Also known as a message board.
A forum is an online bulletin board where yo-yoers post messages to each other about yo-yos, yo-yo tricks, yo-yo events, and random other things. As yo-yoers often live far apart, forums allow them to communicate with other yo-yoers from around the planet. Originally there were very few forums, however as they became successful many yo-yoers created their own that they could control and most yo-yo stores created forums to try to generate more interest in their store. In recent years, due to the rising prevalence of Facebook and similar forms of social media, forum activity has been significantly diminished. The YoYoExpert Forum is the only store sponsored board that is truly still active.
B/S/T[]
One of the most important points of interest on a yo-yo forum is the B/S/T, or Buy, Sell, Trade board. This is where users go to exchange yo-yos from their personal collections. The majority of these transactions are for yo-yos that have been used, and may be dinged, tarnished, modded, or otherwise advanced beyond the original retail condition. For this reason, B/S/T transactions often settle below the actual retail value of a given item. Forum moderators are present to manage any potential disputes. Most forums prevent users from joining the B/S/T immediately, a newly registered user must be a member for a set period of time before they can arrange transactions. This is to prevent scammers and bots. Some forums have a trader feedback system to leave comments on the quality of trades, efficiency of shipping, and other pertinent details.
Censorship[]
Most yo-yo forums are sponsored by stores, and because of this discussing other stores on the forum or commenting on the store can result in message removal or banning. Some forums are more relaxed about this than others. However, if you wish to get a balanced viewpoint of the different stores you should post in a forum that is neutral.
Online forums[]
Store sponsored[]
- Yoyoing.com (closed)
- Yoyonation (inactive)
- Daves Skilltoy Forum (closed)
- TheYo (inactive)
- Yomania Forum (inactive)
- UK Yo-yo Players Forum
- YoYoExpert Forum (currently the most active forum, as of 2015)
Neutral[]
- AYYA
- MasterMagic.net forum
- Yo Yo Players forum
- YoYoRadio
- ExtremeSpin (No longer active. Was sponsored by Extremespin.com until its disbandment)