Why do many people use Discord servers, but won't join forums?

[Cool Cory]

I've seen a number of people who use Discord lots, but never join any forums. Even when invited these people say they're not interested in forums.

[Bryn]

Probably going with the belief that forums are "dated" to them, to which Discord is a more modern alternative in terms of speed and more customisation, but it isn't a true replacement for forums though (as it's more of an instant messaging service).

[Moonshroom]

Excellent question, mate.

It's actually something I have been wondering myself... very recently I reignited my love for "Adventures In Oddisey", a show so huge that it has TWO official boards (and sometimes that isn't even enough) and was disheartened to find them both empty, with almost no new registrations.

These were forums where my PM inboxes were as large as my actual post counts and where I could strike tons of conversations with strangers over the silliest things. These strangers suddenly became good friends, too.

But even back then they were already shifting away from forums, and even some of my closest friends politely rejected invitations to join TCH under the impression that forums were already on their way out (one of them was actually among the 23).

I think demographics also play a sizeable role... for close to a decade now, my most common forum friend has been universally American, homeschooled and belonging to the 14-17 crowd. Maybe that's the only group willing to engage with boards anymore, and only because their parents forbid regular social media usage. Certainly a thought.

[Kyng]

Yeah, those are some good reasons, but there are a couple more:

• These days, a lot of people want instantaneous, real-time chat. That's not really the point of the a forum (indeed, the point of a forum is that it isn't that ) - but, people who particularly want that are always going to be happier on Discord than on a forum.
  
  
• The decline of PCs. These days, a lot of people rely on phones (or, if we're lucky, tablets). However, forums are just awkward to use on these: responsive themes can make them tolerable, but ultimately, long-form content and small mobile screens do not mix. By contrast, Discord is far easier to use on mobile.

Theoretically, the second issue could be fixed if somebody can produce a folding phone that's both robust and affordable - but so far, all the folding phones I've seen are neither of those things !

[Moonshroom]

Yeah, those are some good reasons, but there are a couple more:

 

• These days, a lot of people want instantaneous, real-time chat. That's not really the point of the a forum (indeed, the point of a forum is that it isn't that ) - but, people who particularly want that are always going to be happier on Discord than on a forum.
  
  
• The decline of PCs. These days, a lot of people rely on phones (or, if we're lucky, tablets). However, forums are just awkward to use on these: responsive themes can make them tolerable, but ultimately, long-form content and small mobile screens do not mix. By contrast, Discord is far easier to use on mobile.
  

Theoretically, the second issue could be fixed if somebody can produce a folding phone that's both robust and affordable - but so far, all the folding phones I've seen are neither of those things !

Funny you should say that... because 99% of my time here has been spent browsing on a phone and using the incredibly poorly-optimized default theme, but with little complaints on my end. In contrast, Discord for browser had been utter hell to use for years, only becoming somewhat tolerable in 2021 or so.

[Bryn]

Discord for browser had been utter hell to use for years, only becoming somewhat tolerable in 2021 or so.

Well, Discord wasn't a problem to me during the time I used it in its earlier years (2017-19), if I remember correctly...

[Moonshroom]

Discord for browser had been utter hell to use for years, only becoming somewhat tolerable in 2021 or so.

Well, Discord wasn't a problem to me during the time I used it in its earlier years (2017-19), if I remember correctly...

I'm talking mobile, though.

Half the damn screen would be out of frame.

[Bryn]

I'm talking mobile, though.

Oh, you mean on a mobile browser? Sorry... I misread that as that for desktop. My mistake

[Moonshroom]

I'm talking mobile, though.

Oh, you mean on a mobile browser? Sorry... I misread that as that for desktop. My mistake

Yeah.

Don't worry. I could have explained it better, too.

[Moonface]

A big thing that applies to any IM system and not just Discord is the ability to just very quickly respond to things. If I see any thread here, I need to formulate my entire thought at once before I post it. On any IM system, you can just break a response up into multiple smaller messages done consecutively, which even if the final result is the same length as a forum post would be it doesn't feel like it requires as much effort or consideration before you hit send in comparison. Have I said everything I want to in my post? If not, I have to think more before I hit send or if I want to add more, I have to then edit it. On IM's, I can just send whatever I already wrote and add another sentence onto it with another message after; if I'm editing anything it's likely a mistake rather than an addition.