replicate. Forums may need to evolve, but they still hold a significant place in the online ecosystem.[/COLOR]

 

[Tracy]

the simple fact that forums are a great resource of information that isn't going to be walled off.

The problem is... without participation that information becomes stale, and when the information becomes stale it's useless. You have to have content generators to create that information and keep it up to date.
That's the biggest issue... the number of people willing to participate in long-form conversations is becoming less and less.

 

[Calamity]

Forums are like going to the bank. Most people have moved on and do online banking. Some people still like going into the bank.

They’re also like self checkout. That seems to be the new trend. It’s easier and available and usually quicker. But some people like going to that one cashier standing there next 20 closed lanes of the past.

Forums are better organized than social media and whatnot biggest competitor is, Reddit. We just need to show that and sell that

 

[Empire]

I've visited a forum that I was active on back when I was 10-11 years old. It is still up, although absolutely dead and it hit me like a truck with nostalgia. I still remember a lot of users that I've used to keep in touch with, however I've got no idea what they are up to nowadays, but hopefully they are all happy and healthy.

 

[Bluezone777]

I think it's quite ironic for such a discussion to be had on such an active forum. The reason it seems forums are dead is that the only type of forum that is going to get anywhere is one that does something that hasn't been done before or one that does what has been done before but does it differently in a meaningful way and when you think about it most forums that come and go aren't doing this and die as a result.

Another thing that few forums do is bring together a sizable group of people together to kick start the community by investing their time into posting so people who aren't part of this group come by and see a lot of people already there which compels said person to join because he or she becomes curious as to why so many people are here when this very same person would have as bypassed this community if they stopped by and only saw themselves online or themselves and staff on the forum.

 

[Jane]

I know of one VERY successful Xenforo site..run by Nicholas of zetaboards @Cory.

HogwartsNz. Still going strong..

 

[Arantor]

1.5m posts is very successful for RP, but in the scale of XF generally, not so much.

https://www.ignboards.com/ - 142m
https://www.avforums.com/forums/ - 30m

Just to name a couple.

But the point is not where they are at now - it’s much more about where theyre going. I recently heard about a developers forum that’s been around 20 years, the owners are moving on, and a new owner has been found. First order of business: move it off their current software onto the owner’s own software, a move that has never ever gone badly in the history of anything, especially with 20 years of history to keep…

 

[zoldos]

Absolutely not! FB and all the "big corp" social media are crap. Forums were around ages ago, even before Myspace, and will continue to persist.

 

[Cory]

I know of one VERY successful Xenforo site..run by Nicholas of zetaboards @Cory.

HogwartsNz. Still going strong..

Yeah, I've run across the board a few times on its newer platform and noticed that it was indeed still thriving. 1+ million posts is quite the feat of achievement.

 

[Arantor]

So I saw a debate on Twitter today. It began "where have all the websites gone" - and was lamenting the loss of the sorts of sites that were much more common 20 years ago.

Obviously, social media swallowed a lot of them up, lots of comments about shopping... and as I read it I realised that it's the same debate about forums. The entire culture of the internet 20 years ago is disappearing, swallowed up by social media and encroached upon by those wanting to monetise rather than doing it for the fun of doing it.

On this weekend of making sacrifices to the capitalistic gods, I give you that we sacrificed our culture, our heritage to the capitalistic gods in exchange for ever dwindling tokens of money, and at some point we will discover we cannot sustain ourselves on money alone. Physically, perhaps, but not spiritually.

 

[~ True Legend ~]

I never did think forums were dead in the first place!

Sure, they aren't as popular as they used to be (and probably never will return to their golden age) - but they still have a strong core audience.

Indeed - we need a @Kyng of content

 

[zoldos]

I know of one VERY successful Xenforo site..run by Nicholas of zetaboards

If this person is from Zetaboards (a hosted forum system, I'm to understand), then why are they running a Xenforo forum? LOL

 

[Ravenfreak]

If this person is from Zetaboards (a hosted forum system, I'm to understand), then why are they running a Xenforo forum? LOL

Zetaboards was bought out by Tapatalk in 2018, forcing admins to either stick with Tapatalk Groups' hosting which was terrible compared to a number of free forum hosts, start from scratch on a different host/platform, or attempt to scrape their forums to get a database to move to a new platform without having to start from scratch.

 

[zoldos]

Zetaboards was bought out by Tapatalk in 2018, forcing admins to either stick with Tapatalk Groups' hosting which was terrible compared to a number of free forum hosts, start from scratch on a different host/platform, or attempt to scrape their forums to get a database to move to a new platform without having to start from scratch.

That's a shame. I do remember hearing about it, now that you mention it. The only free forum host I ever used was ProBoards, literally when it first came out in 2000. Complete junk.....

 

[Cedric]

That's a shame. I do remember hearing about it, now that you mention it. The only free forum host I ever used was ProBoards, literally when it first came out in 2000. Complete junk.....

I suggest you read this thread to get a glimpse of what ZetaBoards meant to some of us. What kind of community it had overall and what an absolute shame the sell out was.

Zetaboards

I ran a semi-successful zetaboards promotion forum with a custom theme and really enjoyed using it. I then sold the forum because of some life stuff going on. I miss their software :(

admin-junkies.com

 

[Jason]

I have built, well bought really, ha ha, a large social media following on Facebook, but I also want to develop my forum and it can go somewhere cause at least two drumming forums out there are still powerful.

 

[zoldos]

I suggest you read this thread to get a glimpse of what ZetaBoards meant to some of us. What kind of community it had overall and what an absolute shame the sell out was.

I had a disappointing experience with the service. Every Zetaboards forum I was on (before the sell out), was slow, buggy, had ads, and even sometimes had links that appeared to point to malware. I eventually stopped using any forum that was hosted by Zetaboards.

Granted, this is just my personal experience.