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We're trying to revive them, Joe.

I've committed to BT as a full time job now and I'm hoping the forums will be an integral part of the site, but I can't do it alone with the help of an active community. So let's keep just posting and creating high quality content. I'd love to attract both old and new members!

B

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We're trying to revive them, Joe.

I've committed to BT as a full time job now and I'm hoping the forums will be an integral part of the site, but I can't do it alone with the help of an active community. So let's keep just posting and creating high quality content. I'd love to attract both old and new members!

B

I'm with you Jeff. Let me know how I can help.

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Glad to see you!

I think that part of it is that Windows and PCs are finally becoming reliable. There are far fewer mainstream requests for technical help and support with the new computers and operating systems than there were in the days of win95 and 98 (and even XP).

Secondly computers are now mainstream, with smart phones being endemic. People finally get it that most of the time, restarting solves the problem. They know how to google to see if others have had the same problem and what they did for it.

Spyware , adware, and even malware are becomming less of a problem as more and more antivirus programs deal with them all rather than users needing separate programs for each. Built in features to warn of unsafe links in search results, warnings about dangerous links, sand box features etc and microsofts efforts to force out automatic updates and monthly running of the malicious software removal tool have all helped to decrease the problems.

Then there is the change of where people go.

Back in the day you dialed in to a bulletin board, read others threads and posted replies,, occaisionally posting one of your own.

You logged in to a mail server to get and send mail.

Then came the early internet and the focus moved to news groups which behaved very similarly and an email client which often did news groups too.

Then google started making it so you could access these news groups through HTTP.

Finally web sites began hosting forums. People could get together and socialize on a site of shared interest.

Now we have smart phones, facebook, google plus and twitter.

People effectively have their own forum where they can control who is a member (friend, member of a circle, follower...) . No more searching for forums full of like minded individuals or posting on boards belonging to TV networks to discuss your favorite show. You can like it on facebook, you can post your thoughts and have your "friends" reply and unfriend anyone who gets nasty.

Just as newsgroups spelled the demise of BBS ( remember when CFH or TSS set one up for nostalgia?), then forums, P2P and Torrents, pretty much put the whole news group (alt) community in decline. Yes the usenet community still exists, and so do forums. But I have noticed a slow and steady decline in numbers and content. Many tv networks or companies which used to maintain forums, now have a facebook page and leave it at that.

I think that increasingly forums will close and be replaced by becomming part of one or more social networks.

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I'm back again. My life has been very crazy the last 6 months. My Mother died back in May and my wife has started a new job (she's on probation). Good to be back again. I'll help out in any way I can. Good to see you all again! :)

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