Do you think forums will eventually die?

[Eclipse]

I've been thinking a lot lately about what my next forum project might be. I've explored a few different niches and community concepts that interest me, and it got me wondering about the long-term future of forums as a whole.

It's no secret that forum activity isn't what it used to be 5, 10, 15 years ago. Many people now spend their time on platforms/sites like Reddit, Discord, Slack communities, and Facebook Groups.

That said, do you think traditional forums will eventually disappear, or do you think they'll always have a place on the internet?

 

[Ravenfreak]

I think they'll always have a place on the internet. Many people prefer to have full control over what they interact with online, and I think many people will start to leave platforms like Discord, Facebook Groups, etc. when their communities start getting removed for content. I think age verification will also drive more people to using forums again.

 

[Allenafaith]

I don’t think they’ll ever die. There’s so many other recourses out there but none seem as genuine as forums. Plus, it’s a good way to meet a lot of great people too. 🙂

 

[Page]

Personally, I don't think forums are dying, but they have definitely slowed down compared to 10–15 years ago. Back then, forums were one of the main places people went to discuss hobbies, get support, and build communities online.

Today, a lot of those conversations have moved to places like Reddit, Discord, Facebook Groups, and Slack communities because they're quicker and more convenient. However, forums still offer something those platforms don't organised discussions, searchable information, and long-term knowledge that doesn't disappear in a fast moving chat feed.

I think forums will always have a place on the internet. They may never return to the levels of activity they had years ago, but for dedicated communities and niche interests, forums remain a valuable platform.

 

[Nomad]

Currently, I am building a forum directory for a client and I found a lot of forums dating back to lat 90s a and early 20000s that are still very active. Forums won't die

 

[cpvr]

I've been thinking a lot lately about what my next forum project might be. I've explored a few different niches and community concepts that interest me, and it got me wondering about the long-term future of forums as a whole.

It's no secret that forum activity isn't what it used to be 5, 10, 15 years ago. Many people now spend their time on platforms/sites like Reddit, Discord, Slack communities, and Facebook Groups.

That said, do you think traditional forums will eventually disappear, or do you think they'll always have a place on the internet?

Nope.

Forums are here to stay.

I don't envision a day, nor era where forums will ever disappear from the internet.

Forums are the backbone of the open web. Without forums, the internet wouldn't be the same as it is today.


The past is the past, the present is now. All we can do is build for the future.

 

[Xyphien]

I think they died already, however, I believe they're going to make a comeback now that everyone is slowly moving on the retro hype Even the younger generations are starting to get into retro inspired stuff 😀

 

[Page]

I think they died already, however, I believe they're going to make a comeback now that everyone is slowly moving on the retro hype Even the younger generations are starting to get into retro inspired stuff 😀

How?

 

[Xyphien]

How?

I'm hoping you're asking How to the "died already" part. Most people moved on to Discord, other social media, and other faster forms of communication. I haven't heard anyone mention forums in the past like 10+ years and it use to be referenced semi-frequently amongst nearly everyone online. Even using FP as a reference, back when I last used it there was hundreds of forums being promoted frequently. Since making my LP promotional post there was 4 other forums that were promoted after mine. Supply and Demand seem down for it all around which to me seems like it is dead.

Unless you mean How to the comeback part. Retro is making a huge comeback. Pizza hut is bringing back their red cups, pizza bar, places are starting to add arcade machines back, I even heard a rumor on Blockbuster coming back. We had a VHS/DVD rental store just open up recently here as well, and I've heard from various other people that their local area has had one pop up recently as well. People I think are done with the corporate grayscale, miss how happy everything was back in the day, etc. so I'm hoping that will translate to everything to include online. Especially with the fact that 57%+ of the internet is now bots according to cloudflare, people may start wanting some more authentic human interaction instead of wondering if they're talking to a bot on social media which seems like it's been getting worse and worse (Especially on X/Twitter)

 

[Krissycakes09]

I dont think they will die but they will be less. More people will go to Facebook/Twitter/Instagram and so on.

 

[Baw$e]

A lot of forums will die, not all. Big boards will remain.

 

[Page]

I'm hoping you're asking How to the "died already" part. Most people moved on to Discord, other social media, and other faster forms of communication. I haven't heard anyone mention forums in the past like 10+ years and it use to be referenced semi-frequently amongst nearly everyone online. Even using FP as a reference, back when I last used it there was hundreds of forums being promoted frequently. Since making my LP promotional post there was 4 other forums that were promoted after mine. Supply and Demand seem down for it all around which to me seems like it is dead.

Unless you mean How to the comeback part. Retro is making a huge comeback. Pizza hut is bringing back their red cups, pizza bar, places are starting to add arcade machines back, I even heard a rumor on Blockbuster coming back. We had a VHS/DVD rental store just open up recently here as well, and I've heard from various other people that their local area has had one pop up recently as well. People I think are done with the corporate grayscale, miss how happy everything was back in the day, etc. so I'm hoping that will translate to everything to include online. Especially with the fact that 57%+ of the internet is now bots according to cloudflare, people may start wanting some more authentic human interaction instead of wondering if they're talking to a bot on social media which seems like it's been getting worse and worse (Especially on X/Twitter)

That's a fair point. I agree that forums aren't what they were 10–15 years ago, and Discord, social media, and other instant communication platforms have taken a huge share of the audience away from them. The reason I still think forums have a chance is that they offer something those platforms don't. Forum discussions are structured, searchable, and can be useful years later, whereas a lot of Discord conversations disappear into the void after a few days.

I also think there's growing fatigue with modern social media. Between algorithms deciding what people see, endless scrolling, and increasing concerns about bots and AI-generated content, some people are looking for more genuine communities and longer-form discussions.

Whether forums ever return to their old popularity is another question, but I can definitely see niche communities continuing to grow because they provide a different experience from the fast-paced platforms that dominate today. The challenge isn't that forums have nothing to offer—it's getting people to change habits they've built around social media and Discord.