DAE notice how 'ask anything' forums changed from 2010 to now?

Eric Reed · 2026-04-07T03:15:05.764947+00:00

Back in 2010, the 'ask anything' forum I was on was mostly random personal advice and 'what if' questions. Now, it's almost all tech support, software how-tos, and troubleshooting. The shift happened around 2015 when more people got smartphones. I think search engines got better for simple facts, so people only ask complex stuff here. But some say the old weird questions were more fun and community-building. What do you think caused the biggest change in what people ask?

leerobinson6mo ago

What about the rise of social media taking over personal questions? People used to ask friends online, but now they just post on Twitter or ask in group chats. So forums are left with the technical stuff that needs a deep thread to solve.

4

abby3085mo ago

leerobinson nailed it, that's exactly why personal stuff moved to closed chat apps instead.

3

the_phoenix6mo ago

Is it that deep though? Forums always change with how people use the internet. Maybe we just got older and notice different stuff now. The weird questions probably moved to other sites, not vanished.

1