just so this doesn’t overwhelm our front page too much, i think now’s a good time to start consolidating discussions. existing threads will be kept up, but unless a big update comes let’s try to keep what’s happening in this thread instead of across 10.

developments to this point:

The Verge is on it as usual, also–here’s their latest coverage (h/t @dirtmayor@beehaw.org):

other media coverage:

  • V4uban@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    undefined> Perhaps the future is found in the past - people migrating back to self-hosted message boards - there used to be thousands of these back in the 1990s and 2000s. Some of them were run as small businesses, others were run as hobbyist projects by their owners. But I doubt there’s going to be a mass exodus, and unfortunately, centralization has increasingly become the norm for the Internet.

    I’ve been looking out for message board forums for some time after realizing that they really felt different from modern Reddit. The appeal is definitely there, and will probably convince at least a small percentage of Reddit’s current user base (which would still mean thousands of users) to move to those pastures.

        • Treevan 🇦🇺@beehaw.org
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          1 year ago

          I hope it continues to be worked on.

          I could see a resurgence of discussion and some real niche communities hiding behind that layout. Perhaps some themes to recreate other old forum styles too.

    • rimlogger@beehaw.org
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      1 year ago

      The issue is that a lot of them died when Reddit became mainstream. Go back to some of the ones still standing - the activity isn’t what it used to be. You see a post every few days on some of them. Why would I post on such sites if no one is going to reply? Might as well post on Reddit lol, where I will get a response within an hour at least.

      • V4uban@beehaw.org
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        1 year ago

        Very true. I still visit one daily, but that’s really the exception. To complete what we previously said, I guess that instead of 2000s message boards, people will gradually move to Lemmy instances, or other alternatives such as kb.bin. The experience is closer to Reddit, and allows for more conversation potential (threads vs chronological order)

        • rimlogger@beehaw.org
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          1 year ago

          IDK. I think Reddit will survive this controversy. Most people have really short memories. Lemmy’s growing but still doesn’t offer the level of activity that most users are looking for - people don’t want to want hours or days with no replies to their post.

          • V4uban@beehaw.org
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            1 year ago

            undefined> people don’t want to want hours or days with no replies to their post.

            True, but at the same time the people replying to them the most are probably the ones that are going to move away, leaving only an empty land lacking actual value. I wasn’t there when Digg died, but I guess it was a similar process.

            • mustyOrange@beehaw.org
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              1 year ago

              Theres a line of popularity that matters, sure, but the % activity of a place is much more important than just sheer numbers

            • _pete_@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              The thing with the digg death was that there was already a Reddit community there; it was smaller perhaps but there would almost always be someone to read your post.