Poll of the Day > I used to think that Reddit killed forums

(+) Yeah! (+)

When I think the reality is that Discord killed forums.
Also sad that I will never belong to the PotD discord. Not sure if that matters or not.

It doesn't. By my understanding Jen made it but more importantly any Discord sever means nothing. I mean you could always make your own anyway and invite folk.

Its not a PotD discord tho

PK_Spam posted...

Its not a PotD discord tho

True. Just Jens inner circle it seems.

Cliques always make me feel envious tbh.

PK_Spam posted...

Its not a PotD discord tho

Yeah it's evolved much further away from potd

Like one of the mods doesn't even have a PotD account and has never posted here

And anyone could have made it from the fb group it just happened to be me. It's not "my" discord. I really don't understand why it's always framed as a PotD discord that I gatekeep. We barely talk about potd or gamefaqs

I'm not sure why you think it's an Official PotD Discord.

Was tinychat also an official PotD event?

Wait, there is a PotD discord channel!?

or is it code for something? like we're all gonna meet at the "discord channel"

Jen0125 posted...

Like one of the mods doesn't even have a PotD account and has never posted here

And anyone could have made it from the fb group it just happened to be me. It's not "my" discord. I really don't understand why it's always framed as a PotD discord that I gatekeep. We barely talk about potd or gamefaqs

Yea that makes sense.
The discord I post in was an offshoot of the PC Board's Steam chat and isn't related to GameFAQs anymore.

Yeah it's basically a friend group discord and most of us know each other from here but it's not for potd

These boards started dying long before that. I think the large selection of platforms, as well as, more interactive options such as Twitch, YT and the aforementioned Discord are the main culprits.

Fun fact: Gamefaqs used to have chat, probably before some of you were born o_O

Neither Discord nor Reddit killed the forums. That was more the shift to social media.

Judgmenl posted...

When I think the reality is that Discord killed forums.

Forums were dying long before Discord existed.

And considering that both Reddit and Twitter are more active and popular than Discord, it's not even as if Discord is the clear future of social media or anything.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

Forums were dying long before Discord existed.

And considering that both Reddit and Twitter are more active and popular than Discord, it's not even as if Discord is the clear future of social media or anything.

I've always thought it was weird how people view Discord as some big thing, but I've mostly only ever heard it come up on Gamefaqs, unlike the actually popular stuff.

the main thing discord has killed is accessible wikis

fuck basic FAQs for mods being hidden in the pins of a discord that hasn't even updated their pins in years

Count_Drachma posted...

I've always thought it was weird how people view Discord as some big thing, but I've mostly only ever heard it come up on Gamefaqs, unlike the actually popular stuff.

I mostly hear it come up in reference to certain Twitch streamers or content producers on YouTube who have Discord channels for their fans. But even that is far from universal.



agesboy posted...

the main thing discord has killed is accessible wikis

fuck basic FAQs for mods being hidden in the pins of a discord that hasn't even updated their pins in years

I don't think I've ever even seen this phenomenon. Every single game I've ever looked up seems to have at least one wiki that addresses most of the things I'm looking for.

Hell, ubiquitous wikis is a large part of why I haven't used an actual FAQ on this site for years.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

I don't think I've ever even seen this phenomenon. Every single game I've ever looked up seems to have at least one wiki that addresses most of the things I'm looking for.

I've encountered a few games in recent years that do have wikis and reasonably active subreddits, but the most up-to-date information, theorycrafting, and advice is in the Discord, so you tend to miss out if you aren't on the server. That's not hugely common, though, and tends to only apply to games that are continuously evolving and having new content added rather than more static, established ones (and also really only be an issue if you're some kind of min/maxing nerd like me).

It's mostly smaller communities that update semi-regularly (mods, web-based games, randomizers, indie games in early access) that have formed during the Discord years. Though, if you want to play your class correctly in FFXIV, Discord's basically mandatory there too.

A lot of the time the instructions to even get a mod or randomizer working to begin with are hidden inside of a discord's pins and it fucking sucks.

Discord seems like an odd mix of message boards and IM. Like Slack or Microsoft Teams but for "civilians".

Reddit is just...horrible.

Oddly enough, message boards seem more popular for porn communities nowadays rather than any type of gaming or social gathering.

Dikitain posted...

Reddit is just...horrible.

Depends on the subreddit. I'm on some that are great, and easily way better than anything on GameFAQs/PotD these days.

I could see how some game subreddits might be terrible, but it probably depends on the game (and how PvP it is, how much emphasis it places on online multiplayer, etc). The Stardew Valley subreddit is absolutely wonderful for instance - super wholesome. Though regardless of the game, it feels like you're usually more likely to get a useful answer to questions there than you are on GameFAQs game boards (at least in my experience - then again, I probably steer clear of most of the more toxic gaming communities just by virtue of favoring single-player games and narrative experiences).

On a pokemon speedrun forum there was a detailed post that speculated about a route change. It was a really interesting read, but the post was several months old so I asked if anything ever came of it. The response was that they did all the discussion for it on discord and there was nothing left to say. I'm just like...how is that acceptable? It was a great topic worth cataloguing even if it didn't pan out, but instead anybody that wasn't around just missed out and all that info was lost forever.

I've felt disdain for the service ever since. I've no objective to chat rooms/programs, it's just absurd that people use it to replace forums and the like which are more publically available and better archived.

Reddit IS a forum, no?

It's generally more like a social media aggregator for sharing links, videos, and pictures. It's definitely not really comparable to what we usually call forums, even if you can kinda use it that way depending on the community.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

I mostly hear it come up in reference to certain Twitch streamers or content producers on YouTube who have Discord channels for their fans. But even that is far from universal.

While I don't use Twitch, at least that I've heard come up places =x

Dikitain posted...

Discord seems like an odd mix of message boards and IM. Like Slack or Microsoft Teams but for "civilians".

I think I've used Teams for video chat? Didn't know it had a normal chat function.

As for Slack, it's why I stopped freelancing for some people.

Dikitain posted...

Reddit is just...horrible.

The layout is truly terrible.

Count_Drachma posted...

I think I've used Teams for video chat? Didn't know it had a normal chat function.

As for Slack, it's why I stopped freelancing for some people.

Imagine the worst parts about email chains and nested conversations when you're just trying to figure out a meetup time.

I still say Reddit killed forums. Discord killed Tinychat, I'll give you that much. But Discord couldn't kill forums if Tinychat couldn't kill forums. They're both just chatrooms.

When you wanna go say something you would've otherwise said on a forum, you don't go to Discord, you probably don't belong to a Discord where you could say it. If you wanna post a "thread," you go to Reddit.

ItsKaljinyuTime posted...

If you wanna post a "thread," you go to Reddit.

Or Twitter, which is what was said earlier.

It certainly seems like Twitter + hashtags replaced forums.

it sounds like some of you would like to be in a potd discord. Jens discord isnt that, but why doesnt someone just make one? idk much about discord, but cant someone just make a board and post a link here and anyone who wants to join can?

MrMelodramatic posted...

it sounds like some of you would like to be in a potd discord. Jens discord isnt that, but why doesnt someone just make one? idk much about discord, but cant someone just make a board and post a link here and anyone who wants to join can?

Yeah it's super easy to get one going, I have a personal discord I have just to throw links and images in.

The hard part is getting people to show up, and to talk.

I have never used Twitter and I still don't see the point in it.

Judgmenl posted...

I have never used Twitter and I still don't see the point in it.

Information, misinformation, angry mobs and fetish content.

Judgmenl posted...

I have never used Twitter and I still don't see the point in it.

It is cumbersome for me and seems like a cesspit.

Discord is just IRC for zoomers and groomers

Twitter's great if you follow a couple of friends that constantly retweet funny/cursed shit

shadowsword87 posted...

Yeah it's super easy to get one going, I have a personal discord I have just to throw links and images in.

The hard part is getting people to show up, and to talk.

yeah

but also, why move everyone to a discord when...the forums are here?

i don't like most people here, i don't want more interaction with them than i already have

Dikitain posted...

ItsKaljinyuTime posted...

When you wanna go say something you would've otherwise said on a forum, you don't go to Discord, you probably don't belong to a Discord where you could say it. If you wanna post a "thread," you go to Reddit.

Or Twitter, which is what was said earlier.

I kind of disagree. No one goes to Twitter for a conversation (which is what a thread basically is). People go to Twitter to shout into the void. Whether or not anyone else is actually listening or replying is almost immaterial.

Twitter is basically a mob of people screaming in a room with no one listening. Except when you manage to hear what the guy next to you says so you can repeat it or scream back at him because you disagree. Even at their worst, message boards are a lot more interactive than that.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

I kind of disagree. No one goes to Twitter for a conversation (which is what a thread basically is). People go to Twitter to shout into the void. Whether or not anyone else is actually listening or replying is almost immaterial.

Twitter is basically a mob of people screaming in a room with no one listening. Except when you manage to hear what the guy next to you says so you can repeat it or scream back at him because you disagree. Even at their worst, message boards are a lot more interactive than that.

They also tend to treat Twitter like a forum anyway. Like making multiple posts under their own thread because of the bad character limit.

Dikitain posted...

Or Twitter, which is what was said earlier.

It certainly seems like Twitter + hashtags replaced forums.

Twitter is too big, no one's gonna see you on Twitter. But you're likely to get some kind of response on Reddit. If I go and ask Twitter something right now, no one's gonna answer me.

Discord is the single worst thing to happen to developer community support because people will ask the same question 50 times until the devs get sick of answering. There is no Google, there are no topics, there is no history, everything you say is just gone.

Programming community projects shouldn't have one, and if they do it should be confined. Discord is only good at keeping people out.

Yellow posted...

Discord is the single worst thing to happen to developer community support because people will ask the same question 50 times until the devs get sick of answering. There is no Google, there are no topics, there is no history, everything you say is just gone.

Programming community projects shouldn't have one, and if they do it should be confined. Discord is only good at keeping people out.

Use the search bar.

Yellow posted...

Discord is the single worst thing to happen to developer community support because people will ask the same question 50 times until the devs get sick of answering. There is no Google, there are no topics, there is no history, everything you say is just gone.

Programming community projects shouldn't have one, and if they do it should be confined. Discord is only good at keeping people out.

https://www.oranges.net.nz/asking_questions.html

Yellow posted...

Discord is the single worst thing to happen to developer community support because people will ask the same question 50 times until the devs get sick of answering. There is no Google, there are no topics, there is no history, everything you say is just gone.

Programming community projects shouldn't have one, and if they do it should be confined. Discord is only good at keeping people out.

I'm curious, what projects are you working on that use discord as a discussion medium? I'm assuming they're video game related.

Zenithian Legend posted...

These boards started dying long before that. I think the large selection of platforms, as well as, more interactive options such as Twitch, YT and the aforementioned Discord are the main culprits.

Fun fact: Gamefaqs used to have chat, probably before some of you were born o_O

Yeah, this seems accurate. Facebook groups were already taking over in 2006/2007, they've just gotten more intense.

Judgmenl posted...

I'm curious, what projects are you working on that use discord as a discussion medium? I'm assuming they're video game related.

Well because I'm in a cryptocurrency job, it's usually Discords for devs of a certain coin. I can go in and waste their time asking something that's probably been asked before.

I also am a fan of the Mudblazor UI framework, and because they push Discord so hard there isn't much documentation in terms of "how do I solve this problem".

The other side of that is that the devs will generally respond immediately.

Yellow posted...

cryptocurrency job

I feel sorry for your loss.