Has anyone noticed a decline in forums?

[JoyFreak]

Forums are decreasing but they still exist. There are some big forums out there, you just have to do it right, and it may take longer than a decade ago but it's all worth it in the long-run.

 

[Ingenious]

precisely why I left FB, likely never to return.

Me too. But sadly the general public whilst they might disapprove of FB's shocking abuse of their privacy, nonetheless return to using it 2 hours later when they need their fix.

I've tried to argue on my forum that we offer an independent platform free of privacy concerns. But the majority of my audience doesn't care.

 

[Faust]

It has to have something you don't get on FB. Like privacy and control over your data. I see Zuck and crew are trying to argue once again that Apple increasing privacy controls on IOS is a bad thing. That kind of "all your data are mine" attitude is precisely why I left FB, likely never to return.

/Rant

More seriously, that is the biggest problem. Even a cheap, turnkey forum will have to offer some kind of compelling benefit over an FB group. In our case, it was that FB couldn't thread a conversation worth s--t in 2014 and people preferred to read threads in a traditional forum style. Not sure if that has improved since or not. Probably not.

Probably no matter of what decisions will be made, most people are stuck on fb and will continue to contribute there as all their friends, relatives are there too.

I would say that forums must bring something unique on the table to be able to compete wih social media sites.

 

[Alternadiv]

I'm puzzled by why many people seem to think it's an either-or thing.

I visit and post on several forums regularly.

I also post on social media, mostly Facebook but sometimes Twitter and occasionally Reddit (recently).

With the exception of Reddit, my posts on social media are totally different from my posts on forums. The two formats can coexist quite nicely.

I’m the same. Kind of what I was saying here:

I understand the utility of using Discord. But I don’t see how people are willing to use it as a replacement for what was once a forum. Discord is great for a lot of things but finding valuable information isn’t one of them, IMO.

Threaded topics are still better for enthusiast stuff. In my case, I can’t see a Discord for Tacoma owners being that useful besides being able to ask fast questions and getting fast replies.

 

[Alternadiv]

Me too. But sadly the general public whilst they might disapprove of FB's shocking abuse of their privacy, nonetheless return to using it 2 hours later when they need their fix.

I've tried to argue on my forum that we offer an independent platform free of privacy concerns. But the majority of my audience doesn't care.

I’m guilty of this. I hate/don’t use Facebook because I can’t stand the garbage content on it. At the same time, while I agree that their privacy abuse is awful and I’m glad Apple are trying to counter that stuff, I personally don’t care what Facebook might have on me. And there’s obviously a lot of people that don’t know or care about the privacy stuff and just need their fix of toxic content.

 

[Nicolas FR]

Forums are decreasing but they still exist. There are some big forums out there, you just have to do it right, and it may take longer than a decade ago but it's all worth it in the long-run.

You dream... There will never be new forums with 100,000 members... even after 10 years of loyal service.
In any case not in the current configuration of a forum.

 

[briansol]

I've been seeing the same threads for over 10 years.
I expect I'll be seeing them for the next 10 years.

I hope not, because most of us probably won't still be in business in 10 years if XF (or, another platform for that matter) allows us to move our content easily (like it is to bring into XF) and give us some native sharing opportunities.

It seems it's simple with the pwa but wasn't built out. Maybe i'll open a feature request

Progressive web application as a share option in Android

With the new Web Share Target API you can register your progressive web application as a share intent on Android devices. This is supported on mobile Chrome from version 71.

chodounsky.com

 

[Mr Lucky]

How awesome would it me to share the photo i just took to a 'new thread' or 'my wall' or 'insert NEW ... here'

I’m glad it isn’t that easy or we’d end up with loads of useless selfies, dinners and cats.

 

[briansol]

Well, that's community expectations, moderator training, and you need to set that standard.

Software should not inhibit your ability to share a picture, whether it's a cat or a relevant piece of content because some people are stupid and abusive.

that's like saying, lets disable attachments cuz someone can upload porn.

 

[JamesBrown]

The niche needs to be narrow, you need grow a community that are ambassadors to your cause. In my experience, real life social get-togethers are important when creating those ambassadors. We add around 500/600 new members a month and have done for the last 14 years. Some months of lockdown we signed up 1800.

 

[Nicolas FR]

We add around 500/600 new members a month

What kinds of members? Those who are obliged to register to see a link or download a file or those who will participate sustainably and actively?
500 active members every month, you must surely be millionaires by now...

 

[JamesBrown]

What kinds of members? Those who are obliged to register to see a link or download a file or those who will participate sustainably and actively?
500 active members every month, you must surely be millionaires by now...

All of those, the majority just want to read about others experiences and get answers to questions. If you dominate your small niche, be the most informative, helpful site there is in your niche, then you will naturally have people find you and join. We generate at least 1800 posts a day, sometimes double that, so added to the millions of posts made over the years, there's plenty for them to read and keep them coming back.

 

[Joe Blow]

All forums need is a new interface to attract those who find the old school forum layout unappealing. That and a native app for mobile devices.

Unless real steps are taken to provide a new way for users to interact with and post content on forums all we are doing is rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.

There needs to be an acceptance from the developers that the way forums have looked since the 90s no longer works for the majority of the population and the proliferation of new discussion platforms mean that they need to work harder and smarter to stay relevant.

The back end doesn't have to change that much. it's the front end that desperately needs work and I don't understand why it hasn't been made a priority.

 

[Mendalla]

What should forums look like, then?

I saw one attempt at creating a forum that didn't look like a forum and it was an appalling mess. I barely ever went there and only posted once or twice because it was so hard to use and navigate.

The current forum look evolved the way it did for reasons, mostly about simplicity. You have a list of forums, then you click a forum and get a list of threads, then click a thread and scroll through it to read the posts. That's quite simple and straightforward.

So a different paradigm needs to make sense in terms of usability, not just be different.

 

[djbaxter]

Do you mean for the same company/forum? That is, you can have both a forum and a Facebook group for example?

I'm wondering if starting a FB group would get me out there to a whole new (and younger) demographic. It could also help future-proof my community in case the forum continues to decline.

Do many people here run both a forum and a FB group at the same time?

Yes. I don't know that many do but some do. I work with (but do not own) one of those combinations.

 

[djbaxter]

All forums need is a new interface to attract those who find the old school forum layout unappealing. That and a native app for mobile devices.

Unless real steps are taken to provide a new way for users to interact with and post content on forums all we are doing is rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.

There needs to be an acceptance from the developers that the way forums have looked since the 90s no longer works for the majority of the population and the proliferation of new discussion platforms mean that they need to work harder and smarter to stay relevant.

The back end doesn't have to change that much. it's the front end that desperately needs work and I don't understand why it hasn't been made a priority.

I disagree. Forums don't need either of those things to be successful. Xenforo is responsive and I don't need an app to use it on my iPhone 8.

What forums need is a compelling niche and a decent size group of members with expertise within that niche, as has been said above. And the moderators need to be vigilant and merciless when it comes to controlling spam.

 

[Joe Blow]

I disagree. Forums don't need either of those things to be successful. Xenforo is responsive and I don't need an app to use it on my iPhone 8.

What forums need is a compelling niche and a decent size group of members with expertise within that niche, as has been said above. And the moderators need to be vigilant and merciless when it comes to controlling spam.

Fair enough. However, I have noticed that the active members on my 17 year old forum just seem to be getting older and there is almost nobody under 30 joining up and participating. That's my reality. I don't know why there can't be two interfaces and members can have a choice, old school layout or new layout.

I used to say the same thing. Forums are fine the way they are, I'm not following trends that will just die out eventually Well, I've slowly changed my tune because discussion platform interfaces have changed, for good, and it'd be nice to have some of the younger demographic on my forum. I like the old farts (I am one), but it would be nice to have more youth coming on board. But for the most part they just don't come near forums as they currently exist.

Forums are for old folks.

 

[optrex]

I've been saying this for years.

we need an app that allows native sharing from the phone to a thread/group/whatever just like you can with fb, ig, and all the rest fhat are destroying out livlihoods.

from what i've seen of every app available, including the latest from audentio, it misses that mark completely.

I don't need another viewer.
I need a content enabler.

How does this suggestion not have more likes

 

[Forsaken]

Fair enough. However, I have noticed that the active members on my 17 year old forum just seem to be getting older and there is almost nobody under 30 joining up and participating. That's my reality. I don't know why there can't be two interfaces and members can have a choice, old school layout or new layout.

I used to say the same thing. Forums are fine the way they are, I'm not following trends that will just die out eventually Well, I've slowly changed my tune because discussion platform interfaces have changed, for good, and it'd be nice to have some of the younger demographic on my forum. I like the old farts (I am one), but it would be nice to have more youth coming on board. But for the most part they just don't come near forums as they currently exist.

Forums are for old folks.

What is the subject matter of the forum, and is the majority of the member base over 30? If the subject matter doesn't really cater to a younger audience, it's likely it's not going to interest them enough to sign up or be active. If you have an older member base it is going to deter younger people from being active as they will have less in common outside of the subject matter of the forum with the other members.

 

[Joe Blow]

What is the subject matter of the forum, and is the majority of the member base over 30? If the subject matter doesn't really cater to a younger audience, it's likely it's not going to interest them enough to sign up or be active. If you have an older member base it is going to deter younger people from being active as they will have less in common outside of the subject matter of the forum with the other members.

It's a stock market/investment forum. Now before everyone says that older people are more interested in investing than young people, that isn't strictly true. Just look at Wall Street Bets on Reddit. There has been a huge move to stock market trading and investing by Millennials in recent times but on other platforms. Traditional forums are still filled with Boomers and Gen X.

I would like to see more experimentation with the forum interface that would make it more appealing to younger people. It needs to be simpler and more intuitive and more geared towards mobile. Keep the old school layout for those who want it, but it can't hurt to try and make forums more appealing to younger people who are used to interacting with and consuming content differently.