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Chimaera
03-04-2009, 02:29 PM
Hi all
I haven’t done a rant in a while so i thought it would be time for another. ;o)

The State Of Forums Today [My Thoughts On Our Internet World Today]

What would you say is the state of forums today?
Please bear in mind I’m talking primarily from a warez background in this post

Me personally I think they are slowly dying, and I shall try to explain why and see if we can stimulate debate on the subject.

Many will not agree, and some may be a bit shocked that they hadn’t considered it which is all to the good, and some will dismiss it out of hand.

In my opinion forums today suffer from the worst of the human condition, aka apathy.
I have been a member of, and worked on forums, for many many years and i have observed many attempts to bring a forum back to life.

Information used to be a valuable commodity, a download for e.g. of a game required seriously talented people that went out of their way to crack the game so that other could use it, many hours of work went into doing this and then uploading it so we could download it at a miserable speed until we had it.
And it was an achievement to get it and then even for it to work.

The vast invisible network which we couldn’t see, or even comprehend worked away behind the scenes where we oblivious to it.

Now as the years progressed then forums started to appear that had links that had downloads, what a thing this was when it started, organised places with all the files we desired. No longer hours and hours of scouring ftp links to find our downloads, which to be fair was a drag but it was all we knew.
Now then a peculiar thing happened; forum software evolved which made communication possible within the forum again a fantastic thing, initially it wasn’t easy and defiantly not smooth, but forums began to develop rapidly to keep peace with the ideas from the people that used them.
And so the community was born and the massive development of forums began, often with the user ideas implemented directly into the forums.

Which the next evolvement happened, forums became sectioned from each other i.e. 1st forum did warez, 2nd one did pics, 3rd did games, this is an inevitable thing that had to happen as no one forum can do everything although many try, even to this day

What I think was one of the biggest problems at this time, was people came to believe that their forum was better than someone else’s even though they probably had very similar files for download, now we had many forums that were kicked to the kerb due to this idea taking hold with the community’s in the forums, some because it was their natural time in the life of a forum others through misdeeds from people who masqueraded as friends and defiantly weren’t (and I saw plenty of that over the years).

So after this had gone on for a while we started to see a surge of competition which is good in any environment finding warez and things for a forum became an important thing, which was in my opinion the second of the nails in the coffin for forums as a whole (1st being the elitist view).As this progressed, it became too important and the community as a whole became a lesser thing, which is the start of the slope to where we are today.

Now I’m not foolish to imagine my view is universal but we shall continue, you’ll get your chance at the end.

Anyway, as the years progressed people that could upload and hold files for others became gods (in a general sense) and the view of the people became firmly fixed on getting people who can raise the profile of a given forum, and poaching people and stuff from other sites became rife for a while.
Now there were a lot of other mistakes made as well like promoting friends to mods, and giving status to the wrong people, who fell into the power hungry dictator role which caused over the net in general, thousands of people became disgruntled with forums in general.

Now this had a good effect because these people started their own forums and tried to do things from a sensible business minded premise and their forums began to work as the community started to surface again because things were being done from a community view, don’t get me wrong forums have to have rules but more importantly they have to follow them.

So we have arrived at the modern day and what would we say are the problems now?

1] People take forums for granted
2] Nobody except a faithful few can be bothered to help out
3] Stuff is too easy to get, which causes no 4
4] People don’t have respect for the hackers and crackers that provide the things you need
5] People can’t be bothered to be involved in a community [until the keys change]
6] People in general are downright rude and ignorant when they want something
7] People think everything should be for nothing

Don’t misunderstand I’m not knocking the good work many hundreds of people do on the forums around the world, because if you are truly honest with yourself would this forum still be here without the help of the people that give their time for nothing?

The answer for the brain-dead is NO

Imagine a situation where there was a file needed and only the selected few had it and weren’t allowed to give it out, imagine how much kicking off on the forums there would be, it would be mental

So how would we fix this situation?

1] Be nice to people in your life not just on here.
2] If someone does something nice for you [grow a pair] and say thank you.
3] Don’t take take, give something back, be a part of your community, you might find a piece of info that someone may need, but you won’t know that unless you post it.
4] I know people have busy lives but try and do something on here once a week, even if it means chat to someone in the shoutbox.
5] Make suggestions how to improve the forum, you may have a thought that none of us have thought off that might take the forum in a new direction.
6-20] Get Involved, because if you dont eventually the forum and this applies to all forums will fail, because its the community as a whole that make the forum what it is, and like it or not YOU are a part of a community

This post is hopefully a wakeup call for those that are bothered to read it, because i truly believe in time and it may be years or it could be months a lot of forums are gonna dissapear as the community's in them dissolve gradually through the many things outlined in this post

Btw im not saying that Wod is shutting just that it may happen

Try your best to help, it maybe your last chance...

Chimaera

Collider
03-04-2009, 03:14 PM
Well i for one always seed over 100% on torrents and i dont ask for nothing in return for helping people.

worst thing i hate is flaming,just think people that do it spend to much time on there computers.

berley
03-04-2009, 04:44 PM
what a really interesting post chim, i know you told me you were writing an essay but i didn't think it would be this long lol

on the whole i agree with everything you've said, apart from possibly point number 6, the minority always stay around and help and without their help the majority would suffer as a consequence

1] People take forums for granted
2] Nobody except a faithful few can be bothered to help out
3] Stuff is too easy to get, which causes no 4
4] People don?t have respect for the hackers and crackers that provide the things you need
5] People can?t be bothered to be involved in a community [until the keys change]
6] People in general are downright rude and ignorant when they want something
7] People think everything should be for nothing

i know you are talking about forums in general but i liked this point you raised

5] Make suggestions how to improve the forum, you may have a thought that none of us have thought off that might take the forum in a new direction.

and would hope if anyone here does have any thoughts or ideas they would like to see implemented on wod, that they would post either here or in forum suggestions section

Chimaera
03-04-2009, 04:55 PM
Well i for one always seed over 100% on torrents and i dont ask for nothing in return for helping people.

worst thing i hate is flaming,just think people that do it spend to much time on there computers.

This is not about how much you share col, the fact that you do something sets you apart from the others straight away.
No one has to do anything, but im pointing out the choices if people dont do something


what a really interesting post chim, i know you told me you were writing an essay but i didn't think it would be this long lol
on the whole i agree with everything you've said, apart from possibly point number 6, the minority always stay around and help and without their help the majority would suffer as a consequence
1] People take forums for granted
2] Nobody except a faithful few can be bothered to help out
3] Stuff is too easy to get, which causes no 4
4] People don?t have respect for the hackers and crackers that provide the things you need
5] People can?t be bothered to be involved in a community [until the keys change]
6] People in general are downright rude and ignorant when they want something
7] People think everything should be for nothing
i know you are talking about forums in general but i liked this point you raised
5] Make suggestions how to improve the forum, you may have a thought that none of us have thought off that might take the forum in a new direction.
and would hope if anyone here does have any thoughts or ideas they would like to see implemented on wod, that they would post either here or in forum suggestions section

If it ends up with loads of suggestions and offers for the forum berley then we all win dont you think

berley
03-04-2009, 04:58 PM
If it ends up with loads of suggestions and offers for the forum berley then we all win dont you think

yea we sure do, this is a community forum and if peeps have an idea that they think would be good for the forum then i would hope they would post :zoom:

Gazer
12-05-2009, 01:09 PM
Sorry only just seen this Thread..........but i think you hit the nail on the head there Chimaera......these days forums are not busy at all, and they stay that way untill somethink happens like a key code change, and then you get everyone hitting all the forums untill they get what they want, and then you donot see them again untill the next time.....and i dont think you can change that these days, its the way we as members have gone, and like you say alot of forums will call it a day as time goes on.

Lainie
13-05-2009, 01:30 PM
i will give my opinion although it might not be very popular and its not a dig at any individual. i feel mods/admin should lead by example and show an interest in the forum they are privileged to moderate on. i feel if they cant be bothered why should i etc. i only joined forums for some banter and a bit of help here and there. i personally dont like shoutboxes on forums as i feel it forms cliques and its the same old same old. i have noticed on several forums that the active members in shoutboxes go on to become moderators. then when they do become mods they back off as if they have achieved their goal. i love this forum and i always have. i have always been made to feel welcome etc and i try and post topics for anyone to join in. i cannot make people post in them and i do notice the people that do bother to reply to posts i have made and that speaks volumes for me im afraid. i have not formed the friendships that others have and sadly dont feel i ever will as i have been here for 3 yrs now. there are a couple of peeps that pm me and occasionally speak on msn but thats about it really.

the thanks button is overly used on here as well i think. that is another thing i notice as it shows who likes your post and who doesnt etc. some people have nearly as many thanks as they have posts!!! (me included)

other forums are flying at the moment and maybe that should be looked at etc. if i dont feel my posts here are worthwhile (and recently i havent) i will go elsewhere where others will input into threads i create.

Chimaera
13-05-2009, 01:53 PM
i will give my opinion although it might not be very popular and its not a dig at any individual. i feel mods/admin should lead by example and show an interest in the forum they are privileged to moderate on. i feel if they cant be bothered why should i etc. i only joined forums for some banter and a bit of help here and there. i personally dont like shoutboxes on forums as i feel it forms cliques and its the same old same old. i have noticed on several forums that the active members in shoutboxes go on to become moderators. then when they do become mods they back off as if they have achieved their goal. i love this forum and i always have. i have always been made to feel welcome etc and i try and post topics for anyone to join in. i cannot make people post in them and i do notice the people that do bother to reply to posts i have made and that speaks volumes for me im afraid. i have not formed the friendships that others have and sadly dont feel i ever will as i have been here for 3 yrs now. there are a couple of peeps that pm me and occasionally speak on msn but thats about it really.
other forums are flying at the moment and maybe that should be looked at etc. if i dont feel my posts here are worthwhile (and recently i havent) i will go elsewhere where others will input into threads i create.

Couple of thoughts on this lainie

Mods admins in the majority do feel priveledged to do the job, but as with any thing in life we do it does get a bit same old same old after a long while.

many mods on here are always hanging around just in case.

shoutboxes are both good and bad it creates begging on one side of the coin, and pestering for info.

and on the good side it gives access to knowledge or where to find it, sometimes it does create a community within a community

take me for eg my world is warez not cable, so i confine myself to the shoutbox in the main because thats the best thing i could do on here to help as i dont know nufink ;o)

but the one that i really hate is when i do a tutorial or assemble a load of programs or whatever the theme i have spent a lot of time for the benifit of the forum and not one person says thx, that really gets up my nose.
and prob always will

but most just take take take

thats life i guess, but it dosent make you want to get involved though

Collider
13-05-2009, 03:53 PM
I do agree with the thanks button getting abused though,have seen people thanked for saying hello and have also seen people pretty much asking to be thnaked for a post.

Good idea in general but can be a bit biased also

Lainie
13-05-2009, 03:56 PM
i wish i had the answer to get people back on. the only thing i really need from the net is a good reliable place for rapidshare links. id like a medical section but know thats been mentioned before same as holiday section but prob wont happen.

DessertDog
13-05-2009, 04:51 PM
i wish i had the answer to get people back on. the only thing i really need from the net is a good reliable place for rapidshare links. id like a medical section but know thats been mentioned before same as holiday section but prob wont happen.Sounds interesting what would it be used for Holiday Snaps/comments on holiday places ? I like the idea mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Chimaera
13-05-2009, 05:01 PM
i wish i had the answer to get people back on.

I dont think there is an answer lainie

I think people have to change before it will change

Lainie
13-05-2009, 05:19 PM
whatever people wanted dd. i for one would appreciate reviews on good hotels, pubs etc in places people have went on holiday. same goes for places to avoid. i have suggested it before but nothing happened. im not meaning abroad im meaning anywhere home or away, hotels, apartments, caravans whatever.
i like to know a bit about a resort/place before i book and when you google the name of a hotel or apartment you get a bloody minefield of info that takes you weeks to read!!

DessertDog
13-05-2009, 06:00 PM
whatever people wanted dd. i for one would appreciate reviews on good hotels, pubs etc in places people have went on holiday. same goes for places to avoid. i have suggested it before but nothing happened. im not meaning abroad im meaning anywhere home or away, hotels, apartments, caravans whatever.
i like to know a bit about a resort/place before i book and when you google the name of a hotel or apartment you get a bloody minefield of info that takes you weeks to read!!
Yep i agree it would be very usefull.
Make a post and i for one will back it

Diablo13
21-05-2009, 10:28 PM
I have not been very active on here for a couple of weeks, for various reasons, among which was no internet access.
In that couple of weeks there should normally have been hundreds of new posts to browse through, there wasn't! It seems very quiet on this forum lately. Not many people post threads for discussion, just short posts stating an opinion.
The shoutbox used to be very lively with many contributors just relaxing and having a laugh until maybe 1 am and always till 11pm. Lately when I look in late even the shoutbox shows no users and the last post may have been at 8pm?
Has television suddenly become so good that we have to watch it all the time and not record it? Well not that I have noticed.

A great many of us are feeling the economic depression. Shops are closing, pensions are not safe, we have proof that our government is robbing us blind, we are in a big hole, which is rapidly filling up with ****e and are unable to climb out! The great depression is upon us and all that is missing is an Al Capone to make Britain the America of the 1930's.
During their depression they had; boatloads of immigrants, very little work, no legal alcohol and the only people making money and running the country were the gangsters. Does'nt that sound familiar? We have too many immigrants for too few jobs, and getting fewer. Food and energy prices shot up and are'nt coming down again. Our government sits on it's fat cat ar$e and fakes smiles for the camera, while lying to us that things will get better, so we keep them in office to get as much as they can out of the system before they retire to somewhere peaceful.

No I haven't gone off topic, we were talking about the state of forums today. The country if not the world is in a state and the little people are getting crushed by worry, which leads to apathy. If everything you try to do for the best turns to crap, then you might as well not bother! I know we should try to make an effort and talk over our problems, if not to friends, then on forums. But who wants to ask a depressing question only to get a depressing answer from other people in the same boat?
The only way to survive nowadays is to work a fiddle somewhere or you get nothing. The trouble is all the fiddles are done by the well off, as a sort of sport, all the while persecuting the men and women in the street for producing too much rubbish, or using too much electricity, and making sure there are no free film downloads or copied dvd's. Work sleep and bed, with a bit of bloody come dancing for entertainment will get anybody down, we might as well have the Roman amphitheater's back for entertainment, complete with lions, to keep the population from uprising!

In such a climate of black despair, is there any wonder people don't use forums as much, unless there is something in it for them? I don't count myself out of this either, I am getting to the stage where I just wish the world would bugger off and leave me alone and let me do as much or as little as I feel like because there is just no reward in effort these days!

Chimaera
21-05-2009, 11:03 PM
In that couple of weeks there should normally have been hundreds of new posts to browse through, there wasn't! It seems very quiet on this forum lately. Not many people post threads for discussion, just short posts stating an opinion.

Very true i spend a lot of time hanging around and there is very little happening



The shoutbox used to be very lively with many contributors just relaxing and having a laugh until maybe 1 am and always till 11pm. Lately when I look in late even the shoutbox shows no users and the last post may have been at 8pm?

I often see my morning afternoon and evening posts all in one session on the shoutbox



Has television suddenly become so good that we have to watch it all the time and not record it? Well not that I have noticed.
Lol I doubt it



A great many of us are feeling the economic depression. Shops are closing, pensions are not safe, we have proof that our government is robbing us blind, we are in a big hole, which is rapidly filling up with ****e and are unable to climb out! The great depression is upon us and all that is missing is an Al Capone to make Britain the America of the 1930's.
During their depression they had; boatloads of immigrants, very little work, no legal alcohol and the only people making money and running the country were the gangsters. Does'nt that sound familiar? We have too many immigrants for too few jobs, and getting fewer. Food and energy prices shot up and are'nt coming down again. Our government sits on it's fat cat ar$e and fakes smiles for the camera, while lying to us that things will get better, so we keep them in office to get as much as they can out of the system before they retire to somewhere peaceful.

Yes we are all feeling the pinch which isnt helped with the robbing ba##ards at the top ripping us a new one every time we turn around



No I haven't gone off topic, we were talking about the state of forums today. The country if not the world is in a state and the little people are getting crushed by worry, which leads to apathy. If everything you try to do for the best turns to crap, then you might as well not bother! I know we should try to make an effort and talk over our problems, if not to friends, then on forums. But who wants to ask a depressing question only to get a depressing answer from other people in the same boat?

Even though times are sh1t have faith my friend the only one you need to have faith in is yourself things will recover, not soon admitidly, i live on the breadline but lifes ok and i keep busy as best i can and just keep my chin up. no point being any other way



The only way to survive nowadays is to work a fiddle somewhere or you get nothing. The trouble is all the fiddles are done by the well off, as a sort of sport, all the while persecuting the men and women in the street for producing too much rubbish, or using too much electricity, and making sure there are no free film downloads or copied dvd's. Work sleep and bed, with a bit of bloody come dancing for entertainment will get anybody down, we might as well have the Roman amphitheater's back for entertainment, complete with lions, to keep the population from uprising!

Fiddles is something i have always had a problem with, it seems the only people that do well are the crooks, but if i even looked at doing a bit of fiddle id be banged up before you could say wod



In such a climate of black despair, is there any wonder people don't use forums as much, unless there is something in it for them? I don't count myself out of this either, I am getting to the stage where I just wish the world would bugger off and leave me alone and let me do as much or as little as I feel like because there is just no reward in effort these days!

Actually the decline in forums started many months/years ago and we are starting to see the decline now.

there is something in it for them m8 free downloads

Well we could bugger off but i would rather say if you need a chat just gimme a shout, ill tell you not to be so down...what you do with what i tell you is down to you ;o)

Diablo13
22-05-2009, 02:28 AM
Thanks for taking the time to read my long ramble Chimaera.
Yes I have been a bit down lately, some of it is to do with health problems though, pain and an eternity waiting for specialists appointments don't tend to do a lot for my sunny disposition.
Maybe because I use this forum mainly and it was always buzzing, I seem to detect a massive slowdown in posting or interest here somehow? Maybe a lot of people are still ofline from all the cloned modems that were hit recently and cannot afford to pay for fast broadband to come on as much?
I know whats wrong with me, I'm an old wreck, :lol: and I have been letting some things get on top of me a bit.
My therapy is to have a good old rant like you just read. A forum is worth it's weight in gold for that.
Maybe I can spark a bit of interest in discussing my post and slow descent into insanity? :mumbles: Who knows.

Lainie
30-05-2009, 10:34 PM
i logged on tonight for the first time in 17 days and there were only 700 new posts. that is so so sad.