Fwoosh Toys/Articulated Icons - A Retrospective

Revox said:
I gave up on the Fwoosh once the log in stopped working. It may well have been because I have a bunch of extensions for privacy and to prevent ads and scripts breaking the already flaky fabric of the forum but it just stopped being worth the effort anyway.

I do love forums though, I'm not a fan of the way they've been replaced/abandoned in the main.

Another board I've been on for over 20 years now is one of some online pals and acquaintances. It started as a very cliquey UK games industry spin off from a leading magazine (one of the few still actually in print today), running out of a mate's old server somewhere on an ancient version of phBB. They never bothered to properly upgrade it though so it's become more and more antiquated over time and a couple of years back, almost everyone decamped to Discord instead (which I loathe). Eventually I caved and went over after the rest kept pleading but the Discord way of doing things sucks balls and you just know it's going to enshitten itself out of use sooner rather than later and then everything's lost. There's still one hold out left on the old board, they hate Discord even more than I do and will still post something every month or so...which kind of works for most of us because he's an incredibly annoying contrarian word salad generator. But he's a mate so what can you do, etc.
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Yeah I am still old school in that I only use forums. I don't have any social media accounts so Facebook groups, Discord, Reddit, etc. are all places I don't bother with for discussion. I will say that I do see the numbers on forums I frequent have dropped off over the decades. I don't know when they were at their peak. Maybe a decade ago? However, anecdotally, I would say most forums are no longer at their peak membership because of how many other places have popped up for fandom discussion/gathering. Plus time is also a factor. Much like any service in the digital age people age out and younger groups don't necessarily go to the same formats as previous generations.
 
Social media is not a place for discussion like forums are. Places like Facebook and IG are just there to show off or appeal to the lowest common denominator. There’s never any kind of informed discussion. It’s a wasteland. Reddit is the closest thing but those people are newbs for the most part. Not like us with a couple decades experience and interaction.
 
Damien said:
I almost immediately changed my home button from Fwoosh to AT. Once I did that, I only went to Fwoosh very intentionally and very rarely. And yeah, Marvel still got some posts every day, I think. Maybe three or four other threads had activity at least once a week. Everything else was less than once a week. It was definitely full ghost town mode.
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This was exactly me as well.
 
RichardSimmonsRobot said:
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The people yearn for walkable neighborhoods.
Revox said:
I do love forums though, I'm not a fan of the way they've been replaced/abandoned in the main.
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Reddit just isn't the same.
canprime said:
I don't know when they were at their peak. Maybe a decade ago?
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Forums in general? Like, 2005. Fwoosh? I'll say 2006 with another huge resurgence in 2016/2017.
NORM said:
Places like Facebook and IG are just there to show off or appeal to the lowest common denominator.
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You're not kidding. I follow my football club on Instagram. Wading into the comments is the worst decision I make in a given week. The top comments are always inane at best or ignorant at worst.
 
Guys... it's Gothneo!
I was happy to see your name pop up on the new members list, my dude. Welcome.
 
I closed my open tab for the Fwoosh only a couple months ago, although I’d stopped visiting a while before that, and I don’t think I’ve posted since 2024. Honestly, I feel like a bit of a heel going back there at this point, since I’ve so firmly planted my “loyalty flag” over here. Even logging in sets off my “don’t be a prick” radar.
 
Lol. If it is for the shit talking that would be funny as hell.

Sent from my SM-S921U1 using Tapatalk
 
Gothneo said:
Its nice to see so many old names over here... sad to see another great forum implode... I didnt really post much after fwoosh went through its last major reset... but always enjoy reading opinions and was happy to find AT.
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Always love seeing familiar names from the old hangout. Glad you made it here!!
 
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Damien said:
We came up on Google! Was it because of me shit-talking Bobby Vala? Must have been. You're welcome everyone. We're number 3!
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People say forums are irrelevant, but this is persuasive evidence we're entering our 90s hip hop era. Big sales ahead.

Seriously, forums are where you get the hyperfixated guys with the deep knowledge reservoirs. As a resource, they're irreplaceable by anything else online. I've said it before, but you know what happens when you let a forum guy into a social media ecosystem where people have forgotten the ancient ways? You get Menswear Guy, and now you have a lot of ridiculed conservatives and at least a few guys who learned how to buy pants that fit. Inarguably beneficial for society as a whole.
 
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