So forums (or ebullient boards if your that old) are they actually any use to the gamer anymore?
The reason I'm going to waffle on this subject is that "back in the day" forums where the place to go for FAQ's new rules down loads and chewing the fat with people who also play the same system.
Best example for me would be mongoose publishing forums, I spent quite a bit of time on them talking about B5, starship troopers and Judge Dredd. I still have friends though that forum and it was a great place to hang out.
However now days I think the forum has seen its day thanks to the dreaded facebook, after all why do I need to long onto a dozen sites when I can fire up face book whilst on the throne and look at what people are chatting about and picture of what they have painted so much easier.
only recently was this reinforced though alien dungeon's forum for all quiet on the martian front, ok so the models and game are yet to arrive but the forums are very slow, and again with the prodos forum they did warzone and AVP once more a slow forum but the facebook group is quite lively.
You do still have some forums that are completely mental and attract a huge amount of interaction, one of many that I can think of would be Lead adventure forum and this covers all manner of systems and types, you still get the odd numpty who shouts the loudest as he thinks X is pants due to X, but I tend to ignore those types.
But its not all about Facebook, you have splintered groups example is the Wild west exodus uk group is separate to the American group and some groups are badly named again the deadzone group being called Containment Protocol DZ fanatics, well thought out if your searching for that!
so I suppose its a double edged sword, but I tend to lean more towards facebook groups as its easier to see whats happening but any FAQ's that are updated some kind soul will normally bang a link up and discussions will go from there the funniest one I saw was the recent aircraft rules for bolt action and yes I did get my popcorn for that one!
anyway what are your thoughts on this?
Web in the 21st century is all about bringing the content to me not going to the content. I think you're bang on the mark about forums.
ReplyDeleteI think forums are dead. Social media is the way forward and unfortunately there isn't much that can do the same job. Just makes comms easier, faster to get the word out etc...
ReplyDeleteI don't think forums are dead. They are far easier to search and navigate (well some are) social media is nice in a way but have you ever tried searching for a photo you one saw in a facebook group? Its not as easy as you think. For instant talking and chatting they are good I'll admit that but I think forums do still have there place.
ReplyDeleteForums still have their place. For faster communication with folks that are active, yeah social media can be good. For getting your own stuff out to an audience, blogs can be a good "here's my home" all in one place. But for going through past info and discussions, and for newer enthusiasts especially forums are still very useful I'd think.
ReplyDeleteso its a 50/50 split so far with good points from both sides of the coin,
ReplyDelete