Don't believe those who would tell you otherwise - check this great op-ed piece:
Forums Aren't Dead
Forums Aren't Dead.
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BusyBadger
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Re: Forums Aren't Dead.
Good read, I especially have to agree with the pseudonym bit.
My forum identity/persona has always been the same across separate boards without ever impinging on who I am in the flesh. But those that got to know me off the boards found the same person I was on-screen.
My forum identity/persona has always been the same across separate boards without ever impinging on who I am in the flesh. But those that got to know me off the boards found the same person I was on-screen.
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MinisterofDOOM
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Re: Forums Aren't Dead.
Reminds me of the "PC Gaming is not dead" articles that used to pop up in PC Gamer in the early 2000s every couple of years.
The fact that there's a partially-competing modern alternative with growing market share doesn't mean something's "dying." Usually it continues to offer something the new alternative doesn't, and often that is an entrenched userbase and the advantage of having grown (feature-wise) around that userbase's needs.
The fact that there's a partially-competing modern alternative with growing market share doesn't mean something's "dying." Usually it continues to offer something the new alternative doesn't, and often that is an entrenched userbase and the advantage of having grown (feature-wise) around that userbase's needs.
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PapaSmurf2k3
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Re: Forums Aren't Dead.
I keep getting "this webpage is not available" when I click that link. Does anyone want to copy and paste the context?
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PapaSmurf2k3
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Re: Forums Aren't Dead.
That link doesn't work either. It just says "waiting for technorati.com" at the bottom and never loads.
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MinisterofDOOM
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Re: Forums Aren't Dead.
I think one particular point in the article is what really makes the difference:
Forums are small, contained communities with potentially unique identities. Facebook-style social media is a global-scope sharing platform.
Forums are the equivalent of sitting on the couch with a bag of cheetos and some friends. Facebook is like grabbing a bullhorn and standing on a balcony in the atrium of your local mall.
The reason I post most (all) of my stuff to NICO and not Facebook or G+ or twitter (which I use for WATCHING news, not POSTING things) is that I know the audience. Sure, NICO is public, but my familiarity with the regular readership combined with my pseudonym means I get to control the reach of my words without the need for insane privacy settings.
Most things people want to share with someone generally fall into 3 categories:
Stuff they want to send to an individual person. I use text or similar IM channels for that.
Stuff they want to send to a specific group of people. I use forums (well, these days just NICO) for that.
Stuff they want to spam the world with. I don't do this, but this is what Facebook and G+ and everything else are for.
I don't want a bullhorn. I don't want to shout to everyone in sight. I want to chat with my friends about common interests. Forums let me do that.
Of course, there's one other HUGE difference:
Facebook, Google, MySpace, and all the other social media in that format exists to CULL USER INFORMATION. It's not there to serve me, the user. It's there to use my info to make money.
NICO is here FOR ME, the user. It has no grander purpose. It doesn't care what advertising demographic I fall in. It's here to give me a place to speak with all of you, and vice versa.
Forums will always be my favorite place to interact online.
Forums are small, contained communities with potentially unique identities. Facebook-style social media is a global-scope sharing platform.
Forums are the equivalent of sitting on the couch with a bag of cheetos and some friends. Facebook is like grabbing a bullhorn and standing on a balcony in the atrium of your local mall.
The reason I post most (all) of my stuff to NICO and not Facebook or G+ or twitter (which I use for WATCHING news, not POSTING things) is that I know the audience. Sure, NICO is public, but my familiarity with the regular readership combined with my pseudonym means I get to control the reach of my words without the need for insane privacy settings.
Most things people want to share with someone generally fall into 3 categories:
Stuff they want to send to an individual person. I use text or similar IM channels for that.
Stuff they want to send to a specific group of people. I use forums (well, these days just NICO) for that.
Stuff they want to spam the world with. I don't do this, but this is what Facebook and G+ and everything else are for.
I don't want a bullhorn. I don't want to shout to everyone in sight. I want to chat with my friends about common interests. Forums let me do that.
Of course, there's one other HUGE difference:
Facebook, Google, MySpace, and all the other social media in that format exists to CULL USER INFORMATION. It's not there to serve me, the user. It's there to use my info to make money.
NICO is here FOR ME, the user. It has no grander purpose. It doesn't care what advertising demographic I fall in. It's here to give me a place to speak with all of you, and vice versa.
Forums will always be my favorite place to interact online.
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frapjap
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Re: Forums Aren't Dead.
^ Loads of truth in that last line.
A really good example (if you dare venture there) is the "Miata Club" group on BookFace.
What. A. s***. Show. It reminds me of the local import car forums when I was a teenager. Loads of stupid questions that could be answered by either (A) using google, or (B) GOING TO MIATA.NET or other associated Miata themed forums. I feel a lot of the "problems" with forums boils down to laziness on the user end. A large number of forums are tuned to the DIY person who wants to build a stereo/mod their speakers/root and change their phones/modify their cars/repairing the dryer in the basement/lawnmowers/shooting people in the ***hole with a blow gun, etc. But the folks who have become so "savvy" using FB, Tweeter, and other social media are of the "I want it now and shouldn't have to do it myself" mind set. Those aforementioned methods of using social media to get answers that they may never use will only ever apply to one person and not a group of people since there is no real way to sort through the information collected- but they really don't care about that and would rather bash each other and call the participants all kinds of things and senseless personal attacks.
The point I'm trying to make is that you can't build rapport that way, and certainly can't build a friendly community the way a forum is designed to do.
A really good example (if you dare venture there) is the "Miata Club" group on BookFace.
What. A. s***. Show. It reminds me of the local import car forums when I was a teenager. Loads of stupid questions that could be answered by either (A) using google, or (B) GOING TO MIATA.NET or other associated Miata themed forums. I feel a lot of the "problems" with forums boils down to laziness on the user end. A large number of forums are tuned to the DIY person who wants to build a stereo/mod their speakers/root and change their phones/modify their cars/repairing the dryer in the basement/lawnmowers/shooting people in the ***hole with a blow gun, etc. But the folks who have become so "savvy" using FB, Tweeter, and other social media are of the "I want it now and shouldn't have to do it myself" mind set. Those aforementioned methods of using social media to get answers that they may never use will only ever apply to one person and not a group of people since there is no real way to sort through the information collected- but they really don't care about that and would rather bash each other and call the participants all kinds of things and senseless personal attacks.
The point I'm trying to make is that you can't build rapport that way, and certainly can't build a friendly community the way a forum is designed to do.
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AZhitman
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Re: Forums Aren't Dead.
^ All true.
I'm amazed at the effort people put into posting on FB, especially tech-related articles, that will be gone from the feed in a couple days.
I'd rather have info archived so that it can be easily accessed a decade (or more) down the line.
I'm amazed at the effort people put into posting on FB, especially tech-related articles, that will be gone from the feed in a couple days.
I'd rather have info archived so that it can be easily accessed a decade (or more) down the line.
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Infinitiguy19
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Re: Forums Aren't Dead.
Can't those articles on Facebook be "Googled"?
Never used Facebook...
Never used Facebook...