Internet forums are disappearing because now it's all Reddit and Discord. And that's worrying. (1 Viewer)

[Cpvr]

It comes down to the feeling of conformity in how one feels. Why actively go and seek out the answers or community, when I can get it spoon fed to me. Why should I do any of the work as the algorithm provides the information that I didn't know I was even looking for. This is also being fed with the inclusion of Google's AI search results. Why should a person even have to visit the pesky website when Google scrapes the information and gives it to you within the first few lines of the search result.

I don't think forums as they were are going to be continuing going forward, we have to make changes in what these communities are going to be. Providing a place that isn't just posting threads and replies but, maybe a hub or something that fosters an actual community that people can't get from places like Reddit or Discord.

I’m a firm believer that forums aren’t going anywhere. We’ve weathered the MySpace era, the Facebook boom, and now we’re staring down Reddit and Discord. We’ve adapted before, and we can adapt again.



The key difference? Forums have always been about ownership—about community-built spaces where people create, archive, and discuss on their own terms. Reddit and Discord might be louder or faster, but they don’t offer the same kind of depth or sense of permanence.



We can compete. But we have to evolve—build hubs, not just boards. Give people something more than just threads. As a hub, providing blogs, journals, media galleries or ways to integrate video or social content and features that pull people in from other ecosystems and show them that forums can still be their digital home.

Even directories have a way to pull users in. It provides resources that Reddit and Discord don’t offer.

With AI scraping our content? It’s not technically a death sentence—it’s an opportunity. Every snippet indexed, every quote pulled into a search result is another breadcrumb back to our site. If we’re smart, we can harness that and convert drive-by traffic into loyal members.



The real threat isn’t technology, it’s apathy. The only thing that will kill forums is if forum owners stop being community leaders. If we stop building, stop caring, stop evolving. But if we keep that fire alive, we’re not just surviving, we’re setting the standard.

We are the leaders and providers that set the internet standards a long time ago. Without forums, social media wouldn’t exist in its current form.

Technically speaking, Bluesky, Twitter, Threads, Reddit, etc are all just a different formats of a forum.

Also, with more social media sites implementing ai systems on their apps, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a shift where users start coming back to online communities.

 

[Senkusha]

I just saw a post on Reddit this morning about how some people are missing the old forums. Actually, two posts in three days now. Maybe I fell down a hole or something, but there does seem to be some hope here. Of course, I took the opportunity to promote smaller forums!

 

[Ravenfreak]

I just saw a post on Reddit this morning about how some people are missing the old forums. Actually, two posts in three days now. Maybe I fell down a hole or something, but there does seem to be some hope here. Of course, I took the opportunity to promote smaller forums!

I've been seeing that a lot lately. Still it baffles me again why so many people say they miss them yet they've never disappeared and these people can join so many if they take the time to look for them. :V

 

[Wise Owl]

I would agree with you at this and as somebody who is an old generation (internet generation) I really dislike it. I find discord completely garbage in comparison to forums because their purpose in general is not what forums do but people still go there. You can't track down what somebody said unless you scroll to the end of the world. There are no topics grouped to know what is what. It is a mess if you want to use discord in such way and it seems new generations love it. Fast communication, just keep it pumping baby and nobody cares what was said anyway.

 

[Senkusha]

I've been seeing that a lot lately. Still it baffles me again why so many people say they miss them yet they've never disappeared and these people can join so many if they take the time to look for them. :V

I think it comes down to laziness. Current culture seems to be instant gratification, no work for anything.

I would agree with you at this and as somebody who is an old generation (internet generation) I really dislike it. I find discord completely garbage in comparison to forums because their purpose in general is not what forums do but people still go there. You can't track down what somebody said unless you scroll to the end of the world. There are no topics grouped to know what is what. It is a mess if you want to use discord in such way and it seems new generations love it. Fast communication, just keep it pumping baby and nobody cares what was said anyway.

It's a look at me and my life and all the stuff happening in my life, who cares about your life and junk, just look at me! Type of thing, rather than with a forum, I think there's more generosity involved.

 

[Bawse]

Nobody likes Reddit, but it is popular. However, Discord is a threat to forums. I see a lot of servers starting up with similar sections you'd see on forums.

 

[Num7]

We reply too much on rented space and then when something happens and you lose it, it's a tragedy.

I have a group on Facebook that will soon hit 50,000 members. It's real people, too. It's an active group. But it's 100% rented space and while I'll keep maintaining it, I know I can lose it anytime.

This, 100%. Couldn't say it better. It's all rented space, you're at the mercy of the services you're on. Discord, Reddit, Facebook, etc. It's all cool until it's not.

 

[Cpvr]

This, 100%. Couldn't say it better. It's all rented space, you're at the mercy of the services you're on. Discord, Reddit, Facebook, etc. It's all cool until it's not.

Exactly. Discord will be monetizing their platform soon since they’re heading to an IPO, so where does that leave those that have channels? They’ll probably head back to forums as those channels may get heavily monetized by the new ceo.

A lot of people fail to realize that they don’t own anything on these rented platforms, but they’ll never wake up and smell the coffee until they lose it all & can’t build it back up.

It’s a sad reality, but it’s a hard lesson they’ll have to experience first hand for leaving forums in the first place. It’s their loss, not ours.

 

[Cpvr]

I just saw a post on Reddit this morning about how some people are missing the old forums. Actually, two posts in three days now. Maybe I fell down a hole or something, but there does seem to be some hope here. Of course, I took the opportunity to promote smaller forums!

I see this all the time on Bluesky and various other platforms. I generally tell them that there’s plenty of forums around and link them to a forum directory. If they miss them, they’ll eventually come back.