@errant I don't think I've ever seen anyone use the threads feature on any of the servers* (I like your subtle jab) I'm on.
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@errant I don't think I've ever seen anyone use the threads feature on any of the servers* (I like your subtle jab) I'm on. :drgn_think: But it's probably also be due to the fact that I just can't deal with real-time mediums so I miss a ton of things. That's why, even if the above points were fine, it doesn't change the fact that the freedom of choice that used to exist (forums + chat rooms + IM) doesn't exist anymore today. At least not in a capacity that means anything to me.
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The early internet was so much better for me. Online communities were based on forums, but there was additional activity in IRC channels and instant messaging. No matter what mode of communication you prefer, you always had a choice.
Today? It's just instant messaging (Discord) and quasi-instant messaging (microblogging). Forums were given up and nobody gives a single shit about filling the huge hole left behind.
After trying Discord myself for a while, though, I realized that I'm actually not even missing out on anything.
Most activity on Discord servers is posting memes and shallow conversations in #/general (or whatever the general-purpose channel is called) about topics I don't care about, between people who have known each other for a long time and are dominating the channel.
The kind of interactions I had on forums are simply not happening.
So fuck it.@volpeon Volpi nails it with this one
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To be clear, I'm not saying that proper conversations can't happen on real-time platforms. I've had them 1:1 and among a close group.
The problem is having these in a community which are typically a lot more people. This is where forums did a great job and modern platforms which have taken their place are failing, because they're either just the wrong medium (Discord, corresponding to chat rooms rather than forums) or because they are more about engagement rather than genuine socializing (microblogging).@volpeon My experience is that on big discord servers*, those conversations happen in more obscure channels or threads which are technically still open to the entire server*, but are in practice much less visited, and thusfeel like their own distinct secluded places
