Nothing in the news post seems to add up to me.
They say that they're removing the forums because most players prefer other platforms. The key word here is "most" - a glaring admission that it is not
all
.
They also say that not many discussions occur on the forums. This is because the forums are not promoted at all. Discord, X, Twitch, YouTube and Facebook are promoted all the time. It's no wonder new players don't know the forums exist when they're being diverted away from them by Jagex.
They say they want to allocate their resources to these other platforms. I think many of us already know that they did this years ago, and the forums have been living a life without any Jagex involvement for a fairly long while. So it seems the only reason to shut them down is to remove a server or two that are hosting the forums in an effort to save costs. I completely understand if this is the actual reason, and to me it is the only one that makes sense, so why not just say it? If this is not the case, why not keep them as they are now?
I received a message from a friend today who gave me this news. Truth be said, it pissed me right off and put a dampener on what was supposed to be an enjoyable night out.
I have had many wonderful conversations on these forums and have formed many long term friendships. I do believe that these forums were one of the best around (despite some features being lacking), and whilst I have bitter feelings about the news announcement, I do have to admit that the forum form has taken a downturn in popularity over the past decade.
As for where you will find me in the future, you will certainly not see me in the cesspool of Reddit (my god, if you think moderation is bad here, Reddit will certainly be an eye-opener), and most likely won't see me on X.
However, I will try to get to grips with Discord. It looks to have most of the sub-forums that I frequent here, so I suppose I have to give it a chance.
~A~
12-Jan-2024 23:25:54
