Over time people have made the switch from message boards to the Facebooks and Twitters of the world. Obviously, you didn't need me to tell you that as most of you will likely have one or both of these, along with accounts at other websites that have popped up over the last 10 to 15 years.

This leads me to wonder, what magic is still retained in forums? What do you feel, if anything, was lost in the transition to the convenience of modern interaction online?

I like that threads are idea centric. You find a topic you're interested in, and everyone contributes to the discussion. Granted that Twitter has this, with their trending topics and whatnot, everyone has an opinion on whatever. But the "algorithm timeline" feels like a lot of shouting into the wind. I feel like at least in forum threads your thoughts are consolidated in one place and you're discussing amongst other friends what you're feeling. Where as Twitter can often times feel like you're shouting into the void.

I also feel like Facebook tends to be person centric instead of idea centric. "Here's what I baked today", "Here's where I went on vacation", where as on a forum the topic might be "Where have you all gone on vacation" or "where is your ideal vacation". Granted again, that Facebook has "groups" to discuss or be a fan of certain things.

There's a place for all of it, and I'm not saying messages boards are better or worse than social media as I have accounts at all of these places, too. However, I think overall I prefer the forum feel. Less pissing into the wind and more discussion. Topics stay around longer, as well. When I mention something on Facebook, it's often gone the next day.