this is an interesting question iâve had banging around in my mind since well before Redditâs implosion (and Discordâs enshittification), but which seems really worth asking now.
you canât blame Reddit and Discord or their imitators entirely for these going out of style, but theyâve sure put the dagger in a lot of remaining ones, and i kind of wonder if theyâre just in an irreversible and terminal decline a la USENET. i can only name two or three i even consider checking anymore, and iâm not sure how sustainable any of those are long-term.
This really connects with how Iâve been feeling switching from reddit to beehaw the last couple of days.
I used to be very active on a game-related forum and knew most of the regulars there pretty well (esp. the other teenagers/young adults). It was a nice time.
However, now that Iâve gotten used to reddit over the past ~6 years, Iâve realised the standard level of engagement with others and the amount of attention I feel like spending on a comment or post is so much lower than it used to be back in my forum days.
I wonât lie - itâs been hard to find the mental capacity to write a full and engaging comment sometimes. I find myself having some thoughts on a subject and then giving up before I start writing because Iâm just not used to writing that much anymore.
Itâs not a bad thing though! Iâm glad to be spending more time on honest and engaging replies :)
