Good old forum days

[Verena]

most people moved away to the social medias. forums dont look anymore like they looked before in modern times. the modern themes changing from the traditional look. only few forums still surviving and going on.
whats your opinions?

 

[Dionysos]

It is a sad sign of the times, for sure.

People don't often have the time or the attention span for spending as long on forums these days as they used to, or the patience to log in to things. Or if it is longform content like long articles, they might not comment to say that they read it or enjoyed it or anything. Social media and short snappy comments here and there seems to better suit the younger generations now, and many others have had to adapt to the demand.

But we're still live after over 15 years. It would obviously be good for us if we could have a tiny bit of a 'forum renaissance', but it is always great to see new members join our site and discover what we've done in the past and can continue to offer today.

In my own personal opinion about this site in particular, though, while I do miss the days when everyone was on the forum and I did make a lot of friends that are still here on this site today, some of my favourite content has been from more recent years, and I personally feel that the features on the site itself are the best they've ever been. And you wouldn't get features like that on social media!

 

[Galadín]

I honestly don't see social media or forums as remotely the same thing. They are very different types of platforms which both offer their own unique experiences and interactions with content. On social media, the channel/page owner controls the flow and style of content and oversees the conversation topics. Typically people are coming in 'on their turf' and commenting on the opinions of the influencer. On forums it's very different: threads can be started by anyone and can be engaged with equally (no algorithm is going to bury that post). Forums also deliver a space for users to introduce themselves and reveal more about their views and opinions the more they engage; a community is more likely to grow and interact with each other on a more personal level than they ever would on social media. Despite social media influencers saying that they have a community of people around them, these people are more often than not primarily engaging with the influencer themselves than with each other, and serve mostly to feed into the narrative controlled by a single person.

It really depends on what people are looking for. I wouldn't say people are not interested in forums persay, or only want to engage on a more shallow level with quick form content - it's more down to value. I think forums need to offer a space that people are genuinely interested in and feel like they can add to, rather than simply consume. If social media offers a more "look at me" environment (no offense, I love social media as much as the next person) then forums need to give a more "join in with us and let us know more about you" vibe. It's like the difference of consumer versus prosumer, consuming is just a really popular method but I think there's enough prosumers out there to make these spaces worth while and really fun. Maybe more forums need to stop competing with social media in terms of offering straight up consumption models and focus more on integration - perhaps this is where the drop off of forum users comes from, maybe forum platforms need be more adaptive to give people more opportunity to take part. We've all grown up, become more mobile and busy, so that's bound to change things. Personally I think it's lifestyle, not interest.

I've been with FFF for almost 10 years, I've known friends who have come and gone - people I still keep in contact with even though they've left the platform. New people are joining FFF all the time and that's been so cool to see. At the end of the day, it's those connections which matter, and so long as there's new people to welcome, there's a community worth working for!

 

[Abstract Debauchery]

For me, personally, it's hard to keep eyes on it. My attention span has dwindled over the years as I lose the battle to ADHD that went undiagnosed for years. Things like Discord got easier to pay attention to, and since it's always open, it's the easier option. Why load up a forum when Discord is right there? It also takes a lot to even post a message in the first place, you know? Way, way, waaaaay, too often, even over Discord, I'll type up messages just to ultimately delete them with the attitude of "why bother" before closing the page. I sometimes think back on the forums and I miss those good times, and I don't think those good times are all dried up, they just don't come as often, and in a world where non-commitment is so easy, it's hard to commit time to post here.

...Which you would think that since my job is 90% downtime, I'd post more. But I'm also a forgetful assface. Quite often, as soon as I think about this place, I forget again, because I've got a million other things to do on my phone or in some video game somewhere. But if I'm being honest here, my shit memory really, really, doesn't help my cause here. I'll probably forget I posted this in an hour, bruh.

 

[Verena]

i like forum more than discord. discord often provides much trash in my opinion, while forums like fff provide useful infos and opinions if people are actively and willingly participate

 

[Shu]

Depends on the take really. I remember when I first signed on to these forums back in 2006. The internet was starting to become more and more rich with detailed outlines of game play and such for Final Fantasy Games. I think FFX had just popped the bubble too.

People would express themselves in very different ways back then as well. A little more unrestricted in their takes on both opinion pieces and world news. Now I feel that I have to shut outlets down like social media, because it has been more or less weaponized with toxic behaviors.

Forums to me have always held a general place in my heart. It makes me remember certain times that I could chat for hours with many people in regards to life, games, and what have you. We were all in different parts of our lives, and everywhere in terms of geography.

I think I miss this portion of posting due to it made me declutter the mind and almost use it like a Diary of some kind. I barely am able to these days due all that is going on in life. So I miss forums in this respect. I remember the debates were pretty cool as well, and they can still be that way. The issue is how many people still use forums for a familiar outlet anymore?

 

[Belle T]

I really do miss message boards of old. They're so much cozier than places like, say, Reddit, which serves more or less the same purpose but is more cluttered and far too large for my liking. I use Discord mostly in the same way that I used Skype or MSN back in the day: As a means to talk to friends and colleagues, rather than as a substitute for forums. The real time nature of Discord makes proper discussions difficult for me, and thus makes it difficult to craft an eloquent and well-thought-out response in a timely manner. It's just not very good for serious discourse, especially in larger servers.

I actually chose to register for this forum specifically because it does have a decently high ratio of new members joining every so often. This is extremely stupid, but I had eyed other Final Fantasy fan sites, such as Eyes on Final Fantasy, and while everyone seemed like nice enough people, most of the people still active there today are people who have been around since 2005 or so. And I just felt a bit insecure at the thought of being the only active member who hadn't been there for close to 20 years.

It just sort of feels like the internet has evolved and left me behind in the process, I suppose. These days, kids can make arses of themselves on TikTok at the push of a button, but back in my day, we had to put in real work to irrationally hate one another over superficial differences in opinion on popular media.

 

[Galadín]

I really do miss message boards of old. They're so much cozier than places like, say, Reddit, which serves more or less the same purpose but is more cluttered and far too large for my liking. I use Discord mostly in the same way that I used Skype or MSN back in the day: As a means to talk to friends and colleagues, rather than as a substitute for forums. The real time nature of Discord makes proper discussions difficult for me, and thus makes it difficult to craft an eloquent and well-thought-out response in a timely manner. It's just not very good for serious discourse, especially in larger servers.

I actually chose to register for this forum specifically because it does have a decently high ratio of new members joining every so often. This is extremely stupid, but I had eyed other Final Fantasy fan sites, such as Eyes on Final Fantasy, and while everyone seemed like nice enough people, most of the people still active there today are people who have been around since 2005 or so. And I just felt a bit insecure at the thought of being the only active member who hadn't been there for close to 20 years.

It just sort of feels like the internet has evolved and left me behind in the process, I suppose. These days, kids can make arses of themselves on TikTok at the push of a button, but back in my day, we had to put in real work to irrationally hate one another over superficial differences in opinion on popular media.

I don't know whether to laugh or cry at this - it's really well put either way.

It wouldn't surprise me if early Millenials and maybe even the later 'cuspers' were starting to get overwhelmingly jaded with social media outlets in general, having driven the trend for longer form content during the wave of Web 2.0. Forum culture in general was also always focused on creating or doing things - generating an even deeper participatory culture than mere conversation alone. This is the aspect of forum life I enjoyed the most and arguably benefitted from on a personal level since my current day career started from making signature banners on gaming forums (humble yet very exciting beginnings!) So while I completely agree that forums are just as capable of fostering shallow bickering over menial 'issues', there's a little special something else there too.

Seeing people's creativity and passion for what they did definitely fuled me back in the day and I'm grateful to have met so many artistic people who were so generous with their time and feedback in various communities throughout the years. It all fed into what I'm doing now and that just blows my mind!

I hope that the forum scene lasts a little while longer. It would be worthwhile to see at least one or two other people be transformed by the communities brought together by these spaces.

As a side note - my shy ass completely relates to that feeling of being intimidated by communities populated by long standing members. Although a little different, playing MMOs (in my case FFXIV) can sometimes land you unintentionally in servers or groups that seem to have known each other from the cradle! The minute you enter, it's like a virtual 'all heads turn' moment. It's not great and completely foils my attempt to drift through life in sweet anonymity

 

[Belle T]

It wouldn't surprise me if early Millenials and maybe even the later 'cuspers' were starting to get overwhelmingly jaded with social media outlets in general, having driven the trend for longer form content during the wave of Web 2.0. Forum culture in general was also always focused on creating or doing things - generating an even deeper participatory culture than mere conversation alone. This is the aspect of forum life I enjoyed the most and arguably benefitted from on a personal level since my current day career started from making signature banners on gaming forums (humble yet very exciting beginnings!) So while I completely agree that forums are just as capable of fostering shallow bickering over menial 'issues', there's a little special something else there too.

I think a lot of it is the simple fact that forums like these (presumably; I suppose I can't really prove otherwise) are administrated by actual human beings, and not an algorithm that--deliberately or otherwise--rewards reactionary and antisocial behavior. It's a double edged sword, I suppose. It makes it extra personal when you find yourself on the receiving end of a punishment. But at the same time, it also means that the people running the site have the autonomy to think, "Hmm, this person is spouting bigoted nonsense; perhaps we can make them not do that," rather than "Hmm, this person is spouting bigoted nonsense; let's promote them in the 'Trending' section."

There's no way to know for sure, but I try to tell myself that history is a circle and eventually dedicated forums like these will see a resurgence. Especially as more light is shone on the way that social media outlets are inconvenient by design and are intentionally harmful. FaceBook is already seeing massive losses in revenue thanks in part to this as well as reckless and irresponsible spending on fleeting demographics and acquisitions. We can only hope anyway.

As a side note - my shy ass completely relates to that feeling of being intimidated by communities populated by long standing members. Although a little different, playing MMOs (in my case FFXIV) can sometimes land you unintentionally in servers or groups that seem to have known each other from the cradle! The minute you enter, it's like a virtual 'all heads turn' moment. It's not great and completely foils my attempt to drift through life in sweet anonymity

I tried getting into a few (albeit mostly free-to-play) MMORPG's because I thought it would help me make friends to play them with, but no one in my friends group was interested, and people in the game were mostly very obnoxious about being high-leveled and having spent a year's salary on in-game cosmetics. So I can imagine how many of them treat newer players, lol.

 

[Dionysos]

There's no way to know for sure, but I try to tell myself that history is a circle and eventually dedicated forums like these will see a resurgence. Especially as more light is shone on the way that social media outlets are inconvenient by design and are intentionally harmful. FaceBook is already seeing massive losses in revenue thanks in part to this as well as reckless and irresponsible spending on fleeting demographics and acquisitions. We can only hope anyway.

I honestly hope you are right.
In addition to the gargantuan size of Reddit, I find it quite impersonal. It isn't conducive to making friends, as far as I can see.

Many of the benefits for forum culture have been laid out in decent detail in this thread, and I agree with all of it. There are some things that aren't really possible on social media (which doesn't always encourage creativity, hard work, etc). And I've learned recently that algorithms punish people who post links so you can't exactly share content from places like this and expect anyone to actually see it unless you have friends in the right places).

This forum in particular for me has been a great place to share ideas, explore Final Fantasy topics (and real life topics), create stories together, create magazines together, play games together, share our experiences with the fandom, and make friends.

I have seen people move on from this forum and due to the business of their daily lives rarely return, yet I still have some of them as friends on Facebook or think about them often because they do all matter to me. Some of them I've even met in real life now. But greeting new people to this site fills me with an equal amount of joy too when they really embrace the spirit of the place. Because I believe there aren't any cutoff points here in terms of the time of joining, and I always like to include people.

I tried getting into a few (albeit mostly free-to-play) MMORPG's because I thought it would help me make friends to play them with, but no one in my friends group was interested, and people in the game were mostly very obnoxious about being high-leveled and having spent a year's salary on in-game cosmetics. So I can imagine how many of them treat newer players, lol.

Thankfully I've avoided pretty much all awkwardness on MMORPGS (FFXIV being the only one I've really played). Maybe because I'm oblivious to it, or maybe because I don't care when I encounter it, if not because it hasn't been there for me. The worst I've experienced is people complaining about me messing up during dungeons because nine times out of ten it will be my first time, and I always go blind to avoid story spoilers. But I could count my unpleasant experiences on no more than two hands over several years now. And none of the unpleasant experiences were really that bad for me. It was the game equivalent of road rage, that's all.

But I'm an atypical player in what I focus on there (the story rather than social aspects).

But perhaps it has also helped that I've always known at least somebody on FFXIV (be it from this forum, real life friends, or people I met at KupoCon). While I don't play with people I know as often as I'd like (or play the game in general, for that matter), it is only really the people I know that matter to me unless I get to know new people. For example, I would probably be more upset if people I knew and liked started raging at me for the way I was playing the game instead of Angry Alfred who I do not know at all and will likely never see again. The way that I play the game means that I also don't pay much attention to Random Rachels or Stranger Stevens unless they are doing something which forces me to pay attention to them. Which these days is more likely to be people doing street performances, music contests, or roleplaying, etc, rather than hounding me and insulting me to my face. Thankfully.


So I guess that is yet another benefit of forums, because thanks in part to my forum life, my FFXIV life was made easier.

 

[Stanley]

Wall of texts, pls allow me to reply only the parts I managed to get to..xD
I agree! Let us all band together and start forum renaissance! Spread around the "come join with us and have fun with us vibes"! I can't put it in words. Social media provide immediate vicinity for quick written or snarky comments Which at times stimulate the engagers colloquially. But as someone not acquainted with English natively, I must say forums can be quite an educative platform. Altho I tend to lose retention of span while reading wall of texts, and that is something I'm working on, I find that there's just sense of rapport being developed between forumers if we're all truly comrade in arms in matters of like-minded gamingness.

 

[Bambi]

I very rarely come back here now but i do think fondly on the place and id never leave for good i dont think, even though my times away are getting longer between visits. If i had a choice between forums or discord id choose forums, cant seem to get into discord, it just feels messy, its so much easier to navigate a forum, when im googling some FF stuff as well, this place pops up in mg search and reminds me it exists, sometimes even taking me to my own posts lol. As much as i don't visit often these days id be devastated if it went for good. Been a member now for 15 years and it was here that helped me through a pretty rough time back then. I just think Social Media eventually overshadowed and took over.