>>7The idea that forums are a thing of the past make me incredibly sad. There is so much information that is available to [i]everyone[/i] that you can search for or stumble upon. But with all of these private communities, all of that information is gated off from anyone who isn't currently in that group.
Yes, forums are clunkier to use because it's not instant messaging, but the information that is kept is much more valuable. I think people tend to keep their posts thoughtful and on topic specifically [i]because[/i] the poster knew that they wouldn't get an immediate response. They had to formulate their thoughts more carefully, else they just get ignored.