However regardless of your own subjective opinions you've generously presented, the simple fact is that the subject being discussed here pertains to "Getting Gen Z interested in forums"—not; 'how to maintain Tracy's subjectively assumed exclusivity/superiority complex and f##k what anyone else thinks because they're too stupid.'
And yet you avoid the VERY fact that the "massage me now' brigade (and sorry to burst your already burst lack of knowledge but that's not limited to ANY generation) can't really compete in ANY niche that requires the type of dedication that not only mine, but others do. You appear to want the "fluff me now" (does that say something about you?) aspect of quick, empty replies... but in REAL life... that rarely applies, as one has to devote time/energy to MANY pursuits that are niche and actually require intelligent thought. Instant replies are what they are worth, typically nothing as most of them are at most a line or two and have no actual contextual value... you have a bull-shit "chat" site.. then yep, you can get those "get me off now" posts... but for those that actually involve detailed activity and actual through detailed through processes, those "oooohhh.. I got a response so I feel good" type posts won't work. And sorry to pop your cherry, but my site is NOT the only site like that. There are MANY others that simply won't put up with idiots posting inane topics in their site just so they can "see their name in the lights".
Doesn't matter WHAT generation it is.. if you don't have the time and the knowledge to invest into those niches, then your BS "I gotta no ability to reply with knowledge but I wanna run my mouth" has no place in them.
You VERY CLEARLY stated
give them the gratification they are addicted to
... and you were SIMPLY TOLD that in many niches that aspect won't hunt. Sorry if you got an anal burn from that, but it still remains fact, many sites don't target inane idiotic conversations that "general BS sites" do. MANY niches, by their VERY nature, can't offer that instant "get me off/gratification" aspect. They actually take dedicated involvement and thoughtful input in them to post replies with a factual base.
All while among millions of "GenZs" there will be astrophotography enthusiasts—eventually some may develop hybrid forum/junk soc-media,...
... perhaps even going so far as to supersede Tracy's exclusive astrophotography club before it kills itself.
Not by posting inane, idiotic content... you see, the niche actually requires some intellectual knowledge instead of inane BS input (which you appear to be well versed in).
The simple fact is... until GenZ gets out of the "instant gratification" zone, many niche sites that require thoughtful work and response won't be to their temperament. Seems you may be amongst that brigade? But the simple fact remains.. in some niches you will NEVER get the instant gratification that you appear to think is due. By their very nature, some niches take time to test/confirm certain aspects... unlike your general BS sites that involves certain topics that certain persons trend towards (games and BS chit-chat sites ring a bell?)
The simple matter is I can think of about 20 ways to go back and reprocess this image and have valid factual data to discourse on (BTW which took about 9 hours to process, which is FAR from instant gratification).
.
Whereas if I was talking about current politics (or my personal beliefs on LBGTQ or similar, or "what am I watching now" or any other similar inane topic) I'm more limited because of the very limited "facts" that can be argued. Generally when you get to arguing political positions, you might a well be bashing your head against a granite wall, but when discoursing on a topic relating to the above image.. it's not based upon your "personal beliefs", which by that very nature restrict you, but actual factual processes that may improve your results.
As for the format... I seriously doubt you will see "instant response" ability in ANY script in the near future, not even with what IPS is attempting. with their SaaS offering. Even FB/Twitter do a PISS-POOR job on accumulating data that is easily retrieved at a latter date. Heck, FB can't even get their web based format to take you directly to a response to a comment if their "group" has more than a few hundred messages.
Most of those GenZ folks that are actually interested in my niche aren't going to trend towards your "empty bobble head" type user you apparently believe most of them to be (and when involved with social media prove themselves to be). Will hey have some "simplistic" questions.. yep, but it won't be "what are you watching tonight" type ones. There are some VERY intelligent and dedicated GenZ folks out there (currently one is borrowing one of my astro rigs to get some exposure to the field before she invests much into it).. but they are FAR outweighed by those of empty mind from what I have seen..
I DO rather find it ironic (to take even further, hilarious) that you apparently felt a burn to a the specific comment of
ve them the gratification they are addicted to
and when told that was sheer stupidity in relation to many niches (mine being one) you lashed out. That actually says a lot about you.