Have forums died?

[zackredsox]

I think social media has killed forums. I remember back in the day how easy it was to find members because everyone just wanted to talk with like minded people on the Internet but now everyone seems to want to only read and reply in 160 characters. I think this is website is a great indication of the fall of forums. Years ago this site had twice as much activity.

 

[Streller]

When you revisit this page, please reconsider your question. Forums have just gotten quieter, than what they used to be, granted. But forums will always have their advantages; and disadvantages when compared to Social Media. Forums are a much more tightly knit community, and you're able to refine each individual forum - whereas with Social Media, it's huge and not so community like.

You're on an active forum right now, so work on your phrasing is required.

 

[Reverie]

I think forums have slowed down because of the generational changes too. When most of us started out on social media, it was like Myspace... Not much talking really occurred there. We all wanted more interaction such as AIM, MSN, YIM. But that also lead to forums to talk to liked minded minds.

Now - people the age we were when we joined just go to Facebook, they are able to join groups to discuss things and they have no idea about forums anymore. I don't necessarily think that is social media's fault. It just has changed the game a bit.

 

[njbitoy]

It all depends on the subject matter, and what the forum is attached to. There are wildly popular forums that belong to parent sites; automotive, music, lifestyle, etc. (Mac rumors, Hypebeast forums, Jalopnik forums to name a few)

Although it is difficult to have a standalone forum that exists only for itself. That involves building a community on a more organic level- basically the forum has to draw the crowd to it, instead of the crowd seeking out the forum.

Social media will always coexist with forums because they serve 2 purposes easily: Social media allows people to connect with immediately with relative ease, and forums allow people to expand on the specificities of their interaction.

Or at least that's how I see it.

 

[Kino]

I think forums are really struggling right now. Some of the ones that have been around a long time are doing pretty well, but new ones are really hard to keep going.

 

[Page]

Forums are definitely quieter than years ago, talking about it there are dead community's around now than. For example my community of bayside gamers is dead, I'm active every day of the week and doing exchanges and it's not going anywhere.

Still can't get any better

 

[Thomasss]

They're not dying, yet, anyway.

When you look at our world and compare it to when forums first came out, there is a lot different. Forums then were used as a way of communication and "online group circles" whereas now the new generation has made Snapchat and other alternatives to forums, that and the newer generation doesn't have much use for forums anyway.

However, you must also realize, there is way more supply than demand. You have so many forums popping up in one day that there are not enough people that are into forums to go around, it's like fishing in a pool of 5 fish and 80 other fishermen.

Personally, I believe it's the people who create a forum and not running through with it to the end that are killing the forum industry. The more forums that are being created without another ounce of thought and planning is what drives other people away, especially those who are new to forums.

Now the communities have dwindled to their own; recycled members if you will. You rarely see anyone who hasn't used ProBoards join a ProBoards forum, same goes for any other free forum host. You also have giant communities like FP that promotes forums only for the members to get those same exact members who are on other forums - it's not a bad thing but most members are already stretched thin as it is.

I would not say they are dying per say, as many forums are being created almost daily. There just isn't any demand for these new forums, and the demand for larger forums dwindle as each new forum is created.

 

[John]

When you revisit this page, please reconsider your question. Forums have just gotten quieter, than what they used to be, granted. But forums will always have their advantages; and disadvantages when compared to Social Media. Forums are a much more tightly knit community, and you're able to refine each individual forum - whereas with Social Media, it's huge and not so community like.

You're on an active forum right now, so work on your phrasing is required.

This a hundred times.

Social media has become more and more popular, but social media still isn't where forums are; yet, at least. I don't know what it is, but for some reason, people prefer social media to forums. It's pretty hard to make an actual community with social media; and that's where forums have their wiggle room. Forums won't die today or tomorrow, but at this pace, it'll be sooner rather than later. 🙁

 

[Deleted member 5665]

In terms of how content works now and then. Forums have faced a huge hit in activity, yes. It may continue to drop over time potentially, but maybe not it depends on. People demand more accurate and up to date interesting content as quickly as possible. Most forums can't provide that compared to social medias such as Twitter and Facebook.

Will forums in itself die as a whole? Probably not forums will always exist, but forums are not in their prime anymore like they used to be. That's how I personally see it.

 

[zackredsox]

I think everyone is saying similar things that social media and forums have thier advantages and disadvantages. Thats kind of my point less people seem to want to enjoy the advantages of a forum anymore. I ask someone 16 - 23 what a forum is now they look at me like I have three heads. If I asked someone that used the Internet regularly 8 years ago that same question they likely were a member of one or at least read one. To me it seemed to be the golden age of the Internet. When people wanted reach out across the world and find communities of people of similar passions that thier friends back home didn't always have. Now a days it seems that most 16-23 year olds only want that that quick meaninless interaction and to compare each other's lives by likes and favorites.

 

[KnownSyntax]

If anything they have just changed. Yes there are less forums like these, but more discussions online from either live chat (IRC, shout boxes, live streams, etc.), most recent discussions (reddit, twitter, etc.), to even just on social media where people can get there ideas out.

Forums will always be around, but might need to slightly adapt to fit with the current trends and needs of people.

 

[Sharon]

I think it's always interesting to see these kind of threads pop up from time to time. I also love seeing how individuals are always willing to defend forums. Although messages on a forum are usually opinion-based (as opposed to solely based on facts) in my opinion there is a level of "official" status when it comes to certain information. How often do we use Google to look up a question we have only to be re-directed to content that was posted on a forum?

 

[David]

We get this same topic every year. Everyone makes these claims, for and against, but never actually substantiates them. No doubt we will see this topic pop up again next year, ironically on a forum (demonstrating forums will still be used).

 

[Murder he Wrote]

Forums have never been more popular.

Let's look at this from a different angle and consider the definition of 'forum':

a meeting or medium where ideas and views on a particular issue can be exchanged.

I also noticed the term 'social media' banded around in this thread, the definition of which is:

websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking.

There are many parallels that run between forums and social networking. Facebook pages are forums, where posts pertinent to a subject matter are posted and other users comment. Twitter is a forum where individuals are connected through a common subject matter (eg: A trending hashtag) and comment on each other's status'. Any website or page that has a comments section is a forum.

I think the question in this thread shouldn't be "Are forums dying?", but rather: "Are CMS platforms where categories are listed vertically down a page and each category contains threads and posts dying?" The answer? Absolutely not. As long as people want to connect and exchange thoughts / ideas on a common knowledge area, standalone 'forum' CMS' will always exist and be popular.

However, the main challenge to the standalone CMS format we all know and love is supply & demand. Community members demand things to be easy. Facebook (or other mainstream social platform) login is revolutionising the way we integrate with websites across the internet. I'm sure we've all tried signing up to a website at some stage and feel relieved when we see a "Login with Facebook" button. The idea of 'registering' to sites with an email address is rapidly becoming a thing of the past, 'forums' in the context of this topic (phpBB,etc) need to embrace this technology to ensure a sustainable future. Nobody wants to remember a new set of login details any more.

I think this is website is a great indication of the fall of forums. Years ago this site had twice as much activity.

These comments are really interesting, I have two responses.

Firstly, ForumPromotion.net's decline is simply accounted for by many things, including but not limited to: Too frequent ownership changes, poor [no] succession planning, too many team members, too many kids and no innovation.

Secondly, I wouldn't let the caliber of forums advertised on ForumPromotion.net serve as a general indication for the health of forums across the internet. The problem as I see it is that FP largely consists of self-nominated 'Admins' that start a forum for all the wrong reasons. Running a community satisfies many natural human needs, including:

• Our need for significance: feeling unique, important, special or needed
• Our need for connection: a strong feeling of closeness or union with someone or something
• Our need for contribution: a sense of service and focus on helping, giving to and supporting others

The problem is that many FP members start forums exclusively to satisfy the need for significance, and not because they just want a place to hang out and talk about something they love. We have all seen many, many forums repeatedly launched by the same FP members and quickly fail. This isn't because forums are dying, it's just that they're not being opened for the right reasons.

 

[Sharon]

^^^Murder he Wrote, that was a fantastic, well-thought-out response. I absolutely agree with you. I believe that if people created forums for the right reasons it will definitely have a better a chance of success.

 

[Teg]

I don't think that they are dead. At least, not at this point. I do think that in the next ten years or so, they will be obsolete and less and less people will be using them. Facebook Groups have the functionality of forums now as they offer forums. So, even then, while social media slowly shifts the need of message boards, they will still exist and be used.

 

[WHE Tom]

I know what you mean but there may always been a need for a proper purpose-designed forum. You may find in the next couple of years someone thinks of something that may make people re-think how conventional forums are designed.

 

[Forces of Steel]

I think social media has killed forums. I remember back in the day how easy it was to find members because everyone just wanted to talk with like minded people on the Internet but now everyone seems to want to only read and reply in 160 characters. I think this is website is a great indication of the fall of forums. Years ago this site had twice as much activity.

I've been saying this for years. People have become very desensitized, hence the "entitled" types always demanding content, while not showing any effort.

Most forums are pretty much on their way out. There are many reasons why, and not all of them have anything to do with social media. Still, it's a fact that the medium has been hit hard by the many competitions out there. Most people have their noses stuck on their smartphones, so if your forum doesn't have a flexible mobile theme, then you'll be losing a potential member. Even then, is it worth all the sacrifice? I've implemented social media login plugins, and they proved to be unfruitful. All I know is that if someone is eager to join any of your forums, then they will know where to register, and if they can't register, they'll contact you about it. The addition of one active, contributing member means more than hundreds of lowlifes who only look to cause trouble.

Regardless of trends, I'm not doing away with forums, as I still enjoy using them. I feel that social media platforms are too personal, and I've always been more about discussing my hobbies in particular. I wouldn't want to compromise both sides of the fence, as I'm sure my girlfriend wouldn't be interested in a forum about underground metal bands.

 

[moneycodeking]

Far from dead. all juicy stuff still on forums

 

[zackredsox]

Great input from everyone. All I'm really saying is I've been an active member of forums for 10 years now and there was a time when it seemed that everyone that was an active member of the Internet was also an active member of a forum and it was extremely easy to make a new forum and attract hundreds of members almost instantly. The world and the Internet has changed and conventional forums like this one has sadly reached its peak. Maybe died is a bad term to use, but I think the glory days are gone.