THF Forums Closing
The Haiku Foundation Board of Directors has been considering what to do with our Forums for some time now. The Forums are a legacy item that dates from our original conception of what the Foundation might be, and speak to a time when forums were much more evident in the operations of many such organizations. The Forums have had a varied history with us since that time, but have often housed interesting conversations about topics that might not have otherwise found exposure.
However, with the widespread popularization of social media, the time for fora is gone. The audience we once experienced is now a mere trickle. And, given the expense in manpower and resources (the Forums software is increasingly the target of bots that have brought down the site on one occasion and require extra monitoring at all times now), we have decided it is time to close the Forums.
We are very thankful to Marion Clarke for volunteering her time and talents, allowing us to keep this going, and to everyone who has taken part in discussions and posts there. We hope that by archiving this, we may be able to focus our energies on features where we have more active participation, and improve our overall site security and function.
The closing date of the Forums will be July 15, 2025. If there is any material you wish to save from there, please do so before that time.
Thanks to everyone for your understanding!
Comments (7)
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I only dip into the social media, so am not very informed about what goes on there, especially regarding haiku. Is there a site
or platform that hosts interesting conversations? Somehow I doubt that many of the leading or serious poets are checking out the haiku groups on Facebook and discussing haiku.
Maybe someone will get a website going– apart from social media– that encourages stimulating conversation. Or maybe it just ain’t gonna happen any more. Maybe the leading and serious haiku poets have settled into doing what they do and that’s that. And to be blunt, there’s a lot of evidence of that in the journals.
Then too, maybe the journals– Modern Haiku, Frogpond, etc., can step up by publishing stimulating articles (as occasionally does happen) and encouraging reader responses.
Thank you…the time and the effort does deserve recognition. In appreciation, Chris.
Thank you to everyone for their work on the forum. These decisions are never easy, but it sounds like you’ve made some great decisions about priorities. All the best!
It’s a pity that the ‘engagement’ has gone, but for a very few individuals. The archived material there is well worth reading and I’ve saved Field Notes, what’s left of Sailing, and Alan’s thread on anthropomorphism etc. to my files a while back as text files. I hope someone will transfer them to the online library as it would be a significant loss otherwise.
Opportunity for discussion remains, in comments to the weekly pieces on THF that attract interested readers. But appetite for civilised critical debate does seem subdued or suppressed.
A difficult decision—but the right one. I have enjoyed peeping in on the forum from time to time, but it is a shadow of its former self. Thanks for making the right decision on this.
Thank you for all your hard work with the forums. I have mixed views on social media, it takes so much time away from actually living. I hope for more balance with tec in the future.
It’s a pity. Not surprising, though. There are discussions yet to be had, and they are unlikely to happen on social media. For example, there are a number of poets who came of age in the 70’s and 80’s. How much longer will they be around? Surely they have some
wisdom to offer. How have things changed over the course of their haiku careers? What do they do differently now? What would they like to see more of, less of?
To set up a serious discussion would take work. And it would take outreach, inviting writers who are unlikely to visit this website often to participate in a conversation. (Which is what I did with Sails and Field Notes.) It’s a missed opportunity. But perhaps serious writers will find another way, should they choose.
Best wishes to all.