Do you think internet forums will make a comeback?

[Borealis]

The useful and beloved web forums have been in a very strong decline since smartphones became widespread and internet users got fragmented between many different internet apps and socials, it's a pity because forums were a treasure of knowledge and very helpful communities, reddit is utterly awful (it has been for almost 10 years, nowadays you can't even post, it gets removed in most cases!) and no other app or social network(e.g. telegram) gives you the clear, logical and solid structure of a traditional web forum, so will they make a comeback?

My idea is that in the foreseeable future they won't, old generations switched to other apps and websites and younger generations don't even know what in the hell an internet forum is.

 

[aims]

Certainly. Everything indicates that, in the future, stricter rules will be established on social networks, and the only option will be posting in forums.

 

[Ohana]

I'm part of the younger generation and to me forums are way better than the current social media platforms. If your an artist or like images then there fun but I like reading.

Don't get to read as much on social media platforms. Also unless you know the person in real life then the connections made feel surface level at some point. Especially when deeper discussions aren't as encouraged. I liked reading the comments section the most of social media platforms but comments are meant to be short and sometimes just memes.

I prefer them and forums are a lot more engaging. I haven't felt this engaged in a platform in a while. I think they can make a comeback if more younger people or just people in general get reminded they exist. Its a lot more engaging on a forum that can't be fully recreated on a widespread social media platform because people have their own interests. They're still there and are engaging but its just not the same.

 

[Firetree]

Have you seen how many people have joined WF ... just today !?

 

[Saint]

Have you seen how many people have joined WF ... just today !?

I bet they canceled their Discord nitro subscription and came to hide from ID card/face scan age verification. lol

 

[Aldebaran]

I was thinking about making a post about this... I recently went to an occult message board on what is the most popular social server... wow. I mean just wow. The level of discussion and amount of bad advice I saw there is disheartening. I appreciate this forum even more now.

 

[Thee Nightfool]

Discord has always been trash. Call what's going on lately a "happy little accident" for those who are serious about discussion.

 

[Asteriskos]

I bet they canceled their Discord nitro subscription and came to hide from ID card/face scan age verification. lol

That's some "intrusive" stuff there you mention! Who wouldn't want to get away from that?

Post automatically merged: Feb 16, 2026

The useful and beloved web forums have been in a very strong decline since smartphones became widespread

I can't imagine anyone who's only internet access is a smart phone, yet increasingly that seems to be standard for many young people today.
Anything less that a "large" tablet or preferably a "large" laptop is doing it the hard way IMO. I'm an engineer and I have a Lot of Tech, so I guess I've been spoiled for some time now. Further more a 26" HDMI monitor and full size "clicky" keyboard are nice. I control cameras and microphones; not the other way around. I think the prevalence of "small" screens can be handy in the "field", but it would SUCK for enjoying a Forum, so yeah unfortunately that's a factor in the decline and fall of the "forum", per se!

Post automatically merged: Feb 16, 2026

There's some pretty cool forum software available, much open source and freely available. What puzzles me is the seeming lack of individuals that can take that and run with it. Of course, setting it up, hosting it, and maintaining it are the other parts of the equation that complicate new forums starting up, still, it can't be That Daunting!

Post automatically merged: Feb 16, 2026

I don't think "forums" per se will suddenly "come back" from the present position that I see, for a number of reasons. I've seen "some" interesting "Blogs" that the author can enable comments for those who want to communicate, sadly really good ones aren't real common. As far as new forums go; the tools and tech are there for those that really want to make it happen, to me it really is that simple, IMO, everyone's got one!

 

[Morell]

I can't imagine anyone who's only internet access is a smart phone, yet increasingly that seems to be standard for many young people today.
Anything less that a "large" tablet or preferably a "large" laptop is doing it the hard way IMO. I'm an engineer and I have a Lot of Tech, so I guess I've been spoiled for some time now. Further more a 26" HDMI monitor and full size "clicky" keyboard are nice. I control cameras and microphones; not the other way around. I think the prevalence of "small" screens can be handy in the "field", but it would SUCK for enjoying a Forum, so yeah unfortunately that's a factor in the decline and fall of the "forum", per se!

Agreed. When on travel, I don't carry notebook with me anymore, but only because I bought a BT keyboard and paired it with my phone to allow me to write long texts. Touchscreen is anti-long text technology. F* it. I script videos on that device and want to write books too, you need keyboard for that to be effective.

Forums won't get new high. Everyone is used to the videos way more than to writing and since they come using phones, forums with long texts are difficult for young ones to process. I found pleasure in books only after I left school and it stopped being pushed down my throat, honestly. And that was different generation. Fortunately that is also generalizing and there will always be people who want to read and share more in depth convo.

But miracle like the new huge popularity won't happen. WizardForums is already a miracle, to be honest.

 

[Gatherer]

Personally, I am very grateful for this Forum. It makes information so much more organised than social media or Discord. Especially for a N00b like me. I hope there is a resurgence or at least places like this continue to thrive.

 

[Robert Ramsay]

Discord is great if you want to chat to people. Useless if you actually want to follow a conversation with more than three people in it.

 

[Primal]

Forums are great. You can be anonymous and find very useful information there. Social media is too personal in my opinion. Why on Earth did Facebook employees want to see my ID to unlock a profile? So, as Instagram. So many privacy concerns. Selfie is fine, but ID...?

 

[AlfrunGrima]

I will not take part in Facebook groups because of privacy concerns.

But, it needs to be said, not all forums are quality forums. Wizzard Forum is high quality! After a few years I can say that it is my online occult home and absolutely worth to invest in it. Home is were the heart is.

 

[Thee Nightfool]

I will not take part in Facebook groups because of privacy concerns.

But how will you take part in Jason Miller/Jack Grayle classes (on the EXACT SAME GODDESS) if you don't fuck around in Facebook groups! The horror!

 

[AlfrunGrima]

But how will you take part in Jason Miller/Jack Grayle classes (on the EXACT SAME GODDESS) if you don't fuck around in Facebook groups! The horror!

LOL, not... I don't take part in classes.

 

[Saint]

Discord is great if you want to chat to people. Useless if you actually want to follow a conversation with more than three people in it.

One of the greatest reasons why I prefer Forums over Discord, when it comes to deep, high quality conversations with a manageable pace and enough time to think about an appropriate response.

Some would say and yes, 'you can always read back, and answer later', but that's not the same and even then, there's a chance the response (or answer) will get spammed away with short, few wor long answers or literal talk-overs, random stuffs.

The other issue I noticed is when people get use to the 'quick burning' conversations, they subconsciously decrease their time spent on thinking, the depth of what they deliver, their sense of expressing themselves becomes hasty, irresponsible, undemanding when engaging, and it can ruin a meaningful conversation to me.

 

[AlfrunGrima]

The other issue I noticed is when people get use to the 'quick burning' conversations, they subconsciously decrease their time spent on thinking, the depth of what they deliver,

Yes, I highly agree with this observation. And the thing is, when talking about the occult/esoteric things in life, that this downgrades conversations. Responses go less deeper, I can feel literally lesser engagement and conversations aren't worth to return. Good conversations are worth it re-read them every once or a while and I discover by then new things in it that I didn't noticed before.

 

[misterqar]

I'd like to believe forums will make a comeback, but I doubt it. The culture has shifted. Visual media is now more powerful than textual media, and that won't change.

 

[Rusty64]

The useful and beloved web forums have been in a very strong decline since smartphones became widespread

I feel that this is the big determining point. An honestly over looked one. I am only 20 so I'm newer to the internet but I feel I saw the dying breath of the internet without big social media, got online around 2013. But seeing that has led me to develop an interest in "internet history" around 2015-2016 there was a clear shift in internet traffic being from nerds with computers to being spammed by old people and literal toddlers on ipads.

I can't imagine anyone who's only internet access is a smart phone, yet increasingly that seems to be standard for many young people today.

This so odd to me, I couldn't imagine trying to get a job/doing taxes/any kind of digital paperwork without a desktop computer. At college basically everyone has a laptop by necessity, But I have friends and co workers who only have phones and I don't get how they do it.

I bet they canceled their Discord nitro subscription and came to hide from ID card/face scan age verification. lol

Discord was useful at least at the time, A direct upgrade from texting and a convenient place to gather groups of people, most people I talk to online I know in person so it wasn't like I was dealing with shitty moderators and server drama (except once but even than it was a sever of people I knew) But as a "forum replacement" its not a good options. and now with the face ID stuff I need to find a new service to talk to friends and make event groups. Another big thing is how they choked the file upload size. That pissed me off and I'm not paying for fucking nitro so its about time I let go of it anyways.
I Sadly don't think that privacy issues will be a very big issue for most pople, but what I do think might drive people towards fourms and blogs is the amount of AI on other platforms so blogs made by individuals and forums where they get no monetary benefit form spamming bad posts. thats atleast my hope for what will drive pople to these platfourms.