Nitty_Grimes
Made a crappy phPBB forum once ... once.
You're always going to 'meet' people that have different visions and values than what you do.
If you can look past that...
If you can look past that...
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Feels like forums have really been on their way down lately
- Thread starter jayj
- Start date
Maiden Voyage
Gold™ Member
I couldn't disagree more.
Trogdor1123
Gold Member
I remember when egm had a forum way back in the day. It was right after final fantasy 7 came out. It was great. It was actually awful but the experience was great.
Anyways, in other news, my dog is eating a bull tail beside me and is super loud about it.
Anyways, in other news, my dog is eating a bull tail beside me and is super loud about it.
Wildebeest
Member
Gen X were always invisible and ignored no matter what they did, especially now they are middle-aged. The most effective invisibility cloak ever made is the "middle age" suit.
Happosai
Hold onto your panties
Forums and I'll be more specific, GAF was all it took as the final push for me to get off social media. Same bro, this is the only platform other than LinkedIn which I have to use for my job. I hope to see everyone here when we're all over 80. Tell them kids a thing or two.I was an avid lurker on GAF since about 2009 and decided to join recently.
Ignoring the obvious boring console wars there's a caring community which keeps me grounded and informed like no other platform can.
A lot of you have tremendous knowledge & intellectual curiosity and you don't even realise it
GAF is all I need.
ÆMNE22A!C
NO PAIN TRANCE CONTINUE
I blame
West Texas CEO
West Texas CEO
-Minsc-
Member
As a 41 year old male, I still deal with chasing "the hit". Part of that has to do with spending so much time online and not building proper IRL relationships. Better now than I was even 5 years ago.
In my life I find if I'm always finding something about about "it" then it's probably a good time to step back and take a break. One thing the OP (this is something I and everyone else deal with) may be coming to terms with is that we can not go back to the good old days. As we get old the old doesn't stimulate us the way it did when it was new.
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General thoughts.
Reflecting on when I went on Facebook back in 2007 I can see how it borrowed features which seemed to exist in some form on the internet discussion forum at the time. One feature is the "Shout Box". This is essentially like making a simple post on Facebook. Though, a more accurate comparison to the shout box is probably Twitter.
I believe the modern developed discussion forum software can provide an experience most on big social media don't even know they crave. They stay where they are because they simply don't know where else to go.
Compared to the way forums were twenty years go they have become quite streamlined. GAF (XenForo) works well on both desktop and mobile.
Attracting people to a discussion forum would require a few things.
- A person or group to finance and maintain the forum.
- A specialized common topic which can be the anchor for the more walled garden format of a forum.
- A core group of people to provide content and keep the forum active.
An idea I have is to create a forum focused on DIY home renovation and maintenance. The catch is, it will not be open to the internet at large. Instead, the idea would be to attract those locally from with whom it's easier to connect in person.
Would people actually use it? I don't know. The hard part would be taking the years to build a community and not get discouraged.
Mossybrew
Member
As a gen-xer I grew up with Forums and have been part of various communities that have come and gone. I still think it's the best form of online discussion. Reddit is ok to browse but too big and impersonal to feel like any kind of "home" - I have a very small legacy presence on Facebook but other than that I don't engage with social media, just does nothing for me.
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Solarstrike
Member
I agree somewhat. Some idea(s) for what it's worth
- Contests; art, trivia etc. Members can contribute to the rewards pool
- Exclusive interviews with developers; environmental artists, audio designers
- More merch; variety of merch
- New NeoGAF logo
- Variety of profile customization(s); gifs, banners
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John Marston
GAF's very own treasure goblin
Mossybrew
Member
Hah, same. Every few years I pop in there and yep - still people posting!I used to browse the Penny Arcade forum.
Holy shit it still exists
Swauny Jones
Member
I think instant messaging apps and places like Discord are killing forums at the moment. The convenience of these communities readily available on your device in an easy to navigate way has kinda replaced what we all enjoyed in forums
Draugoth
Gold Member
Internet Forums will exist as long as Hobbies exist.
Reddit and facebook Groups can be considered hobbist forums.
But places like GAF have the benefit of having actually good moderation, unlike Facebook and Reddit forums/communities which are usually cesspools.
Inventors usually regret inventing down the line
Look at Oppenheimer, or the dude who invented lead pipping back in the Roman Empire
Reddit and facebook Groups can be considered hobbist forums.
But places like GAF have the benefit of having actually good moderation, unlike Facebook and Reddit forums/communities which are usually cesspools.
Inventors usually regret inventing down the line
Look at Oppenheimer, or the dude who invented lead pipping back in the Roman Empire
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64bitmodels
Reverse groomer.
It's not millenials. Millenials are fine with forums. It's Gen Z. And it makes sense as forums don't lend themselves best to a mobile phone. Not to mention shitty ass Tiktok killing attention spans across the board doesn't help much either.
I like forums myself but everything good always comes to an end.
SlimeGooGoo
Banned
.
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Men_in_Boxes
Snake Oil Salesman
OP, you not say forums weak.
Muffdraul
Member
I'll bet you're right because come to think of it 99% of the time I've ever heard of them it was always relatively successful content creators on youtube saying "Join my discord server and sign up on my patreon!"
ReBurn
Gold Member
This is the only forum I use any more. It's hard to find good ones that suit my interests. I try electronics forums from time to time but it's hard to stay engaged because any time you talk about something you did that you like there is inevitably some asshole that tells you that the way you did it is wrong and asks why you would have done it that way.
"I made a controller for garden irrigation out of a raspberry pi, a couple of arduinos, and some sensors. It works well."
Response: "Ugh, your first problem is that you used a raspberry pi instead of [obscure device] and there's no way your idea will work. Why would you think a stupid idea like that would ever work?"
MF'er, I just told you that it works. I don't need your approval.
"I made a controller for garden irrigation out of a raspberry pi, a couple of arduinos, and some sensors. It works well."
Response: "Ugh, your first problem is that you used a raspberry pi instead of [obscure device] and there's no way your idea will work. Why would you think a stupid idea like that would ever work?"
MF'er, I just told you that it works. I don't need your approval.
Why didn't you just use an ESP32??? WOW! Look at this guy, wasting a Raspberry Pi on such a trivial project!
E-Cat
Member
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ReBurn
Gold Member
Yes! That's the guy! Or when I mention my Plex server runs on an older Dell Optiplex and Windows 10 I get "Ugh, Windows? Really? That's your first mistake. Why would you choose Windows when FreeBSD...."Why didn't you just use an ESP32??? WOW! Look at this guy, wasting a Raspberry Pi on such a trivial project!
Or I created a web service prototype for this thing in C# and inevitably "Ugh, why did you do it that way? If you would have used python then it would have been so much easier with this new library that only 3 people know about" when it's their library and it hasn't seen a commit on GitHub in 6 months.
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sono
Gold Member
How are you reaching that conclusion do sites post age demographics
-Minsc-
Member
I don't know when I first heard about Discord but when I tried the program it seemed to work well. What I found odd was the "spoopy whoopy" presentation of things from behind the scenes. When ever they gave updates on new features of the program they spoke in this weird childish language. Now that it's mainstream that aspect seems to be gone.
If I were going to use a chat program today it probably would be Discord. This is mainly because it's what I know. Honestly, I'd rather use a program that's nice and clean, works well, distanced from "gamerness" and is not bloated trying to sell me things. The big thing I noticed on my rare occasions using Discord lately is it's trying to o sell me stuff in its ecosystem.
ForAcademicPurposes
Gold Member
This is the only place where you can be a dickhead and a legend at the same time. Where do you get that kind of freedom? Rhetorical question. Not many places like that left and you know it.
-Minsc-
Member
To a degree. The wrong type of dickhead is on the banned list.
Thick Thighs Save Lives
NeoGAF's Physical Games Advocate Extraordinaire
Reddit and then Discord basically killed forum communities. :/
That said, GAF is still a pretty great place to be if you're interested in discussing and getting the latest gaming news.
That said, GAF is still a pretty great place to be if you're interested in discussing and getting the latest gaming news.
Putonahappyface
Gold Member
Millennial.
I've tried Discord and it wasn't for me. I much prefer a forum bulletin board.
hullostranger
Member
I prefer the pace (and in most instances, quality) of conversation here. Everything else you mentioned as supplanting forums are a cacophony of noise. No individual is connecting with another in a way that’s meaningful IMO when things zoom past in an explosion of emoji’s and GIFs. I’ll be here until the end and be thankful that I found a place that felt like home on the internet for the better part of 15 years
NecrosaroIII
Ultimate DQ Fan
They have been. Everything is either Facebook / Instagram groups / Twitter, or Discord these days.. A shame. I have been on forums since like 1999. They've been a huge part of my intellectual development. But to be honest, the experience has gone down greatly in the last decade or so. GAFs still around, but it was sort of fun in the days when you could go on say Enix of America's website and talk with Dragon Warrior fans all the time.
TwiztidElf
Member
It's the moral superiors shutting down legitimate conversation and original, unique perspectives that's killing forums.
Once you take a beating from the mob, it's like what's the point? Folks just disconnect.
Once you take a beating from the mob, it's like what's the point? Folks just disconnect.
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RagnarokIV
Battlebus imprisoning me \m/ >.< \m/
Last forum I used regular was FileFront.
Lurked purple place and nope'd the fuck right out.
GAF is all I need.
Lurked purple place and nope'd the fuck right out.
GAF is all I need.
The Cockatrice
Member
They have been for quite some time, gaf is the only one I visit until I'll get a permaban for shitting on someone but until then I guess I'll keep stalking and shitposting.
Droxcy
Member
The whole reason I started doing Graphic Design in 2002. Fast forward to the late 2000s & 2010s, I was a part of some of the biggest design forums and met some pretty awesome people from it. I definitely miss those times when they felt more community/team based. Crazy how you don't feel like it's really all that special in the moment, then now current day the medium is even bigger than before and double the people doing it. Forums have been on their way out but I wish they'd make a resurgence in the art scene to combat AI posts all over social & interact with actual humans and not mindless bots.
Sushi_Combo
Member
I miss the old Xbox and PlayStation forums.
WhamBamThankYouMaam
Member
I mean, BBSes, IRC, Discord, Slack all had/have their values but they are alm aimed at a certain group and not something you can ”read”. They are forms of chat that don’t really lend themselves to taking part in several discussions at once with a wider group of people.
Thinking of it, I wonder if people partske in any discussions at all other than liking clips in their selected platform.
Twitch (or similar) chats are another interesting sign. People sit at home, visit the isolated islands that the “communities” of their favorite “creators” are, and spam stuff in channels that move to fast for reading - sometimes paying money to get highlighted or read aloud in their hunt to feel seen. And when the creator talk and do stuff they feel something similar to having a …friend?
Thinking of it, I wonder if people partske in any discussions at all other than liking clips in their selected platform.
Twitch (or similar) chats are another interesting sign. People sit at home, visit the isolated islands that the “communities” of their favorite “creators” are, and spam stuff in channels that move to fast for reading - sometimes paying money to get highlighted or read aloud in their hunt to feel seen. And when the creator talk and do stuff they feel something similar to having a …friend?
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Soodanim
Member
Given what's happened to Reddit's user base over the last 5 years, I'm glad they're there instead of on forums. If you have a member list full of those lunatics, you end up with... well... something else.
winjer
Gold Member
Another one bites the dust...
forum.beyond3d.com
The closure of Beyond3D.
It's been a hell of a ride. It has reached a stopping point for many reasons, a small part also related to lack of resources to properly maintain. The most prominent reason being the toxic behavior exhibited by so many, where the behavior has not changed in the least and actually gotten worse...
forum.beyond3d.com
winjer
Gold Member
It's in situations like this, that we are reminded of the importance of a strong, active moderation team.