Modern Online Forums Alternatives

Ancient roman forum architecture.

Are online forums still needed? In my opinion: No. At least not in the way they work now or rather don’t.

I stopped using online forums many years ago. Why? People on forums in general were often

  • inaccurate
  • rude
  • problem instead of solution oriented
  • spreading rumors
  • asking the same questions
  • regurgitating old news.

Also there are plenty of faster, more reliable and more advanced solutions out there.

To show you what modern online forums alternatives there are I listed some of them below:

1. Niche communities dealing with specific topics. I use Growthhackers.com for business advice. There is also Product Hunt for new online tools.

I participated in a few niche communities regularly over the years and they are usually much more civil and inspiring than forums.

2. Twitter communities are offering topical news sharing. Debates can develop as well yet remain civil because of the limited reach of such interactions.

3. Quora is making asking questions and knowledge sharing easy and works for all kinds of topics. Whether you ask questions or share insights don’t expect to get traffic from Quora though.

4. LinkedIn Groups are taking out the anonymity out of forums, many people have had success with them. Some exist for a decade or longer.

5. Facebook Groups allow connecting with peers in similar manner to LinkedIn but with more features and potential members. You organize where you’re already at.

Which one of them do you use and prefer? What do you use them for? Or do you still resort to old school online forums and let newbies flame you?