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There was a time when the discussion forums were our social networks. Users visited those that fit a certain topic and created a community, forming a small (or not-so-small) virtual space to meet. But as the world transitioned to newer, flashier platforms, the once-vibrant forums began to fade. The rise of social media, Reddit, and Discord has completely changed the online landscape, leaving behind a growing gap in the kinds of communities once fostered in traditional forums.
The shift was noticeable. No longer did users flock to forums with the same enthusiasm. Instead, platforms like Reddit began offering the same sense of community—albeit with a more streamlined, algorithm-driven experience. As one Hacker News user succinctly put it, “What used to be blogs and forums is now Reddit. Tens of thousands (hundreds of thousands?) of communities that had their own wiki, blog, forum… now they are reduced to being a Subreddit.”
Reddit quickly became the go-to space for niche topics and discourse. It offered real-time interaction with larger audiences, and unlike the rigid structure of forums, it gave users control over the content they saw.
However, the same user warned, “The internet has become fragile. A service falls and everyone suffers.” This fragility highlights a significant issue—the consolidation of online spaces into platforms controlled by a single company. Reddit’s success has certainly changed the landscape, but it’s also brought with it risks that many fail to fully grasp.
One such risk is that discussions are no longer indexed in the same way. When users interact in Reddit or Discord spaces, that content is often locked away within the platform, unlike the forums that once indexed in search engines, making it much harder to find important historical conversations.
Discord has, in many ways, sealed the fate of traditional forums. The 2021 closure of the Eurogamer forum was a pivotal moment that underscored the shift away from forums. The site explained that “the way people communicate has changed, and traditional forums are no longer a popular place for people to come together to talk.” Platforms like Discord, which enable real-time conversations and offer a more interactive experience, appealed to younger audiences who craved instant gratification.
However, unlike forums, which provided the space for thoughtful, delayed responses, Discord’s fast-paced, transient nature lacks the structure and permanence that many valued in the old-school format. As one Reddit user put it, “One of the benefits of the forums is a better conservation of the ‘historic’ conversations.” Forums allowed users to go back to past discussions, revisit ideas, and learn from the ongoing dialogue, whereas Reddit and Discord posts can quickly disappear into obscurity.
Moreover, platforms like Reddit and Discord lack the ability to properly index content for easy searchability. This limitation has resulted in communities having to search for relevant discussions within the platform, which often proves challenging. Despite Discord’s “Forum Channels” attempt to resolve this issue, it still doesn’t replicate the extensive categorization that forums once offered.
There’s something disheartening about this shift—traditional forums, once the heart of niche communities, are disappearing. This is particularly troubling because forums were inherently open, self-regulating, and more accessible. A 2020 report on Reddit’s changing role explained that platforms like Reddit are “self-referential,” with more emphasis on community interaction than discovering new information. As one commenter on Reddit expressed, “The internet has become fragile. A service falls and everyone suffers.”
Reddit and Discord have no doubt revolutionized online engagement, but at what cost? The vast network of traditional forums, once the fertile ground for subcultures and specialized knowledge, seems to be fading into history. We’re left with platforms that prioritize engagement over substance, where the shallow interaction of short-form posts has replaced the deeper, more deliberate exchange once found in forums.
In fact, when we look at the current state of the internet, it feels like a hollow shell of its former self. As noted in The Guardian, “what used to be blogs and forums is now Reddit… the internet has become fragile.” This fragility is concerning, as we rely more heavily on centralized platforms to host our conversations, without fully recognizing the dangers of this consolidation.
The disappearance of forums is not just an aesthetic or functional loss. It reflects a broader shift in how we interact with the internet. As the New York Times reported, Discord’s growth has been exponential, with users jumping from 100 million in June 2020 to 140 million by December 2020.
While this is an impressive statistic, it also paints a concerning picture of the fragmented, monopolized nature of modern internet culture. Unlike traditional forums that indexed discussions for all to access, platforms like Discord and Reddit are closed environments, controlled by a single entity, making it increasingly difficult for users to feel connected to a larger online ecosystem.
And what’s even more worrying is that these platforms, with all their advantages, are still deeply flawed. As Xataka pointed out, the migration to Reddit and Discord is driving the slow extinction of forums, and we’re left wondering if the loss of these spaces means the loss of a broader, more diverse internet.
Forums, once bastions of anonymity and open discourse, are fading from the internet landscape. The rise of Reddit, Discord, and similar platforms has changed the internet’s fabric. As one Hacker News user wisely noted, “If the top 10 services fell most people would think there is no internet at all.” And in many ways, that’s the direction we’re headed.
The worrying thing here is that the general discussion forums as we have seen are dying. And the alternatives are different, but not necessarily better.