So where to go in 2024? (It's useless to ask so I don't do it).

[ModHunter]

Okay, so let's roll... 

I really did not want to do this but I can not find anything on my own so I post this here...

For just over one year ago I did post a little thread on the Nraas forum board. (Link will follow in the end of this post). The thing is that I feel it's time to move on...but where to? here is a short story for you.

I began to play The Sims (2) back in 2008-ish and 2009 I did join the MTS forum board. It felt like a nice place to be and I did get a lot of help from there. I haven't played much The Sims (3) but I had good help with that game as well. But only shortly after getting in to The Sims 4 (2018-19-ish) Things started to change at the forum. I won't get into details here but let's say that there were "Haters". Tons of them! And the moderators did not seem to care. Furthermore,I did get a strong feeling that everyone (the forum leader included) thought that I were in the wrong when I did not share the public opinion (the trash talk about the game and the developers)...  For the moment the situation have calmed down but I'm sure it won't last long. in the meantime, the most active threads are focusing on "alternatives" to the Sims (Paralives, LifeByYou, inZOI-Kraftton etc). And I will not post anything on there!

And I don't like that so I came here in December of 2021. But even though a few years have passed since then I have not been able to get into it yet. Even if I'm always logged in I feel I'm just a guest here... Sure I try to write things and members are helpful when there is any issues but It feels so overwhelming quiet here. I'm sorry but that's the way it is! Sure, I don't know what's going on in the forum sections for pack I don't own (I.E. the section for "For Rent") and I surely don't know what's going on in the Story/Challenge sections as non of this interests me.  My interest in a forum is to see what other players do, What they build, what sims they create, look at funny screenshots, or other screenshots. I even tried to make such a thread myself (My furry sims). But what reactions did in get? I tell you: *plays sound of crickets*. Okay, that was a very specific niche but you get the point. I have seen other show some sims on here and no reactions. *Shakes head*

So I left for a wile. I had a big time thinking and decided (even if I partly refused to do so) the "official" forum at forums.thesims.com, it must have been in April of 2023.  And it sure did have some of the things I was looking for. And nice members. But In Febraury of 2024 someone somewhere at the EA office panicked and it was decided that the forum board was to be closed in July. Thanks for nothing then... And as EA-Cade gave me a warning when I spoke up I won't touch anything EA related "with a stick" from now on!  I never, ever going to join there new forum-app-thingamabob! And I have not been posting anything since then.

So I did came back here... As some of you might know,  I don't use modern "over the top cool" social media like Facebook, X tumblr and so on. I want an old fashioned forum! But I did reg myself on Discord. I added three servers: The Sims, Planet Sims and The Sims Café. The "PS" server seems to be most active but it's not the same as forum thread. Why? Be course a forum thread works like this: Member A post a pic. Get on or two comments on it. Then member B post another pic. Discord works like this: Member A post a pic and then there are about 10 thank you comments before member B loses it and posts a pic. It's a boring read... and a forum thread do have a page "one"! Discord does not. I can not go back to the first post.  Worthless!

Now, during all this time I have been a member of the Nraas forum board. But It's a forum focused on the Nraas mods (mostly TS 3 but some TS 4). It's Okay that it is that way and I thinks it better for the users. It does help keeping the focus. (In my thread I did get some suggestions on tumblrs and such but it was not helpful to me...).

So It began to search... and I did find a forum - in Germany! And in German of course...but I can read and speak that language. But I can not write in that language. But there's always Google translate for those things... So I did contact the admin and some moderators to get more info... but I have been waiting for over a month for a simple answer... and that makes me angry!  If the problem is their spam post filter, my spam post filter or if they do not want to answer this stupid swede is beyond me.  But I won't join the board at Simforum.de. 

So I did a new search and came up with some more forums: Simsforums.com, Sims4forum.com and Boolprop.net. All of those seems to have a few "modern" posts but many threads that dates back to 2014-17. And lots of stories/challenges. I don't think it's worth the effort to join there...

So, where does it lead us? Well, let me say it this way: "I'm all dressed up but have nowhere to go". And that's sad. I have always been a shy person but I have discovered the joys of interacting with others over forums. I can do that and feel "safe" when doing so. But there do not seem to be any places like that in 2024. I will end this post with a quote from my last post in my thread at Nraas forum board.

Q: "All I want is to be part of a group with others who are interested in the Sims 4, share pics and so. Nothing more, nothing less... But that's impossible in 2024. So I give up...

Now back to the regularly scheduled forum. Good night! " EQ. 

My thread on Nraas.net: https://www.nraas.net/community/chatterbox/topic12052

[GlazeyLady]

@ModHunter

When I joined this forum back in Sims 3 days it was very active, with a lot of threads being posted on every day. The same was true in early/mid Sims 4 days. The thing is, the game is now 10 years old. A lot of people found this forum because the site associated with it was the absolute best site for Sims 4 content - it gave more information, and accurate information, about every new pack, every feature, everything in the game. But that site is no longer updated, and the person who owns the site (Carl) is now making awesome mods, which is a great thing because his mods are truly among the best. But it means this site is no longer the place to go for the best Sims info, and in fact, it's my opinion that there is no site to go to for the best Sims info. Which, I believe, is why there's no really good, active forum any more.

I find that fewer and fewer people post on all the forums, this one included. Many of the people who used to post here all the time no longer even play the game. That said, I do post regularly, but in the story threads, which I know you said don't interest you. That is the only place I see regular posting other than the Challenge threads. I don't play the challenges any more - I used to, and was even on the the Challenge team for awhile creating them, but if you are interested in how people play the game, and especially how to be really efficient with different aspects of the game, those are great threads to read. When the challenge is complete, the players of it post information about how they approached the challenge and sometimes what they would do differently if they were doing it again. I have learned a lot about the game and different ways to do things that I didn't know about or hadn't thought of from reading those challenge posts. And if you have a question, you can post it there and they will see it and if you tag the person you're asking and/or if your question is timely (i.e. not two years after the challenge ended) you are 99% likely to get a response.

Regarding the story threads, some have a lot of text, but many have images and only short text to go with them. Right now, I only see three of us consistently writing stories and posting frequently, but there are more who post occasionally and a few that reference their stories that live in other places. The three of us comment on each other's stories and share information about the game as well - I have also learned techniques and ways to do things from that. When we write the stories, they aren't just stories, they are about whatever challenge we are doing at the time, how we approach it, and often the images are funny things that happened in the game. It sounds like not an exact match for what you are looking for, but like it has elements of what you seek.

I would suggest that even if it seems those two threads aren't a match for you, that you give them a shot and read some posts there. At the very least, you'll find the other members of this forum that are still very active, and potentially you'll click with someone and want to start up a "conversation" even if it isn't about the specific challenge/story. But if you have a question or comment that is not at all related to the challenge or story, I would recommend you PM the person or ask it in a different thread and tag that person. People who are active on the forum will notice and read a post they are tagged in even if it's in a thread they don't normally visit.

Also, have you noticed the link at the upper left, right under where it has "Hello" and your name that says "Show unread posts since last visit."?   If you click that, it will show you all the posts that have been made since you last logged in - from that you can also find players who are active on the forum, and maybe find the kind of interaction you are looking for. I hope you do, and while I'm not always immediately available (work, family, etc.) I am on the forum pretty much every day and am happy to chat/share/etc.

[ModHunter]

@GlazeyLady

Sorry for the delay, and also thank you for the deep reply. It was a very nice read and I will try to answer in the same manner (wrote "try" because english is not my native language so it misses some smoothness).

 I do not remember correctly but I think I came here via the guides. I must have been searching for something Sims 4 related online and got a hit taking me to a guide from Carl. (I really do come back to the guides every now and then). And eventually, I happen to notice that there was a link to this forum. I have no reason to doubt that the number of people playing the Sims 4 is decreasing. After all, the game won't get any better after each update, patch and pack... unfortunately. I do, however, believe that there are people that are interested in posting. The problem is that they are not here on this forum board, and that's sad. Ever since I joined this board I had a hope that it would change, that there would be more activity... but as it seems, I was wrong. At least this far... Sure, I could try to make picture threads but I don't think I will "get anyone to get onboard that train". As in the "Weird pictures, funny posts or something new" thread... There only use to be a very few members posting there - and I'm one of them. (In all honesty, I really did have the idea to write a thread begging members to be more active. I did discuss this with my "buddy" but we decided that it was a bad idea. So I did not).

About stories: Well, I guess I could look into them... "Don't knock it till you try it" right (even if I never intended to criticize, it's just a saying). I don't think it's for me though. When I was younger I could sit down and read a book - today I don't. It's another time and place. Everything happen so fast and there is inputs from so many directions... and all of that "jazz". But I can take a look. (That said, I can understand the joy of writing a story so it's not you - it's me). And before you ask: I can not write a story myself. I'm far to random as a player so it will never work. But anyway, I'm always interested to "chat" about the game. And maybe show some stuff (within the  limitations of the forum rules). I will be here every now and then. 

Sorry that I could not make a better reply. I know it's not much but it was the best I could do for now...

[GlazeyLady]

@ModHunter

Thank you for the reply!
Like you, I have looked around for more active Sims 4 forums but haven't found one - if you do, please let me know - I'd be interested in joining as well.

Good luck - I do hope you can find somewhere more active. 

[ModHunter]

So I thought it would be a good idea to spread the topic outside this forum and made a thread on the DeviantArt forum (yes, they do have a forum but it's not that easy to spot). I was told that The Sims Recurse do have a forum and it surprised me as I have been using the site for years and years but haven't take notice. Now, I'm not a member of TSR but I did drop them a note and this morning (local time) I did see that I had an answer on my mail.  Here is the mail conversation.

My question:

"I'm not a member of the TSR but I might join depending on the outcome of this email...

I'm a long-time player of the Sims and through the years I have downloaded "tons" of stuff from your website. But I recently found out that you have a forum as well and now I'm interested to know what type of forum it is (as I can not see it). Is it only for mods/CC, for technical questions, help or something else like stories/challenges? I mostly look for a forum to post and look at screenshots from the game. Maybe chat a little and such things. If you feel like it, please send me an email".

The answer:

"Hello,

Thanks for reaching out with your excellent question about our forums. I shared your inquiry with our team to try and give you the best possible reply. This actually did spark a conversation about upgrading some new options to share content like images and stories.

The forums are typically for trouble shooting, as you had suspected. However, this is mostly because of the type of traffic that utilizes the option. There was a moderator from the forums who replied that originally it was very much like what you had described being attracted to. Below is a snippet from her comment.

We also had a lot of activity in our building channels. We even had building challenges. We had short stories in the challenges and stories forum. There is a screenshot section which is part of the main site. Not sure if you know about it. We used to choose a screenshot a day to feature on TSR's home page. At one point the administrators were going to have a special title for people who created good screenshot stories. For some reason the old administrators scrapped the idea.

To sum up, it sounds like the forum experience can be whatever the users who want to engage and build a community make of it. Sadly, it can also suffer from neglect when there isn't enough enthusiasm from members to keep it engaging and fun.

I hope this does help to address your question. Please let me know if you need any additional assistance".

It does sound kind of right but I'm not sure. If someone is a member of the TSR forum feel free to tell me if it's good or not. 

[GlazeyLady]

@ModHunter
Thank you for sharing. It does sound like this forum has also experienced a decline in interest and traffic. I am a member there and download cc often . . . I just can't ever have enough clothes in the closet CAS.    But I never realized they had a forum.

[ModHunter]

So, I did some more searching and found a forum called sims4ever (.de). A german forum but like the ones I did mention in my first post there is not much going on. Mostly older posts. I'm a member of the art community DevianArt and there are quite a few groups on there devoted to the Sims. But it's mostly the same pics in all of the groups and the and judging by the time stamps the pics were added years and years back. It's hopeless!!      

[ModHunter]

So I thought about this... and as previously stated: It's hopeless!    I don't understand why I even CARE about trying to find a new place to share stuff... No one want's to do the same... or do it on some over the top hyped super cool social media that we normal people would never understand. If anyone happen to know about a good forum (or platform) somewhere out there in the darkest corner of the internet you know where to find me. I give up now!