Do you think internet forums will make a comeback?

The useful and beloved web forums have been in a very strong decline since smartphones became widespread and internet users got fragmented between many different internet apps and socials, it's a pity because forums were a treasure of knowledge and very helpful communities, reddit is utterly awful (it has been for almost 10 years, nowadays you can't even post, it gets removed in most cases!) and no other app or social network(e.g. telegram) gives you the clear, logical and solid structure of a traditional web forum, so will they make a comeback?

My idea is that in the foreseeable future they won't, old generations switched to other apps and websites and younger generations don't even know what in the hell an internet forum is.

Certainly. Everything indicates that, in the future, stricter rules will be established on social networks, and the only option will be posting in forums.

I'm part of the younger generation and to me forums are way better than the current social media platforms. If your an artist or like images then there fun but I like reading.

Don't get to read as much on social media platforms. Also unless you know the person in real life then the connections made feel surface level at some point. Especially when deeper discussions aren't as encouraged. I liked reading the comments section the most of social media platforms but comments are meant to be short and sometimes just memes.

I prefer them and forums are a lot more engaging. I haven't felt this engaged in a platform in a while. I think they can make a comeback if more younger people or just people in general get reminded they exist. Its a lot more engaging on a forum that can't be fully recreated on a widespread social media platform because people have their own interests. They're still there and are engaging but its just not the same.

Have you seen how many people have joined WF ... just today !?

Firetree said:

Have you seen how many people have joined WF ... just today !?

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I bet they canceled their Discord nitro subscription and came to hide from ID card/face scan age verification. lol

I was thinking about making a post about this... I recently went to an occult message board on what is the most popular social server... wow. I mean just wow. The level of discussion and amount of bad advice I saw there is disheartening. I appreciate this forum even more now.

Discord has always been trash. Call what's going on lately a "happy little accident" for those who are serious about discussion.

Saint said:

I bet they canceled their Discord nitro subscription and came to hide from ID card/face scan age verification. lol

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That's some "intrusive" stuff there you mention! Who wouldn't want to get away from that?

Borealis said:

The useful and beloved web forums have been in a very strong decline since smartphones became widespread

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I can't imagine anyone who's only internet access is a smart phone, yet increasingly that seems to be standard for many young people today.
Anything less that a "large" tablet or preferably a "large" laptop is doing it the hard way IMO. I'm an engineer and I have a Lot of Tech, so I guess I've been spoiled for some time now. Further more a 26" HDMI monitor and full size "clicky" keyboard are nice. I control cameras and microphones; not the other way around. I think the prevalence of "small" screens can be handy in the "field", but it would SUCK for enjoying a Forum, so yeah unfortunately that's a factor in the decline and fall of the "forum", per se!

There's some pretty cool forum software available, much open source and freely available. What puzzles me is the seeming lack of individuals that can take that and run with it. Of course, setting it up, hosting it, and maintaining it are the other parts of the equation that complicate new forums starting up, still, it can't be That Daunting!

I don't think "forums" per se will suddenly "come back" from the present position that I see, for a number of reasons. I've seen "some" interesting "Blogs" that the author can enable comments for those who want to communicate, sadly really good ones aren't real common. As far as new forums go; the tools and tech are there for those that really want to make it happen, to me it really is that simple, IMO, everyone's got one!

Asteriskos said:

I can't imagine anyone who's only internet access is a smart phone, yet increasingly that seems to be standard for many young people today.
Anything less that a "large" tablet or preferably a "large" laptop is doing it the hard way IMO. I'm an engineer and I have a Lot of Tech, so I guess I've been spoiled for some time now. Further more a 26" HDMI monitor and full size "clicky" keyboard are nice. I control cameras and microphones; not the other way around. I think the prevalence of "small" screens can be handy in the "field", but it would SUCK for enjoying a Forum, so yeah unfortunately that's a factor in the decline and fall of the "forum", per se!

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Agreed. When on travel, I don't carry notebook with me anymore, but only because I bought a BT keyboard and paired it with my phone to allow me to write long texts. Touchscreen is anti-long text technology. F* it. I script videos on that device and want to write books too, you need keyboard for that to be effective.

Forums won't get new high. Everyone is used to the videos way more than to writing and since they come using phones, forums with long texts are difficult for young ones to process. I found pleasure in books only after I left school and it stopped being pushed down my throat, honestly. And that was different generation. Fortunately that is also generalizing and there will always be people who want to read and share more in depth convo.

But miracle like the new huge popularity won't happen. WizardForums is already a miracle, to be honest.

Personally, I am very grateful for this Forum. It makes information so much more organised than social media or Discord. Especially for a N00b like me. I hope there is a resurgence or at least places like this continue to thrive.

Discord is great if you want to chat to people. Useless if you actually want to follow a conversation with more than three people in it.

Forums are great. You can be anonymous and find very useful information there. Social media is too personal in my opinion. Why on Earth did Facebook employees want to see my ID to unlock a profile? So, as Instagram. So many privacy concerns. Selfie is fine, but ID...?

I will not take part in Facebook groups because of privacy concerns.

But, it needs to be said, not all forums are quality forums. Wizzard Forum is high quality! After a few years I can say that it is my online occult home and absolutely worth to invest in it. Home is were the heart is.

AlfrunGrima said:

I will not take part in Facebook groups because of privacy concerns.

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But how will you take part in Jason Miller/Jack Grayle classes (on the EXACT SAME GODDESS) if you don't fuck around in Facebook groups! The horror!

Thee Nightfool said:

But how will you take part in Jason Miller/Jack Grayle classes (on the EXACT SAME GODDESS) if you don't fuck around in Facebook groups! The horror!

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LOL, not... I don't take part in classes.

Robert Ramsay said:

Discord is great if you want to chat to people. Useless if you actually want to follow a conversation with more than three people in it.

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One of the greatest reasons why I prefer Forums over Discord, when it comes to deep, high quality conversations with a manageable pace and enough time to think about an appropriate response.

Some would say and yes, 'you can always read back, and answer later', but that's not the same and even then, there's a chance the response (or answer) will get spammed away with short, few wor long answers or literal talk-overs, random stuffs.

The other issue I noticed is when people get use to the 'quick burning' conversations, they subconsciously decrease their time spent on thinking, the depth of what they deliver, their sense of expressing themselves becomes hasty, irresponsible, undemanding when engaging, and it can ruin a meaningful conversation to me.

Saint said:

The other issue I noticed is when people get use to the 'quick burning' conversations, they subconsciously decrease their time spent on thinking, the depth of what they deliver,

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Yes, I highly agree with this observation. And the thing is, when talking about the occult/esoteric things in life, that this downgrades conversations. Responses go less deeper, I can feel literally lesser engagement and conversations aren't worth to return. Good conversations are worth it re-read them every once or a while and I discover by then new things in it that I didn't noticed before.

I'd like to believe forums will make a comeback, but I doubt it. The culture has shifted. Visual media is now more powerful than textual media, and that won't change.

Borealis said:

The useful and beloved web forums have been in a very strong decline since smartphones became widespread

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I feel that this is the big determining point. An honestly over looked one. I am only 20 so I'm newer to the internet but I feel I saw the dying breath of the internet without big social media, got online around 2013. But seeing that has led me to develop an interest in "internet history" around 2015-2016 there was a clear shift in internet traffic being from nerds with computers to being spammed by old people and literal toddlers on ipads.

Asteriskos said:

I can't imagine anyone who's only internet access is a smart phone, yet increasingly that seems to be standard for many young people today.

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This so odd to me, I couldn't imagine trying to get a job/doing taxes/any kind of digital paperwork without a desktop computer. At college basically everyone has a laptop by necessity, But I have friends and co workers who only have phones and I don't get how they do it.

Saint said:

I bet they canceled their Discord nitro subscription and came to hide from ID card/face scan age verification. lol

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Discord was useful at least at the time, A direct upgrade from texting and a convenient place to gather groups of people, most people I talk to online I know in person so it wasn't like I was dealing with shitty moderators and server drama (except once but even than it was a sever of people I knew) But as a "forum replacement" its not a good options. and now with the face ID stuff I need to find a new service to talk to friends and make event groups. Another big thing is how they choked the file upload size. That pissed me off and I'm not paying for fucking nitro so its about time I let go of it anyways.
I Sadly don't think that privacy issues will be a very big issue for most pople, but what I do think might drive people towards fourms and blogs is the amount of AI on other platforms so blogs made by individuals and forums where they get no monetary benefit form spamming bad posts. thats atleast my hope for what will drive pople to these platfourms.

Rusty64 said:

Discord was useful at least at the time, A direct upgrade from texting and a convenient place to gather groups of people, most people I talk to online I know in person so it wasn't like I was dealing with shitty moderators and server drama (except once but even than it was a sever of people I knew) But as a "forum replacement" its not a good options. and now with the face ID stuff I need to find a new service to talk to friends and make event groups. [,,,]
I Sadly don't think that privacy issues will be a very big issue for most pople, but what I do think might drive people towards fourms and blogs is the amount of AI on other platforms so blogs made by individuals and forums where they get no monetary benefit form spamming bad posts. thats atleast my hope for what will drive pople to these platfourms.

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Discord is still useful and continue being useful, that's the truth people will find hard time swallowing, because as of now they are under the emotional influence of this cloud regarding age verification. Discord is mainly for quick paced discussions, turning group gaming more fluent (just now they are about to release a new feature supporting the matter which'll grow popular once it's globally launched) and creating a good space for collaboration and game advertisement. Those who are not interested in forums now, won't turn towards them specifically after this.

Multi billionaire companies are collaborating with Discord (I am working for a couple too, I see how they count on it recently), and they continue doing so, so the profit will flow either way. The won't feel too bad if people who haven't even paid for using the platform are gone; and most will eventually return.

One small note; Discord won't ask for your ID or requeast a face scan from most people, meaning this issue will only influence those who are suspected to be minors. With some basic methods -based on Discord's own claim- it is possible to determinate the age of a user, e.g. if the account is registered in 2021 or before, but it's possible they use to monitor your subscriptions and attempt to assume whether you are a person with decent income or not.

Another big thing is how they choked the file upload size. That pissed me off and I'm not paying for fucking nitro so its about time I let go of it anyways.

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I am completely fine with this limitation. Not because I am an active Nitro user since 2016, but because I think rational. It's good that people want to enjoy all the benefits of something without actually paying for it, while expect others to do the deed for them. Discord need to store our uploads somewhere, so naturally, it is completely reasonable that they limit those who are not supporting the platform in any way or form. The data pool is increasing, and if you think you are special enough to have a platform exist just for you to hoard your chonky files without any expectations, you are wrong.
Are you working for free too? I bet your boss would love the idea, but you most likely not so much.

You have countless other platforms where you can upload your files and share the link, by the way. You are not forced to pay for Nitro, and you actually have free one times to times, simply for watching some videos or downloading games, and give them 15 minutes AFK.