General Where do you see forums in five years' time?

[Shortie]

Forums have been a thing for quite some time now and even though social media seems to have become the more popular and dominant force on the internet now, forums are still staying alive due to those who prefer using forums over using social media.

It got me thinking about what forums could be like within the next five years. We have seen social media grow so much over the last 5 - 10 years and many youngsters choose social media over forums.

Where do you see forums in the next five years?

 

[Arantor]

As per https://admin-junkies.com/threads/do-you-still-think-forums-are-dead.5212/ I expect most of them to be soulless corporate entities, with the few that remain in the hands of hobbyists to be a dying breed as people move on and don’t backfill the ecosystem.

 

[Dismal_Bliss]

General discussion forums that attempt to be everything but the kitchen sink will still be struggling and will be even harder to start. Just like today, you see the same names of the same users across many of them.

Niche communities and communities that are built around influencers will be alive and well.

 

[Empire]

I do not even know if the forums that we have going now would still be going in five years time, I mean I have hosting for another two years myself

 

[Kennysplash]

No doubt the activities on forums are reducing, but five years is not a long time to have their complete inactivity. Not even in 15 years, so we’ll still have them around.

 

[Cory]

If forum software still remains to be available, I think forums will survive regardless of how inactive a majority of them are. Some communities out there are still thriving and may continue to do so as long as there remains interest and consistent content. There will always be people who prefer smaller communities over vast social media giants.

 

[Ravenfreak]

If forum software still remains to be available, I think forums will survive regardless of how inactive a majority of them are. Some communities out there are still thriving and may continue to do so as long as there remains interest and consistent content. There will always be people who prefer smaller communities over vast social media giants.

I can see pretty much all the paid forum software still kicking in five years. As for free options, I can see a few lasting. As for free forum hosts, the only ones I can see lasting for another five years or more are Proboards, and maybe Jcink. I think phpBB, and SMF will get new releases but I feel that MyBB will continue to fall behind.

 

[~ True Legend ~]

I can see pretty much all the paid forum software still kicking in five years. As for free options, I can see a few lasting. As for free forum hosts, the only ones I can see lasting for another five years or more are Proboards, and maybe Jcink. I think phpBB, and SMF will get new releases but I feel that MyBB will continue to fall behind.

Agreed, funjoint by @Paul and TCH by @Kyng use free hosting - Proboards and myBB respectively. They are very active since they were both created a decade or more ago. I imagine it’s the connections within the community that help it thrive.