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 Have they all been replaced by the IQ-reducing blight of Facebook and Twitter?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.
Only two answers but I can't decide between them. Vote, vote vote..

[teenymaid322]

Internet sites are run by profit-making organisations and enthusiasts. The profit-making ones rely on advertising and there's only so much to go around. The advertisers choose by numbers of hits and that's down to Facebook and Twitter. There's also the problem of preventing grooming and only the huge international sites can afford the cost.

The enthusiast sites tend to be a bit specialised, like those run by the Camshaft Pulley Oil Thrower Appreciation Society. (And their members have no sense of humour whatsoever)

[abraXus]

people are using them less and less because they are being overridden with trolls and spam

the very fact that you dont want you use your real identity proves my point