User blog:SofaJockey/BioWare community moves to new forums after shutdown

Following the announcement of the closure of BioWare's official forums:

"After great consideration, we are closing down the BioWare forums, effective August 26, 2016. The Star Wars: The Old Republic forums will continue to operate; however, our public boards for Dragon Age, Mass Effect, and legacy BioWare titles will no longer be available." Conal Pierse, Community Manager BioWare.

Members of the BioWare community are seeking other forums to continue their discussion of BioWare IP. This list recognises Lady Artifice who created the original list on the BioWare Forums, and Crusty who gave some descriptive color.

BioWare IP forums:

BSN - BioWare Social Network unofficial forums http://bsn.boards.net https://twitter.com/BSNforums BioWare IP only forum running on ProBoards platform, run by Cyonan. Pros: High numbers have already joined (1,000+) including BSN 'leading lights'. Cons: ProBoards platform may necessitate a site move in the long term.

The Refuge https://the-refuge.net Newly launched BioWare IP only forum, run by ViSeiRa. Pros: Accurately reflects the BioWare Forum's structure on an own domain. Cons: Being late to the party is challenging, meaning low membership.

Multi-game forums:

Fextralife http://fextralife.com/forums/f95/ BioWare IP content added to an already thriving multi-game forum run by Fexelea. Pros: Includes extensive 'scraped' content from the BioWare Forums and is an owned domain. Cons: Is not a BioWare IP only site, and also includes 'Dark Souls' and other games.

RPG Codex http://www.rpgcodex.net/ Estabished forum for discussion of traditional RPG. Pros: Active multi-game site. Cons: May be less welcoming of 'casual' gamers.

Lobby Replacement forums

TSG - Top Shelf Gaming http://topshelfgaming.boards.net/ Conceived as a site for gameplay streaming, it also serves as an alternate off topic forum. Pros: Has a reputation for robust and politically incorrect conversation. Cons: Has a reputation for robust and politically incorrect conversation. (your mileage may vary)

VSN - Vroom Social Network http://vroomvroom.freeforums.net/ The original off topic lifeboat Pros: Vibrant activity in the media sections (especially anime) is its biggest strength. Cons: Limited in scope outside of off-topic.