Forums vs. Discord

A general chat area, here you can post anything that doesn't belong in another forum.

Which of the following do you prefer to use?

Forums (like PCKF)
20
83%
Discord
4
17%
 
Total votes: 24

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Quillax
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Forums vs. Discord

Post by Quillax »

Since the Internet got popular, forums were like the main medium for online communities. In recent years, however, forums became less popular in favor of other things like social media and Discord. Discord in particular is so popular that it seems nearly every Internet community has a Discord server. Compared to the 90s and 00s, very few forums today have gotten truly active (even PCKF here has often been quiet). This has been making me wonder: Is Discord truly better than forums? Are forums still viable? Or will forums be dead? Which of those two do you prefer?

Personally, I've always been more into forums than Discord. I never actually used Discord, aside from taking visits to a few servers (but no comments posted). Discord might be good for getting quick messages, but I like the slower pace of forums and how their nature allows a conversation to go on for a very long time. (Imagine there was a good conversation a couple days ago on Discord, and you try to continue it when everybody else is taking about something different. I've heard that's pretty hard to do.) I think forums are a lot better at archiving and organizing stuff; you could have a topic about your drawings and it wouldn't be drowned in a bunch of irrelevant comments. Plus, you have more control with forums; you can do things like change the skin. Forums pop up in search engine results, making them much easier to find for newcomers.

What are your thoughts?
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DoomJedi
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Re: Forums vs. Discord

Post by DoomJedi »

Forums, for sure. Not only for game development, but for proper organized discussions as well.
Benvolio
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Re: Forums vs. Discord

Post by Benvolio »

Forums let the non member build up a sense of belonging without actually posting. And later if the lurking person joins, chances are they'll be an enthusiastic contributor at that point.
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Nisaba
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Re: Forums vs. Discord

Post by Nisaba »

For me Discord is just a new edition - sort of a modern times remake so to speak - to IRC chats. And I don't see any competition between instant messaging systems and forums. Both technical solutions have their raison d'être and each covers different needs.
It is true that we are a small and sometimes sleepy community. But I like that. Not only does it have charm, but in most cases the conversations are substantial, open-hearted, focused and purposeful.
And like a boomerang, renegades do return even after years of absents to this wonderful niche of the great and hectic commercial place called internet. It's like meeting old friends. You know each other, and you can count on finding a little piece of home here.
My goodness, at the end it became sentimental again. Who would have thought...
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Roobar
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Re: Forums vs. Discord

Post by Roobar »

I used to be active on plenty of forums, but nowdays I think I only use 2 forums. Of course, my gaming interests have migrated to Discord. Unfortunately, forums are dead. It was really fun, when forums used to be lively.
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Pandakeen
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Re: Forums vs. Discord

Post by Pandakeen »

I think it's dissapointing that people phase out forums when they really didn't need to be. Discord and forums work for different things, as people here have already discussed. And there's no mainstream site that can properly fill the void of forums. Discord is still probably the closest but at the end of the day it's a successor to IRC, not forums. :no
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Nospike
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Re: Forums vs. Discord

Post by Nospike »

I think most forums got killed off by reddit. Discord isn't as much of a direct competitor, although the high degree of structure in channels, roles etc and the features made possible with bots do contribute. Also it's a single program that allows you to access many servers at the click of a button.

I don't like discord because it seems to promote a certain kind of behavior in people that doesn't mesh with me. On forums people tend to be encouraged to be civil and write eloquently, I find. On discord everyone seems to feel compelled to act goofy. Or at least that's the few discord servers I'm an active member of, mostly by necessity, cuz of school and such.
Benvolio
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Re: Forums vs. Discord

Post by Benvolio »

Agree re: reddit. However I feel that reddit is a poor substitute for a forum like pckf and although of course there's great stuff on there, on most subreddits the discussion are a lot less in-depth. The identities of posters, though of course visible, are less distinctive and less conducive to expressing a consistent personality and thus the whole thing feels a lot more anonymous as far as I can tell.
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DoomJedi
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Re: Forums vs. Discord

Post by DoomJedi »

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Grimson
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Re: Forums vs. Discord

Post by Grimson »

I voted for Discord not because I enjoy it more (it sure has its problems), but its simply today's mainstream medium of communication. I have fond memories from PCKF and other forums, but as years go by, they get less and less active.

However, as people have pointed out, forums and IM apps shouldn't be two opposites that you have to choose from. I seldom visit PCKF anymore, but every time I do, I feel right at home.
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Soul Monster
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Re: Forums vs. Discord

Post by Soul Monster »

I'll be honest I never used Discord because I just never had a reason to, and I had friends who used it who told me about its flaws. I've considered getting into it if me and friends put something together on there, but I voted for forums for a few reasons.

To me, forums have a better, more intimate setting where there's often regulars who have known each other for a long time, and are able to discuss topics in more detail without everything turning into an argument. While it certainly isn't true about every forum, and I saw that a lot on previous forums I was on, but it doesn't happen here. For a while I felt burned out on forums because I realized they weren't as popular as they used to be, and being that the forums I used to be on no longer exist which means I've lost contact with all my friends on there, it was kind of disheartening, and is a big reason why I didn't join here sooner. Joining PCKF was a huge breath of fresh air due to its lack of drama, good moderation and detachment from the rest of the internet, and rekindled my interest in forums, and it's why I intend to stay here.

Other platforms, on the other hand, just seem to be a lot of people fishing for attention by posting an obnoxious amount of gifs, memes etc. without engaging in real conversation, and constant drama and clickbait. When people post on forums, it feels more thought out, like, you know, an actual conversation. I like that this forum is structured in a way that doesn't appeal to that crowd, and can act as an oasis on the internet for us. From my experience using social media, it just seemed like a contest for people to see how many friends/followers/likes they could get without having anything meaningful to say, and over time as drama started up in my friend groups, that staying off social media is how I managed to stay on good terms with everyone.

Now I feel like I'm rambling, but basically, I just feel that we get better discussions on forums, and while not all forums have a mature user base, this one certainly does.
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Re: Forums vs. Discord

Post by Ceilick »

I like the permanence of the forum, and that extensive and detailed responses are more practical. It’s a great place to announce and share projects. It’s a good place to share ideas and learn other people’s ideas.

I like the intimacy that discord can offer, the one on one conversations I’ve had with keeners there are some of the best I’ve had and have provided great insight to me as a modder. It’s a great place to get ahold of someone quickly, to get instant feedback, and to really discuss the details of ideas in a conversation like manner, rather than the long ‘letters’ we write each other on the forums.

When it comes to our community, I encourage everyone to try both venues. I’d love to see some of our discord members return to post on the forums once and while, and it’d be great to interact and get to know some of you in a more immediate chat setting.
alexis92
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Re: Forums vs. Discord

Post by alexis92 »

Have to agree with the others here. Forums and Discord aren't as comparable to me as it seems. Forums may be a bit more dated now, and definitely don't qualify as instant messaging, but they're definitely more permanent and long-term and have a stronger sense of community.
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Lava89
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Re: Forums vs. Discord

Post by Lava89 »

Ceilick wrote: Sun May 22, 2022 13:49 I like the permanence of the forum, and that extensive and detailed responses are more practical. It’s a great place to announce and share projects. It’s a good place to share ideas and learn other people’s ideas.

I like the intimacy that discord can offer, the one on one conversations I’ve had with keeners there are some of the best I’ve had and have provided great insight to me as a modder. It’s a great place to get ahold of someone quickly, to get instant feedback, and to really discuss the details of ideas in a conversation like manner, rather than the long ‘letters’ we write each other on the forums.

When it comes to our community, I encourage everyone to try both venues. I’d love to see some of our discord members return to post on the forums once and while, and it’d be great to interact and get to know some of you in a more immediate chat setting.
100% agree with all of this
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Re: Forums vs. Discord

Post by Keening_Product »

I've found so, so much useful info and many friendly communities stumbling on forums via a search engine. Discord isn't just bad for information freedom, it's bad for community discovery.
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