In 2015 I still like forums, but are they dying?

[Pixel_Outlaw]

Hello all,

I feel that facebook, twitter, github (if you are a programmer), and Google+ all lack what I like about a forum.

They all meet needs sure but there is just something I enjoy about the slower paced forum.
Perhaps the key aspect is quality of depth of communication over speed.
You don't have to endure people tweeting about just getting off the toilet or taking photographs of their food.
That kind of noise is not permissible on forums, but fills social media.

It can be exciting to wait to hear from people. You look forward to people posting a reply.
In a sick way, I like the anticipation and waiting.
When they do reply they are not limited to a silly sentence or two like on twitter.

I quite like being able to type what I really mean and say what I like without being limited to a few characters.
I also like that I often can hear the opinions of people outside my specific social circle.
I talk to people on forums I'd never be able to hear from in real life, for better or worse I suppose.
You find people who share your interest easier than something like Facebook.

This brings me to a small annoyance about Github.
I appreciate that programmers can now host their work openly but there is no discussion.
People just dump their work and programmers don't seem to be talking as they did on forums.
It is more of an attitude of "Here's my source, don't bother me unless there are bugs. Sorry I don't believe in documentation"

As a leisure programmer/game maker there is just so little discussion any more.
I just see links to Github pages. Which are mostly dry monologues of progress updates.

Anyway, perhaps I've gone a little long (hey, it's a forum I get to).
I just hope that forums don't fall out of favor as the BBS did in the name of fast poor quality communication noise.

It is healthy to have quality discussion with people outside your social media circles and around the world!

[MintyTheCat]

Before social media there was the BBS and the Newsgroup. I feel that a Forum is largely a continuation of those two in terms of the level of discussion.

Considered answers and in-depth discussion is never going to be part of social media as it promotes the reactionary and quick quip - very little "think before you type" kind of thing to be found.

As such, a Forum that caters to those looking for more involved and detailed discussion has something that Facebook will never have.

I personally really dislike social media and do not use it.

As for the shitty programmers: I find that they are far more ego than substance and they take that approach to show off most of the time.
Personally, if I release a piece of software or library for people to use then I first of all think of who I am aiming at user wise and then think about what level of support would be required. Documentation goes a long way to saving me from having to explain everything all the time by way of support so it often has its place.
We want to see more discussion about the more technical aspects but I hav enot seen much of it in the development section as of late - mostly just release and announcements.

I feel that there needs to be far more technical discussion but at the same time it needs to be conducted by developers and not generic gamers who often do not know anything about the technical side of things.

Provided that there are people who are able to string a sentence together and balance an argument and interests in specific subjects there will be a place for Forums.

I agree it can be healthy and it raises things for all concerned. We all represent a great deal of experience and knowledge as a community and the Forum is a key factor that brings us together.

I only actually use this Forum and very rarely the NeoGeo Forum these days but stay very clear of all social media so I might be 'old school' but I see no reason to change.

Cheers,

Minty.

[Ji-L87]

I spend a lot of time on Reddit now, but it only scratches part of the itch.

I don't think those places are a real threat to a quality forum. Things move too fast, topics are forgotten after a day - replaced with brand new ones.
Great threads aren't archived properly, or stickied. You constantly see the same questions day after day.

Also, this is more personal. In places like Reddit and such, I don't remember the people, only the topic.
On a normal forum, I remember user-names and associates them with avatars and it all feel much more like we have something in common.

[Super Laydock]

forums are dying indeed unfortunately. It's like e-mail.... becoming something for internet dinosaurs.
I won't get onto facebook or this other social shit ever though. I'd rather keep some stuff at least a bit private.

[iconoclast]

Forums are great. I don't think they'll be going anywhere just yet, because nothing that's out there is any better for reasons that have already been mentioned:

Considered answers and in-depth discussion is never going to be part of social media as it promotes the reactionary and quick quip - very little "think before you type" kind of thing to be found.

As such, a Forum that caters to those looking for more involved and detailed discussion has something that Facebook will never have.

Also, this is more personal. In places like Reddit and such, I don't remember the people, only the topic.
On a normal forum, I remember user-names and associates them with avatars and it all feel much more like we have something in common.

Twitter is great for stalking Asian scorers, celebrities, and idols. They both have their uses.

[TransatlanticFoe]

I don't understand how social media can be used for any form of ongoing discussion. It's all "this, now, comment, brief argument, next topic". If you aren't constantly online you miss stuff and it's a huge ballache to find (especially if you follow a football team on Twitter and have entire Championship Manager-style match commentaries to wade through).

Also I don't understamd the point of Twitter, unless it's to follow a bunch of cat pages and just look at cat pictures all the time. It needs a tutorial stage I swear.