Yes and no. Yes in the sense that such fora are out there. But a person becoming fascinated by computers and getting on the internet, will no longer encounter t

Yes and no. Yes in the sense that such fora are out there. But a person becoming fascinated by computers and getting on the internet, will no longer encounter those fora as the default experience, unlike in the days of Usenet or BBSs. Moreover, post-2005, the software running phpBB-type fora usually borrowed features from social media. (And “No” in the sense that, as one still reading various fora offering pre-social-media interfaces, there is no escaping that the participants are dwindling and graying. Moreover, the very thing driving people to hang around on unfashionable fora is an eccentricity that is often full-blown mental illness. Once forum activity has become dominated by a few outright cranks, you can’t expect quality discussion.)