I miss traditional message boards. No karma, no sorting algorithms, you just get new topics on top and replies are sorted oldest to newest.

You can have forum threads that go on for decades, but Lemmy’s default sorting system quickly sweeps older content away. I’m aware you can mimic the forum format by selecting the “chat” option in a thread and sorting by old, and you can sort posts by “latest comment” which replicates the old-school forum experience pretty well, but nobody does it that way, so the community behaves in the manner facilitated by the default sorting algorithm that prioritizes new content over old but still relevant content.

I also notice that I don’t pay attention to usernames on Lemmy (or Reddit back when I was on it). They’re just disembodied thoughts floating through the ether. On message boards, I get to know specific users, their personalities and preferences and ups and downs. I notice when certain users don’t post for a while and miss them if they’re gone for too long.

EDIT: given this is my most upvoted post on here to date I’d say the answer is yes.

  • pemptago@lemmy.mlEnglish
    21·
    2 days ago

    I definitely miss the sense of community and building relationships that I had in forums. In particular, one forum I was on was a great size, diverse members with a shared interest, but we rarely spoke about the topic except to reference it. The off-topic section was where we spent all out time.

    Lemmy/reddit feel more distant. I like it but it’s a different medium. There are people here I find so smart and funny, but interactions are akin to striking up a good convo while waiting in line at the store, wishing you were friends with them, but knowing you’ll probably never see them again.

    It’s not like these platforms have been around that long. I hope one day a new platform/medium comes along that fills that need.