2023-06-21, 11:41 PM
(This post was last modified: 2023-06-22, 01:24 AM by joshuaboniface. Edited 8 times in total.)
Pretty much going to echo @skribe and @kwm1800 here.
Reddit is not a forum. It was never designed to be a forum. It had a completely separate use: a link aggregator. I was around long enough to remember when comments were new and self-posts weren't even a thing. It was built for a completely different purpose.
Then, somehow, Reddit (link aggregator) and Discord (glorified chat) took over forums for some reason, a net negative for the Internet as whole. And the reason is exactly what OP said: "convenience". It was a platform, and like all platforms it benefited from keeping your eyeballs on it at all times, regardless of what else suffered because of it.
I'm of the opinion that going back to forums is a net benefit for the community. As mentioned, they foster actual conversations and discussions rather than shallow consumption and low-effort content that drops into the memory bin in a few hours or days (at best). And, despite being a participant in all of those places you mentioned, I agree with Skribe. Sure, having those other communities on the same site can have benefits, but it can also have drawbacks. The "hive mind" is very real and can be very detrimental. And frankly Reddit just sucked for troubleshooting.
We were planning to create this space for a while anyways but the Reddit shenannegans really just pushed up our timelines. Our goal now is to build this site into a place with enough knowledgeable people to replace the shallow participation of those other Reddit communities in the Jellyfin space, and foster a culture where good info won't be lost in the noise.
And I mean, you are by all means free to use Reddit as you see fit, and to post about Jellyfin in any of those subreddits. I'll still be there as
Reddit is not a forum. It was never designed to be a forum. It had a completely separate use: a link aggregator. I was around long enough to remember when comments were new and self-posts weren't even a thing. It was built for a completely different purpose.
Then, somehow, Reddit (link aggregator) and Discord (glorified chat) took over forums for some reason, a net negative for the Internet as whole. And the reason is exactly what OP said: "convenience". It was a platform, and like all platforms it benefited from keeping your eyeballs on it at all times, regardless of what else suffered because of it.
I'm of the opinion that going back to forums is a net benefit for the community. As mentioned, they foster actual conversations and discussions rather than shallow consumption and low-effort content that drops into the memory bin in a few hours or days (at best). And, despite being a participant in all of those places you mentioned, I agree with Skribe. Sure, having those other communities on the same site can have benefits, but it can also have drawbacks. The "hive mind" is very real and can be very detrimental. And frankly Reddit just sucked for troubleshooting.
We were planning to create this space for a while anyways but the Reddit shenannegans really just pushed up our timelines. Our goal now is to build this site into a place with enough knowledgeable people to replace the shallow participation of those other Reddit communities in the Jellyfin space, and foster a culture where good info won't be lost in the noise.
And I mean, you are by all means free to use Reddit as you see fit, and to post about Jellyfin in any of those subreddits. I'll still be there as
/u/djbon2112 too (at least until old.reddit.com and BaconReader stop working). I'm sure they'll help. But /r/jellyfin is dead by our hand and is staying that way, at least from our side; we have zero plans to go back to Steve Huffman's Wild Ride for official support purposes.
