4 ms·

Is this a software problem? There are a lot of open sources (with their differences) platforms. From old forums, to more modern, etc. I think the problem is tha

by 101008 5y ago

Is this a software problem? There are a lot of open sources (with their differences) platforms. From old forums, to more modern, etc. I think the problem is that people don't want or don't know how to use a forum. This is based in my experience: - Old people: They started to use internet recently so they are used to social networks (Facebook, Instagram), and newspapers websites. - Young people: Hard to make them use the browser, if there isn't an app (Instagram, TikTok), you are lost. If they want to discuss a topic, mostly Twitter through hashtags, YouTubers or Discord. - Adult people: This is where some of them may use a forum, but you have to be lucky enough to find adult people who use internet many years ago, and they know what is a forum. If you find a 30 or 40 years old who started to use internet 5 years ago (which happens), you are lost. And on top of that, you need to compete against Reddit and their own subreddits. (Edited to format)

csydas 5y ago
>- Young people: Hard to make them use the browser, if there isn't an app (Instagram, TikTok), you are lost. If they want to discuss a topic, mostly Twitter through hashtags, YouTubers or Discord. I disagree on this take. GenZ can do long-form discussion and they use forums frequently, but for specific discussion(s). Content consumption is done via forever-scroll apps because it's good to kill time; Tiktok, Instagram, etc match this well because it's just a stream of things to have fun with. But GenZ is making great "longford" content on many traditional platforms, even blogging. The difference, as I understand it, is their approach to engagement. GenZ has seen Facebook arguments and said "no thank you". Twitter discourse also isn't really a thing -- people disagree and Tweet at people, but Twitter isn't like a forum thread and there's no way to ensure your content is associated with the content you want to respond to, so it's not effective to communicate in responses. Reddit is kind of a mystery for me as I just don't frequent it at all, but I don't get the impression that GenZ is posting frequently. GenZ has platforms that work best when you make a statement, not where you open a discourse; Twitter is too fast/broad to respond to all comments and find real content to respond to, video content just isn't great for back and forth and becomes time consuming for lighter topics. Viewers will make whatever statement they want, but the validity of the video is based on how far a concept is spread; I'd actually position GenZ is very good at concisely expressing its idea in a simple and condensed format, and responses are not at an individual, but an idea. But, they will go to Tumblr/Medium/other long-form post when the medium is appropriate. This is one thing I like about a lot of GenZ content because they tend to be VERY good about choosing the right format for their argument; that many don't have much more to express besides tweets/tiktoks isn't an indictment of GenZ, it's praise. Think of the forums you maybe still lurk around and how many comments are just complete garbage/non-sequiturs; for forums such a post are enough to derail a topic/distract because we feel obligated to a degree to respond, but filtering noise is part of the skill of using more modern platforms. Forums are kind of contrary to this, and also are bogged down by the before-mentioned Facebook-argument issue and the preferred platforms not really being strongest for direct rebuttals. Again, there are times when you'll see GenZ use forums or other long-form posts, but it tends to be more controlled or on 'forums-but-not-really' forums like Tumblr. Forums have their purpose and use; but we have __many__ alternatives that make forums defunct, as some topics/ideas are far better expressed on Tiktok or Twitter, and whatever followup we end up with.
- inamiyar 5y ago
  this vaguely aligns with my experiences
koheripbal 5y ago
The value of a forum is not to get everyone. It is actually in limiting a community to the most mature voices and thoughtful people. There's little upside to having teenagers in a forum, for example, unless you're looking to monetize.
- TheAceOfHearts 5y ago
  Younger people can help evolve topics by providing a set of fresh eyes. It's also important to pass knowledge on, otherwise it just ends up dying with you. For example: Virtual reality headsets were fairly stagnant until a young guy in his early 20s tried something new. Old people often become stuck in their ways and it requires someone new to show up and ask how the sausage is made.
  - koheripbal 5y ago
    "fresh eyes" can still be the people new to the form who have that year just turned 35 (eg).
- wizzwizz4 5y ago
  I was moderating forums when I was twelve. While I experience the usual “I was so embarrassing back then” when thinking back to those times, I do think my contributions were positive and well-received.
- pjlegato 5y ago
  I used many old school forums in the pre-social media days. "Mature voices and thoughtful people" were quite rare.
easrng 5y ago
If you think young people won't use forums, you clearly haven't seen Scratch's. (https://scratch.mit.edu/discuss/ https://scratch.mit.edu/discuss/)

by 101008 5y ago

csydas 5y ago

>- Young people: Hard to make them use the browser, if there isn't an app (Instagram, TikTok), you are lost. If they want to discuss a topic, mostly Twitter through hashtags, YouTubers or Discord. I disagree on this take. GenZ can do long-form discussion and they use forums frequently, but for specific discussion(s). Content consumption is done via forever-scroll apps because it's good to kill time; Tiktok, Instagram, etc match this well because it's just a stream of things to have fun with. But GenZ is making great "longford" content on many traditional platforms, even blogging. The difference, as I understand it, is their approach to engagement. GenZ has seen Facebook arguments and said "no thank you". Twitter discourse also isn't really a thing -- people disagree and Tweet at people, but Twitter isn't like a forum thread and there's no way to ensure your content is associated with the content you want to respond to, so it's not effective to communicate in responses. Reddit is kind of a mystery for me as I just don't frequent it at all, but I don't get the impression that GenZ is posting frequently. GenZ has platforms that work best when you make a statement, not where you open a discourse; Twitter is too fast/broad to respond to all comments and find real content to respond to, video content just isn't great for back and forth and becomes time consuming for lighter topics. Viewers will make whatever statement they want, but the validity of the video is based on how far a concept is spread; I'd actually position GenZ is very good at concisely expressing its idea in a simple and condensed format, and responses are not at an individual, but an idea. But, they will go to Tumblr/Medium/other long-form post when the medium is appropriate. This is one thing I like about a lot of GenZ content because they tend to be VERY good about choosing the right format for their argument; that many don't have much more to express besides tweets/tiktoks isn't an indictment of GenZ, it's praise. Think of the forums you maybe still lurk around and how many comments are just complete garbage/non-sequiturs; for forums such a post are enough to derail a topic/distract because we feel obligated to a degree to respond, but filtering noise is part of the skill of using more modern platforms. Forums are kind of contrary to this, and also are bogged down by the before-mentioned Facebook-argument issue and the preferred platforms not really being strongest for direct rebuttals. Again, there are times when you'll see GenZ use forums or other long-form posts, but it tends to be more controlled or on 'forums-but-not-really' forums like Tumblr. Forums have their purpose and use; but we have __many__ alternatives that make forums defunct, as some topics/ideas are far better expressed on Tiktok or Twitter, and whatever followup we end up with.

inamiyar 5y ago
this vaguely aligns with my experiences

koheripbal 5y ago

The value of a forum is not to get everyone. It is actually in limiting a community to the most mature voices and thoughtful people. There's little upside to having teenagers in a forum, for example, unless you're looking to monetize.

TheAceOfHearts 5y ago
Younger people can help evolve topics by providing a set of fresh eyes. It's also important to pass knowledge on, otherwise it just ends up dying with you. For example: Virtual reality headsets were fairly stagnant until a young guy in his early 20s tried something new. Old people often become stuck in their ways and it requires someone new to show up and ask how the sausage is made.
- koheripbal 5y ago
  "fresh eyes" can still be the people new to the form who have that year just turned 35 (eg).
wizzwizz4 5y ago
I was moderating forums when I was twelve. While I experience the usual “I was so embarrassing back then” when thinking back to those times, I do think my contributions were positive and well-received.
pjlegato 5y ago
I used many old school forums in the pre-social media days. "Mature voices and thoughtful people" were quite rare.

easrng 5y ago

If you think young people won't use forums, you clearly haven't seen Scratch's. (https://scratch.mit.edu/discuss/ https://scratch.mit.edu/discuss/)