beep@piefed.world to Technology@lemmy.worldEnglish · 2 days agoBring Back Crappy Forums: Web forums were rough around the edges and faded in relevance as seemingly better options emerged. But what if we had stuck with them?tedium.coexternal-linkmessage-square42fedilinkarrow-up1133arrow-down14file-textcross-posted to: [email protected]
arrow-up1129arrow-down1external-linkBring Back Crappy Forums: Web forums were rough around the edges and faded in relevance as seemingly better options emerged. But what if we had stuck with them?tedium.cobeep@piefed.world to Technology@lemmy.worldEnglish · 2 days agomessage-square42fedilinkfile-textcross-posted to: [email protected]
cross-posted from: https://piefed.world/c/tech/p/1234765/bring-back-crappy-forums-web-forums-were-rough-around-the-edges-and-faded-in-relevance-a
minus-squarebrucethemoose@lemmy.worldlinkfedilinkEnglisharrow-up5·edit-220 hours agoThis is a moot question, because the only thing that matters is engagement. Internet forums: Are (mostly) specialized. Don’t have S&P 500-level advertising. Don’t constantly ping your phone by default. Don’t incorporate “dark patterns” in the UI. Don’t have AI-based algorithmic feeds. Have rules for posting, which slows down posting. People didn’t give up on them; their attention got sucked away to other things. And nothing could have changed that, no matter how much they improved. Not that I have any high horse to stand on. For a few years, I’ve been telling myself I will become active in a few still-extant forums again (like DPReview and SpaceBattles). I never did.
This is a moot question, because the only thing that matters is engagement.
Internet forums:
Are (mostly) specialized.
Don’t have S&P 500-level advertising.
Don’t constantly ping your phone by default.
Don’t incorporate “dark patterns” in the UI.
Don’t have AI-based algorithmic feeds.
Have rules for posting, which slows down posting.
People didn’t give up on them; their attention got sucked away to other things. And nothing could have changed that, no matter how much they improved.
Not that I have any high horse to stand on.
For a few years, I’ve been telling myself I will become active in a few still-extant forums again (like DPReview and SpaceBattles). I never did.