i started using the internet in the late 2000’s and still remember when you search for something most of the times it would return with a forum post … now its just random websites … if you ever need real and concise answer you have to add site:reddit.com at every search and since discord or twitter are not crawlable by these search crawlers they are not mentioned . Where did all those forums went…are there still active forums ?
I wouldn’t say its a return of traditional forums. Far from it really design wise. I think its more of a return to independence and decentralization. I think we’re done with the whole “Web 2.0. Everything in one convenient place” and want to back to an era where things were much harder to find and communities were a lot more separated and dedicated to their own spaces. The fediverse isn’t the end all be all and we’re gonna suddenly go back to the 90s but to me, it’s an honest step in the right direction that could really change the internet for the better.