I miss traditional message boards. No karma, no sorting algorithms, you just get new topics on top and replies are sorted oldest to newest.
You can have forum threads that go on for decades, but Lemmy’s default sorting system quickly sweeps older content away. I’m aware you can mimic the forum format by selecting the “chat” option in a thread and sorting by old, and you can sort posts by “latest comment” which replicates the old-school forum experience pretty well, but nobody does it that way, so the community behaves in the manner facilitated by the default sorting algorithm that prioritizes new content over old but still relevant content.
I also notice that I don’t pay attention to usernames on Lemmy (or Reddit back when I was on it). They’re just disembodied thoughts floating through the ether. On message boards, I get to know specific users, their personalities and preferences and ups and downs. I notice when certain users don’t post for a while and miss them if they’re gone for too long.
EDIT: given this is my most upvoted post on here to date I’d say the answer is yes.
I miss forum signatures. The best you can usually get these days is a tiny little piece of flair. It would be fun if Lemmy or something supported forum signatures, though I suppose the moderation for that could be annoying.
I just really liked that level of expression.
Animated signature banners were fun
Signatures were so silly but fun. I doubt you could do something similar today. Too many people are so cynical and would dismiss it as stupid. Back then you could be more silly on the internet without immediate backlash of people putting you down.
I miss them too. I used to love designing little banners, and choosing the most appropriate quote to communicate my teenage angst.
Couldn’t agree more. I don’t miss getting information from forums. A voting system for posts and comments makes it easier to filter out the bullshit and get straight to the answers. It also encourages people to make more helpful replies so that they get upvoted. Definitely don’t miss the days of going through pages and pages of dumb, pointless replies, just to get to the one comment with the helpful response.
What I miss is the same thing you do: the fun part of forums. The signatures, avatars, ranks and titles. The sense of community, because everyone knows each other and they all post regularly. You don’t get the same sense of community on a social media platform like Lemmy. Just strangers sharing their opinions and nobody remembers anyone.