I feel like forums are dying, yeah. it's hard to find people to talk to online in general these days, since I feel like people are caught up with doing things quickly. they don't like to stop and talk, get to know others. everything has to be fast, fast, fast--it's the age of instant gratification, no one wants to invest time in anything anymore.
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Is social media killing forums?
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I tend to prefer forums to social media sites like Twitter and Facebook. Social media sites feel so cold when compared to forums. Since forums are much smaller it's easier to know one another while on social media websites there are millions of people vying for attention one another's attention. I mostly use social media for business and promoting but tend to stick to forums when it comes to discussions and sharing stories.
kuzuryuu_shiko
Villager
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Well in my opinion, I still prefer forums than social medias as well, in Facebook and things similiar to that, there's this feeling that people are just getting to know others just to get a name for themselves, but at most forums I can see that people are genuinely talking to each others, I can speak much more openly there as there are no fight for fame (or at least not as much as like the people in social meds, srsly most of my Facebook Friends are just random people who adds me to get more numbers in their total friends, minus my real life friends).
But yeah, I feel like forums are starting to get lonely.
But yeah, I feel like forums are starting to get lonely.
As a newcomer here, I've not the same historic experience nor perspective as others; I do, however, moderate on other forums (other subjects...), and there is constant evolution across all of these platforms. There is, in my view, a definite generational aspect; I recently retired from a long career in IT (and other activities...), so count myself among the 'old fogies' of this world. No, I don't naturally type acronyms such as 'lol', and have never grasped the sense of Facebook, Twitter, or whatever this week's trend dictates. Having seen all of the proudly-announced Operating Systems come and go, one becomes perhaps a tad cynical when a new gadget is brought out.
Forums..? In general (with many exceptions...), they are a fairly small core of regular members, with a flitting cloud of members signing up, to be never heard of again. This a fairly normal, I find, but those that stay are far more loyal and attached, and develop quite strong bonds between themselves. This, too, has its dangers when a new face appears on a well-established site, as one can easily get the impression of a 'clique' or 'in-crowd'. Welcoming new members is, I know, a thankless task, and the success rate of holding on to them is not high, usually, but when the magic operates, it's worth the effort, no..?
Are forums all the worse for social media..? Looking over a scale of decades, rather than weeks or months, I'd say that there's little to fear; those interested in hopping from App to Chat are often not the backbone of the forums (fora..?) anyway.
Now then; what about a nice cup of tea, eh..?
Forums..? In general (with many exceptions...), they are a fairly small core of regular members, with a flitting cloud of members signing up, to be never heard of again. This a fairly normal, I find, but those that stay are far more loyal and attached, and develop quite strong bonds between themselves. This, too, has its dangers when a new face appears on a well-established site, as one can easily get the impression of a 'clique' or 'in-crowd'. Welcoming new members is, I know, a thankless task, and the success rate of holding on to them is not high, usually, but when the magic operates, it's worth the effort, no..?
Are forums all the worse for social media..? Looking over a scale of decades, rather than weeks or months, I'd say that there's little to fear; those interested in hopping from App to Chat are often not the backbone of the forums (fora..?) anyway.
Now then; what about a nice cup of tea, eh..?
Whats killing more forum presence is the stubbornness of some CMS devs (like PHPBB) to not modernize your systems.
For example, we have Markdown, a markup language far more better than bbcode, and with the so called gimmicks we can extend the language to a thing far more clean and robust than BBCode.
Yet the PHPBB devs still think BBCode is the greatest thing of universe and refuse to implement markdown, even as a second language.
Such a shame.
For example, we have Markdown, a markup language far more better than bbcode, and with the so called gimmicks we can extend the language to a thing far more clean and robust than BBCode.
Yet the PHPBB devs still think BBCode is the greatest thing of universe and refuse to implement markdown, even as a second language.
Such a shame.
Boy Who Codes
Praised Adventurer
- Xy$
- 0.00
It kinda does, yeah. Social Media Platforms are, indeed amazing as it connects people around the world. Unlike forums that sometimes, focuses on a certain topic or subject or a platform in its own right. If you want to talk about Planes and Tanks, go to a forum that does. In Social Media platforms, you can talk about anything. You can't say you can do that on forums too, because it'd be a one hell messed up forum if you talk about all things in the world, and it might just flood things inside the forum you're not even interested to see or a member in.
I'd say forums still compete, but social media platforms is winning. I like forums for business, hobby and study purposes better than social media though.
I'd say forums still compete, but social media platforms is winning. I like forums for business, hobby and study purposes better than social media though.
Both Forums and Social Media Platforms have their uses. As has been previously mentioned, forums work for a core group of individuals who all share a common interest, and the forums focus on this interest as the primary topic for posts.
Social media, on the other hand, helps to connect you to people you may not have otherwise connected with. You may even find new people to share your interest/s with. But, at the end of the day, the fact remains that, as already stated, social media is a hub for most people, while forums focus on an interest.
I utilise both communication forms, so for me, forums are a quiet and fresh change to the hustle and bustle of social media.
Social media, on the other hand, helps to connect you to people you may not have otherwise connected with. You may even find new people to share your interest/s with. But, at the end of the day, the fact remains that, as already stated, social media is a hub for most people, while forums focus on an interest.
I utilise both communication forms, so for me, forums are a quiet and fresh change to the hustle and bustle of social media.
This is a conversation my boyfriend (who runs a niche niche forum) and I talk about a lot. Social Media can both hurt and help a forum and community- it really depends on what form of social media and how you use it. Facebook has really stolen half the human race, I think, from forums. For starters, many find it easier. And let's face it- tabs can be a pain even if they're easier than when we needed multiple windows for each site. Twitter, on the other hand, doesn't hurt forums to me. Considering it has such a limit on what you can say at a given time, it's mostly used (from my knowledge) for really simple jokes and promotions. I think I mostly follow people on it for character ideas, to be honest. That's the one thing some social media is great for!
As for if forums are dying...Some, sadly, are. It really depends on the forum's use itself- this forum, for example, doesn't seem as likely to die as the one I noted earlier. Though MV is somewhat of a niche niche, it's a pretty big community, and still growing rapidly from my assumption and personal experience. Those of us who really grew up with forums, in particular, are likely less interested in social media. But...It depends on the forum and the person, in the end, no matter what.
As for me, I mostly use social media for character ideas and other writing prompts. Forums (this makes two I'm always logged in on now) have their own use to me that social media will never take over. Besides, they make me feel young since I've been using them since I was a preteen. And that's well over a decade ago, ladies and gents.
As for if forums are dying...Some, sadly, are. It really depends on the forum's use itself- this forum, for example, doesn't seem as likely to die as the one I noted earlier. Though MV is somewhat of a niche niche, it's a pretty big community, and still growing rapidly from my assumption and personal experience. Those of us who really grew up with forums, in particular, are likely less interested in social media. But...It depends on the forum and the person, in the end, no matter what.
As for me, I mostly use social media for character ideas and other writing prompts. Forums (this makes two I'm always logged in on now) have their own use to me that social media will never take over. Besides, they make me feel young since I've been using them since I was a preteen. And that's well over a decade ago, ladies and gents.
Isaac The Red
Towns Guard
- Xy$
- -0.10
I wouldn't say social media is doing anything to forums. As I've noticed over the past few years since the boom of social media starting with MySpace and moving on to Facebook and twitter and all these other things, they have killed the traditional instant messenger. AOL instant messenger, yahoo instant messenger. Hell, I'd say social media has killed the "chatroom" too. Chat rooms and instant messengers were the go to places to meet, and talk with new people through the internet. I look back on the internet, and I've realized, if the internet was like it is now, back then when I first got into it, id have never met anyone or talked to anyone. I wouldn't know where to go. Today you might get lucky and find someone who knows wtf IRC is, but aside from messengers built into other platforms like steam or Facebook, I don't really ever anyone use messengers. Discord is a thing now I guess, but it's really just a different flavor of Skype. But unlike chat rooms of the past, social media outlets like Facebook to some degree require you to know at least one person first. Chatrooms were just more or less pick one and hope for the best.