Are online forums a dying medium?

[cptwhite_uk]

I suspect I fall squarely in the middle of the age demographic of Hexus reader. At 34, I was one the first to embrace the internet age in the mid-90's when others thought it was odd to spend so much free time online. Forums started to appear as staples of the internet in the back end of the 90's and were very popular with early adopters. With slow access speeds, limited means of online communication and with common interests as a magnetic force driving you towards people with similar interests forums were very active and allowed a new way to communicate with people outside of your real life friends.

As time has passed this has changed. The demographic of people on the internet, the diversification of methods of interaction (reddit / twitter / facebook groups), and the younger generation's lower threshold for reading large blocks of text (and typing large trains of thought as well) means forums are much quieter than they used to be. Hexus forums as a prime example seem much less active than they used to me. It feels like we're fast reaching a threshold of minimum activity to consider the forums worth visiting. Another forum I frequent is lucky to see more than a hand full of posts per day, from a small but dedicated following of maybe 30-40 frequent users.

I'm as guilty as everyone else. I don't really post much content to keep the fires burning, but I feel it's something of an end of an era we're approaching. As the generations move on, forums like this seems to be getting less and less relevant to the modern internet's way of interacting online.


(Zak edit: I edited the title to make it read correctly)

[Zak33]

My answer....

The online world of "forums" is alive and kicking..but it needs to be done differently.

I knowe the 3D interactive world/environ is a waaaay off yet for this type of "chat" but there's certainly a middle ground.


I know one thing... Facebook and Twitter don't fill the Forum space. Nor do Blogs.

[cptwhite_uk]

I don't think anything has come to directly replace forums yet. The beauty of forums is the ability to put forward an opinion in detail and promote a potentially long standing and lengthy debate. They often offer a level of intimacy that is lost on blogs / facebook / twitter as you get to know usernames and personalities. The user group size of these other means of communication means other users are often unknown to the reader and as such the sense of community is lost to a large degree.

[jag272]

I certainly wouldn't say so, I suspect if 34 is indeed squarely in the middle of Hexus's demographic then I fall far below it. What I do think is changing however is the types of forums that remain active. I think the particularly specific forums are used more frequently than the general types of forums.

For example go to a hardware manufacturers forums, people will go direct to get help with a product from the company or frequent users of that company, the same applies to game developers and other software. Ultimately I think whats really happened is that now that we have more freedom and forums are commonplace, we go direct as we expect a quicker, more informed response there.

And yet here we are, I can't speak for everyone but while I may contact companies direct when I have queries about their products, I don't find myself frequently checking their own forums unless I have an active interest in them, thats not the kind of place I visit for general discussions. For example I read the Warframe Forums as I actively play the game, but despite owning and using MSI hardware, Intel hardware and XFX hardware, I don't feel the need to frequently check on their forums. For general discussions and minor aid I find forums like this which are much more flexible more welcoming.

(Yes, I may be one of those guilty of typing large trains of thought, I like to think i cover my bases to avoid misinterpretation though)

[stevie lee]

the internet is old, loads of questions have already been asked and answered. people use google to find them, what's the point of asking the same question again, when it was answered 6 years ago and the answers still relevant?
if you ask the same question again, someone just links to the older thread and says 'already posted, use search function next time', people give up posting new things because they're sick of being told its already been posted.
this cycle repeats roughly every few years as newer generations log on and find out everythings already been posted.

tldr: its googles fault.

[Zak33]

I certainly wouldn't say so, I suspect if 34 is indeed squarely in the middle of Hexus's demographic then I fall far below it. What I do think is changing however is the types of forums that remain active. I think the particularly specific forums are used more frequently than the general types of forums.

For example go to a hardware manufacturers forums, people will go direct to get help with a product from the company or frequent users of that company, the same applies to game developers and other software. Ultimately I think whats really happened is that now that we have more freedom and forums are commonplace, we go direct as we expect a quicker, more informed response there.

And yet here we are, I can't speak for everyone but while I may contact companies direct when I have queries about their products, I don't find myself frequently checking their own forums unless I have an active interest in them, thats not the kind of place I visit for general discussions. For example I read the Warframe Forums as I actively play the game, but despite owning and using MSI hardware, Intel hardware and XFX hardware, I don't feel the need to frequently check on their forums. For general discussions and minor aid I find forums like this which are much more flexible more welcoming.

(Yes, I may be one of those guilty of typing large trains of thought, I like to think i cover my based to avoid misinterpretation though)

you post wellll....and a forum is the place to post in such a style.

[tepo]

the internet is old, loads of questions have already been asked and answered. people use google to find them, what's the point of asking the same question again, when it was answered 6 years ago and the answers still relevant?
if you ask the same question again, someone just links to the older thread and says 'already posted, use search function next time', people give up posting new things because they're sick of being told its already been posted.
this cycle repeats roughly every few years as newer generations log on and find out everythings already been posted.

tldr: its googles fault.

too commercial now.........too accessible to those that buy into.....basically what tv ,lad mags and all the rubbish , used to be.

[DanceswithUnix]

I think there will always be a need for some sort of discussion system.

I went from Bulletin Boards (CIX bbs) to Usenet to Forums. I don't see a direct replacement yet for Forums, have I missed something? I can imagine there is a financial cost to running a good forum, perhaps that explains why there aren't many that I have bothered with.

[TeePee]

I joined these forums somewhere around 1997/98, as someone just starting out in the IT industry. I gave up on that career path around 2001. 14 years later, these forums are simply a source of entertainment and community to me. I post less, and have only an intermittent interest in computing these days. My forum is now almost entirely GD, but it's still entertaining, and I do try to bring some more diverse topics to the community.

I also use a professional forum relating to my current career, and that forum is booming.

[mikerr]

I'm also old enough to have seen the move from usenet news (a single worldwide place for all - yay) to various forums,
nt sure what's replacing forums though ?

facebook groups ?
twitter conversations ?

Niether promote the same community spirit.

[GuidoLS]

The only real difference between 'modern' forums and the old BBS sites is simply the tech. Back then, it was one caller at a time, on a POT's modem, most of us at 2.4k, and the rich kids with their USR 9600's. And even then, if one were a member of FidoNet, posts were hosted all over, so while disjointed, conversations could happen. Today it's a bunch of people at once. In much the same way, the only real difference between Facebook and AOL/Compu$erve is the speed (and cost) of the connection.

Are they a thing of the past? The past keeps repeating. Are they fading away? I don't believe so. It's just that time of year when most of us in the northern hemisphere spend more time outside, thus spending less time on the computers.

[KeyboardDemon]

Are they a thing of the past? The past keeps repeating. Are they fading away? I don't believe so. It's just that time of year when most of us in the northern hemisphere spend more time outside, thus spending less time on the computers.

I agree with this, I think Hexus at least, goes through seasonal trends, with increased activity around the time of CES, Computex, E3 and other big occasions. Though I do think that discussions of this years Computex were not as big as they were last year or the year before, but that might say more about my own levels of participation, as I'm working stupid hours like up to 60 or 70 hours a week so I don't get the time I'd like to spend on my PC or on line anymore.

[anacdahudee]

I've just registered here and decided to join in with some of the discussions, so Hexus is obviously doing something right. Of course forums provide a nice and easy way to share opinions and ideas on topics, especially when you are at work and need something to help pass the time on those slow days. I also cannot think of a better way of seeking more personal advise on things such as PC build ideas and other topics that cannot simply be googled for an answer.

I have been a part of various forums over the years, my last active one being the Aria forums and eventually they all suffer from three big things. The first has already been mentioned: the seasonal variations, whether its tech events or in gaming forums the busy periods for students and the sudden abudance of free time during summer; second its the moderators, they either get far to comfortable and let rules and standards slip without any real punishment, or the power goes to their heads; lastly marketing of companies, this often happens when a community is based around a company and they try to keep boosting the community by holding competitions, giveaways, and later other benefits and it can often irrevocably alter the good nature of the community.

It looks like Hexus has done a pretty good job of finding a happy medium in all these areas.

[shaithis]

As someone who started with list servers, usenet, CompuServe and dial-up BBSes....I have seen the "online forum" change a lot over the years and believe it will continue to change.

In the time I have been on Hexus (over 11 years now, I believe the move was mainly due to the THG list-server pretty much dying) I have seen the focus of the content (from both staff and users) change a fair amount but the forum keeps going strong.

How it (and then forum arena in general) will look in 10 years time is anyone's guess I suppose......although I can never see it dying as we humans like to talk, share and accumulate knowledge.

[abaxas]

All forums eventually die as the reality is that most a just a small-ish group of people who post almost everything!

Hack them off and the forum dies.

[jim]

To me, Reddit is little different to a forum, excluding its approach to moderation.. and that's thriving.

So I don't see why they have to be a dying medium.