I like Quora. I really do. But, why is it that I can’t go more than a few days without seeing someone asking, on what is essentially a forum, why forums are dead, how forums can be saved, why people don’t use forums or something similar?
I can only answer this question so many times. There is not enough time in the day for me to tell you that forums are not dead. I have other things I want to do.
That may be one reason I created areforumsdead.com. Day or night, 365 days a year, you can check to see if forums have died yet. It’s updated in real time.
Jokes aside, forums are not dead and they are not dying. Forums will only die when we no longer wish to have threaded, text based discussion. Since that is part of the backbone of most community and social platforms, forums are doing fine.
I find that these types of questions are often motivated by limited thinking that leads to short sighted conclusions about forums and what they are. In no particular order:
“Forums are always the same thing and never change.”
Please see: Forums Haven’t Evolved Over the Last Decade (or Have They?) and Forums Are Everywhere and Here to Stay, So Skip the Tools Discussion and Focus on Your Objectives.
In short, forums are like bread. We’re all used to bread, but we know more about bread than ever before. We can do a lot of things with bread. Similarly, forums are very flexible and used in so many different ways. Plus, platforms learn from one another. Facebook/social networks learn from “forums,” if you choose to isolate them in such a way, and vice versa.
“No one uses forums anymore.”
On Google, as a search term, enter a topic, hobby or profession (pick one) and then add forums, discussion and/or community to the end of the query. More often than not, you will find an activate forum that exists for that topic. This is where very powerful, deep engagement happens around that topic.
“Well, I don’t use forums and I don’t know anyone that uses them.”
There is a tremendous chance this is false and that you are just thinking of forums as something overly specific (see above). Ever looked for the answer to a question? There is a fair possibility that you may have ended up on a forum.
Beyond “pure” forums, you are exposed to forums that are in different packages and with different labels, all the time, whether it be a Q&A site, a knowledge base, a social network or something else.
“Forums need to be more like <this thing I use that I think is totally different from forums, but might not actually be so different>.”
They can be – you can certainly customize them. That’s one of the great things about forums.
But, you also need to understand that this is not a competition. Just because you may not like “forums,” as you might view or compartmentalize them, does not mean that millions and millions of others don’t prefer them over whatever it is that you like best. Platform choice is a great thing – forums don’t need to assimilate into whatever you like and forums don’t need a savior.
“I don’t like the way that forums look, so that means they are dated.”
Aesthetics are in the eye of the beholder. An online forum, while more than a website, is still a website and the look can be customized, as with any website. Do you like the way Quora looks? Quora is essentially a forum. It’s just that they’ve moved some of the elements around and added a handful of new features. Again, the flexibility is a beautiful thing.
That said, there is certainly a traditional forum look and though you may not like it – many, many people love it and feel comfortable with it. There is something to be said for that.
Takeaways
First, forums are not dead. Asking if forums are dead is like asking if threaded, text-based discussion is dead.
Next, if anyone tells you that forums are dead, you should be highly suspicious of any online community or social media related advice that they dispense. Their perspective is limited and they don’t have a comprehensive grasp of what makes up the actual landscape of community building and social engagement on the web.
Finally, instead of asking questions like this and wondering if this tool is dead or that tool is dead, be thankful that we have the tools that we have. They provide you with options that will allow you to find the tool that is best for you. Maybe it’s a traditional forum, maybe it’s not.
I love forums, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and more platforms and communities. Bottom line: it’s good to have the tools. It’s not a competition and it’s not a death match where you are trying to kill off each one until you have one left.
For further updates on the death of forums, please stay tuned to areforumsdead.com.
I cannot be more agree with your article, Patrick. We think forums are a pivotal part of online communities as we know them today, and we cannot ignore the huge benefit from being part of them and learn from them to deploy any kind of interactive site for communities. Forums are Social Media big brother, and are here to stay.
thank you so much for let me know about the post and thank you for your comment in our blog.
cheers,
Well said, Rolando! Thank you for your kind words.
Patrick
I think forums are suffering from the dual of “hype” — that is, not being the new trendy thing becomes equated with being dead, in spite of ample evidence of ongoing usage. If one understand “forum” to simple mean on online context supporting an discussion amongst a group of people, then its hard to image forums being dead unless people decided to stop talking to one another.
Thanks for that, Mr. Coatta. Well said.
I think that another reason for this thinking is that forums are everywhere, but they aren’t necessarily labeled “forums,” they are just an accepted function of many communities and social sites. So, some people don’t specifically think of them as “forums.”
Patrick
The common theme of the Internet in its relatively brief history is that services come and go, but concepts are forever.
Before Quora, SimpleMachines, phpBB, vBulletin, Ultimate Bulletin Board, and WWWBoard from Matt’s Script Archive, there were BBS systems, mailing lists, and Usenet. They were called different things than forums, yes, but at their core, that’s what they were. People may stop installing phpBB one day (perish the thought!) but the forum concept will live on.
We’re seeing reports of premature death with increasing frequency in the blogging world, too — a commentator on ReadWriteWeb this morning declared blogging “so last decade” in the face of Twitter and Facebook. What’s happened with blogging is just like what’s happened with forums, though. In 2000, if I wanted to set up a blog, I wrote my own CMS or used Dave Winer’s Radio Userland software; in 2004 I might have run Movable Type; and now in many cases most people are signing up to hosted services on Tumblr and WordPress.com. The interface has changed but it’s still blogging at its core, now and forever.
I can’t wait in five years from now when new services start to outfox Twitter and Facebook (if history is any guide, it’s going to happen). Will social media be dead then?
Interfaces change. Services are born — and some die. Concepts are forever.
Nice comment, Jared. Thanks.
Hi Patrick,
Great article and a refreshing read.
I was reminded of the importance of forums recently when I was looking at buying a new car. A friend said: “Look on the forums, see what people are saying about model x”
Later still, I was thinking about installing some new software, another friend gave me the advice: “Check on the forums, see what people are saying.”
It seems to me that forums are still a key place for people to ask questions, receive advice and share their experiences without them disappearing down the ‘stream / feed / roll’ and being overlapped by newer content.
And here is another benefit: forums don’t need to have NEW info, it just has be relevant.
Thanks for the comment and kind words, NigePresto.
Well said.
It’s interesting how surprised people are when they realise social networking has been around since 1972. Communication in groups with others about a topic? Far longer than that…
Thanks Serena.
I don’t think forums are dead at all, it’s the same with the whole “chat rooms are dead” line you hear all the time.
Forums aren’t dead, and chat rooms aren’t dead. They just evolve as you’ve said.
My first attempt of an analogy here, so I do apologize for its crappliness LOL.
But say you have a street. On that street is a pub, the only pub on the street, the whole street goes there, they chat, banter spend time with each other.
Suddenly a new trendy bar opens up across the road. It’s new, fresh, offers new exciting things. The street flocks over. Who you have left in the pub is the few, hardcore regulars who aren’t interested in new and flashy.
For a few years people on the street say “ah the pub is dead” and stick to the trendy bar across the road. The bar grows older, the novelty wears off. People get bored, it isn’t new or exciting any more.
They slowly trickle back into the pub that’s taken elements of the trendy bar but kept its traditional look and atmosphere.
The weekend after the pub is the place to be again, and the bar gets closed down and renovated into something else new and trendy.
Basically it’s a cycle. People like new shiny things, once the novelty wears off they go back to what they’re familiar and comfortable with. Then something else new and shiny will come along and the cycle starts again.
Same with chat rooms. When social networking, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr etc exploded it was all “chat rooms are dead, nobody uses chat rooms any more” which just simply isn’t true, they’ve just evolved. Taken elements from social networks, adapted.
A quick search on Google trends show that searches for ‘chat rooms’ have plummeted dramatically, but the same search for ‘social networks’ have also been plummeting.
Do a search on ‘social networking chat site’ however and the trend is rising tremendously.
Forums and chat rooms will never ‘die’ – they’ll just adapt and evolve with the times.
Thanks for sharing that, Tommy. :)
Patrick
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