Discord Killing Forums?

[Vampire Zen]

Do you believe that discord is slowly killing forums? It seems some people I'm in community with prefers a chat box over a forum, and with discord being a very popular platform, they will go there to chat. I prefer forums and would love to keep them around.

What are your thoughts? 

[wildmaven]

I would love to see forums continue to be popular, but they have to compete with the large image/video sharing platforms like IG, TikTok and Twitter. Most forums rely on attachments or require off site image/video storage by the members, which severely cripples the forum’s ability to attract today’s image loving users who are used to simply uploading on the fly.

In addition, we are now in a world dominated by bullet points and short video format. The TLDR crowd isn’t interested in long discussions anymore.

As the world evolves, so must forums. Updates must be frequent to keep up, otherwise the only writing happening will be on the wall.

[bigballofyarn]

I think Facebook groups kill forums more than Discord, but I don't use either one. Maybe my love for forums has made me boycott all modern social media.

[Brian]

The main complaint I've seen regarding Discord is long-term message storage and searchability, especially when it comes to hobbies or media that only have important information and documentation stored on Discord.

I've personally had an aversion to joining servers for this reason since there's no particularly easy way for it to be organized beyond single-level channels and pinned messages. Usually a forum, wiki, or documentation website gets the job done much better and has much more precise thread or article searches.

Information like that should prioritize accessibility over interaction. I'll gladly join a server if I have further questions, but I don't believe I should have to for the bare minimum.

[Krumm]

I'm not sure, I can't comment on discord much because I only use it for VC with friends while playing pc games. I think Reddit killed traditional forums a long time ago, tho.

[Shady]

I would say that social media in general has killed the need for forums. I ran a club and used a Facebook group for communication and management of it, even though a forum would have been better, because people don’t necessarily want to sign up to something new when they’re already on a super accessible platform. It’s just so easy to use things like Facebook, twitter, insta etc, and discord is the same for gaming communities.

I also think that social media norms have massively changed how people use the forums that do still exist. Even here, people tend to post something and have others comment, without it really turning in to a discussion. The posts are more similar to a Facebook or Twitter post than they used to be. We don’t get 10 page chatty discussions because people say their bit and move on.

[Vampire Zen]

I agree with you guys on the social media platforms. I grew up using forums so it's something I'm still use to. I find forums to be more organized so I would go there first anyway.

[wildmaven]

Jul 23, 2022 3:29:36 GMT -8 Shady said:

We don’t get 10 page chatty discussions because people say their bit and move on.

Yeah, I miss conversations. Being unemployed for the past 2 years has been hard because I miss talking to people. It gets depressing when you post something on Facebook, Twitter, etc. and all you get are likes. I mean, talk to me!  

[Rocky Rock Rockbottom]

Jul 21, 2022 21:09:49 GMT -8 Vampire Zen said:

Do you believe that discord is slowly killing forums? It seems some people I'm in community with prefers a chat box over a forum, and with discord being a very popular platform, they will go there to chat.

It's just a chat room. There's no appeal or stature to it whatsoever. I completely fail to see the attraction. Your words washed out with the tide each day, just like with twitter "threads".

Try making a discord post then going back a week later and picking up the thread of a conversation. It'll be lost in the ethereal void. Meanwhile, on the forum, there is your week-old post, right where you left it.

[wildmaven]

Jul 23, 2022 16:48:36 GMT -8 Rocky Rock Rockbottom said:

Jul 21, 2022 21:09:49 GMT -8 Vampire Zen said:

Do you believe that discord is slowly killing forums? It seems some people I'm in community with prefers a chat box over a forum, and with discord being a very popular platform, they will go there to chat.

It's just a chat room. There's no appeal or stature to it whatsoever. I completely fail to see the attraction. Your words washed out with the tide each day, just like with twitter "threads".

Try making a discord post then going back a week later and picking up the thread of a conversation. It'll be lost in the ethereal void. Meanwhile, on the forum, there is your week-old post, right where you left it.

Great point!

[Robyn]

I wonder if it's almost a generational situation? I mean, if MySpace were to reopen and operate as they once did, would we flock back and abandon facebook?

My spouse loves tiktock, I cannot stand it. The videos are too short usually, badly edited and usually not that interesting. I grew up with youtube videos and while so many creators have changed for better or worse, there are still many that are consistent with quality content.

Discord is a strange one for me. It's a moderately clean interface and sort of a supplement/competitor for reddit, which I do browse frequently. But, due to nostalgic reasons, I am still comfortable with and prefer message forums like ProBoards. I mean, I literately grew up on this site, as a teenager.

I think every platform has it's time and audience.  Forums will not go away, but I think they will slowly evolve and become something we may not recognize as a traditional forum one day. Only time will tell.

[heatherly]

I agree with many above... I do think social media in general steered people away from forums a good bit. The age group I tend to have in my forum in particular is that of older generations, so it probably is just more of people flocking to what they're used to... and for most others it seems to be whatever is "in" at the moment. I don't use most social media, and I do not have extensive conversations on them, so I do prefer forums for socialization, but I also don't like overly large forums where you cannot even keep up with anyone... I like that close-knit feel that forums sometimes get. I guess I'm picky lol but I think part of it might also be the introvert in me not wanting to be bombarded with way too many conversations going by too quickly.

I find chatroom-type places like Discord to not be ideal for me either because sometimes there's way too much to read through to keep up with the conversation if you leave for a while. I'm in a few for video games, and I cannot keep up at all; it can be overwhelming.. I pretty much never say anything, but I'll add reactions to posts. And this is coming from someone who used to regularly be in the AOL chatrooms back in the day... I like forums better

[Asaemon]

I run a Discord and a sub-Reddit as a compliment to the ProBoards forum. But I prefer the forum due to the user interface, the forum structures and the search functions. Never really understood the appeal of Reddit (except for advertising).

[Vampire Zen]

Glad that there's a lot of people still preferring forums. 

[Darkmage4]

Jul 22, 2022 12:28:30 GMT -8 Brian said:

The main complaint I've seen regarding Discord is long-term message storage and searchability, especially when it comes to hobbies or media that only have important information and documentation stored on Discord.

I've personally had an aversion to joining servers for this reason since there's no particularly easy way for it to be organized beyond single-level channels and pinned messages. Usually a forum, wiki, or documentation website gets the job done much better and has much more precise thread or article searches.

Information like that should prioritize accessibility over interaction. I'll gladly join a server if I have further questions, but I don't believe I should have to for the bare minimum.

I doubt it'll replace reddit tbh. Lol. But at the same time. There is a search feature on discord. It's what I usually do for any problems with something. If there are good admins/staff. Usually they'll link to the more specific posts if requested by users.

You can create threads now too, and link entire thread.

But I doubt discord will replace support forums anytime soon.