Are single serving websites like this one dying?

[Judodad_karateson]

Are sites that let you make groups and communities killing sites like this? You search for a web community now adays, all you get are these massive conglomerate sites like Facebook and facebook clones. Most sites like this are pretty void of life, say for the Admin and a close nit group of veteran posters.

Thoughts?

[catlike]

I think forums like this still have a very good place for single serve subjects. You can read a thread, look up keywords etc, and see all relevant info without the waffle you get on FB.

I'd pay more attention to someone who posted here than 'social meeja'.

[Lupin1]

I don't know about killing. I've been here almost seven years (has it been that long already?) and the number of new members introducing themselves seems to have stayed steady.

I'm also in a few karate/martial arts groups on Facebook and Reddit and we offer a completely different experience.

Facebook is good, but it doesn't have that tight knit community we get here. It's a lot of people posting funny pictures and memes and not a lot of deeper discussion. You also can't go back and look at past threads as easily. It's not organized for discussion or thought. It's organized for people to see things that make them say "oh that's cool" and move on.

Reddit has some good discussion across the board, but it's not moderated for respectful conversation. The people on reddit are knowledgable, but they're rude and elitist and the moderators don't care (in fact, the rudeness has actually been embraced as part of the site's culture and most people there are proud of it).

So, while a lot of people do frequent those sites, I don't think they're going to be replacing stand alone forums like this any time soon. There's just too much going on on those sites for members to have serious discussions AND form a tight knit, informative, and supportive community.

[DWx]

I don't know about killing. I've been here almost seven years (has it been that long already?) and the number of new members introducing themselves seems to have stayed steady.

I'm also in a few karate/martial arts groups on Facebook and Reddit and we offer a completely different experience.

Facebook is good, but it doesn't have that tight knit community we get here. It's a lot of people posting funny pictures and memes and not a lot of deeper discussion. You also can't go back and look at past threads as easily. It's not organized for discussion or thought. It's organized for people to see things that make them say "oh that's cool" and move on.

Reddit has some good discussion across the board, but it's not moderated for respectful conversation. The people on reddit are knowledgable, but they're rude and elitist and the moderators don't care (in fact, the rudeness has actually been embraced as part of the site's culture and most people there are proud of it).

So, while a lot of people do frequent those sites, I don't think they're going to be replacing stand alone forums like this any time soon. There's just too much going on on those sites for members to have serious discussions AND form a tight knit, informative, and supportive community.

This is it really. Facebook groups and the like cater to a different audience really. They are much more transient and rely on easily consumed (and shared) content. The type of discussion is rarely indepth or sustained over a longer time scale. Web communities like forums like KF on the other hand are slower paced with the amount of new content but I would say the quality of discussion and of individual posts are much higher as is the sense of community.

Not to say one is better than the other. Just that they provide different things.

With regards to Reddit, I think that is another thing again. In my experience it can offer both of the above. The heavily moderated subreddits like /r/askscience or /r/askhistorians tend to have a significantly higher quality of posts where the discussion is more in depth, whereas the lightly moderated more popular subreddits rely on easily consumed content (memes and one-liners). The upvote / downvote system also has a big influence as popular opinions that appeal to the Hive mind quickly gather upvotes adding more weight to that poster's contribution and everything else gets buried.

I'm sure Patrick will chime in with his views, being the expert on this subject.

[Patrick]

Thanks Danielle. That's kind of you to say. Sorry for the extreme delay in chiming in here. I think catlike, Devin and Danielle have all made great points.

One way to think about it is diversification instead of death. What we have now, more than ever before, is choice as far as how we interact online. And that choice is really dictated by what you are trying to do.

When I want to find people who are really passionate and knowledgable about a specific topic, I don't go to Facebook. I usually end up on an online community dedicated to that topic, because that is where the most deeply invested people congregrate. That's where the deepest discussion on the web occurs around that topic. That's where online communities are amazing.

Facebook is amazing in its own way. It's amazing in keeping you connected with individuals. Instagram is an amazing network built upon photography and lifestyle. YouTube is great for video distribution. Twitter is great for keeping connected to individuals, like Facebook, with a little more emphasis on live, e.g. you can talk live with people who are experiencing the same thing you are. So, they all excel in different ways.

To me, this is a great thing. Choices allow us to find what works best for the individual needs that we have. I think online forums and online communities are in a pretty good place right now.

Just my thoughts.

Patrick

Edited October 18, 2016 by Patrick

[Bulltahr]

I'm with Patrick on this one, coming here means I don't have to wade through a bunch of rubbish and dribble to get to the crux of the matter. Alot of those "all in one" sites never seem to provide an actual answer to the original question.

I checked out quite a few "big" sites before I found and settle here. Quality over quantity I guess.

At least somewhere like KF forums it's "All meat no filler" type of site.

As for Reddit, I don't think they have changed the Page format since the 90's!

Osu!