Sure, malls were an important phenomenon (and of course popular).
But I'm sure you'll agree something can be important and popular, and at the same time detrimental, no?
Signaling disapproval doesn’t really add anything to the conversation.
Well, I started the thread responding to a snarky one-liner that added even less to the conversation, so there's that.
I replied in earnest with a sizable comment comparing the two things (forums and malls) from several aspects (uniqueness, social function, etc), so that surely added something.
And, no, I'd say "signaling disapproval" does add to the conversation. In fact "signaling disapproval" is a large and necessary part of human conversation, and essential for forming social conceptions and hierarchies...
I’m not a fan of malls personally, but that attitude seems overly dismissive of a phenomenon that engaged a significant portion of the population. Clearly there is something important going on there, even if we might not like it.