[jerrindanny]

Originally Posted by Thermodynamics

https://forum.xda-developers.com/
This one is quite active in the geeky world. It also has resemblance to our forum in terms of layout as well as brotherhood.

Very True bout xda-developers.
This is one of the forums along with gsmarena which i follow for gadgets.

[rascalangel]

Truth be told I was a member of xBHP much before I joined Team-B . I am still a biker at heart but the content on xBHP was getting shabby day by day. Initially there was great support and lots of threads on troubleshooting. However when the motorcycle section on TBHP started growing xBHP felt redundant. Plus there seemed to be a push for the magazine.

I do prefer to get my news bytes from other sources though, such as indianautosblog, rushlane, motoroids etc. But when I want more details, thorough analysis and honest user opinions, I come here. I often watch review videos on youtube from the usual sources. But that is just to get a feel for the overall product than anything else. The so called video reviews have just become clickbaits in which the host just glosses over the "design" features. .

For in depth analysis there is no competition to TBHP. Even the TBHP pictures speak a million times more than generic run of the mills video from usual guys. The small yet significant section is just cherry on the cake. Not to mention the sane discussions that follow any topic.

While I may disagree with TBHP venturing into video reviews, they may still have its place in today's world. I prefer TBHP the way it is. Like I still prefer a proper book over Kindle or a newspaper in the morning (Although most of my news comes from twitter these days!).

Having come from the early days of djluv.in, igniteds, rediff, santabanta, xBHP etc. TBHP is only one I regularly go back to and will do so for days to come!

[darklord]

Originally Posted by GTO

BCMTouring (founded by a late BHPian - God bless his soul) has just 5 updated threads:

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

India-centric international travel site Indiamike.com is probably on its last legs. From employing developers, it has gone to existing on a slow corner of a donor server, whilst its owner keeps it going for the benefit of a now-tiny group of regulars to chew the cud. Quite a few people here are or have been IM members too, and know that, among the regular nonsense (hey, we're all human) there is a wealth of travel information and record along with a great library of photos.

I posted the same travelogue in three different forums that I am a member of. The number of views in each forum tells the tale.

Team-BHP


BCMTouring


Indiamike

[punto_]

I'm a regular visitor on Team BHP and I have learnt most of that I know about cars from here. Quality of the forum is always to the point and checked. I enjoy my time on this forum.

Also another forum that keeps me engaged to an extent is the HiFi Vision and their local whatsapp group, I have learnt a lot regarding audio and this helped me build my AV setup to some extent.
Sometimes I do read some specific audio groups on Reddit, some threads are really helpful.

[ArTigor]

In addition to various probable reasons like youtube, quality of content etc. There is on big aspect I see may be a factor, that is, 'people are losing interest in reading'. I see this phenomenon across different age groups, people now prefer to see videos or listen to audio conversions of books, no doubt Audible is gaining popularity.

Maybe this might be off topic: On the other side there is one issue, in most of credible auto forums, the language is restricted to english(obviously for a wider outreach), many people find it very hard to communicate in english, I know a few "gems" mechanics in my native place who know how to restore Rajdoots and old Yamahas inside out with perfection. Their experiences will never come out in the forums, due to language barrier.

[amol4184]

If t-bhp has 2 wheeler reviews like those of cars, I'm certain the activity will increase multi fold!

That area is something I never find good reads anywhere. Powerdrift and select few have videos but I am not into video reviews and prefer t-bhp style text and photo format.

[MNITDEVIL]

Aptly put @GTO ! Some of these have been a treasure trove of information with rich user experience & insight now down the drain. Gearheads specifically had a lot of in-depth info on (a) car detailing & (b) ICE which I sorely miss as it used to complement the info available on TBHP. Wish there was a way to get that info, put it up in a database and made available for TBHP folks. I think we have enough techies on the forum to give this a try.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Maybe it's been said and I missed it, but, at least thinking about the people I more-or-less-regularly watch on YouTube, videos are about them, whereas a forum is about us.

[doxinboy]

I dont think we need to venture into video format for increasing viability. A user cant be engaged in a way the forum does. The utility of the forum like this lies in creating and sustaining healthy meaningful debate which the video format seldom does. Most of us have seen MKBHD videos, but that's it, an in depth opinion of a gadget influencer. How can we engage in a constructive debate there?

The best part of this forum is the ability to quote and the 'thanks' feature so we can skim through the quality content. I hope the moderators will not be flabbergasted by the request for video content and go mass market. We are good at what we are doing and its proved to be a successful model, why divert resources to other formats?

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by doxinboy

I hope the moderators will not be flabbergasted by the request for video content and go mass market

I would think it would make the moderator's job horrible!

[laluks]

One of the main reasons why I was only with T-BHP, great moderation and participation, threads are clean, easy to fetch information and what not.
Honestly am not surprised at the outcomes with other forums, it was just a matter of time. In this fast paced times who has the time to go through chaotic format for information?

[GTO]

Quality is never arrived at, by accident.

Here are the weekend's reported posts (Report Posts : Contribute in Maintaining Team-BHP's post quality) by BHPians. This is on Sat & Sun, supposedly lower traffic days

Just count the tabs in my browser!


Now, let me get to attacking them .

[KarthikK]

A lot has already been said about why other forums may not have lasted the distance. A lot has changed in the last decade. Reviews by publishing houses are now largely youtube based than written articles in magazines. People's attention spans have dropped, they'd rather subscribe to a channel, watch a 4 minute video with cinematics for reviews every time a new product is launched, than scroll through a lot of posts and threads. There is no denying the fact that youtube did pull away a lot of viewership and that might have led to the demise of some online forums. Yes, all of that is true. However, that is only a part of the picture

In my opinion, what has kept team-bhp flourishing, unaffected by all the social media craze and will continue that way is:

• The sheer quality of threads and posts, every single one of them. This is thanks to both the contributors as well as the tireless efforts of the moderators who devote a lot of their personal time in editing and cleaning up the forum, helping it stay in ship shape everyday, 24 X 7 X 365. The ability to report and get any post going astray and thus ensuring quality, is unmatched.
• The vastness and content of material on so many diverse topics, not only automobile related but even associated topics such as travel, motorsports, photography, fitness and the list goes on.
  
• The respect this forum generates even among non-members / casual readers who have started trusting it more, is quite high. Teambhp reviews are generally associated with detailed, quality content and not timepass feel-good masala content such as YT reviews. I see this perception when I speak to general non-enthusiast colleagues or friends / relatives. A lot of them are also able to see through the paid journalism articles from other media sources and paid product promotions by vloggers.
  
• Almost everyone clicks and watches random vloggers reviewing vehicles, but when it comes to putting their money down and buying a vehicle, they start getting serious about reading reviews on Teambhp, that's where most of the truthful reports are. About pros and cons, of the product, the dealership and everything in between, from the horses' mouths.
  
• The unbiased nature of the official reviews here, kept separate and aside from the user contributed ownership reviews, is also a contributing factor for its success. The fact that none of the content is paid promotional material (the forum even checks and eliminates all chances of unethical marketing tactics or conflict of interests even by business owners who are members) ensures a clean image through and through.

Most of the forums dying now will have lagged behind in one or more of these factors. And they paid a price, a heavy one at that eventually.

[avi550m]

I find my social media consumption has been mostly reddit for the past few years, and in many ways it has replaced online web forums for me in the following ways:

1. There are specialized subreddits where you can follow your own interests like r/formula1, r/pcgaming, r/ufc, among many others. If you have any particular interests you can be sure there will be subreddit on it.

2. You remain anonymous there, just like on team-bhp. You do not have to disclose your personal details if you do not want to.

3. The issue is the moderation and quality of discussion. While the content on various subreddits differs wildly due to the moderators and participants, the information on team-bhp stands to be of a much higher quality.

4. I feel specialized forums like team-bhp, or techpowerup, xdevelopers etc will remain relevant even with social media, for they allow high quality discussion on topics which is not possible on social media platforms.

[SoumenD]

I started my forum journey with xBhp.com back in 2007. It was a rage back then for youngsters like me who had just started working and got their first set of 2 wheels. It was an awesome forum which taught me a lot about safety on two-wheelers be it riding gears, maintaining safe distance, group riding etiquettes or about long distance touring on 2 wheelers. Infact inspired from the travelogues there, I started touring and have done around 22k kms of touring on the bike across India between 2007 to 2012. Still have this on my swing-arm(since 2008)



But since 2012/13 traffic on the forum kind of swelled and quality of posts started going downhill. Infact after looking at this thread I logged in after maybe 4-5 years and it was way to flashy and confusing.