[Darth-Apple]

Forums still have their usefulness in many settings all over the place, it's just less hyped up than it used to be. When a new video game comes out, everyone goes and joins forums to find a community of players. Primarily, it is the general discussion forums and the communities that spawned out of thin air that are struggling. It's much, much harder to create one out of the blue and to succeed nowadays (as opposed to ten years ago), and it definitely tests an administrator's ability to persevere and to commit to their community.

Finding MS' niche has always been a difficulty because we are frequently confused with general discussion forums (most of which are not successful nowadays), so we've always danced very close to that line in some respects. However, I do truly believe that MS is more than a general discussion forum, and have always made it very clear that it is a full fledged creative arts community designed as a place for people to share their hobbies and their projects. As a result, we are not just a general discussion forum, but a widespread breeding ground for the things that might not have a home elsewhere.

I've only ever seen two other forums that are in our exact niche out there, one of which pulled off the concept very well and was, in part, inspiration for us. And with good inspiration and a great community of members, the concept works, and it works exceptionally well. It's a unique twist with a lot of potential, and of course pretty flexible and welcoming long-term also. It can be a community that isn't quite like anything else on the internet, which I think all of us can be very happy to say.