How important are forums?

[Alin]

This just came to mind. I just realized that I belong to forums for each of my hobbies. I think it's crucial to belong to a forum for the sheer fact that the knowledge obtained is priceless. :tup:

What're your guys' thoughts on this? Surely you can get your information from other websites that aren't forums, so why do forums exist and why do people continue to use them?

 

[Grinder34]

There are other ways, but its much slower and less reliable.

Back in the day you HAD to go to meets, and who knows if the guy you were talking to was an actual guru or just some idiot. Now you can get lots of discussion and discourse at the same time.

Of course there are always magazines, but even then the relevant article you're looking for may not be published for another 18 months, or was published the month before you subscribed!

I don't know what I'd do without forums.

 

[Spamby]

Before the forums you went to the library or ordered books from the mail order companies like Jeggs or Summit.
You either had buddies in the real world that new a thing or two, or you pestered the a friendly mechanic.

Everyone had a Haynes or Chilton manual. They had diagnostic tables for specific symptoms.

But above all, you did the work yourself and learned from trial and error.

 

[Grinder34]

But above all, you did the work yourself and learned from trial and error.

Much more expensive and dangerous that way. Especially if you're talking about something like guns, or scuba.

I'm on so many forums (albeit at a much lower activity level) for things like scuba, biking, etc... I couldn't afford subscriptions to all those magazines and all the trial/error!

 

[Spamby]

Much more expensive and dangerous that way. Especially if you're talking about something like guns, or scuba.

I couldn't afford subscriptions to all those magazines and all the trial/error!

The internet didn't exist so trial and error was kind of common place.
I guess there's a whole world of people that don't remember not having the net, or never had known.

 

[Alin]

The internet didn't exist so trial and error was kind of common place.
I guess there's a whole world of people that don't remember not having the net, or never had known.

Hey thats me! :lol:

Anyone under 25-30 fits this criteria. We were too young to be into cars right when the net kicked off.

 

[IGOTASTi]

We have our reasons why we started this community 4 years ago.

 

[Batmobile_Engage]

The value and importance of forums today is unfathomable, regardless of subject. Before the age of the internet, consider all the places one might need to go to obtain information and learn from someone else's experience. The internet forum is just another 21st century response to the need to pool information, and a place to do it, anything from a library to a fraternal group or a trade union used to be where you'd find the information. That being said, those were things you sought locally, while here for example, we enjoy the experience and advice of people from all over the country, and world.