Forums as a whole are an outdated relic of web 1.0.
Forums are pretty much dead at this point and the fact that the long established membership is pretty much kicking the bucket and the mods and staff are too. That's a sign.
The younger generations don't really care about forums. It is a foreign concept to them.
Take AR15.com, their forum audience and the YouTube audience is vastly different. And guess what, one group is shrinking while the other is growing. Arfcom at this point is an IP and a brand for Brownells. But as a forum, it is pretty much on borrowed time.
With forums being purchased left and right, these media conglomerates like Vertical Scope have driven then into the ground, and shuttered them.
Or again, they simply died off as their membership physically did.
I was active on dozens of forums back in the 2000s, topics that ranged from firearms, literature, politics, food, etc. They're all dead and gone.
Forums used to be a great source of info. That's gone.
The treasure trove of information is mostly gone, unless some of it was captured and archived by WayBackMachine. And even then, it doesn't format right.
A good majority of those older posts are indiscernible due to Photobucket. Remember when they suddenly held all your photos hostage for ransom? Photobucket was one of the largest online photo hosting services and they were a key part in forum growth, especially technical forums.
That is a huge and major issue with a lot of older posts across the web now. All that photographic information is gone.
Plus, AI and search engine optimization has actively killed the ability to scour the internet for real information. Google something, and a lot of what pops-up are worthless AI generated click bait websites. Good luck finding those older informational posts these days.
Web 1.0 is long gone and Web 2.0 is killing the internet as a whole.
There's a lot of discussion about "dead internet theory" where a lot of the back-and-forth is now AI regurgitating garbage.
Lastly, the last few forums that have stood the test of time, their general quality is becoming bad.
A newbie stumbles on and asks a question, nine out of ten times, their post will be locked because that question has been "asked 100 times" already and the newbie is told to "search the topic" in older posts. Thus, driving off newer membership.
Online forums are the digital version of the Elks Clubs, Moose Lodges, and other fraternal orders. They're waning, shrinking, and going extinct.
As for other social media platforms.
Facebook is a zombie platform. People mostly only keep their accounts active primarily for two reasons.
1. They've had it forever and it is basically a digital photo album.
2. They use it for the grandkids to stay in contact with grandparents.
Reddit has replaced traditional forums. X, Instagram, and TikTok are the three primary social media platforms these days. Short form videos are the main method of information sharing now, especially with Gen Z'ers.
YouTube is absolutely dominating in the long form video format and is the other crucial method to get information out there, FOR EVERYTHING.
X is the digital town square and it is absolutely amazing in the outreach and sway it has in the political-social environment. The effectiveness of X is awe inspiring. Truth Social is an echo chamber, it will never surpass X. Truth Social is the BOGO Winn-Dixie Check brand grape soda compared to Coke Zero.
LinkedIn is a dark horse. It is purely a professional environment and fantastic for political issues on the business side.
www.facebook.com
