Whatever happened to chat forums & messageboards?

[Cosmic MasterMind]

Yeah I know there are messageboards on every website these days, but they are all interest-specific, like bicycle forums or knitting forums or taxidermy forums or whatever. I'm talking about old-fashioned general chat forums. Have they all been replaced by the IQ-reducing blight of Facebook and Twitter?



I won't use Facebook because it demands my real identity and photograph (would they like to see my drivers license and bank statement too?) and I don't trust such intrusive, high-risk websites, and for that matter I have no desire to let any of the people I work with know a damned thing about my private life. I tried signing up on Facebook twice with obviously fake details and photos (I'm pretty sure no one would think I was really the ghost of medieval court jester) but both times I was banned within 2 weeks. Ridiculous if you ask me.

Twitter is only of interest if you like "following" celebrities. Like I give a **** what Cameron Diaz wore to dinner or what brand of aftershave Brandon Routh wears. Unless you are following people, all you have is a blank, empty homepage. From what I've seen of it, Twitter has no content as such, just an infinite number of brief L8 txt-spk messages from people who want to tell the World that "Kelly is a f***ing skank, she neva gave me bak me mun-ey for dat burger and she sukked off Gaz round the bak of the toilets.."

Incidentally, does anyone remember ChatterboxUK? It was a bit lame but it was family friendly and I rather miss it now it's gone.
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