But I could have came up with a challenge that anyone interested in our forum would have known. We were a rhythm games club, so a questions could have been "We organize a tournament for this game, in 3 letters". Anyone who heard of us would know it is DDR (it was our main event), and for those who didn't, all it took was a quick look at our website.
And even if it is just a hobby, you don't get the same thing from a forum compared to a WhatsApp or even a Facebook group. In fact, a few years after me and all the geeky admins left, they switched to Facebook, which completely killed the already dying online community.
Maybe nowadays we could use a Discord server, which does a bit more for a community than an WhatsApp group, and is more accessible than IRC, and saves history.
Another great thing about the forum is that I still have a backup from the time I still had admin rights, and I could bring it back to life on a private server with some friends, even though the club is now completely dead.
Memories are not lost, except for most of the external links (ImageShack...).
Heck, I've never heard of you lot but I immediately guessed DDR. Man I miss competing with randoms at the arcade in Brisbane city
And if itβs something between friends why not use a private whatsapp group or IRC