Board To Death - RIP Forums

As I am sure you have all noticed message boards are mostly a vestige of the past. Social media seems to have replaced most of them entirely. This great forum soldiers on as do a few others - Bravewords, Metal Archives, etc... but even those boards are very slow now.

So what's going to happen without forums? I assume Facebook is where most discussion takes place now, but Facebook is terrible for archival purposes. You can't easily track down a post on a particular band or topic. Twitter and Instagram are also useless for in depth conversations.

I like forums because they are a little community of like-minded individuals and members become friends over time - even if you never even meet in the real world. Also, you get to know the tastes of a particular poster and sometimes their recommendations match up well with what you like. For instance, I own a bunch of glam but I'm no expert in that genre, but fortunately I know Toho or glassprison will be good for recommendations. I know Boris2008 always has some cool obscure stuff he's spinning. We've got a bunch of thrash fans, doom fans, fans of terrible Italian cinema, fans of southern rock, etc...

I suppose I am just bummed that forums are going the way of the dinosaur.
https://www.sadtrombone.com/

Anybody have any ideas of what's next? Some kind of Google + thing? Ugh.

reddit (/r/metal, /r/progmetal, /r/progrockmusic, /r/jazz, etc.) is the only other good place for music discussion i've found, but it's very impersonal and lacks much of the comradery that you find in places like this. you don't make online-friendships, but you do get to express your opinions unimpeded (and there are usually others who will back you up or argue with you vehemently).

I have made a shitload of real friends on the boards. One is coming from New Jersey to live at my place as of tomorrow, actually. I still have phone calls and online contact with a ton of members that no longer frequent this board or the others. Personally, I like getting drunk and spouting my "real" opinions on the boards. I have probably made more enemies than friends lately, but, oh well. It is a great way to cut out the riff raff that has nothing in common with you.

I currently belong to only three forums - this one, Heavy Harmonies and the Steve Hoffman Music Forums. H.O.M. and H.H. have both experienced a very noticeable drop in activity over the past few years.

SHMF is very active but there are a lot of genres/artists being discussed that don't interest me at all.

...but as long as the lights stay on here, I'll keep hanging around. I mean, shoot, what else am I supposed to do during the day, work?

There are private groups on FB that are somewhat like this but the archiving thing isn't there.

I belong to this forum and Black Sabbath Online and in the last half a year give or take I have noticed a sharp decline in activity - but I will hang out at both till the ships go down.

Nah! Forums will go the same way as vinyl, they will continue to decline until everyone realises that the thing that replaced them isn't very good, then they will make a comeback

That said, I used to be on a few forums for various things and this is the only one I still bother with, I can't be bothered with Facebook, Twatter or any of the new fangled non grumpy old dude stuff.

They said the same thing about CDs, yet they're still here...
It's not as popular as it used to be, but as long as we keep some of our OG characters and Scott keeps renewing the domain, it should be fine.

I'll keep hanging around for sure. 

Even though I don't buy NEARLY as much music now as I did when I joined the forum years ago, I still enjoy learning about new bands or bands I've never heard of.  Even if they're not a band doing music I enjoy I still click on just about every music link that's posted because, hey, you never know. 

I guess it's almost like the way I used to use record store listening posts back in the day.  I "discovered" a ton of bands that way and I've "discovered" a lot of bands here.

I'll be here as long as its here.

I also frequent a couple of Track and Field forums (I'm a junkie) and a couple of N Scale/N Gauge Model Railroading sites.

I think there will always be some niche places for those of us who can't find this outlet in "real" life.

That's why I found these places. No one I know in person wants to talk Metal, Track & Field and Trains at the level I want to...so I go on the line.

Saxon - you'll always be loved. Heck, I'll love you even when you're sober!

I will say, this forum has "helped" me spends $1000s! It's been an expensive experience, but worth it all.

I've been on the Japanese Metal Forum that Painkiller started, who are also making the same complaint. I don't have much else to do, but I agree forums are better.

I'll be here until it closes shop. I used to belong to some other forums but this is the only one I use now. I'm in some of the Facebook music groups but I rarely discuss music on those. I just end up hitting the like button certain posts.

I still post on the Usenet daily, so I'm still super behind the times.

I only post here and the King Diamond site when it comes to music. I've looked for other metal forums, but most of them suck. You can like metal without being a douche, and most metal forums are filled with little punk asshats that think they are gods gift to metal. Not sure what care forums like these have in store for them, but I don't see them being replaced by anything that isn't similar.

Wrecked Neck wrote:

and most metal forums are filled with little punk asshats that think they are gods gift to metal

If it makes you feel any better... most of those guys are just faking it. Reading about obscure stuff online & pretending to be on board. They are actually into the same old shit the rest of the popular world is.

This is the only forum I visit. I'll hang around til they bury it. Haha. Don't use Facebook so this is pretty much it for me. It still feels like home and I like our little community. I know people come and go but in the end it's still like a brotherhood for me.

I'm not on Facebook.

I guess I'll just have to talk to people in real life.

I have only belonged on this board, and this only board I ever felt at home at.

I like some obscure bands but my taste are all over the place, but no that elitist. Even if you don't like the artist I am listening, mostly likely you have at least heard of them.

I tired a few sites, but notice that they either post on bands so obscure that unless you truly are into underground music, you have not heard of them, if you God forbid never heard of them, you are an asshat.

I do not post on here as much, because I cannot log in from work any longer.

I only visit and post on this board regularly. I do visit the stomp Tokyo boards every other week or so, but haven't posted there in a long while. I'll keep going o both sites as long as they're running.

I always make a point to stop in here still. HOM was pretty much the first forum I ever signed up for at 17. It's hard to believe that was almost a decade ago.

i am old so forums are still good for me!

This one Heavy Harmonies and The Corroseum are 3 I visit and post on with regularity.

Used to post on the SLeazeroxx board before it went down and I still write and read the main page there.

This is the only place I post anymore. I used to at Trog's and SD's old places, but haven't in some time. This is as close to anything I use that relates to "social media", so if this goes away, so do I.

In the meantime, I'll keep posting my nonsense since it beats working.

Stender wrote:

I always make a point to stop in here still. HOM was pretty much the first forum I ever signed up for at 17. It's hard to believe that was almost a decade ago.

I remember. In Karl Childers' voice (Sling Blade) You were just a boy.
"
Amazing. I've known many of you longer than most of my "real" world friends.

scottmitchell74 wrote:

Stender wrote:

I always make a point to stop in here still. HOM was pretty much the first forum I ever signed up for at 17. It's hard to believe that was almost a decade ago.

I remember. In Karl Childers' voice (Sling Blade)  You were just a boy.
"
Amazing. I've known many of you longer than most of my "real" world friends.

Haha! Good times back then.

I've been a huge advocate for a HOM board meet up for years now, am I the only one who thinks that would be amazing? UFTA was pretty cool, but not everyone was able to make it from outside the region.