[serious] Off Topic Moderation Input - Part 2

[Solver]

I don't think the forum format as such bears much of the blame; I know of at a forum (an offshoot of SSC) that's been started in the last five years or so, appears to have an average poster age under forty, and is generally about as active as Poly used to be. Also, Reddit's format offers no particular advantage I can think of over forums when it comes to the things forums are good at. It wasn't that people felt repelled by forums, but that forums got replaced by sites which happened to have a different format. But that's speculation on my part.

I mostly hung out on the OT in the old days, and I'm convinced that its decline was mostly due to tolerating the usual troll suspects for so long (and to this day). The forum format is good for extended thoughtful discussion, where you can take as long as you like to compose your thoughts and come up with a good answer. But there's no point to that when the conversation becomes dominated by people smacking down the same dumb arguments from the same dumb cranks, forever. I left, and so did most everybody else whose idea of a good time didn't consist of dunking on crazies.

It's a fact that forums are much more niche now. There's a bunch of forums still thriving but it's not at all like in the heyday of forums when every imaginable subject had an active forum. Some discussions moved to Facebook groups and the like, others to Reddit or Discord. I think it's a shame because they're completely different formats, Reddit is by design terrible at long-lasting discussion, Discord is slightly better but it's not searchable or available unless you're a member of the server.

The death of this particular forum is of course part of the general weakening of forums, but the main reasons were different. I have my own opinions on the contributing factors but ultimately that's irrelevant - Apolyton had a glorious decade, it left a lasting impression on Civ games, then it had a period of decline, and for a long time now it's been a forum-shaped online group for a couple dozen people who have spent as many years talking and arguing with one another.

[Ben Kenobi]

I don't think the forum format as such bears much of the blame; I know of at a forum (an offshoot of SSC) that's been started in the last five years or so, appears to have an average poster age under forty, and is generally about as active as Poly used to be. Also, Reddit's format offers no particular advantage I can think of over forums when it comes to the things forums are good at. It wasn't that people felt repelled by forums, but that forums got replaced by sites which happened to have a different format. But that's speculation on my part.

I mostly hung out on the OT in the old days, and I'm convinced that its decline was mostly due to tolerating the usual troll suspects for so long (and to this day). The forum format is good for extended thoughtful discussion, where you can take as long as you like to compose your thoughts and come up with a good answer. But there's no point to that when the conversation becomes dominated by people smacking down the same dumb arguments from the same dumb cranks, forever. I left, and so did most everybody else whose idea of a good time didn't consist of dunking on crazies.

Forum traffic for a game coincides with game release dates. It's not rocket science.

I haven't really posted on here in 7 years. Apparently there's going to be a turnaround any day now.

[Elok]

But mostly it's just that nobody uses forums anymore. CFC at least has some activity, yeah, and way more than us, but I think most community activity is on reddit, discord, and youtube.

I don't think the forum format as such bears much of the blame; I know of at a forum (an offshoot of SSC) that's been started in the last five years or so, appears to have an average poster age under forty, and is generally about as active as Poly used to be. Also, Reddit's format offers no particular advantage I can think of over forums when it comes to the things forums are good at. It wasn't that people felt repelled by forums, but that forums got replaced by sites which happened to have a different format. But that's speculation on my part.

I mostly hung out on the OT in the old days, and I'm convinced that its decline was mostly due to tolerating the usual troll suspects for so long (and to this day). The forum format is good for extended thoughtful discussion, where you can take as long as you like to compose your thoughts and come up with a good answer. But there's no point to that when the conversation becomes dominated by people smacking down the same dumb arguments from the same dumb cranks, forever. I left, and so did most everybody else whose idea of a good time didn't consist of dunking on crazies.

[Broken_Erika]

And soon Discord will require users to upload their personal information in order to see any content or posts they think is inappropriate for children.

[Thoth]

I find Discord to be awful. It seems to have more in common with a group chat than a discussion forum.

[EPW]

Discord "communities" suck. Impossible to search, dominated by sociopathic mods, mostly spam. Wait a minute .. .

[Lorizael]

I don't disagree, but maybe we're just old.

[Dominikos]

but I think most community activity is on reddit, discord, and youtube.

Interesting. I get what you're saying, but I actually find that these have a poor sense of "community". I mean, you go on YouTube, and you're going to say "hey" to your longtime discussion pals on there, build friendships, etc? Not really. The alternatives are compartmentalized; there is a plethora of them, so you have to hunt around for information. Places like Poly or CivFanatics had everything in one place. I remember that in the very late 90s and early 2000s, going to Poly was like going to your favorite local coffee shop. The regulars would be there. People knew each other. People built friendships and had long discussions. All kinds of side projects came out of it. Call me old-fashioned, but I don't exactly feel a sense of community on Reddit or YouTube. I just can't get the same experience. Some niche FB groups do replicate it a bit, but again, there is often a lack of continuity and regularity. There is no investment in getting to know people. And hell, I actually majored in the sociology of technology in university, and I feel like this.

Discussion boards built community, whereas the alternatives are fleeting interactions. Then again, we're dealing with a few generations of Civ players now, so once discussion boards dropped in popularity, younger cohorts couldn't even relate to what was lost because they didn't experience the previous communities. There is a bit of a discussion board renaissance, as people "rediscover" what was lost in community building.

I just don't feel the love when it comes to the future...

~ Dominikos ~

[self biased]

Wasn't there some problem with the auto-backup resulting in several months of posts being lost?

It was that, and there was some issue with the file upload hosting. I think that when that ended up being corrupted, the modding community left in droves for CFC who had a more stable platform.

[Broken_Erika]

Wasn't there some problem with the auto-backup resulting in several months of posts being lost?

[Lorizael]

But mostly it's just that nobody uses forums anymore. CFC at least has some activity, yeah, and way more than us, but I think most community activity is on reddit, discord, and youtube.

[Lorizael]

Poly's been going downhill for most of its existence now, I believe. I think its peak was the Civ3/Civ4 days.

[The Mad Monk]

Very few of the regulars left still play the recent Civ games, including myself. CivIV Forevah!

[Dominikos]

Ming, when did Apolyton start suffering from low traffic? I'm genuinely curious. Did CivFanatics come out to dominate? For example, when looking at the Civ7 forums on both Poly and CivFanatics, they have thousands of posts, whereas Poly has just a few.

~ Dominikos ~

[Provost Harrison]

Why is there still an option for GameSpy ID in user settings?
It's been dead since February 21, 2013

Nostalgia