Space.com Forums Closure

[CreatedEvolution]

I hope all scientists had a chance to read my base 360 idea. It's easy to read but was difficult fabricating with no prior information. Besisides binary. it started out knowing .33 repeating is not a third. Years later i had the altsrnate base theory and explored it. This just needs programming and calculator error is fixed.

Farewell space.com forums. I enjoyed trying to teach a lesson on a couple of my ideas that every astronaut should consider. Peace be with you and goodbye

 

[Wolfshadw]

Just a final thought.

Take care, friends.

-Wolf sends

 

[newtons_laws]

Sorry to see the space.com forum close down (for the second time!)

 

[Gibsense]

https://space-talk.proboards.com/
This site is hardly ever used now - maybe we had better use this instead of my suggestion (which I don't know how to work, lol, so you would have to Admin it.

Anyway I will try a few posts on there and see how it goes. Maybe establish some links if allowed.

Searching by 'space-talk' does not work, you need the whole URL as above. The site I have started is undeveloped so might be better to use the above one

 

[billslugg]

The site appears to be alive but unused. Without a moderator it would be a free for all.

 

[silylene]

Why notr surprised? This all happened before to the SDC forums, about 12 yrs ago. At least this time the management at SDC gave you all 1 week prior notification, instead of just mysteriously going dark.

Which is why so many people never returned back.

So don't be surprised if a few years from now that SDC happily announces they are going to add a forums feature to their website and everyone is welcome, and act as if they hadn't pulled the plug stunt beforehand..

Been there, done that. History repeats.

 

[Harry Costas]

Is this see you later?
Thank you for being here.
Space.com will still be here.

 

[Gibsense]

Without a moderator it would be a free for all.

True, but this forum had moderators and still failed. The rules were comprehensive and matched the recommendations CoPilot made when I asked. Interesting that the actual reason for closure was not given, even today. This lack of transparency gives rise to conspiracy theories (although in this case, no one can be bothered)
AI bashing seems to be offered up as a reason, which I find difficult to accept, as it suggests we are incapable of controlling such contributions. This is a defeatist approach I do not think is credible.

So, here is AI's answer:

1. Decline in User Engagement​

Forums like Space.com often suffer from dwindling participation as conversations migrate to faster-paced platforms like Reddit, Discord, and even social media. Fewer active contributors can make moderation and hosting feel less worthwhile.

2. Cost vs. Value Equation​

Hosting, moderating, and maintaining forums—even modest ones—requires resources. If return on investment (user engagement, traffic, ad revenue) dropped, the parent company might’ve concluded it no longer justified the expense.

3. Shift Toward Centralised Content​

There’s a growing trend of moving user discussions into comment sections on articles, centralised “ask an expert” formats, or subscription-based newsletters. Forums offer decentralised, unpredictable dialogue, which can conflict with streamlined content strategies.

4. Moderation Challenges​

Science forums attract passionate debates. Balancing free expression with rigorous moderation—especially on sensitive or speculative topics—can become exhausting. If moderation became too burdensome or contentious, that might’ve accelerated the decision.

5. Strategic Repositioning​

Future plc may be reshaping Space.com into a more journalistic or commercial destination, focusing on curated news and multimedia rather than open-ended discussion. Forums might’ve been seen as a legacy feature that didn’t align with newer goals.

---

 

[Gibsense]

Strategic Repositioning

AI agrees with me that competition is a good idea. Set up a Website in direct competition (including a forum)

 

[Unclear Engineer]

The most likely answer to the question of "Why" is that not enough forum participants clicked on the associated ads, so "management" wasn't making as much money as they wanted from the forum and decided to invest their associated resources in other ways to increase income.

No hint about whether that is a financial necessity or just greed.

 

[COLGeek]

Speculating on the "why" won't really help, but there are a couple things to consider should another forum pop-up as previously mentioned.

Currently, there are fewer than 20-30 "regulars". There are very few new members that are NOT want-to-be spammers. Aside from article comments, there isn't a lot of member generated discussion. Should a new forum pop-up, you need to establish a strong no advertising/no self promotion policy.

Moderators here are volunteers. Getting moderators is not an issue for this site. We also help on other sites and have worked together for years. We talk among ourselves a great deal, especially when resolving rules matters.

A trend here, in my opinion, that has been detrimental to the site is the reliance on AI by members (even including dueling AI discussions in threads). This has taken the human out of the loop (why forums exist). Should any of you start a new forum, I suggest you consider the rules regarding AI usage closely.

In a closed thread, it was speculated that spammers are the reason this site is going under. That is simply not the case. We have filters that catch the vast majority of such content before you ever see it. We have a zero tolerance for spam and we discard those few that do get through as quickly as possible.

Last, we live in a hyperbolic world with endless "news" cycles that spill over into all sorts of semi-anonymous discussions across the interwebs. That content is NOT generally beneficial to intelligent conversation (like space/science), especially when MUCH of that content comports with a particular agenda. If a new forum pops up, you need rules to prevent this from happening. More than a few here violated these concerns and they were handled accordingly, including members being removed completely from the site. This is very important to the health of a forum to have clear rules on acceptable conduct and topics.

It has been a pleasure to interact with this community. While I didn't always agree with what was posted, I learned a great deal and appreciate the comradery. Should any of you decide to branch off on your own to lead a forum effort....good luck. It isn't an easy thing to plan, organize, and administer. If you need advice, you'll find me and the other moderators and staff spend time at both Tom's Guide and Tom's Hardware. Drop us a note there and we'll try to point you in the right direction.

We are made of star stuff.

https://imgur.com/a/nvrUPPh

View: https://imgur.com/a/nvrUPPh

 

[Gibsense]

. If you need advice, you'll find me and the other moderators and staff spend time at both Tom's Guide and Tom's Hardware. Drop us a note there and we'll try to point you in the right direction.

I think we all need to thank COLGeek for his attention to our conversations and for keeping us on the straight and narrow. Time is the most valuable commodity available, more so as you get older (I can vouch for that!).
I don't know COLGeek's age, but I must say thank you

 

[Unclear Engineer]

Well, I disagree that thinking about why this forum is being shut down doesn't have any value in thinking about how it might be resurrected/continued elsewhere.

As COLGeek has pointed out, the time and effort needed was mainly provided by volunteers, who don't seem to be the reason for the shutdown.

So, if his cadre of volunteers who work on this forum and others was willing to do the same job on a different venue, what would be needed?

Goups.io has many e-mail servers that I utilize for various special topics, with moderators who are volunteers at both moderating and "owning" the groups. It is not a "forum", but serves practically the same purpose with an e-mail list server. There are archives of past messages, places to upload data and photos, etc.

Pricing is : ( https://groups.io/static/pricing )
"From $100/month non-profit · $200/month commercial
"$0.10 - 0.20 per member"

So, the issue would be where to get more than $1,200 per year.

COLGeek says there are only 20-30 "regulars" here, so would we all be willing to pay $60 or more per year to be members? Or, is there some "benefactor" available to make membership free? I don't think advertising works on that model.

Just trying to be realistic. What is needed is some money and a lot of volunteer effort.

 

[COLGeek]

The "why" I was commenting on was in regard to the specific decision to stand down this forum, not the greater "why" and path forward discussed by UE.

In general, "paid" forum sites haven't been very popular/successful. Just an observation based on previous experience and discussions elsewhere. It is something though that has impacted news sources as they have gone behind paywalls to prevent AI/LLM scraping and trying (I use that word with a bit of skepticism) to remain afloat.

A citizen/volunteer effort, is not without merit. If any of you take it on, good luck.

 

[Harry Costas]

Is this the last day?

 

[Harry Costas]

It has been a pleasure talking to all.
Keep at it, keep looking for answers.

 

[Gibsense]

Who's to trumpet the "Last Post" lol

 

[Classical Motion]

kb7wg at hotmail dot com.

 

[billslugg]

I was WA3LVP but that was 56 years ago!

 

[Helio]

Perhaps a song would be appropriate....

View: https://youtu.be/l7BtqvnKJEY

 

[COLGeek]

Perhaps a song would be appropriate....

View: https://youtu.be/l7BtqvnKJEY

So the site is a pretty woman?

 

[Helio]

So the site is a pretty woman?

See, that's why your such a great moderator!

But love has many interests. And it also hopes for a return. So I'll stay optimistic for a brighter forum future. Perhaps something will stir the public enough to get folks engaged enough to support a forum such as this.

Also, I did notice that I was unable to complete the login requirements for commenting on Space.com articles. The verification email never arrived. I then looked to see how many comments were on a handful of articles and found none. Perhaps I'm doing something wrong, but if not, I think more will comment with the forum going on ice.

 

[COLGeek]

All I know is that the registration process is different than the one used to access the forum. The two use different systems.

I setup my account with the new system via a Google account I have had for many years. It was painless.

 

[SHaines]

Folks can click on any Space.com article, then the Comment button to go to the start of the comment section. From there, just click to sign up for your Viafoura account and you'll be able to comment on the articles.

Be sure to follow the commenting guidelines for articles, which can be found here.

We're just waiting for some work to be finished redirecting the forum to the editorial site, but thanks again to everyone who has taken the time to visit our forum over the years.

 

[Classical Motion]

I do not receive an email from the server.