Online-Forums as virtual "Great Good Places"?

[Libraraptor]

For a given reason I have recently been thinking a lot about whether places like this are still relevant in our superficial throwaway culture which often seems to prefer consuming and self-promoting over enjoying being together just for the sake of it and how prone forums are to becoming fossils themselves someday.

I have come to the conclusion that forums like this are still highly relevant - as so called "great good places 

So I would like to make a small statement here for the relevance and future of online forums like ours, combined with an exciting sociological theory I just recently discovered.

In the eighties of the last century, US-American sociologist Ray Oldenburg came up with a theory of so called "third places" or "great good places". They are all the wonderful places where people gather, put aside the concerns of home and work (our first and second places) and hang around simply for the pleasures of good company and lively conversation. He portrays, probes and promotes some of these great good places: coffee houses, cafés, bookstores, hairs salons, bars, bistros and more, where peolpe have been coming together for the simple joy of being together.

I draw this a little further and argue that from places like these emerge effects of mutual positivity and well-being that can strenghthen us to go back to all the mundane everyday issues we all have to face.

While Oldenburg worked with "real" - or "analogue" places (the Internet had not been "invented" yet back then), one could - in my opinion -easily transfer this idea to being together on the Internet. Isn´t it forums like this where we can take our time, bring things up without the urge of self-promotion, without the wish to be the coolest, toughest influencer of the world, a place we can voluntarily visit, go "on" and "off"or stay, get a taste of it and so on?

There are a lot of toxic places or even "no-places" (according to French sociologist Marc Augé. By this he means concrete deserts, parking lots, malls ["no loitering!"] - places that don´t stimulate us in a positive way -one can transfer this idea to virtual reality, too) out there - in real live and on the Internet which don´t do us any good. We have to protect ourselves from these places - not fight against them but actively care and shape alternatives. Refuges or havens, if you will.

The durability, longevity and timelesness of a forum like this are not a means to an end, they are an end in itself - which so many of us deeply enjoy. It´s not a matter of the number of members, it´s not about if you collect the most valuable pieces or buy small dinosaur whatnot every now and then. Personal issues, religion, politics can play a role, but don´t necessarily have to - it´s come as you like here.

What do you think about it?

[stargatedalek]

I've always heard this concept described as first, second, and third places, for homes, work/school, and places we go to enjoy ourselves. The idea of online third places/spaces is rarely explored but was a lot more prevalent before broader social media became so popular, forcing us out of our comfortable online bubbles like forums and shoving us into a cacophony of algorithmic noise.

[Libraraptor]

I've always heard this concept described as first, second, and third places, for homes, work/school, and places we go to enjoy ourselves. The idea of online third places/spaces is rarely explored but was a lot more prevalent before broader social media became so popular, forcing us out of our comfortable online bubbles like forums and shoving us into a cacophony of algorithmic noise.

I love your last  words very much.  "...shoving us into the cacophony of algorithmic noise", wow!

That´s why is it more important than ever to actively shape and cultivate places (or, yes, better: spaces) like this one here, isn´t it?

[DinoToyForum]

Obviously I'm in favour of traditional forums and regard them as superior to social media. Forums like ours are one of the few parts of the internet that isn't fundamentally broken*.

But at the same time, there's no denying many forums have died off, they're an endangered internet species. I think there are a lot of factors at play, generational factors, technological factors, psychological factors. For a little while, a few years ago, I started to seriously wonder if Social Media, especially Facebook Groups, might be the death knell for traditional forums like ours. But I'm not concerned about that any more, for reasons tied in with the 'enshittification' of the internet in general. I wonder if forums are due a resurgence, but that's probably just wishful thinking on my part - how will people find us on a broken internet?

*Here's a good summary video posted a few days ago discussing how the internet is broken: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYqShPDTVfQ

[Libraraptor]

Obviously I'm in favour of traditional forums and regard them as superior to social media. Forums like ours are one of the few parts of the internet that isn't fundamentally broken*.

But at the same time, there's no denying many forums have died off, they're an endangered internet species. I think there are a lot of factors at play, generational factors, technological factors, psychological factors. For a little while, a few years ago, I started to seriously wonder if Social Media, especially Facebook Groups, might be the death knell for traditional forums like ours. But I'm not concerned about that any more, for reasons tied in with the 'enshittification' of the internet in general. I wonder if forums are due a resurgence, but that's probably just wishful thinking on my part - how will people find us on a broken internet?

*Here's a good summary video posted a few days ago discussing how the internet is broken: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYqShPDTVfQ

That video takes a sobering look at the current developments.    In addition, today everyone also see themselves as a marketer and creative exploiter of himself. Some peolpe don´t live their life anymore, but are rather actors in their own "Making Of". There is enormous pressure on those who do not constantly want to compare themselves and keep up, but want to follow their own destiny in peace instead. 

[DinoToyForum]

Obviously I'm in favour of traditional forums and regard them as superior to social media. Forums like ours are one of the few parts of the internet that isn't fundamentally broken*.

But at the same time, there's no denying many forums have died off, they're an endangered internet species. I think there are a lot of factors at play, generational factors, technological factors, psychological factors. For a little while, a few years ago, I started to seriously wonder if Social Media, especially Facebook Groups, might be the death knell for traditional forums like ours. But I'm not concerned about that any more, for reasons tied in with the 'enshittification' of the internet in general. I wonder if forums are due a resurgence, but that's probably just wishful thinking on my part - how will people find us on a broken internet?

*Here's a good summary video posted a few days ago discussing how the internet is broken: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYqShPDTVfQ

That video takes a sobering look at the current developments.    In addition, today everyone also see themselves as a marketer and creative exploiter of himself. Some peolpe don´t live their life anymore, but are rather actors in their own "Making Of". There is enormous pressure on those who do not constantly want to compare themselves and keep up, but want to follow their own destiny in peace instead. 

For those people, why don't they consider forums a part of that public persona? Too small an audience, too little reward?

[Libraraptor]

Obviously I'm in favour of traditional forums and regard them as superior to social media. Forums like ours are one of the few parts of the internet that isn't fundamentally broken*.

But at the same time, there's no denying many forums have died off, they're an endangered internet species. I think there are a lot of factors at play, generational factors, technological factors, psychological factors. For a little while, a few years ago, I started to seriously wonder if Social Media, especially Facebook Groups, might be the death knell for traditional forums like ours. But I'm not concerned about that any more, for reasons tied in with the 'enshittification' of the internet in general. I wonder if forums are due a resurgence, but that's probably just wishful thinking on my part - how will people find us on a broken internet?

*Here's a good summary video posted a few days ago discussing how the internet is broken: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYqShPDTVfQ

That video takes a sobering look at the current developments.    In addition, today everyone also see themselves as a marketer and creative exploiter of himself. Some peolpe don´t live their life anymore, but are rather actors in their own "Making Of". There is enormous pressure on those who do not constantly want to compare themselves and keep up, but want to follow their own destiny in peace instead. 

For those people, why don't they consider forums a part of that public persona? Too small an audience, too little reward?

That is a good question. Maybe they have forgotten. Maybe they used to come with good intentions in the beginning and then have been disgusted since even on forums the tone is getting rougher.

Everyone has become a self-marketer to a certain extend nowadays. And that means far more sending than receiving and informing.  Another thing is that people can´t wait anymore and can hardly stand times without any immediate resonance and answers.

[DinoToyForum]

Obviously I'm in favour of traditional forums and regard them as superior to social media. Forums like ours are one of the few parts of the internet that isn't fundamentally broken*.

But at the same time, there's no denying many forums have died off, they're an endangered internet species. I think there are a lot of factors at play, generational factors, technological factors, psychological factors. For a little while, a few years ago, I started to seriously wonder if Social Media, especially Facebook Groups, might be the death knell for traditional forums like ours. But I'm not concerned about that any more, for reasons tied in with the 'enshittification' of the internet in general. I wonder if forums are due a resurgence, but that's probably just wishful thinking on my part - how will people find us on a broken internet?

*Here's a good summary video posted a few days ago discussing how the internet is broken: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYqShPDTVfQ

That video takes a sobering look at the current developments.    In addition, today everyone also see themselves as a marketer and creative exploiter of himself. Some peolpe don´t live their life anymore, but are rather actors in their own "Making Of". There is enormous pressure on those who do not constantly want to compare themselves and keep up, but want to follow their own destiny in peace instead. 

For those people, why don't they consider forums a part of that public persona? Too small an audience, too little reward?

 Maybe they used to come with good intentions in the beginning and then have been disgusted since even on forums the tone is getting rougher.

This certainly explains why some people have left the Dinosaur Toy Forum, I know because I asked them. But those people are often still on other social media platforms putting up with much worse behaviour. People seem to be less tolerant of bad behaviour on forums?

One technical factor that might put people off is the relative difficultly of posting images on forums, which are designed first and foremost for discussion.

[Halichoeres]

It is odd that even though social media has a lot more hostility and abuse, people don't seem to quit social media sites as readily as they quit this and other forums. Maybe it's just because there are people they know in real life on their social media, and that's going to be less true here.

[Tattu]

As a newcomer to this forum, I can confidently attest to the difficulty of posting images. I have been meaning to post my own recent acquisitions, but I just can't be bothered to go through the trouble of transferring images from my camera on to the laptop, then uploading them on a hosting site and then finally posting them on here. It's certainly different from the likes of say reddit where it is relatively easier to post. 

[Libraraptor]

On forums, one has to accept other points of view and cannot simply insist on one´s own bubble. Here people are often still really encountering each other  which is no longer everyone´s cup of tea.
Maybe impatience has grown, too, while the ability to tolerate other worldviews, opinions and lifestyles (and also the ability to ignore bad manners and provocation) has diminished.
The overall social tone has become harsher and when you are asked to get seriously involved like on a forum, you are feeling overwhelmed.
And, yes,  of course it´s more work uploading an image and copying/pasting the link on the forum in order to insert it.

[DinoToyForum]

As a newcomer to this forum, I can confidently attest to the difficulty of posting images. I have been meaning to post my own recent acquisitions, but I just can't be bothered to go through the trouble of transferring images from my camera on to the laptop, then uploading them on a hosting site and then finally posting them on here. It's certainly different from the likes of say reddit where it is relatively easier to post. 

Yeah, I've thought a lot about how to fix this and make it easier. I even allow direct attachments now, but with a file size limit. Otherwise, people will upload unprocessed photos directly from their phones, and since the forum software doesn't resize images during the upload process, my server will quickly get full of (unnecessarily) massive image files. 

Even the attachment process on the forum is a bit awkward, with an extra step at the end to insert the attachment into the body of the post.

Traditional forums like ours weren't designed for images to be integrated, and they also weren't originally designed for mobile use. So there has been a certain amount of retro-fitting.

[Takama]

I admit to not being as active on here as much, favoring social media more, mainly because im reduced to useing a mobile device since my last PC crapped out on me, on top of it being a PITA to upload images on a image hosting Website that slaps ads in your face that "may" or "may not" spy on you.

But I will  be here forever, as long as my ICD keeps me alive, and @DinoToyForum keeps the website running.  I will say, my collecting habits have changed significatly.

[Libraraptor]

I admit to not being as active on here as much, favoring social media more, mainly because im reduced to useing a mobile device since my last PC crapped out on me, on top of it being a PITA to upload images on a image hosting Website that slaps ads in your face that "may" or "may not" spy on you.

But I will  be here forever, as long as my ICD keeps me alive, and @DinoToyForum keeps the website running.  I will say, my collecting habits have changed significatly.

So have mine, but it´s definitely great to know of a place I can always come back to. While my collecting habits have been changing - seems like I am acquiring less figures each year - my activity here just recently has been growing again. Still one of the  most friendly and welcoming places / spaces on the Internet.