My latest project is building a website for my small town as an alternative to social media. Waste of time? Maybe, but it’s worth a shot. Why I couldn’t wait until Blaugust was over is a mystery to me. It’s not like a site like that is going to take off very quickly.
While I was tinkering with all the different layouts—first a multi-author blog, then a digital bulletin board—it hit me. The easiest way to do it is to make it a forum. Very recently, I read a post by Axxuy about missing forums. I’m not sure if I would have ended up going with the forum idea if I hadn’t read it.
Forums used to be something I couldn’t live without. They’re a great way to keep up with a lot of people concerning related topics. I still check in on one forum about once a month to see how everyone is doing. Unfortunately, it’s dying. There’s too much toxicity being allowed in there for any decent folks to hang around.
For all the good that came from forums, there was just as much bad. Many of the forums from my past were full of trolls and people who didn’t care how rude they were because they were hiding behind a silly username. I’m sure there were, and probably still are, forums that don’t have as much of an issue with that, but I’ve never been part of one.
As you can see, I have mixed feelings about what this site is going to become. I’m holding on to hope that it will have a good vibe overall.
I’m fully prepared for the possibility that this town forum idea of mine won’t get very far, but I have to give it a shot. I’ll feel better knowing I tried to give my town something better than social media, even if it does fail. On the other hand, the last forum I was a regular at didn’t have more than 10 or 15 regulars. A couple of tabletop gaming groups could keep a forum going for a long time.
Wish me luck.