When I think about my previous source of niche info -- Usenet or Yahoo Email Groups -- I vastly prefer forums: searchable, easy to read. (Although changing image hosting has hamstrung many old forums)

What was great about Yahoo Groups was that email would meet the subject matter expert where they were for answers. I was a member of several groups that had old timers with seemingly secret, specific knowledge and a willingness to help others.

I'm a member of a couple Discord servers now with subject matter experts (people who actually designed the computers we're rebuilding) but all their knowledge is locked behind an unsearchable wall.

I hope Lemmy/Kbin/Fediverse forums catch on and invite a new wave of experts to a place where their knowledge won't be lost.

I still miss forums, they were easy to use, practical and had years, decades, of development, lessons learned and people with experience with them. You also really felt like it's a type of community centered around a specific subject instead of a massive conglomeration of topics like reddit, but that could be just due to relative sizes. I also have to admit I've been spoiled with having all my feed in one place instead of having to open a dozen bookmarks every day and check them manually though, no matter how charming that was at the time.

In search of communities due to some on here not having a high level of activity on the fediverse I ended up with coming across a bunch of forums. So they seem very much alive stil.

https://beehaw.org/post/677237

With the way the modern world of advertising is -- that is, completely built on astroturfing and buying out media placement through sponsorships and SEO -- forums are the ONLY way to get certain kinds of good information e.g., product reviews.

We've capitalismed ourselves into a position where we cannot trust 3/4 of our primary media.