Is there a future for forums?

I have few things that I'd really consider pet peeves, but one is when I see someone who is enthusiastic about something getting dumped on by the "old guard." It's one reason I peruse reddit's wicked edge when I have a free moment (read: when I'm on the hopper). So many who are new and/or young and are just excited to be trying something that they see as cool and exciting, as opposed to the normal doldrums of shaving with a cart and foam. Why would you not help and encourage that person. Why rain on their parade and dampen their excitement, potentially pushing them away?

It does happen though, and not just on shaving forums. I've seen it on video game forums when I was younger. Sports forums, and Army/Defense Knowledge Online forums while I was still on active duty. Hell, I've even seen it from little ole ladies on soapmaking forums. No matter what the topic, it just like life. People try to form a pecking order and sometimes they feel the need to break out the ruler and have an internet pecker-measuring contest over everything. Just because it happens on shaving forums doesn't mean that shaving forums are a dying breed already. It just means that shaving forums are populated with real humans, and real humans can be jerks sometimes.

Just to that last point of yours: as can bots, in fact. I'm sure you heard of the Twitter bot not long ago - think it might have been Microsoft's? - which supposedly learnt from other posts, and turned negative and racist in less than a day. Brave new world!

C&C have you ever seen that orthodox rapper on stage wtih the black dude in dreads? it is a crack up to watch and hear! I like it when threads go off track. I saw a train do that once just to avoid an ugly woman and serious threads can become tedious. It's like when my 103 y/o great gandmother was dying. She hung on all day with everyone gathered around silent and somber, watching every shallow breath expecting it to be her last. I'm sitting there getting stern looks from a RC nun - hey, I'm C of E! and let out a huge fart. Everyone was shocked. GG Hanna let out a feeble laugh, whispered was that Chris? and passed.