# What will The Straight Dope website be in 5 and in 10 years? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 5, 2017, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-straight-dope-website-be-in-5-and-in-10-years/798017 "2017-10-05T13:57:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2017, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-straight-dope-website-be-in-5-and-in-10-years/798017/21 "2017-10-06T12:13:24Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > On the downside, Reddit is a segregated echo chamber. The precise upvote mechanism you laud guarantees that minority voices in any particular context get pounded into non-existence. Hence, a wide range of distinct subreddits of every flavor, but almost no cross-pollination. It’s like Facebook’s ugly love baby with Usenet. +1 That’s exactly the reason why I don’t spend a lot of time there. Plus I can’t stand nested discussions. Who the hell has time to click through all that? If god forbid the Dope ceases to exist it won’t surprise me. OTOH I do think it will hang on for awhile, if only because there is a good-sized population here of a certain demographic who remembers how the Dope came to be. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2017, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-straight-dope-website-be-in-5-and-in-10-years/798017/22 "2017-10-06T12:50:40Z")
I think the fate of the Chicago Reader is the only thing that will kill the Straight Dope, and with it the SDMB. And most of us probably will abandon it at that time, and not go onto a new independent board; though some will give it a go I’m sure, it likely will transition onto Facebook or an equivalent. And said fate of said Reader is not dependent on web trends, so who knows when and if that will occur. (the death of Twitter is often talked about, but I think if it doubles down on its niche instead of trying to emulate the competition it will survive, because it serves a unique need) (while Facebook and YouTube will foreseeably survive a nuclear war) ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Nylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Mr.Nylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Nylock)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2017, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-straight-dope-website-be-in-5-and-in-10-years/798017/23 "2017-10-06T13:18:44Z")
> [@SamuelA](#): > > To be fair, Reddit’s format I think is overall superior. Instead of pushing threads to the top by last date posted, do it by upvotes. Decay positive votes all the time to keep it fresh. This keeps the things that are both recent and interesting to the crowd at the top. > > Similarly, comment replies get sorted by quality in a similar way. > > Reddit is also an enormously larger site, orders of magnitude more popular. I spend most of my forum browsing time there, but I hang here sometimes because of more personal discussion, deeper thought put into posts, and certain stand out posters like LSLGuy. I think I mostly come to the straight dope because of a few posters. Some of these posters seem to be posting less and less. I agree that Reddit has a superior format, I think the Straight Dope is a little more intimate though. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2017, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-straight-dope-website-be-in-5-and-in-10-years/798017/24 "2017-10-06T20:47:31Z")
Are we really dying off? Well, as one of the older ones I am probably safe. Since it isn’t very different from five years ago or ten years ago, I don’t suppose it will be very different in five years or even ten. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2017, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-straight-dope-website-be-in-5-and-in-10-years/798017/25 "2017-10-06T20:53:26Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Still running v3.7.3 > > 😃 Good. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2017, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-straight-dope-website-be-in-5-and-in-10-years/798017/26 "2017-10-06T21:07:48Z")
> [@Mr.Nylock](#): > > I think I mostly come to the straight dope because of a few posters. Some of these posters seem to be posting less and less. I agree that Reddit has a superior format, I think the Straight Dope is a little more intimate though. Depends on what you’re here (or there) for. The fact that reddit posts aren’t in chrono order is very disorienting when you’re trying to have a conversation. It might make some kind of sense if you were seeking the most popular opinions on something. The major problem with an upvote system is that often the first thing to catch a few people’s eyes collects most of the early upvotes. Then later far better comments languish on page 37 where they’ll never be seen and hence will never be upvoted. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2017, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-straight-dope-website-be-in-5-and-in-10-years/798017/27 "2017-10-06T21:28:24Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > The fact that reddit posts aren’t in chrono order is very disorienting when you’re trying to have a conversation. It might make some kind of sense if you were seeking the most popular opinions on something. You can change the sorting order. “Best” seems to be the default sort. Top/New/Controversial/Old/Q&A ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2017, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-straight-dope-website-be-in-5-and-in-10-years/798017/28 "2017-10-07T01:46:55Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > Reddit is great just for reading posts ( and is a million times better on mobile), but it definitely sucks for discussion. Outside of small subreddits, by the time you actually see anything interesting it’s already 3 hours old with a thousand comments. No one will ever see what you write. That is why I cam here from Usenet lo these many moons ago. You can’t really have a discussion if there are 50 posts between your post and someone responding. Which I think is a plus for twitter, Reddit and general comment users. They prefer their boards to be write-only. If the Dope shrinks it might be because it is hard for many people to have to defend their positions, as our drive-by poster contingent knows. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2017, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-straight-dope-website-be-in-5-and-in-10-years/798017/29 "2017-10-07T01:49:53Z")
> [@SamuelA](#): > > I’ve noticed I get downvoted just from the first sentence of a post. Nobody even reads one before deciding if it disagrees with their beliefs, so I can sometimes in the middle of the post say something that changes the tone totally, and still get downvoted. The one or two subreddits I visit benefit from throwaway user ids. And even there, where downvoting is not that much of an issue, I use the New tab to read, because otherwise some posts never show up at all. ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2017, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-straight-dope-website-be-in-5-and-in-10-years/798017/30 "2017-10-07T03:09:13Z")
The Straight Dope website, like all websites, will eventually become an online Viagra retailer. In a competitive market, it’s name will give it the edge. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2017, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-straight-dope-website-be-in-5-and-in-10-years/798017/31 "2017-10-07T03:28:48Z")
> [@SamuelA](#): > > To be fair, Reddit’s format I think is overall superior. Instead of pushing threads to the top by last date posted, do it by upvotes. Decay positive votes all the time to keep it fresh. This keeps the things that are both recent and interesting to the crowd at the top. I guess I’m just stuck in the past, because I just can’t fricking follow Reddit to save my life. That discussion format just annoys the crap out of me. I’ve been here, Christ, 17 and a half years now. Nothing has really changed in that time, and I can’t imagine anything major will change in 5-10 years. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2017, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-straight-dope-website-be-in-5-and-in-10-years/798017/32 "2017-10-07T04:33:13Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I guess I’m just stuck in the past, because I just can’t fricking follow Reddit to save my life. That discussion format just annoys the crap out of me. > > I’ve been here, Christ, 17 and a half years now. Nothing has really changed in that time, and I can’t imagine anything major will change in 5-10 years. I agree, about Reddit. It’s just too confusing for text conversations. I only go to Reddit to look at images (yes, but not _just_ porn; I also browse a couple of calligraphy and penmanship subreddits). The Dope is small enough to have actual conversations, and to recognize and come to know - as much as is possible in a virtual space - other posters. With millions of Redditors, some with multiple accounts, that would be impossible. It’s like the difference seeing a band in a bar versus seeing a band in Yankee Stadium. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2017, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-straight-dope-website-be-in-5-and-in-10-years/798017/33 "2017-10-07T12:52:34Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > That is why I cam here from Usenet lo these many moons ago. You can’t really have a discussion if there are 50 posts between your post and someone responding. **Which I think is a plus for twitter, Reddit and general comment users. They prefer their boards to be write-only.** > > If the Dope shrinks it might be because it is hard for many people to have to defend their positions, as our drive-by poster contingent knows. Bolding mine. I think you hit on something real powerful there. Although I might extend it to much of Facebook users too. The main motivation of most users is to post, not to read. They believe they’re broadcasting their fascinating life to adoring multitudes of readers. Except for real world celebrities the reality is far more mundane. Yes, many people subscribe to their friends’ feeds. But they skim what comes across mostly seeking an opportunity to throw out their own pearls of thought. Meanwhile the site/app vendor’s motivation is clear: provide eyeballs to advertisers and whether those eyeballs are reading or posting between seeing ads doesn’t matter in the slightest. To be sure, those of us who post a lot here (such as myself) are also enjoying the feeling of broadcasting to the masses. For much smaller values of “masses”. But IMO there are a lot more lurkers here who read for entertainment, education, or information. For darn sure, as **Voyager** and **Slow Moving Vehicle** just said, our fairly personal group bull sessions can’t scale from a couple dozen participants in any given thread to a couple hundred, much less a couple hundred thousand. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2017, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-straight-dope-website-be-in-5-and-in-10-years/798017/34 "2017-10-08T15:55:31Z")
I’m surprised it’s still up and running at all now. Between the collapse of the online ad market (which is just getting started) and the rise of the big social media sites, there’s really not a future for sites like this. You can tell how desperate the PTB are with the really poor choices of ad vendors. And since many people protect themselves with ad blockers, things are very gloomy. At some point an overseas malware distributor is going to offer the Reader/Sun-Times parent corp. a chunk of money to take the forum off their hands and that will be that. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2017, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-straight-dope-website-be-in-5-and-in-10-years/798017/35 "2017-10-09T02:27:10Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > I really hate the nested reply structure at Reddit and Hacker News. The sequential posts here really facilitate discussion in my opinion. Exactly. Can’t stand Reddit. The few times I’ve gone there, I mostly get frustrated and sometimes confused. I’m another long-time doper and want it to stay basically the same for the indefinite future. I figure I’m good for another 30 years or more, so I hope it lasts that long. Not optimistic about that, though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-the-straight-dope-website-be-in-5-and-in-10-years/798017.md?page=1)