Do you predict forums will make a big comeback?
- Thread starter MrDawn
- Start date
This is quite hard to say, given where social media is at now and everything is app/mobile based, I’m guessing they are t going to make a huge comeback, but as they are getting more and more mobile friendly I can see some sort of bounce back happening with them.
I can see activity continuing to grow on forums over the next few years. I think forums will start to become as popular as they once were. A lot of forum software caught up to the functionality offered on social media sites, it's only a matter of time.
XtyneHappy
Familiar Face
For sure the world of forums really comes back with a loud bhang!
It'll be hard to bring in the younger generation as they are more focused on algorithm-focused social networks. I hope that those who are finding a better experience within forums will start to be part of those communities and will share with their friends and families.
A big comeback? No, I don't see that. Forums have their place, they will continue to serve their function, and may indeed grow a bit in popularity, but I don't see us ever getting back to the levels of popularity that forums had in the late 90s and early 00s. Forums were amazing hubs of activity back then, and social media truly cut into that market by taking some of the generalities away and replacing them with quick, snide like-driven content. Proper discourse took a big hit, but it's still out there, for those of us who seek it 🙂
I think forums will continue to flourish, but I don't think they'll have the same popularity they had before. Between social media and online chat platforms like Discord, I think people are more willing to take to the place where they can get a quick, sometimes even instantaneous response than the place where it may take a couple hours (give or take) to receive a response or to get that instant gratification of being able to interact with others about common interests.
I think the larger, more established forums that can adapt to the changing times will definitely be able to survive and continue to thrive with the changes in technology, but I think it'll be harder for newer forums that don't already have their footing to pick up the pace and gain the traction they need. That said, I think with forums being able to become mobile friendly these days will help out a lot. People really do like the convenience of being able to access sites on their phones, and I think that'll be what really helps out forums.
I think the larger, more established forums that can adapt to the changing times will definitely be able to survive and continue to thrive with the changes in technology, but I think it'll be harder for newer forums that don't already have their footing to pick up the pace and gain the traction they need. That said, I think with forums being able to become mobile friendly these days will help out a lot. People really do like the convenience of being able to access sites on their phones, and I think that'll be what really helps out forums.
This is a tough one as social media is evolving all the time and many of those who use the internet are pretty stuck in their ways and would rather just use social media than go to forums instead.
I believe with the passion of those who still enjoy using forums and also creating forums and communities, forums will continue to thrive.
I believe with the passion of those who still enjoy using forums and also creating forums and communities, forums will continue to thrive.
Forums were so much more common back in 2000s. Some still survive. I like that they are not so centred on your identity but instead on a common interest or goal. As you mentioned, Reddit is the closest thing, but it's not the same. Forums feel more like a community.
Not to mention, just about every social media platform now is too overly political that you can't even have escapism anymore, discuss entertainment, or share your favourite foods without some idiot(Westerners especially) feeling the need to self-insert their own political views or lack of approval towards certain things and then get personally offended by them based off of their own world views and values.
Not to mention, just about every social media platform now is too overly political that you can't even have escapism anymore, discuss entertainment, or share your favourite foods without some idiot(Westerners especially) feeling the need to self-insert their own political views or lack of approval towards certain things and then get personally offended by them based off of their own world views and values.
Unfortunately I don't see forums being the biggest thing as long as social media, Reddit, and Discord continue to exist. However, I have seen a few Discord servers be shut down and move to forums since forums just fit the niche of the community better. For example I'm a judge for the Sonic Hacking Contest and we are working on having a forum be the big place for the community to come together, I think we're keeping the Discord open too but thankfully the people in charge now finally see that the community works much better on a forum than on a Discord server. I think forums will never truly go away, we still need them and there's lots of us that prefer to use them over anything else.
That's fantastic! I love when people see forums are a better option than (insert platform here). Makes me smile 🙂
Soulwatcher
Reputable
As much as I want them to, I don't see forums making a huge comeback unless there are some major changes. Like others have said, Social Media is instant gratification, and that's what most people want these days.
I read this thread with great interest. I suppose I ought to say that from my perspective, I do include Reddit and Discord as forum platforms and I write this with that bourne in mind.
I suppose the best way for me to answer the OP's question is to start from where a lot of online communities currently reside: Facebook, specifically Facebook Groups. You see, Facebook is the issue here. It is Facebook, through monetisation, intrusive advertising and algorithmic manipulation, degraded the user experience to such an extent, that community leaders and modmins are becoming worried that community members will stop engaging and participating in community discussions.
So bad is the user experience that a new term has been coined to described the degradation in user experience: 'enshittification'. Whole articles have been written about this trend, not only on Facebook, but on other platforms as well, including Twitter/X. Googling the term will come up with articles and they make for an interesting read.
It was Facebook that destroyed our car communities on vBulletin and I've never forgiven them for it - but beyond that, as I look out to the horizon, I think that as far as FB is concerned, trouble is coming.
You see, Facebook is run by a rather privileged man, who is incapable of listening and empathising with others and who doesn't really tolerate dissent or even constructive feedback, and this is evident in that Facebook no longer seems to be innovating or improving. It fundamentally misunderstands the things that really matter to people and I am now beginning to sense the alienation of my friends and communities there.
And what really worries me is that FB are making the same kind of fundamental mistakes that brought down MySpace, Bebo and FriendsReunited and that implies that a tipping point will be reached when people begin to abandon it. Nothing lasts forever, the only certainty - so the saying goes - being death and taxes. People will only take so much nonsense before they decide to move on.
My sense is that forums will begin to grow in popularity again, but that growth is likely to happen using Reddit and Discord, or similar types of platform - but I don't precisely know when that'll happen.
I suppose the best way for me to answer the OP's question is to start from where a lot of online communities currently reside: Facebook, specifically Facebook Groups. You see, Facebook is the issue here. It is Facebook, through monetisation, intrusive advertising and algorithmic manipulation, degraded the user experience to such an extent, that community leaders and modmins are becoming worried that community members will stop engaging and participating in community discussions.
So bad is the user experience that a new term has been coined to described the degradation in user experience: 'enshittification'. Whole articles have been written about this trend, not only on Facebook, but on other platforms as well, including Twitter/X. Googling the term will come up with articles and they make for an interesting read.
It was Facebook that destroyed our car communities on vBulletin and I've never forgiven them for it - but beyond that, as I look out to the horizon, I think that as far as FB is concerned, trouble is coming.
You see, Facebook is run by a rather privileged man, who is incapable of listening and empathising with others and who doesn't really tolerate dissent or even constructive feedback, and this is evident in that Facebook no longer seems to be innovating or improving. It fundamentally misunderstands the things that really matter to people and I am now beginning to sense the alienation of my friends and communities there.
And what really worries me is that FB are making the same kind of fundamental mistakes that brought down MySpace, Bebo and FriendsReunited and that implies that a tipping point will be reached when people begin to abandon it. Nothing lasts forever, the only certainty - so the saying goes - being death and taxes. People will only take so much nonsense before they decide to move on.
My sense is that forums will begin to grow in popularity again, but that growth is likely to happen using Reddit and Discord, or similar types of platform - but I don't precisely know when that'll happen.
KensonPlays
Dinosaur Friend & MH Creator!
If you happen to have Discord and/or Reddit login support to your personal forum, that can also help since its just a couple clicks to sign up basically.
I've seen applications like amino that really brought some of that forum feel repackaged for newer generations.
Now that discord got threads I guess you can have a full forum there if you wanted. That being said, I'll always have a soft spot for traditional online communities. My forums might not have activity but I sure will keep checking on them and try to keep them going as much as my busy adult life allows.
I don't think that they will ever pick up as much unless they can make it easy for people to join, understand the index and post. I feel like the index specially has always been a deterrent for people not used to communities. So while a community in particular (such a reddit) might become popular as a hub to find your interests it is really hard that communities on their own make a comeback as strong as they once were 20 years ago.
Now that discord got threads I guess you can have a full forum there if you wanted. That being said, I'll always have a soft spot for traditional online communities. My forums might not have activity but I sure will keep checking on them and try to keep them going as much as my busy adult life allows.
I don't think that they will ever pick up as much unless they can make it easy for people to join, understand the index and post. I feel like the index specially has always been a deterrent for people not used to communities. So while a community in particular (such a reddit) might become popular as a hub to find your interests it is really hard that communities on their own make a comeback as strong as they once were 20 years ago.
I'm not sure on a big comeback, but I did notice recently that Google will have a "Forums" tab when performing a search (similar to how you get Images, Videos, etc. as search options) and when I checked it out for whatever search it was I did, all I got were forums with info about what I had searched for and absolutely no other sites in the results. I don't know if Google have had that for ages and I've never noticed, but that sort of thing could maybe help bring more attention back to forums that doesn't just rely on high rankings in standard Google searches where forums have to compete with every other website out there that isn't a forum.
This feature was just rolled out a couple of weeks ago on Google’s newest update. I think it might help boast traffic to a lot of forums and drive in some new users to the forum world. It may take sometime though, but I’m hopeful!
Forums will always have a place because they cater better than any other form of social media for enduring content. Content on other social platforms is generally more disposable.
Forum developers and admins need to understand that threads which have dropped from the first page may still hold value. Locking old content, deleting old content, chastising members for bumping old content is not what we should be doing. That content may have value and we need better ways of exposing it to our members.
Xenforo has at long last put a toe in the water with some up and coming functionality that focuses on trending content.
xenforo.com
Forum developers and admins need to understand that threads which have dropped from the first page may still hold value. Locking old content, deleting old content, chastising members for bumping old content is not what we should be doing. That content may have value and we need better ways of exposing it to our members.
Xenforo has at long last put a toe in the water with some up and coming functionality that focuses on trending content.
XF 2.3 - Trending content
Since the initial release of XenForo 2.3, there has been a new system working away behind the scenes. One that some developers might have spotted but one that we hadn't actually talked about yet, because it wasn't relevant. Until now! Let's talk about this somewhat underlying system first...
xenforo.com
I wouldn't predict a big comeback. Folks like us aren't getting any younger, and I really don't predict the youth of today embracing forums the way we have. I'm sure there will be some young people that get into this hobby, but I don't believe it'll be anything like the number of us that got into this.
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