General Do you still think forums are dead?

[Arantor]

The conversation began with someone talking about editing posts for SEO - I outlined that editing posts for reasons other than moderation is a bad idea. Everything else came from you. Stop setting up strawmen, it's very tedious.

 

[Tracy]

The conversation began with someone talking about editing posts for SEO - I outlined that editing posts for reasons other than moderation is a bad idea. Everything else came from you. Stop setting up strawmen, it's very tedious.

You ever hear of conversation drift?
There are no "straw men" being set up. Overall, editing a users post is a cardinal sin (even for SEO) unless it's for moderation. Editing topic title, tags, prefixes and such are not (and doesn't require it to be for SEO).

 

[Arantor]

Which is what I said at the time. The only one who was arguing was you with you changing the goal posts and then arguing that they weren't the goal posts being debated.

Have fun, I'm out. Have better things to do.

 

[Old Nick]

To return to the initial topic I believe that one of the big problems of the forums and that they require a browser to access it! And the new generations use them very little on their smartphones, especially since Google is forcing you to install its native application... so even for an internet search you no longer open a browser so often.

Something that could be beneficial to a forum is that it has its own downloadable application on the different stores.

And so why not an App that allows you to create your own forum? Let's imagine that XF or IPS offers an application to install and that allows you to create your online community? In the form of a forum with what characterises this type of platform.

The generations that have succeeded us talk more about Apps than sites.

Okay, there is PWA now but it's different, you must have taken the step of going to a browser, be interested in a forum that seems to young generations to be a kind of dinosaur, etc... But if you type in the App Store "Photography" and you find an "App Forum" on the subject then maybe the renewal of the forums will begin...

Or maybe I'm just crazy?

 

[zoldos]

I never thought they were "dead" to begin with. Forums of one kind or another have been around since the start of the internet, and before that, on BBS systems. Long before Facebook, and all this social networking non-sense. And I feel they will persist.

 

[Old Nick]

Forums are not dead since they still exist. 🥸
It is their golden age that died…

 

[Tracy]

To return to the initial topic I believe that one of the big problems of the forums and that they require a browser to access it! And the new generations use them very little on their smartphones, especially since Google is forcing you to install its native application... so even for an internet search you no longer open a browser so often.....
Okay, there is PWA now but it's different, you must have taken the step of going to a browser, be interested in a forum that seems to young generations to be a kind of dinosaur, etc... But if you type in the App Store "Photography" and you find an "App Forum" on the subject then maybe the renewal of the forums will begin...

PWA solves a lot of that interface issue, but yes, it does require some additional work by the user.
But it does have the benefit of after first use you create a link on your phone screen, move it into a group. And almost every phone comes shipping with a browser built in usually.
The downfall is you have multiple icons, one for each site.
And I just got a new iPhone 15 Pro Max... Google didn't force me to install any app on it to do searches. In fact, I had to go out of my way to install Chrome on it, and I refuse to use their Google mobile specific apps (mail, etc) with the exception of Google Maps.
And having an "app" can be very problematic for sites that offer more than the forum interface. Yes, they could be written to also allow interaction with the other 1st party add-ons, but it would be a nightmare to try to support 3rd party add-ons, and for many sites, those are a major part of their presence also.
Tapatalk had this as a major issue. You could participate on the forums, but if you had a gallery, a resource/download add-on, reviews, directory list, etc. you never saw them when using the app.

Then you have the issue with with an app, you need a centralized catalog server of sites for that script (since there will have to be multiple apps as a generic one for all scripts is basically an impossibility). Most hobby sites are not going to have the funds/desire to engage in those additional requirements.
I could more realistically see someone developing an app that is basically a catalog of sites that offer PWA functionality and then it being broken down into categories and be searchable. You find a site, click on it in the app, it loads it up in your device selected browser and then go through the signup and PWA install process.

There are already (for XF) developers that have a dedicated app that you can have presented on the various App Stores. Of course, for inclusion in the Apple one, you will have to jump through their hoops and pay them $99 a year for that benefit, in addition to the other costs you are paying annually. For Android, you are (I think) going to pay $25 for a successful release of your app on their store.

And that restriction of needing a browser.... it is not restricted to forums alone, but pretty much every website that exists on the web.
There is no magic pill that will solve the problem.

 

[zoldos]

Forums are not dead since they still exist. 🥸
It is their golden age that died…

I'm not sure. I feel forums are doing better than ever. Esp. with the rise of decent forum software!

 

[Tracy]

I'm not sure. I feel forums are doing better than ever. Esp. with the rise of decent forum software!

From someone that has been around them for over a decade, the golden age is well over with.
You really have to work to get a site off the ground now and get it to grow where in the "old days" it was more like a "build it and they will come" ability.
There are a multitude of reasons for this, none of them actually having that much to do with scripts, but a change in the manner of consumption (and the heavy emphasis on consumption over generation) of information.

 

[Ravenfreak]

To return to the initial topic I believe that one of the big problems of the forums and that they require a browser to access it! And the new generations use them very little on their smartphones, especially since Google is forcing you to install its native application... so even for an internet search you no longer open a browser so often.

Something that could be beneficial to a forum is that it has its own downloadable application on the different stores.

And so why not an App that allows you to create your own forum? Let's imagine that XF or IPS offers an application to install and that allows you to create your online community? In the form of a forum with what characterises this type of platform.

The generations that have succeeded us talk more about Apps than sites.

Okay, there is PWA now but it's different, you must have taken the step of going to a browser, be interested in a forum that seems to young generations to be a kind of dinosaur, etc... But if you type in the App Store "Photography" and you find an "App Forum" on the subject then maybe the renewal of the forums will begin...

Or maybe I'm just crazy?

You know, I think this could work for forums hosted on Proboards or Forumotion. Tapatalk exists though too, though I'm not sure if they still offer an app for self hosted forums anymore since they probably want most of these communities to make the switch to their Tapatalk Group service.

 

[Old Nick]

I'm not sure. I feel forums are doing better than ever. Esp. with the rise of decent forum software!

You take any street of any city in any country and you do a survey: who has an account on a social network and who is registered on a forum... you will even find people who will answer you "on a what? » when you ask them if they are registered on a forum...

 

[Old Nick]

What could benefit the forums is if social networks shoot themselves in the foot with robotic moderation, outrageous censorship, advertising more than necessary and misuse of personal data. And to look more closely they are no longer very far from this dark picture... let’s wait and see !

 

[Tracy]

You know, I think this could work for forums hosted on Proboards or Forumotion. Tapatalk exists though too, though I'm not sure if they still offer an app for self hosted forums anymore since they probably want most of these communities to make the switch to their Tapatalk Group service.

With sites that control the software and then allow others to spin off of it, this is eminently possible. For SaaS type offerings it is less so.
That is why Facebook, Twitter/Z, Instagram, Reddit and such can easily offer an app for access to them. They are a singular source site that one app offers what their site does.

What could benefit the forums is if social networks shoot themselves in the foot with robotic moderation, outrageous censorship, advertising more than necessary and misuse of personal data. And to look more closely they are no longer very far from this dark picture... let’s wait and see

No need to wait and see... it was already happening before this, and now it is only increasing in speed. But generally you find it more along the lines of social/political base structure.

But like with all things... there is a cyclical process. What was old becomes new again and the "latest greatest thing" and the fad of previous "golden child" begins to fade.
You hear about forums being dead... heard the same thing about BBS's... and yet they still exist. Just not in the number that there was. As long as you have a demand, they will live on.

 

[zoldos]

You take any street of any city in any country and you do a survey: who has an account on a social network and who is registered on a forum... you will even find people who will answer you "on a what? » when you ask them if they are registered on a forum...

Yes, true. But forums are still far from "dead" IMO. I don't use any social media and have memberships on dozens of forums. Most seem very active and engaging to me.

 

[joelr]

Forums are not dead since they still exist. 🥸
It is their golden age that died…

That's a very elegant way of phrasing it!

 

[Dead2009]

Forums havent died but it's definitely hard to find ones that are super active. Most nowadays have 20 members active at the most.