What Do You Think the Future of Forum Software Looks Like?

[PGen98]

What do you believe forum software is going to look like in 5 or 10 years? Do you believe forum software is going to die out, or do you think forums will start to make something of a comeback?

Personally, I think this style of software (Flarum, Vanilla, Discourse) is going to be the future and heavier designed software like XenForo, phpBB, SMF, etc. will eventually die off. I love XenForo, it's such a fantastic piece of software, but lightweight and agile software is most definitely going to keep picking up steam, so I think we'll be seeing more Flarum-like software in the coming years.

 

[admin]

> @PGen98 Personally, I think this style of software (Flarum, Vanilla, Discourse) is going to be the future

That is because they take people straight into the content. People have no time to check boards for new posts.

> @PGen98 What do you believe forum software is going to look like in 5 or 10 years?

I think they will have a single login for authorisation. Something like Proboards where every user can do everything inside the platform using a single login.

 

[Abhi]

> @PGen98 What do you believe forum software is going to look like in 5 or 10 years?

I do not think the text will play a big role in a couple of years. People are already into vlogs.

 

[PGen98]

@"[unknown]"#p6455

Agreed, content-oriented software is definitely the way forward. Less hassle, still organized, and yet the focus is squarely on the talking, not the flourish surrounding that content. It's not hard to imagine all forums following the Flarum/Discourse/etc. aesthetic in the near future!

@"[unknown]"#p6456

Sadly, I agree with this, as well. The more we progress the further backwards we seem to go. Text itself feels like it will be lost to the ages in the near future, everyone will just follow videos and interact in face-cam meetings. It's sad, because I quite like forum-based discussion, it's been a part of my entire internet life, it will feel barren when it dies off.

 

[admin]

What do you think about Discourse ? Apart from the fact that they need a very skilled backend, it is a great software for the end user.

 

[Abhi]

I love Discourse as an end-user. But I do not want to deal with all that they ask for on the back end. It is too much hassle.

Luckily, a lot of hosts allows ready to use Discourse packages.

 

[PGen98]

@admin It's very nice software, they've done a tremendous job of developing it into a well-rounded platform that can be used as a cross between community software and pseudo social media software. It's pricey for the higher end bits and bobs, especially since it used to be 100% freeware, but it is nice software and I applaud them for making it into a well-rounded platform!

 

[PGen98]

@Abhi Agreed, there's certainly a lot to the backend of discourse, it's nice that some hosts pre-configure discourse for you, saves a lot of hassle!

 

[Abhi]

> @PGen98 It's pricey for the higher end bits and bobs, especially since it used to be 100% freeware,

They made it paid ? I thought it is fully free now.

 

[PGen98]

@Abhi The downloadable version is still on Github, but they make a point of almost exclusively advertising their hosted options:https://www.discourse.org/pricing

 

[Abhi]

Everyone is getting into hosted solutions. But with Discourse, that helps. Mainly because a lot of people find it hard to set it up and maintain. The price is not for the faint-hearted though

 

[PGen98]

@Abhi Yeah, their prices are most definitely up there! I'd rather stick with Flarum

 

[ZandraJoi]

I would hope forums would be around in the near future. As for the software, platforms need to keep it user-friendly or they'll lose customers. Many of us want forums but we are not into tech. It's nice to have a platform that can accomodate all levels.

 

[PGen98]

I completely agree, and that's why I think software like Flarum is the way forward. It focuses mostly on content and ease of use, meaning it lacks a lot of the bloated features of more advanced software. Simplicity and functionality, a very effective combination!

 

[Fait]

@PGen98 hopefully Xenforo can focus more on ease of use in the future otherwise they will lose customers, even Facebook people use it because it’s easy.

 

[Fait]

@PGen98 I honestly think eventually will pick up on this and implement some of these when Xenforo 3 eventually is released, Xenforo has always focused on being modern and simple to use so we see what happens, for now I leave my site with Xenforo but I’m hoping they won’t disappoint us.