There is so much quality information on Forums from the last 20+ years... can forums make a comeback?

What other forums are you guys involved in?

Three of mine lately are:

Ls1tech.com
Thirdgen.org
Theamcforum.com

All three are somewhat active. What forums are active for you guys?

 

In my opinion, they're going to continue to lose popularity but not go away entirely. The general instant gratification culture of the newest generation doesn't mix well with established forums. People on forums tend to be frustrated by brand new people hopping on and asking a question thats been covered a million times (or worse is already in a sticky / FAQ) and will generally flame the new user.

FB groups (and similar) don't seem to be as harsh on these kind of people - there might be a few members complain when it happens, but there seems to be an equal number of people that respond with the answer so the OP gets what they wanted anyways - instant info without any work on their part.

I've left a few FB groups because I just couldn't stand repeated questions every day about the same thing because people are too lazy to spend even a minute searching.

As for what groups I frequent in order of most to least frequent:
-here
-ls1gto
-corvette forum
-ls1tech
-3800pro
-ford edge forum (for my wife's maintenance crazy Edge)
-the Chicago garage (3800 stuff from the Midwest)

 

I've experienced a little different, I feel like people get the same treatment on Facebook with repetitive questions.

Good to see some of those 3800 forums are still available. I might consider joining the Chicago garage, I don't do any v6 stuff anymore, but some local car forums would be nice.

I do feel like a lot of people are getting sick of the regulation and restriction that Facebook is putting on their comments and posts and such.

 

I suppose it depends on the group. I'm on a pretty wide variety of groups on FB and the temperament of the members definitely varies from one to the next.

I think part of the reason for my thought is that the newer generations seem more obsessed with social media platforms vs traditional web forums for discussion since its the trendy thing to do. As that population becomes a bigger % of the community, I think it'll continue to draw folks away from message boards just due to volume of users.

Personally I'm already probably 50/50 in terms of time spent reading up on hobbies between FB groups and message boards from probably 10/90 just 5 years ago - and I don't even get on any social media platforms besides FB.

I will say the one downside is its definitely a different environment than it was back in the prime days of the 3800. Fewer and fewer real builds & new innovation, lots more discussion on repair just to keep the cars on the road. Just a natural progression of a platform I guess. Personally I don't enjoy auto repair, so its a negative trend from my view.

I still enjoy browsing once and awhile though just to see whats going on.

I agree, some of the stuff has become pretty ridiculous. IMO its a matter of time before for people start moving to a new platform because of it. If I had to guess, I'd say the 2A groups will likely lead the migration as IMO they seem to be one of the hardest hit in terms of getting zucked.

 

I would love forums to make a comeback, but Facebook groups and forums not being super mobile friendly did really hurt things these past few years.

I pretty much just am here, camaro5, and a buickforum

 

I see a growing number of people who are increasingly frustrated with Facebook. With their algorithm and ever expanding censorship, and presence into our lives. With them buying up more and more social media sites.
But most people want or need instant answers now on how to keep the Montes going. Since they're already on Facebook for other stuff, they just ask the question there and wait for a notification of an answer while doing other non-Monte stuff.

I see a lot of people get frustrated with repetitive questions on Facebook too. In some groups the same question gets asked every few days. But that's because discussions are not as easily organized and searchable as a forum.

I agree. Forums have never been super mobile friendly. Which really hurt the popularity of them.

Another thing I think kinda hurts forums like this is simply words. Having to read and type words. People don't want to have to type out a message, or have to try to read people's sometimes horrible spelling and grammar.

People don't want to read a message more than a couple sentences. We just skip over it. "Too long -- didn't read".

More and more people would rather a tiktok style. Post a quick 1 minute video of their question, and wait for people to respond. No typing or reading long posts required. Kinda goes back to the idea of instant gratification.

Case in point... this post. I spaced it out like this because I tend to get wordy and long winded. ​​​​​​​

 

Come back, internet from 10-15 years ago. We miss you! Dont forget about Discord. Another "instant answer" platform.

Personally, I refuse to use facebook. Never signed up and wont allow my kids near it. Same with tiktok and the others. I let my oldest use my Discord account but thats strictly used to get help for the couple games we play. Assetto Corsa/Beam/other sims.

Id prefer forums over all this newer stuff but it seems im in the minority with that desire.

I do love the RaceDepartment forums tho. One of the few "community" based forums left.

Idk, just my thoughts on the subject.

 

Obviously I am hear. I still have accounts (but have not used them in forever) on GrantAmGT.com, PontiacBonnevilleClub.com and Thirdgen.org. Not sure what other places still exist that I had accounts on (like ClubGP.com went away).

FB vs Forums there are pros and cons, much have been mentioned.
FB is great for mobile use and instant sharing of pics and video and reaches a large audience on ONE common app that is tailored to work on multiple platforms (PC, iOS, Android). But, I feel FB is horrible for searching old information and organizing threads. So good information is easily lost.
On the flip side, forums have improved getting video and pics. Used to be best to use 3rd party sites like PhotoBucket to host pics (and PhotoBucket eventually did what I suspected they would do, lure you in with all these free benefits and then BAM add a subscription fee). The down side to this old practice, people cleaned out their accounts and it removed pics from forums everywhere making great information near useless. But now, most forums have so much available storage and improved uploading practices, this is now a non-issue (keep in mind, forums do pre-date FB by a LONG shot, so there is an evolution to consider). But, with good admins and moderators, strategies can be created to help keep information somewhat organized and forums have search tools that are way better than anything on FB.

Being serious about a hobby beyond wanting to post pics and video (have actual conversation), I personally prefer forums.

Common problems with FB and Forums alike are the people. First, yes, bad sentence structures. I have seen some that I just won't read because I am not an English teacher and I don't have to make sense of it. My pet peeve is some people clearly never had to do a research paper. You have the Internet, the greatest source of information that you can get right this minute. Instead of using a "search engine", like google or yahoo, people will post on a forum or FB and ask the audience . I just don't understand it. If you ask the audience, you have to WAIT for a reply. If you ask a search engine, answers galore to read. I am fine if someone did some research and needed MORE information and cannot find an answer. But how many times have we seen "I got this car with a 3800. What do I need to do to add a Supercharger to it" or "I just got this car, what mods can I do to it". I am a Gen-X person, I was in High School and some teachers did not allow use of the Internet for sources to research papers. When I see someone that is 10 years younger than me and they appear to not understand how to use a search engine for instant answers, I start to wonder why, as they were raised with this technology more than I was.

And I just did the popular "oops". LONG replies lol.

 

This is the only forum I visit somewhat regularly.

 

Common problems with FB and Forums alike are the people. First, yes, bad sentence structures. I have seen some that I just won't read because I am not an English teacher and I don't have to make sense of it. My pet peeve is some people clearly never had to do a research paper. You have the Internet, the greatest source of information that you can get right this minute. Instead of using a "search engine", like google or yahoo, people will post on a forum or FB and ask the audience . I just don't understand it. If you ask the audience, you have to WAIT for a reply. If you ask a search engine, answers galore to read. I am fine if someone did some research and needed MORE information and cannot find an answer. But how many times have we seen "I got this car with a 3800. What do I need to do to add a Supercharger to it" or "I just got this car, what mods can I do to it". I am a Gen-X person, I was in High School and some teachers did not allow use of the Internet for sources to research papers. When I see someone that is 10 years younger than me and they appear to not understand how to use a search engine for instant answers, I start to wonder why, as they were raised with this technology more than I was.

I am on the Chevrolet forum sometimes, The Blazer forum, and the MC Forum here.
I agree with the Research that you are speaking of. Back when I did some research for some college work I went to the Library went thru all the encyclopedias and found the stuff I needed and checked them out did the paper and referenced my research. Prior to retirement I had to write grants for disasters and I had to do the research in the CFR. So I am in a meeting I was the one on the floor doing it too and it's out on the East-coast the folks were asking me weather something was eligible for a claim. This can be disastrous if you make a comment about it. Fortunately for me I had a whole box of CFR's and I handed them out and referred to the chapter and paragraph and we all looked it up together. Ha then I asked for a volunteer to read it.
So then I had a team that helped write the grants and I had to review them before turning them in for another review.
Then I got yelled at if I missed something.
So many times I read something on FB and I am thinking to my self ( you were sleeping all through Mrs. Anderson's English class in HS and you did that every semester?!?! Haha
You should have to pass an English test before you are allowed to post on FB. and maybe an American History test before you get a drivers license. Haha.
Sometimes the things that are asked are just a little to much comedy. But the other day I stopped to talked to this kid that had an older Oldsmobile that was similar to the one I had, he said his Grandpa got it for him, so I was asking him some ?????? about the Car and he had no clue, no clue at all.

I have been chastised about not giving an answer and instead finding the article that covers the ??? and giving a link.
So now I can clearly see why someone would pour Flex Seal into the engine crank case because it will fix the problem. Great for instant Head gaskets Haha One of you guys out there has a sense of humor and you actually gave the advice that I was thinking about giving to this Inane individual. Shame on you! Lol