Where have all the users gone?

[monkeybrain20122]

Truth is this forum is kind of clumsy to use and confusing compared to sites like https://askubuntu.com/.
They don't have confusing categories but use a much more modern hash tag system that is just way more easier to navigate.
Maybe if the OP's would modernize this forum we would get a resurgence but I doubt that will happen unless Canonical Ltd actually takes charge.
Just my opinion. No need to flame over dying embers.

Sam

I am always having problems to even login there.

[monkeybrain20122]

No, but they have a lot of activities in the comment-box. They easely get 200 replies within hours.

BUt the comments on OMG are mostly opinions or rantings rather than technical helps. You may stumble on technical help sometimes but only by accident (same with social media), there is no structure to their comment section and mostly are just rants.

[deadflowr]

I could care less about popularity if I can help one user from going bald, I'm happy.

[monkeybrain20122]

For problems related to software (other than Ubuntu specific ones) I tend to go to github or launchpad to ask the developer or packager. It seems that I am getting faster responses and better results that way.

[lisati]

Compared to social media, Forums are clunky and non-intuitive and that is no fault of the forums themselves per se.

I think I might be getting older and more at risk of becoming a boring old so-and-so, but I prefer the feel of forums. For starters, here at the UF, the pages (usually) seem to load more snappily than some other websites - I have no idea why some websites seem to have a need to keep my browser's wheels spinning for several seconds after the main text of their page(s) has loaded.

[cruzer001]

I have no idea why some websites seem to have a need to keep my browser's wheels spinning for several seconds after the main text of their page(s) has loaded.

I always thought it was noscript and/or adblock stopping their completion.

[Irihapeti]

Why is it so fashionable to pick on forums as being old-fashioned?

Developers prefer mailing lists and irc. You can't get much more old-fashioned than that, and no one seems to mind much.

[uRock]

Why is it so fashionable to pick on forums as being old-fashioned?

Developers prefer mailing lists and irc. You can't get much more old-fashioned than that, and no one seems to mind much.

I think the people who prefer social media only do it because they're thinking of themselves. I prefer using the forums, because they come up in Google searches and possibly save other people a lot of time.

I like jumping on IRC when I need a quick fix or want to be entertained by watching a troll getting the boot, which seems to happen every time I visit.

[lisati]

Why is it so fashionable to pick on forums as being old-fashioned?

Developers prefer mailing lists and irc. You can't get much more old-fashioned than that, and no one seems to mind much.

I could go back further, and mention party lines and going through the operator for ALL phone calls, but suspect that it would be plain inconvenient. Yes, I remember both from my younger days living in the Howick (Auckland, New Zealand) area, and at times it doesn't seem that long ago.

[PaulW2U]

Compared to social media, Forums are clunky and non-intuitive and that is no fault of the forums themselves per se.

Why is it so fashionable to pick on forums as being old-fashioned?

I've seen evidence to suggest that some users won't come here due the type of software that these forums, and of course many others, use.

I visit several thriving and expanding software related forums that now use Discourse which gives their users a much more modern and cleaner look and feel. It's an interesting format which I am still trying to get used to.

Both the Ubuntu Community Hub and Ubuntu MATE Community use Discourse.